Horse Racing : Variety Road, at 6 Years Old, Still Making Most of Two Careers

In 1986, Variety Road beat Ferdinand, who won the Kentucky Derby about two months later.

In 1987, at 24-1, Variety Road beat Ferdinand again, as well as Snow Chief and Broad Brush, in the San Fernando Handicap at Santa Anita. Ferdinand went on to recognition as horse of the year, Broad Brush was voted the second-best handicap horse in the country and Snow Chief beat them both in the Strub, three weeks after his loss to Variety Road.

Ferdinand, Snow Chief and Broad Brush have been sent to stud, but their nemesis continues to make the most of two careers, as a stallion and a runner.

Variety Road, now a 6-year-old, serviced a full book of about 40 mares this year at Old English Rancho in Ontario, then came back running. Unraced for 7 1/2 months, Variety Road ran a mile in 1:34 2/5 to set a track record at the Sacramento fair in August. Then he won a small stake last Saturday at Bay Meadows.

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer isn’t getting Variety Road ready for a year-end matchup with Easy Goer, but those last two races were notable accomplishments for a horse who has chronic sore feet and who once had breathing difficulty because of partial paralysis on the left side of his face. And Bruce Headley, who trained Variety Road when he ran in Southern California, can remember missing the 1986 Kentucky Derby because the horse developed boils on his neck and almost died after running a 106-degree fever.

Variety Road has now had 11 victories and nine seconds in 34 races, earning about $650,000 for his owner and breeder, Kjell Qvale. It is rare for a horse to successfully mix racing and breeding careers, but Qvale, a San Franciscan, also alternated Silveyville between the breeding shed and the track and he earned more than $1.2 million.

“Variety Road came back to me the last part of June,” Hollendorfer said from Bay Meadows, where the horse is stabled. “I couldn’t believe that he was ready to run a mile as soon as he was. They jogged him at the farm and that had to help.”

Hollendorfer had never trained a horse that went to stud and then returned.

“I thought it might be a problem, but it hasn’t been with this horse,” he said. “He’s had his mind on the business of running from the time I got him back. He looks exactly the same as he did when he left, and as long as his feet aren’t bothering him, I think he’ll be better than ever.”

Variety Road has shown a liking for grass, and Hollendorfer would like to run him in the Tanforan Handicap at Bay Meadows on Oct. 21. Variety Road may find the spot familiar. He won the Tanforan last year, which was his last stake win until Saturday.

Months ago, Tom Meeker, the president of Churchill Downs, told his shareholders that the Kentucky Derby track would be the site of the Breeders’ Cup again, and Wednesday the group that sponsors the seven multimillion-dollar races--some of them Churchill shareholders--confirmed that the Louisville track is getting the event on Nov. 2, 1991.

Despite bad weather--the day was raw and wet and the most important race, the $3-million Classic, was won by Alysheba in near darkness--Churchill Downs drew 71,000 for the Breeders’ Cup last year. That broke the record of 69,000 set at Santa Anita in 1986.

Three of the first four Breeders’ Cups were held in California, to the dismay of many Eastern horsemen. Since 1987, the races have stayed in the East, with this year’s Breeders’ Cup at Gulfstream Park near Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., on Nov. 4 and next year’s at Belmont Park in New York. Santa Anita is a strong favorite for 1992.

Churchill Downs will become the first track other than Hollywood Park to have the Breeders’ Cup twice. The weather in Kentucky will always be iffy at that time of year, but otherwise Churchill Downs is a good place for the races. Its dirt and grass surfaces are excellent, Louisville can be easily reached by fans and horsemen, and the races don’t get swallowed up by other sports that more metropolitan areas have.

What is more, the people at Churchill Downs are experts at handling big crowds. They get plenty of practice, with throngs of more than 100,000 commonplace for the Kentucky Derby.

Sunday Silence must be eager to run. The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, who has been second to Easy Goer in the Belmont and second to Prized in the Swaps since then, had been working sensationally at Del Mar, and upon his arrival at Louisiana Downs for Sunday’s Super Derby, he reared in his stall, suffering a minor bump on the head.

Sunday Silence will be favored against seven other 3-year-olds in the 1 1/4-mile, $1-million race Sunday. Awe Inspiring will be trying to give trainer Shug McGaughey his second consecutive Super Derby victory and the other starters are expected to be Dispersal, Bruho, Le Voyageur, Harmony Creek, Big Earl and Dale’s Shotgun.

McGaughey saddled the winning Seeking the Gold last year. Eddie Maple and Laffit Pincay, who have divided victories in six of the first nine runnings, don’t have mounts. Chris McCarron, who won in 1987 with Alysheba, rides Harmony Creek, and Jorge Velasquez, winner in 1982 with Reinvested, will be astride Dispersal.

Bayakoa’s owners will have to pay a $120,000 supplementary fee if their 5-year-old mare is to run against Open Mind, the best filly in the country, in the $1-million Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Gulfstream on Nov. 4.

By running against Open Mind on Sunday, in the 1 1/8-mile Ruffian Handicap at Belmont Park, Bayakoa’s camp should learn whether the Breeders’ Cup supplement is worth the risk.

Bayakoa finished last as the 7-10 favorite in the Chula Vista Handicap at Del Mar on Sept. 2. Trainer Ron McAnally thought that the weight--Bayakoa gave seven pounds to the winner, Goodbye Halo--and a fast early pace contributed to his mare’s surprisingly poor performance.

As far as the weights are concerned, Bayakoa is hardly doing better in the Ruffian. She carries high weight of 125 pounds, which is five more than Open Mind, who is on a 10-race winning streak. Theoretically, Open Mind was assigned 126 pounds, but she gets a six-pound break because she’s only a 3-year-old. Another factor in the Ruffian is Miss Brio, who also carries 120 pounds after winning the Maskette Mile in her last start.

Horse Racing Notes

Toltackitt, a 2-year-old filly, was the fastest qualifier for Sunday’s Pacific Coast Breeders Futurity for quarter horses at Fairplex Park in Pomona. A field of 10 will run 350 yards for a purse of more than $200,000. . . . The same day, Fairplex will take bets on the telecast of the Super Derby. . . . Drouilly won the Pomona Handicap in consecutive years, the second time as a 7-year-old in 1983, and one of his sons, Drouilly’s Boy, set the Fairplex track record for six furlongs with a time of 1:09 1/5 on Tuesday. . . . Prime Ticket is carrying nightly replays of the quarter horse races from Los Alamitos at 12:30 a.m.

Jockey Gary Stevens, who suffered a broken wrist and hand at Del Mar, isn’t planning on missing his third Breeders’ Cup, despite the injuries, and says that he’ll be back riding at Santa Anita in mid-October. . . . Easy Goer is likely to use a $1-million race as a prep for a $3-million stake. He’s expected to run in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, at 1 1/2 miles at Belmont on Oct. 7, and then go back to 1 1/4 miles in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

King Glorious, who bruised a foot while winning the Haskell at Monmouth Park, is expected to run in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. “That’s going to be a real tough race, but I think he’ll be up to it, regardless of whether we get a prep race for him or not,” trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said. . . . When River Memories won the Flower Bowl Handicap at Belmont last Saturday, it was the 5-year-old mare’s first victory since the Rothmans at Woodbine in October of 1987.