Even Pincay’s Birthday Is a Draw

The largest on-track crowd of the 10-day-old meeting, 35,109, was on hand Sunday, no doubt because of Santa Anita’s celebration of jockey Laffit Pincay’s 50th birthday.

Held one week after Pincay, the world’s second winningest rider, turned 50, the ceremony was held after the day’s fourth race and two races after Pincay won for the 8,503rd time on Zairsaname.

Among those in attendance were Bill Shoemaker, the world’s winningest jockey with 8,833 wins, Johnny Longden, Pincay’s mother, his wife Jenine and his three children, Jean-Laffit, Laffit III and Lisa. He was presented with a huge card signed by thousands of fans and an oversized cake, which he was playfully pushed into by members of the local jockey colony.

“With all the rain we’ve had, I never imagined that this many people would turn out for this celebration,” Pincay said. “I’m extremely pleased and honored. This was a lot of fun and it was very nice.

“Everybody was so nice. What a day--especially when I won the race. I felt a little pressure because I really wanted to win a race today. It was nice to win with the first mount and get it out of the way.”

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Bob Baffert became the first trainer to win two stakes at the meeting when High Stakes Player beat Kern Ridge, then withstood an inquiry to capture the $103,850 El Conejo Handicap Sunday.

Eight days after In Excessive Bull won a thriller in the California Breeders’ Champion Stakes, High Stakes Player, the 5-2 third choice in a field reduced to five after Tanja and Track Gal were scratched, beat the 17-10 favorite by a neck in 1:02 4/5 over a track labeled good.

This was the sixth victory in 15 starts for the 5-year-old High Brite gelding, who is owned by Mike Pegram and ridden by Corey Nakatani.

Jockey Rene Douglas, who rode the runner-up, claimed foul immediately after the finish, but stewards Pete Pedersen, Ingrid Fermin and Tom Ward ruled there would be no change.

This decision didn’t sit too well with Douglas.

“[High Stakes Player] hit me three times,” he said. “He kept coming out and he kept hitting me. I was going by him and he came out and my horse lost his action. It was the worst call I’ve seen in the 15 years I’ve been riding. I respect the stewards, but I don’t respect that call.”

Many observers thought the call was correct because Kern Ridge initiated some contact.

“He ran great,” Nakatani said. “It was a heck of a battle through the stretch.

“The contact was slight. The track was better three or four [lanes] off the rail and that’s the position I was in. [Douglas] came up to me to make his horse competitive. He made my horse competitive and the best horse won the race.”

Kern Ridge, who has a tendency to pull himself up when he makes the lead, did get in front in the stretch, but there is a reason he has 14 second places in his career and only six wins.

Subtle Trouble finished third, nearly three lengths behind the favorite, then came G Malleah and Plenty Zloty.

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Next weekend will be the most significant of the young meeting with the $300,000 San Fernando Stakes the main event on Saturday and the 1997 debut of Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Alphabet Soup scheduled for Sunday’s $200,000 San Pasqual Handicap.

The second leg of the Strub Series, which concludes with the Strub Stakes on Feb. 2, the San Fernando could attract a field of nine, including Malibu Stakes winner King Of The Heap.

Trainer Wayne Lukas, whose lone win in the San Fernando came with On The Line in 1988, will send out a pair of 4-year-olds, Victory Speech and Dr. Caton.

The former finished sixth as the favorite in the Malibu while the latter was last in the race, his first start in several months.

“I’m throwing out that last race for both of them,” Lukas said. “The fast fractions did them in.”

The other probables for the 1 1/8-mile race are Alyrob, who has been a big disappointment since returning to action in the fall, Hesabull, who was second in the Malibu, Jirhan, Northern Afleet, Shady Link and Zanferrier.

Alphabet Soup, who has been idle since his upset of Cigar at Woodbine in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, is likely to face a small field in the San Pasqual. The other probables are Atticus, Just Java, Elmhurst, Paying Dues and, possibly, Gentlemen.

Horse Racing Notes

Jockey Chris McCarron was off his mounts again for a third straight day because of flu. . . . Post time moves to 1 p.m. on Wednesday and there will now be eight-race cards on weekdays. Post time remains 12:30 p.m. on weekends. . . . The total attendance was 50,200. . . . Making his first start since Sept. 4 at Del Mar, Larry The Legend finished fifth in Sunday’s eighth race, a $55,000 allowance race won by Uncaged Fury. Larry The Legend is now winless in four starts since his victory in the 1995 Santa Anita Derby.