McAnally Tries Formula Again in Chula Vista ‘Cap

DEL MAR — Trainer Ron McAnally will try to win the $300,000 Chula Vista Handicap on Sunday for the third time in four years with an import from South America.

Toda Una Dama will try to emulate Different last year and Paseana in 1994 when she takes on seven fillies and mares in the 1 1/16-mile Chula Vista, one of three Grade II stakes offered here over the holiday weekend.

Toda Una Dama is owned by Janis Whitham, who, along with her late husband Frank, campaigned Bayakoa, another South American star trained by McAnally. Bayakoa won the Chula Vista in 1990 and was a two-time Eclipse award winner.

A winner of one of three starts in Argentina before coming to the United States, Toda Una Dama will be making her stakes debut in the Chula Vista, but she starts with three consecutive victories by an average margin of better than four lengths.

After finishing second in her first outing for McAnally, the 4-year-old Cipayo filly won twice on the Hollywood Park main track, then scored an easy victory as the favorite on the turf course here.

She returns to the dirt Sunday and worked seven furlongs in 1:26 over the surface Aug. 24. She will be ridden by Alex Solis and is catching a field that doesn’t include Twice The Vice, arguably the nation’s top older filly or mare.

If Toda Una Dama is to become a graded-stakes winner, she’s going to have to beat Chile Chatte, Real Connection and Radu Cool, who appear to be the other main contenders.

Winless in seven 1997 starts, but second in three graded races, Chile Chatte will be ridden for the first time by Gary Stevens as she tries to rebound from a fourth-place finish as the 3-2 favorite in last month’s Delaware Handicap.

Second behind Listening in the Milady Breeders’ Cup Handicap and Twice The Vice in the Hawthorne Handicap at Hollywood Park, Chile Chatte has trained well locally for Richard Mandella. Her five-furlong workout Aug. 26 was termed breezing and she had worked a mile in 1:40 1/5 a week earlier.

Trying the Del Mar dirt since she broke her maiden here a few years back, Real Connection will be looking for only her second victory in 29 starts since the beginning of 1996.

However, it hasn’t been for lack of effort by the 6-year-old, one-eyed mare. She has nine seconds and three thirds in that span and missed by a nose, a nose and a head of winning the Wilshire, Gamely and Vanity handicaps, respectively, at Hollywood Park.

She also was second in the Ramona Handicap on the turf for owner Bill Thomas and trainer Mel Stute and has come back to work three times since.

Successful in the Bayakoa Handicap on July 28, Radu Cool will be trying to remain unbeaten here. She has won all three of her starts at this track.

Completing the field are Swoon River, Supercilious, Traces Of Gold and Ocean View.

Dowty, who gave trainer Bill Mott and owner Allen Paulson one of their stakes wins at this meeting, a victory in the Escondido Handicap on Aug. 8, is the 2-1 favorite against seven others in the $250,000 Del Mar Handicap today.

After breaking his maiden at Del Mar as a 2-year-old in the first start of his life, Dowty had spent his career in the East before returning to win the Escondido, which, at 1 3/8 miles on turf, is run at the same distance as the Del Mar Handicap.

Stevens again will ride the 5-year-old Irish River horse, who has won six of 15 on the grass.

His main threat could be Mufattish, who has won four of his last five for trainer Neil Drysdale, including the Wickerr Handicap over this course at a mile last month. Sharekann, who was second in that race, returned as an impressive winner of the Solana Beach Handicap on Wednesday.

Rainbow Dancer, who scored a 19-1 upset of Marlin in the Hollywood Turf Handicap on May 26, will try to rebound from a poor effort in the Sunset Handicap. He has won seven of 26 on the grass and Alex Solis will ride for trainer Jenine Sahadi and owners C.N. and Carol Ray’s Evergreen Farm.

Perim, Lord Jain, Cloud Forest, Seaborg and Old Chapel round out the field for the Del Mar Handicap.

The main event Monday is the $300,000 Del Mar Derby, which will be part of the Coast-to-Coast triple, a national Pick Three bet that also will include the Springfield Stakes at Arlington International and the Miss Woodford Stakes at Monmouth Park.

The wager, which has a special reduced takeout rate of 10%, is part of the inaugural America’s Day at the Races, a national promotion organized by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders’ Assn. Del Mar is one of 22 tracks that will be participating.

In the Derby, which is run at 1 1/8 miles on the turf, Fantastic Fellow will be trying to become the first horse since 1974 to complete a sweep of Del Mar’s three races for 3-year-olds--the Oceanside Stakes, La Jolla Handicap and Derby. Lightning Mandate won the trio that year when two of the three races were run on the dirt.

Forego, the horse of the year in 1974-76, was euthanized Wednesday at Kentucky Horse Park outside Lexington after breaking his right rear leg. The gelded son of Forli was 27 and was buried at the Horse Park, where he had lived since 1979.

Owned by Martha Gerry, Forego finished his career with 34 victories in 57 starts and earnings of $1,938,957.

Horse Racing Notes

My Flag, the 1995 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner, has been retired after running poorly in her last three races. The Easy Goer filly, who was trained by Shug McGaughey, finished with six victories in 20 races and earned more than $1.5 million. . . . Silver Charm, who will be paraded at Del Mar on Monday, is back in training. The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner is being pointed for the Malibu Stakes on Dec. 26, the opening-day feature at Santa Anita’s winter-spring meeting. . . . Hollywood Park still has seats available for the Breeders’ Cup on Nov. 8. . . . End Run, ridden by Chris McCarron for trainer Mike Machowsky, won the $55,000-added Warden Handicap on Friday. Creepshow was second, just ahead of Yuste.