Silver Charm Showing Plenty of Horsepower

Forget about today’s race. Santa Anita ought to be selling tickets for Silver Charm’s workouts.

In preparing for the $1-million Santa Anita Handicap, Silver Charm worked a mile against his stablemate and fellow Kentucky Derby winner, Real Quiet; then, five days later, Silver Charm worked five furlongs in a torrid 57 seconds, faster than the track record.

Silver Charm frequently works with all throttles open, but when a horse travels that fast just before a big race, there’s always the question of whether he leaves too much on the training track. Old Trieste ran six furlongs in 1:09 six days before last year’s Kentucky Derby, led the Derby for six furlongs, then finished 10th, more than 23 lengths behind Real Quiet.

Of Silver Charm’s blazing five furlongs Monday, jockey Gary Stevens said: “It was a great work. He was just bouncing along. We were looking for speed, so that’s what we wanted. We wanted to clear out the cobwebs, because he’s been dull in his last couple of races. But I’ve got my fingers crossed that we didn’t do too much.”

First in 12 and second in seven of his 21 races, Silver Charm has earned $6.6 million, third behind the retired Cigar ($9.9 million) and Skip Away ($9.6 million) on the money list. Until this year, Silver Charm’s style was to stalk the pace before overtaking the front-runners, but in the San Pasqual Handicap he came from about nine lengths behind to win, and in the Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park, he couldn’t make up nine lengths and finished a well-beaten third.

Puerto Madero, who won the Donn, is back for the Big ‘Cap, his trainer Richard Mandella having cured the Chilean-bred of lollygagging behind the field. In today’s field of six, Silver Charm is 8-5 on the morning line, followed by Puerto Madero at 2-1. Others running include Free House, who has won the Santa Anita Derby and the Pacific Classic at Del Mar, and Event Of The Year, who after recovering from knee surgery in April won the Strub Stakes last month.

A win by Puerto Madero or Event Of The Year would be an unprecedented third in a row for Mandella. He won the 1 1/4-mile stake with Siphon in 1997 and Malek last year.

“Puerto Madero is the horse to beat,” said Silver Charm’s trainer, Bob Baffert, who’s trying for his first Big ‘Cap win. “I think that if you had given him our post at Gulfstream, and given his post to us, it would have been a different story.”

Silver Charm, who drew the outside post in a 12-horse Donn field--Puerto Madero drew No. 6--will break from the inside today.

“It’s a long year, and what’s taken place is not proof of anything yet,” Mandella said. “But we did beat Silver Charm last time, and Puerto Madero’s two for two in his comeback. He could be the best horse.”

Silver Charm’s 11 stakes wins have come at six tracks, over a variety of surfaces, but Stevens thought his undoing in Florida was Gulfstream’s sandy, cuppy surface.

“Five strides out of the gate, we were still 12 wide,” the jockey said. “I had to use him a lot just to get over. At one point, he almost lost his action and acted like he was on roller skates. It was a struggle the entire way.”

Silver Charm is expected to get another chance at Gulfstream, in the $4-million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 6.

But today is Santa Anita, where Silver Charm has won five stakes.

“This track and Churchill Downs, these are his home courts,” Stevens said. “He’s spent a lot of time at both places, and gotten comfortable with the surroundings. He just enjoys being at these tracks.”

In an unprecedented move, Baffert put Stevens up on Silver Charm and exercise rider Dana Barnes up on Real Quiet for a one-mile, match-race-type workout last week. Both Kentucky Derby winners do better in the mornings when they work in company.

“I thought about it the day before, and then the next morning it still seemed like a good idea,” Baffert said.

Bob and Beverly Lewis, who own Silver Charm, approved. “Are you crazy?” said Mike Pegram, the owner of Real Quiet, before telling Baffert to do it anyway.

With the Big ‘Cap today and Real Quiet running Sunday in the New Orleans Handicap at the Fair Grounds, Baffert needed a solid distance work for both horses. They finished almost even, in 1:37 1/5, after Real Quiet led all the way.

Horse Racing Notes

First post is noon, with the 62nd Santa Anita Handicap, the fifth race, scheduled for about 2:40 p.m. . . . This Big ‘Cap has no horses that like to run on the lead. “When they come out of there, there will be six jocks waiting for somebody to go,” said John Toffan, who co-owns Free House with Trudy McCaffery. . . . The six-horse field has won 50 of 93 races, including 24 stakes wins in the U.S. and Dubai, and earned $11.6 million. . . . Dr Fong’s first 10 races were on grass, before his second-place finish to Event Of The Year in the Strub.

SANTA ANITA HANDICAP

* When: Fifth race, scheduled for 2:40 p.m. First race is noon.

* TV: 2 p.m., Channel 11

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Big ‘Cap Draw

Post positions for today’s $1-million Santa Anita Handicap with horse, jockey and morning line: *--*

1. Silver Charm Stevens 8-5 2. Sidon Delahoussaye 20-1 3. Free House McCarron 7-2 4. Puerto Madero Desormeaux 2-1 5. Dr Fong Solis 10-1 6. Event Of The Year Nakatani 9-2

*--*