Columnist Ralph Siraco: Hollywood chalk players suffer a rough trip

Ralph Siraco

Monday, July 19, 1999 | 9:44 a.m.

Ralph Siraco's horse racing column appears Monday and his Southern California selections appear Tuesday through Friday. Write to him c/o Las Vegas Sun, 800 S. Valley View Blvd., Las Vegas NV 89107.

There is an old saying in racing that goes, "There isn't a man alive who can pay the rent at 3-to-5." Of course the quote refers to anyone who dares to take short odds on a horse who on paper looks like a standout. You know, money in the bank, cattle on the ranch. The absolute cinch. The can't-lose. The "If he fell down he could get up and beat this bunch" kind of horse. The "If he loses the race there'll be a federal investigation" type of race.

Well, send out the feds and hide the cattle on the ranch.

On consecutive days over the weekend at Hollywood Park, a pair of "can't-lose" cinches prompted chalk players to reserve space on their favorite neighborhood bridge.

Although, as the Hollywood Park spring-summer race meet comes to an end with a special Monday racing program today, favorites for the session have been batting better than the average of 30 to 33 percent, Saturday and Sunday two huge choices went by way of the Flamingo wash: Down the drain.

Ironically, both overwhelming favorites were trained and owned by the same connections. What was not ironic was the way they got beat.

Saturday at the Inglewood oval, Excellent Meeting was "any price" to beat five other rivals in the Hollywood Oaks. The 1 1/8-mile Grade II event was seen by many experts as a romp in the park to give the sensational filly her fourth Hollywood Park lifetime victory and second consecutive win since returning to the races.

As you recall, the Bob Baffert-trained offspring of General Meeting took on the boys in the first two Triple Crown races earlier this spring. In the May 1 Kentucky Derby many thought she got the most affected trip in the troubled-plagued race when she finished a creditable fifth after encountering traffic, then racing extremely wide through the home stretch.

With that in mind, Baffert, along with owners John and Betty Mabee of the Golden Eagle Farm, thought the durable damsel should get another chance to beat the boys in the Preakness Stakes two weeks later.

Excellent Meeting's Preakness Stakes experience made her Derby trip look like a Princess cruise. After breaking bad, she dropped back and was eventually pulled up in distress.

So much for the boys.

After a once-over and freshening, she returned to win the Princess Stakes at Hollywood Park on June 20. That race, however, was a hard-fought victory. Many observers thought jockey Kent Desormeaux's trip aboard the odds-on choice pressed her into working harder than she needed to beat her competition.

Although she continued to train well for the Oaks engagement, Baffert figured that the filly may have tailed off a little. Or maybe her Triple Crown quest was starting to catch up to her.

When the field entered the starting gate for the season division title-decider, Excellent Meeting was sent off at odds of 2-5. That means if she wins you get $2.60 for every $2 bet. She didn't. So you get nada for $2 bet, or for that matter any other amount wagered, period.

Excellent Meeting, under another questionable ride by Desormeaux, could not catch the front-running Smooth Player during crunch time and settled for second while the winner -- as the longest shot on the board -- returned $29.80 for the same $2 wager.

Smooth Player takes the title, Excellent Meeting takes a vacation -- hopefully -- or certainly takes on a new rider at Del Mar.

Sunday, same place, same connections, Baffert sends out the overwhelming favorite for the Grade I Swaps Stakes in the form of General Challenge. Again, this gelded son of General Meeting was another of the stable's returners from the Kentucky Derby experience. Also receiving a bumper-car trip at Churchill Downs, the Golden Eagle Farm color-bearer finished 11th in Louisville. Baffert, however, citing the fact his charge did not handle traveling well, sent the California-bred back to the Golden State for some R&R.

Like his stablemate Excellent Meeting, General Challenge returned to the races at Hollywood Park with a victory. General Challenge came back with an overpowering victory in the June 26 Affirmed Handicap.

Coming into the 1 1/8-mile Swaps, General Challenge had posted an eye-opening bullet drill of 1:09:4 for six furlongs in preparation for the contest. A trio of takers completed the competition. So, an afternoon exhibition was expected of the prohibitive favorite. After a hearty trip to the ATM, the bettors bellied up to the wickets and plunked down enough geets to get even for his failed stablemate's Saturday performance with all the wagering confidence that he could not and would not lose. After all, General Challenge needed only to repeat his Affirmed Handicap effort to dust three ambitious rivals. Another 2-5 proposition and another heart-dropping defeat.

Cat Thief, who was third in the Derby and seventh in the Preakness, got a patented Pat Day ride and hung it on the California chestnut in a most exciting duel to the finish. Jockey David Flores sat three wide and last in the four-horse field with General Challenge while Day was playing cat-and-mouse on the lead with Desert Hero. General Challenge drew alongside Cat Thief as that one put away Desert Hero but could not go by the tenacious D. Wayne Lukas trainee. Cat Thief prevailed by a head and General Challenge ended a frustrating weekend for chalk players.

Moral of the weekend story: There is no sure thing in a "sure thing," Baffert trainees are overbet and you can't pay the rent on 2-5.