Columnist Ralph Siraco: New wave of headliners sweep Southern California

Ralph Siraco

Monday, Nov. 17, 2003 | 9:51 a.m.

Ralph Siraco's horse racing column appears Monday and his Southern California selections run Tuesday-Sunday.

So you know about Bobby Frankel, Bob Baffert, Richard Mandella and Bill Spawr of the Southern California racing circuit. Household names when it comes to the region's thoroughbred trainers.

And you are readily familiar with Pat Valenzuela, Alex Solis, Victor Espinoza and Kent Desormeaux of the Southern California riding colony. They are the ones who have taken up the slack of retired jockeys Laffit Pincay Jr., Chris McCarron, Eddie Delahoussaye and the sometimes-retired-sometimes-not Gary Stevens on the circuit's leaderboard.

Well, meet trainers Doug O'Neill, Jeff Mullins, Rafael Becerra and Eoin Harty. Take a long look at riders Tyler Baze, Ryan Fogelsonger and Julie Krone. These new faces are making their way into the psyche of Southern California horse players when handicapping the day's card.

These are the new wave of stars taking their place in Southern California racing.

Although Becerra is the newest of the new on the list, his statistics at the recently concluded Oak Tree at Santa Anita race meet show his star on the rise. Becerra had a 38 percent batting average with 11 victories from 29 starts that ranked him third in the final standings behind Baffert and title winner O'Neill. Becerra's win percentage, however, was second to Harty's amazing 43 percent. Harty, who tutored under Baffert and secured the powerful Darley-Godolphin International racing operation of talented and well bred horses for the Southern California circuit, garnered six wins from 14 starters at Oak Tree.

As private trainer for the racing conglomerate, Harty should continue his high rate of success. Becerra will certainly attain more competitive runners off his Oak Tree resume. Look for both to continue their successes.

O'Neill is enjoying his greatest year as a thoroughbred trainer. His recent Oak Tree title, which he secured with a record 22 winners during the stand, comes on the heels of several titles dating back to his first training title at the Fairplex Park meet of 2002. A 35-year-old father of one, O'Neill is most noted for his work with Cal-bred star Sky Jack, who won the $1 million Hollywood Gold Cup in 2002 with a thrilling nose victory over Momentum. After graduating from high school in 1986 in Dearborn, Mich., he migrated to the racetrack and worked for several trainers including Mandella. O'Neill has become a force in a short time.

Mullins, 40, a native of Murray, Utah, made a steady ascent from the bush tracks of Utah and Wyoming through Arizona's Turf Paradise on his way to Southern California. He enjoyed the road to the Kentucky Derby this year with Santa Anita Derby winner Buddy Gil, who finished sixth in Louisville. Mullins finished second to Baffert at the Del Mar meeting this year and was runner-up at the Santa Anita winter-spring session. Mullin's wife, Amy, serves as his assistant trainer and exercise rider. The Mullins team recently finished fifth at Oak Tree with nine winners for a 26 percent win mark.

Baze comes from a famous racing family of the Pacific Northwest. He grew up in Seattle hanging around racetracks and is the nephew of jockey Gary Baze and cousin to Hall-of-Fame rider Russell Baze. His father, Earl, and mother, Cammie, were also jockeys. Although Baze, 21, won the 2000 Eclipse Award as Apprentice Jockey, he has gained a solid spot in the Southern California riding colony as a journeyman. His first winner came Oct. 31, 1999 at Oak Tree aboard Fleeting Wonder and he most recently finished just one victory short of tying Pat Valenzuela's 34 wins for the title at the recent Oak Tree meeting. He also finished runner-up at Santa Anita's 2000-2001 meeting with 63 victories. Baze has a title with his name on it -- soon.

Fogelsonger comes to Southern California from the productive Maryland circuit. Following in the footsteps of fellow Maryland migrants McCarron and Desormeaux, Fogelsonger has won a handful of riding titles in his home state. Although Fogelsonger, 22, was active in sports during his high school days, he had never been on a horse at this time four years ago. A one-time pizza boy, he quickly learned his lessons and is one of the up-and-coming stars in the saddle in Southern California. He began riding the circuit during the recent Fairplex Park meet at the Los Angeles County Fair but quickly broke into the top 10 at Oak Tree where he finished seventh in the standings with 16 victories. His upbeat attitude and positive personality will serve him well in the highly competitive west coast colony.

Coming out of retirement, Julie Krone is enjoying a resurgence that rivals her greatest benchmarks the first time around. She recently won the three biggest races at Del Mar with victories in the Pacific Classic aboard Candy Ride, the Del Mar Debutante with Halfbridled and the Del Mar Futurity on Siphonizer. She became the first female jockey to win a Breeders' Cup race when she guided Halfbridled in the Juvenile Fillies this year. A 40-year-old Hall of Famer, Krone was also the first woman to win a Triple Crown race when she accomplished that feat in the 1993 Belmont Stakes on Colonial Affair. Runner-up to Valenzuela in the Del Mar standings, this Benton Harbor, Mich., native finished fifth at the recent Oak Tree meeting with 26 wins. After sitting out a three-day suspension, Krone returned to Hollywood Park on Sunday to capture four of the nine races.

Southern California, beware of the new turks of the turf.