Fast Pace Possible in Gold Cup : Horse racing: Frankel says longshot Marquetry will vie with Farma Way for the early lead.

One of the least-distinguished of the nine horses running in today’s $1-million Hollywood Gold Cup might have the most to say about how the race turns out.

“We’re going to be in front,” trainer Bobby Frankel said of Marquetry, a 4-year-old colt whose only stakes victory came against English maidens in the first start of his career, two years ago Friday. Marquetry is 12-1 on the Gold Cup’s morning line, and at 110 pounds he and Music Prospector, a 50-1 shot, are the low weights in the field. Farma Way and Summer Squall are top-weighted at 122 pounds apiece.

Farma Way is 2-1 on the morning line, Summer Squall 5-2.

Farma Way’s most recent success, in the Pimlico Special, came after trainer Wayne Lukas’ colt was allowed to scoot along on the lead alone, under no pressure. Several of Farma Way’s eight victories have come under similar circumstances.

“Farma Way was all alone out there at Pimlico,” Frankel said. “Hollywood Park is a weird race track. Almost all the races at Hollywood are won on the front. Marquetry doesn’t have much weight to carry, so we’re going to put him out there and see how far he can go. Who knows, if nobody goes with him, maybe he goes all the way. I have a hunch that (Chris) McCarron won’t be running with him early, not after what happened in New York.”

At Belmont Park three weeks ago, Farma Way found a horse as fast as he is when he faced Jolie’s Halo in the Nassau County Handicap, and they burned themselves out by running the first six furlongs in 1:08 4/5. Farma Way still hung on for third place, but was badly beaten as Festin came from 11 lengths back to win by seven. Jolie’s Halo was last.

Gary Stevens lost the ride aboard Farma Way because Lukas blamed the jockey for not following prerace instructions. In effect, Stevens and McCarron have switched mounts for the Gold Cup, with McCarron taking over the mount on Farma Way and Stevens riding Anshan as he tries to give trainer Charlie Whittingham his ninth victory in the stake.

“The pace should be different this time because there are different horses,” Lukas said. “We should be able to run our own race and not get caught in a speed duel. We can go on the offensive by dictating what happens early. My horse has the tactical speed to do that.”

If Marquetry does take the lead, as Frankel predicts, Farma Way and Summer Squall are likely to be in close pursuit.

Marquetry, to be ridden by David Flores in his first Gold Cup appearance, won a couple of grass sprints at Santa Anita last winter by running on the lead. In his 10th race and first dirt start, in the Californian on June 9, Marquetry came from slightly off the pace and held a brief lead with about a sixteenth of a mile to go, but wound up third, behind Roanoke and Anshan.

Roanoke, who comes from off the pace, is one of the horses who will try to overcome Hollywood’s track bias today. Neil Drysdale trains both Roanoke and Prized, and they are both listed at 6-1.

In recent weeks, numerous trainers have complained about the main track at Hollywood, none of them more loudly than Frankel, who moved his horses across town to Santa Anita.

“We’ve done some things that if we had to do over, we wouldn’t have done them,” said Don Robbins, Hollywood’s general manager. “Two years ago, a horsemen’s committee said that we had the best track in California, and that was what (former chief executive officer) Marje Everett did especially well--she maintained a safe track.

“Then we saw Santa Anita do some things, putting organic materials into the soil. We tried to do the same thing, and it’s turned out to be a mistake, because what works over there apparently doesn’t work here. The breakdowns, though, are about the same as a year ago. There are two more (than) at a comparable time (last year). We’re going to put more sand back into the track, but of course this will happen later, because it’s not the time to be doing things with this big race coming up.”

A question about Farma Way that even Lukas can’t answer is whether this well-traveled 4-year-old might be headed in the wrong direction because of a demanding campaign. With its breakneck pace, the Nassau County was a grueling race. It was Farma Way’s seventh start, and he has been to Arkansas, Maryland and New York and now back to California since scoring five consecutive victories at Santa Anita last winter.

“He’s acted like the same horse since he came here from New York,” Lukas said. “But nobody knows for sure. You really won’t know until he hits that quarter pole, turning for home. I expect him to give a bang-up performance.”

Lukas won the Gold Cup last year with Criminal Type, part of a campaign that led to horse-of-the-year honors. The last trainer to saddle successive winners in the stake was Whittingham, who won four in a row with Ack Ack, Quack, Kennedy Road and Tree Of Knowledge in 1972-75.

“How many of these have I won, about five?” Whittingham said the other morning at Hollywood.

Told he had eight, Whittingham said: “Well, maybe I lost track because we haven’t won one lately.”

Whittingham was wrong again. His last Gold Cup victory, with Ferdinand, came four years ago. He missed No. 9 last year when Sunday Silence came up a head short after a long stretch drive against Criminal Type.

Horse Racing Notes

Festin has 30 points in the American Championship Racing Series. After him come Farma Way with 25, Jolie’s Halo with 20, Primal with 10, and Gervazy, Summer Squall and Sports View with seven each. Nine other horses have five or fewer points. . . . Neither Festin nor Jolie’s Halo is entered in the Gold Cup. Primal is no longer racing in the United States. . . . Remaining stakes in the 10-race series after the Gold Cup are the New England Classic at Rockingham Park on July 20, the Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Aug. 10, the Iselin Handicap at Monmouth Park on Sept. 1 and the Woodward at Belmont on Sept. 15. . . . Summer Squall’s handlers aren’t sure whether their colt will remain in California for the Del Mar race, which is worth $1 million.

The series offers a $1.5-million bonus, with the first-place horse earning $750,000. . . . Farma Way wasn’t nominated, so to run in the $3-million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs on Nov. 2, his owner, George Bunn, would have to pay a penalty of $360,000. . . . Seven of the Gold Cup starters--all but Itsallgreektome and Western Playboy--will be ridden by jockeys who didn’t ride them in their last race. . . . Anshan will be Charlie Whittingham’s 53rd Gold Cup starter.

Eight fillies and mares are entered in Sunday’s $200,000 Beverly Hills Handicap at Hollywood Park, including Reluctant Guest, who finished in a dead-heat for first place with Beautiful Melody in the 1 1/8-mile grass stake a year ago. The other starters will be Sun Brandy, Island Jamboree, Alcando, Somethingmerry, Countus In, Odalea and Fire The Groom. Fire The Groom is the high weight at 120 pounds. . . . Also on the card is a 5 1/2-furlong grass handicap that will pit Apollo against older horses. Apollo, once considered a Kentucky Derby candidate, dropped out of contention when it became obvious that sprinting was his game.

Safely Kept will try to surpass the $2-million mark in purses Sunday in a seven-furlong stake at Arlington International. She will spot her opponents eight or more pounds. One of Safely Kept’s owners is Barry Weisbord, the architect of the American Championship Racing Series.