HOLLYWOOD PARK : Fantastic Look Cuts It Close in Win

Fantastic Look didn’t win like a 2-5 shot is supposed to in Saturday’s $107,200 Silver Belles Handicap at Hollywood Park.

The 4-year-old Green Dancer filly was all out to beat 6-1 shot Spanish Dior by a neck in the Grade II, but she had a legitimate reason for struggling.

She suffered a cut on her right foreleg leaving the starting gate and blood was very evident on the back of her hoof as she was led away from the winner’s circle.

“It looks like she ripped it bad,” said trainer Gary Jones after Fantastic Look won for the fourth time in 12 starts this year.

“She had to have caught it leaving the gate. She deserved to win one of these . . . Chris (McCarron) said she won, but she didn’t fire.”

Fantastic Look was fortunate to meet a field that didn’t feature Gorgeous or Bayakoa. She had been second to one or the other on three occasions earlier this year, including a loss by a nose to Bayakoa in Del Mar’s Chula Vista Handicap Sept. 1.

She also had excuses when fourth as the 6-5 favorite in Churchill Downs’ Budweiser Breeders’ Cup Handicap last month.

“She sprung a shoe in the deep mud and she doesn’t like deep mud,” said Jones, who with 14 victories tops the Hollywood Park trainer standings with two days remaining.

“When the shoe came loose, she smacked herself inside her hock. She cut her hock all up and she bruised her foot from the shoe not being on tight.”

Saturday, she was well-placed by McCarron, who swept the last three races on the program, and covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:42 2/5 and earned $62,200 for her owner, John Mabee.

“She didn’t win like a 2-5 shot, but she won,” said McCarron, who long ago wrapped up the jockey title here. He has 53 victories, 13 more than Alex Solis. “It (the leg cut) could have been stinging her a little, but she really dug in there at the end to hold that other filly off.

“I’m surprised she grabbed it so severely because she didn’t stumble badly. She’s an awful nice filly and she’s all heart.”

Fresh off back-to-back victories at Laurel, including a 14-length victory Nov. 22, Spanish Dior finished four lengths ahead of Tis Juliet, then came Jabalina Brown, Cascading Gold and Mystical Lass.

“I should have let her roll at the quarter pole,” said Kent Desormeaux, who was aboard the runner-up, a 3-year-old daughter of Spanish Drums. “She was full of run around the turn and she’s used to opening up on them. I held her together and held her together, and when she felt (Fantastic Look), she went on big.

“I didn’t restrain her or stop her from running, I just didn’t let her roll on.”

Olympic Prospect, making his first start since May 5, also suffered a cut leaving the gate, but he also went on to win the sixth race, a $55,000 allowance event.

The 6-year-old Northern Jove gelding beat Tanker Port by two lengths as the 3-10 favorite and completed the 5 1/2 furlongs in a Hollywood Park-record 1:02 1/5.

“I thought he was awesome,” Solis said. “He had something left at the end and the track wasn’t lightning fast today.”

Olympic Prospect, trained by John Sadler, has won 14 of 29 starts and this victory pushed his earnings to more than $700,000.

A full field of 12 2-year-olds is scheduled to run in today’s $100,000-added Hoist The Flag Stakes .

Nijinsky’s Prince, who won a minor stakes at Fairplex Park, and Gold Crest Express, who is down from Northern California, are the 121-pound highweights for the mile race on turf, but they won’t be among the favorites.

The probable favorite is Wide Colony, who appeared to be the best when third in his turf debut earlier in the meeting. Trainer Chris Speckert’s colt drew the outside post and Eddie Delahoussaye will do the riding. Delahoussaye has missed the last two days because of a sore neck and tail bone suffered when he was dumped by first-time starter Graphic Pretensor before Friday’s first race. He is expected back this afternoon.

The rest of the field includes Ev For Shir, who is making his first appearance for Bill Spawr, who claimed him for $50,000; Recent Arrival, Assombrie, a filly; What A Spell, Mucho Precious, who has won over the course; Satis, Like None Other and Palmdale.

Horse Racing Notes

Victories by favorites Navajo Storm, Fantastic Look and Big Warning in the last three races produced a record-low $13.80 triple. . . . Alex Solis and David Flores each had two winners Saturday. In addition to Olympic Prospect, Solis won with 8-1 shot Fine Talk while Flores won the first with Sparshott and the fourth aboard Symphony At Sea. . . . Laffit Pincay, who fired agent Jerry Ingordo last Tuesday and replaced him on a temporary basis with Rene San Miguel, is expected to hire Bob Meldahl, who had been working with Pat Valenzuela. Meldahl has been booking mounts recently for Lanfranco Dettori.