Mandella Barely Misses a Hat Trick, but He’s Not Complaining

Represented in stakes races in three time zones, trainer Richard Mandella nearly won them all Saturday.

Only P.T. Indy’s second-place finish to Brave Act in the $114,200 Will Rogers Handicap at Hollywood Park, Mandella’s home base, kept it from being a totally rewarding afternoon, but he got the two that mattered most.

Gentlemen, saddled by Mandella, bounced back from his loss in the Santa Anita Handicap two months earlier with a half-length victory over Skip Away in the $600,000 Pimlico Special at Pimlico in Baltimore.

About an hour later, Wild Rush dominated heavily favored Anet in the $500,000 Illinois Derby at Sportsman’s Park outside Chicago, winning by almost four lengths under Kent Desormeaux.

Gentlemen, who had a five-race victory streak broken when he finished third in the Big ‘Cap, tracked the pace set by Isitingood most of the way under Gary Stevens, opened up a two-length lead a furlong from the finish and went on to win in 1:53 for the 1 3/16 miles.

Gentlemen, the 9-5 favorite, who is owned in part by Hollywood Park Chief Executive R.D. Hubbard, will compete in the Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs later this month, then try to turn the tables on Siphon and Sandpit in the $1-million Hollywood Gold Cup on June 29.

“This horse was ready to run his race today,” Mandella said. “He’d been training well and we tried rating him [in the Big ‘Cap] and that wasn’t his style. He ran the way we expected him to run today.”

In the Will Rogers at Hollywood Park, Brave Act, the 4-1 second choice, responded to a return to the turf, winning for the fourth time in six outings, covering the mile in 1:34 in beating P.T. Indy, the 8-5 choice, by almost two lengths.

It was the second of two victories for jockey Chris McCarron on his first day back since injuring a shoulder in a spill at Santa Anita on April 20. He also won with Sister Queen, who, like Brave Act, is trained by Ron McAnally.

Horse Racing Notes

Trying to follow up his victory in the Kentucky Derby, Silver Charm has been established the early 9-5 favorite for the Preakness, which will be run Saturday at Pimlico. Eight others are considered probable for the second leg of the Triple Crown, the shortest of the three races at 1 3/16 miles. Captain Bodgit, who finished a head behind Silver Charm at Churchill Downs, is the 2-1 second choice followed by Free House, with Kent Desormeaux replacing David Flores, at 4-1. Rounding out the field are Touch Gold (9-2), Frisk Me Now (12-1), Concerto (15-1), Wild Tempest (20-1) and the entry of Jack At The Bank and Hoxie (50-1). . . . Fresh off victories in the Rushaway at Turfway Park and the Lone Star Derby at Lone Star Park in Texas for trainer Bob Baffert, Anet was the 1-2 choice to win the Illinois Derby. But Wild Rush went right to the front and stayed there to win in 1:47 2/5 for the 1 1/8 miles. It was the fourth victory in five starts for the son of Wild Again, who is owned by Frank Stronach, but his first in a graded stakes.