Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel has won the Jim Murray Memorial Handicap a record six times at Hollywood Park but he has found number seven to be elusive.
Since last winning the distance turf test with Skipping in 2002, Frankel has settled for a second-place finish with Denon in 2003, third with Gassan Royal in 2004, second and third with Vangelis and Exterior respectively in 2005, and third with Notable Guest last year.
Frankel hopes to put an end to that mild drought Saturday when he sends out Champs Elysees, the 119-pound high weight and probable favorite, and Sudan in the $250,000, Grade II test at 1˝ miles on grass.
The Jim Murray, named in memory of the Los Angeles Times Pulitzer Prize-winning sports columnist, headlines a stakes tripleheader that also includes two $100,000-added Grade III races, the Los Angeles Handicap and Senorita Stakes.
With Frankel in New York, long-time assistant Humberto Ascanio has tightened the screws on Champs Elysees and Sudan for the Jim Murray.
Champs Elysees, a Juddmonte Farms homebred, is named after a famous street in Paris, but "champs" has a significant English connotation as well. The 5-year-old horse is a full brother to two North American champions, Banks Hill and Intercontinental, and a European champion, Dansili. By Danehill out of Hasili, he is also a full brother to Grade I stakes winner Cacique and a half-brother to Heat Haze, another Grade I stakes winner.
"He reminds me a lot of Cacique, very kind," said Ascanio Thursday of the English-bred who was a Group III winner in France for Andre Fabre before joining the Frankel stable last autumn. Runner-up in the Hollywood Turf Cup, winner of the San Marcos Stakes and third-place finisher in the Santa Anita Handicap, Champs Elysees appears poised to follow in the footsteps of his brothers and sisters not only as a top turf horse, but one who can handle synthetic surfaces as well.
Ascanio also expects a much-improved effort from Sudan, who finished a distant eighth in his U.S. debut in the San Luis Obispo Handicap at Santa Anita in February. "He has been training a lot better," said Ascanio of the 5-year-old French import who has recorded a solid series of drills here the past two months. Owned by Gary Tanaka, the Irish-bred import was a Group I winner in Italy last year.
GALLAGHER SEEKS SENORITA REPEAT, PREAKNESS UPSET
Trainer Paddy Gallagher is after something old and something new this month. The Irish-born trainer was busy in the stable area Thursday, working Yankee Bravo for the Preakness Stakes May 17 and applying the final touches on Magical Fantasy for the $100,000-added Senorita Stakes here Saturday.
The Senorita, a Grade III for 3-year-old fillies, is old hat for Gallagher. He won the race last year with Valbenny and finished second, beaten a nose, with Three Degrees in 2005. Both European imports came back to win the Honeymoon Handicap. Valbenny then finished second in the American Oaks last year.
Gallagher hopes Magical Fantasy can follow in the duo's large footsteps. While Three Degrees and Valbenny had already proven themselves on this circuit before the Senorita, English import Magical Fantasy will be making her United States debut.
"She's been training nice in the morning, but it's tough to tell how they will do in the afternoon," said Gallagher of the chestnut Diesis filly, who turned in a bullet six-furlong work of 1:11.20 on turf here May 1. "In some of her tapes from England, she is not too far out of it, but they're not going too fast, so it's hard to tell where she will be positioned Saturday."
Gallagher said bloodstock agent Richard Duggan, who also found Three Degrees and Valbenny, discovered Magical Fantasy. She recorded one first and two seconds in five starts in England last year, four on polytrack.
Gallagher is also high on Miss Singhsix, an Irish import entered in an allowance race Sunday for her stateside bow.
Both fillies will be ridden by Alex Solis, who seeks to equal Chris McCarron's record of five Senorita victories Saturday. Jockey agent Scotty McClellan booked McCarron's quintet and Solis's previous quartet in a race he seems to own. In addition to Valbenny, Solis also won with Do So in 1988, Brought to Mind in 1990 and Miss Vegas in 2004.
Solis was also aboard Yankee Bravo during a sharp seven-furlong work in 1:24.20 for the Preakness. "He worked in company and came from behind," said Gallagher. "He will leave Wednesday for Baltimore."
Gallagher will be making his first visit to Pimlico, but Solis knows the track well. He won the 1986 Preakness aboard Snow Chief.
GORGEOUS GOOSE READY TO FLY
Trainer Mike Puype and Florida owner-breeders Mary Anne Denes and Mary Ellen Woelfel and their husbands Paul and John are optimistic Gorgeous Goose will be flying in the stretch of the $100,000-added Senorita Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at one mile on turf Saturday.
Paul Denes explained from Ocala Thursday that the co-owners sent Gorgeous Goose to California last year because they thought she was a special filly and for the high regard they had for Puype.
"I had a good experience with Mike with the first horse I sent to him, Cervelo," said Denes. "He had won a couple of stakes in Florida, and a friend recommended Mike to me."
The co-owners did not hesitate to follow with Golden Goose. "The filly appeared to have some real talent," said Denes of the filly, who was broken by Nick and Jacqui DeMeric in Ocala. "She was a very lovely filly from the start. She was well-proportioned and nice to be around. She took training quite well and enjoyed it. She would eat up and go to sleep.
"We would have never sent her to California if she hadn't shown special talent," continued Denes. "We sent her to Mike because we felt not only that he is an excellent trainer but also an outstanding horseman who would always look out for the 'Goose's' interests."
Gorgeous Goose has won two of six starts, winning the Blue Norther Stakes and finishing a closing fourth in the Providencia Stakes in her last outing on the Santa Anita turf.
"She has touched our hearts with her talent and tenacity extraordinaire," said Denes of the filly by Mongoose out of the Big Spruce mare Gorgeous Me.
Denes said he has been a breeder for about 30 years. Top horses he has bred include Hello Gorgeous, Mr. Prospector's first Group I stakes winner in Europe; Forty One Carats (bred by him and his wife), a Grade II winner who set track records for 1 1/8 miles at the Meadowlands and six furlongs at Calder, and Sacred Honour, bred by his wife, a Sapling Stakes winner at Monmouth.
Denes bought Gorgeous Goose's grand-dam, Coalition Force, by Spectacular Bid, at a Keeneland sale. She was bred to Big Spruce to produce Gorgeous Me, who Mrs. Denes and Mrs. Woelfel bred to Mongoose to produce Gorgeous Goose, a Florida-bred.
"I recommended Mongoose, a rugged coarse-looking horse who I thought would fit the mare," said Denes. "She gets her gray color from Spectacular Bid."
FINISH LINES - Jockey Richard Migliore has picked up a pair of live mounts in 3-year-old stakes here next weekend. Agent Tom Knust has taken calls for Migliore aboard Indian Sun, runner-up in the Generous Stakes, in the $100,000-added Will Rogers Stakes on turf May 17, and Dixie Chatter in the $100,000-added Laz Barrera Memorial Stakes at seven furlongs May 18. Dixie Chatter will make his first start since winning the Norfolk Stakes at Santa Anita on Sept. 30...Giant Gem, another Will Rogers nominee, worked six furlongs on turf in 1:15 Thursday for trainer Neil Drysdale…La Brea Stakes winner Dearest Trickski worked six furlongs in 1:11.80 on Cushion Track for the $75,000-added Desert Stormer Handicap May 17 for trainer John Sadler…Crash Landing, a 4-year-old half-brother to Grade I stakes winner Alphabet Kisses, will make his debut in the sixth race Friday night for trainer Marty Jones.
