HOLLYWOOD PARK : Louis Cyphre Gives Santos a Rare Streak

Jose Santos was so happy to string two victories together he couldn’t wait to go out and ride again after Sunday’s $200,000 Mervyn LeRoy Handicap.

Trouble is, he didn’t have a mount in the ninth race. Before Santos rushed out to the paddock, a reporter told him he was free until the 10th race. “I’m too excited,” he said. “I just forgot where I was.”

Victories have been hard to come by for the former Eclipse Award-winning jockey. Through the first 19 days at Hollywood Park, he had only five victories. Pat Valenzuela had three more than that in his first five days back from a six-month suspension.

After scoring a 13-1 upset on Sonata Slew in the seventh race, Santos followed with a half-length victory aboard Louis Cyphre in the LeRoy, a Grade I stake and the first prep for next month’s $1-million Hollywood Gold Cup.

This was the second stakes victory of the meeting for Santos, who had won the Senorita with Paula Revere eight days earlier.

The recipient of a perfect trip behind Perforce and Warcraft early on, Louis Cyphre took on Warcraft heading into the stretch and wore him down to win by a half-length in 1:40 4/5 for the 1 1/16 miles.

An easy winner of the Golden Gate Budweiser Breeders’ Cup Handicap last month, the 5-year-old Niniski horse easily could be working on a three-race winning streak. He was beaten by the slimmest of noses by Anshan in the San Bernardino Handicap March 30 at Santa Anita.

The 9-5 second choice in a race reduced to six starters after the late scratches of In Excess and El Zorzal, Louis Cyphre will skip the Californian (June 9) and await the Gold Cup three weeks later.

“This horse is the kind that rates himself,” trainer Bobby Frankel said. “You let him run out (of the gate), and if someone is outrunning him, they must be going pretty quick. It set up perfect for him because Warcraft and Perforce went at it pretty good.

“This horse is learning how to be a dirt horse, and he’s learning how to win. He doesn’t like to win by too much, but as long as he gets there, that’s the main thing.”

Santos thought he would be in front, but he was happy to sit third while Perforce and Warcraft set 23 2/5, 46 and 1:09 4/5 fractions.

“He relaxed perfectly behind those two horses,” Santos said. “The dirt didn’t bother him at all. Bobby’s done a terrific job with this horse. He’s a completely different horse from when I first rode him at Santa Anita. He’s 50% better now.”

Warcraft finished two lengths ahead of entrymate Anshan, then came Nuits St. Georges, Stylish Winner and Perforce. The entry was the 6-5 choice, and this was the eighth time in 19 starts Warcraft has finished second.

“He put (Perforce) away and kept going,” Chris McCarron said of Warcraft. “He tried hard. He was just second best.”

Bill Shoemaker, who was paralyzed from the neck down in an April 8 auto accident, is improving.

The world’s winningest jockey has regained his ability to speak. Hollywood Park President and Chief Executive Officer R.D. Hubbard spoke to him for five minutes over the telephone Saturday. Shoemaker is being treated at Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colo.

“Shoe is doing very well,” said Hubbard, a longtime friend. “His voice is like a whisper, but it was clearly audible. They have got him off the respirator for two hours at a time now (for a total of six hours a day).

“He was in very good spirits and is looking forward to getting back here. We even talked about Fire The Groom.”

Fire The Groom is a filly owned by Hubbard and under the care of Shoemaker’s assistant trainer, Paddy Gallagher. She has won her past five races, including her first two starts in California. Fire The Groom won the Santa Anita Budweiser Breeders’ Cup last month and Hollywood Park’s Wilshire Handicap May 5.

Horse Racing Notes

Eastern Dude, who broke down while running in Saturday’s Will Rogers Handicap, was destroyed Sunday morning. “It was decided this was in the best interest of the horse,” said Joel Kahling, an assistant to Eastern Dude’s trainer Carl Nafzger. “There was a lot of soft tissue damage, the ligaments were torn and the sesamoid was in three pieces.” Efforts are still being made to save Troyanos, who was injured while competing in Friday’s feature on the turf. The 6-year-old Brazilian horse won 10 of 12 starts in his native country and was making his U.S. debut when hurt. “It is virtually the same as fracturing both sesamoids,” Dr. Kurt Hoffman said. “For many horses it means being put down. But this horse was a very popular horse in Brazil, and the owners want to do everything possible to save him.”

Prepping for the Hollywood Turf Handicap a week from today, Itsallgreektome worked five furlongs over the grass in one minute flat before Sunday’s first race. With Corey Nakatani aboard, the Eclipse Award winner completed his final quarter in 23 2/5 seconds. . . . Duck And Dive equaled the American record for 5 1/2 furlongs when he won Sunday’s fifth race in 1:01 3/5. In winning his second victory in a row in the U.S., Duck And Dive tied the mark set by Glitterman May 20, 1989 at Hialeah. . . . The Metropolitan Mile (May 27 at Belmont Park) will be simulcast at Hollywood Park. In Excess and the undefeated 3-year-old Letthebighossroll are expected to be starters in the race, which will also bring out Housebuster.