Pincay Wins Two More to Put Total at 8,500

Laffit Pincay, grinding out the victories that may someday lead to his breaking Bill Shoemaker’s record, won two races at Santa Anita on Thursday to reach the 8,500 mark in career victories.

No. 8,500 came in the seventh race, a $42,000 allowance won by Tacomolly, a 4-year-old filly owned by Josephine Gleis and trained by Ian Jory.

Earlier in the day, Pincay won with She’s Always Right, an $18,000 claimer. Pincay’s goal is to pass Shoemaker, who retired in 1990 with a record 8,833 victories. They are the only jockeys with more than 8,000 wins. Next on the list are David Gall, who went over the 7,000 mark in 1996, and Angel Cordero, who won 7,057 races before retiring in 1992.

“It feels great,” Pincay said after winning No. 8,500. “I’m getting closer. From here on, it’s 333 to go. We’ll see what happens. I thought [No. 8,500] would probably happen by Sunday, but it’s nice to get it out of the way.”

Pincay turned 50 last Sunday, but Santa Anita is recognizing his birthday this Sunday. The stewards gave Pincay a five-day suspension for a riding infraction this week and it will begin Wednesday.

Pincay is approaching another milestone--his 3,000th victory at Santa Anita. He has won six races at the meet that opened Dec. 26 and has 2,996 victories at the track. Pincay has 2,683 victories at Hollywood Park.

Tacomolly has won two consecutive under Pincay. She also won for him at Hollywood Park on Nov. 15.

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Aboard Steel Ruhlr, Pincay finished second in the second division of Thursday’s Hill Rise Handicap. Flew The City, ridden by Matt Garcia, finished seventh in the Hollywood Futurity on Dec. 15. Steel Ruhlr finished sixth in the Futurity.

Both divisions of the Hill Rise were moved from turf to dirt because of the soggy condition of the Santa Anita grass course. Hello, who would have been favored in the second division, has never run on dirt and was scratched.

The first division went to Greed Is Good, ridden by Rene Douglas. Trained by Randy Bradshaw, Greed Is Good was making his first start since breaking his maiden at Hollywood Park on Dec. 22.

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Mel Stute, who has won more than 560 races at Santa Anita, is off to a good start at this meet. Stute, who saddled Flew The City on Thursday, will try to win the Monrovia Handicap for the second consecutive year with Klassy Kim. Saturday’s $100,000 race, at 6 1/2 furlongs down the hill, drew 13 fillies and mares.

Also running is Ski Dancer, who made a late run at Klassy Kim in last year’s Monrovia and was nosed out at the wire.

Klassy Kim won the Safely Kept Handicap at Hollywood Park on Dec. 21. That gave her a record of nine victories, 11 seconds and six thirds in 38 starts. The 6-year-old mare had lost nine consecutive starts--dating to the 1996 Monrovia--before her 3/4-length victory at Hollywood Park.

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Allen E. Paulson, who kept Cigar racing in 1996, is the recipient of the 1996 Eclipse Award of Merit.

In announcing the award in Fairhill, Md., the Thoroughbred Racing Assns. said that Paulson’s “extraordinary sportsmanship and dedication to thoroughbred racing was demonstrated by his decision to race Cigar as a 6-year-old rather than retire him to stud.”

Cigar’s value as a stallion soared when he won all 10 of his starts in 1995 and was voted Horse of the Year.

The 74-year-old Paulson, however, brought Cigar back and the horse’s popularity increased as he raced in Dubai, Canada, New York, Massachusetts, Illinois and California. He tied Citation’s North American record of 16 consecutive victories, won five of eight starts and fell only $185 short of $10 million in career earnings.

He now is at stud in Kentucky.

Horse Racing Notes

Laffit Pincay’s 8,000th victory came Aug. 29, 1993, at Del Mar. He won No. 7,000 at at Hollywood Park on Nov. 9, 1988. . . . Jerry Bailey led the country in purses in 1996 and Russell Baze was No. 1 in victories, but Chris McCarron was the leader in Grade I victories with 12. McCarron’s only multiple winners in major races were Twice The Vice, who won three, and Different, who had two. His other winners were Alphabet Soup, Running Flame, Exotic Wood, Listening, Cavonnier, Pharma and Helmsman. . . . Bailey and Corey Nakatani rode 10 Grade I winners apiece. . . . The Grade I leader among trainers was Wayne Lukas with 13. Ron McAnally had seven and Bill Mott six. Mott’s total does not include Cigar’s win in the Dubai World Cup, which was run for the first time.

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The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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Pincay Through the Years *--*

Year Mounts Wins 1964 8 2 1966 539 92 1967 1,240 231 1968 1,283 266 1969 889 162 1970 1,328 269 1971 1,627 380 1972 1,388 289 1973 1,444 350 1974 1,278 341 1975 1,211 268 1976 1,435 386 1977 1,329 295 1978 1,428 287 1979 1,708 420 1980 1,426 291 1981 1,514 302 1982 1,478 302 1983 1,421 299 1984 1,407 299 1985 1,409 289 1986 1,318 252 1987 1,467 314 1988 1,102 198 1989 1,594 298 1990 1,079 150 1991 1,436 217 1992 1,290 194 1993 1,222 166 1994 1,213 158 1995 1,269 156 1996 980 129 1997 10 2 Panama 1,386 446 Ttl 42,156 8,500

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Source: Daily Racing Form, Santa Anita