Canani’s Horses Finish 1-2

There was a way the $467,000 Shoemaker Breeders’ Cup Mile could have turned out better for trainer Julio Canani.

Silic and Ladies Din, his two entrants in the Grade II turf affair, could have finished in a dead heat for the victory.

Instead, the two 4-year-olds, who were the 4-1 fourth choice while coupled in the wagering, did the next best thing. They ran 1-2 with Silic prevailing by a nose in a rapid 1:32 4/5.

Owned by a partnership that includes Terry Lanni, Kenneth Poslosky, Bernie Schiappa and Elias Ghanem, Silic skimmed the rail under Corey Nakatani to win for the first time in three American starts. Ladies Din finished a half-length in front of Hawksley Hill.

A troubled fourth in the San Franciso Mile, which was won by the Canani-trained mare Tuzla, Silic had trained extremely well locally and provided Nakatani with his first stakes win of the Hollywood Park meet and he now has 1,999 career victories.

The win also continued a hot streak for Canani, who had won the Gamely Breeders’ Cup Handicap with heavily-favored Tranquility Lake a week ago. He has won with 11 of 24 starters in Inglewood and is 26 for 75 overall this year.

“[Silic] was training super and he got a great ride from Corey,” Canani said. “I think I’m going to open the blinkers on Ladies Din the next start. The holes are very small and he never saw the other horse, but don’t take anything away from Silic. He’s a very nice horse. I’ve been telling the owners that he’s a top, top miler and he proved it today.”

Brave Act, the 5-2 favorite on the strength of his win in last month’s Inglewood Handicap, was fifth under jockey Goncalino Almeida. It was only the fourth time in the Persian Bold horse’s 21-race career that he has been worse than third.

*

On paper, Budroyale didn’t figure to lose the $125,000 Super Diamond Handicap and the 6-year-old gelding did the expected Sunday at Hollywood Park.

The 3-5 favorite against six other California breds, Budroyale tracked a hot pace under jockey Garrett Gomez, took over nearing the stretch and went on to be 10-1 shot Del Mar Gray by 2 1/2 lengths in 1:41 1/5 for the 1 1/16 miles.

This was the 15th win in 39 starts for Budroyale, who pushed his earnings to $977,310. Most of his bankroll has come for owner Jeffrey Sengara, who claimed him for $50,000 early last year, with trainer Ted West.

Second in the Californian and winner of the Mervyn LeRoy Handicap earlier in the meet, Budroyale could return in the $1-million Sempra Energy Hollywood Gold Cup on June 27.

Horse Racing Notes

Dixie Union, making his debut as a 2-year-old, broke the track record for five furlongs in winning the fifth race Sunday. The son of Dixieland Band, who is trained by Richard Mandella for the partnership of Diamond A Racing Corporation and Herman Sarkowsky, ran the distance in 56 3/5 seconds, breaking the record of 56 4/5 set by Magical Mile on May 18, 1989. . . . The Pick Six pool, on a day when Hollywood Park guaranteed $1 million, was $1,856,070. Thirteen tickets had all six winners and each was worth $79,773.80.