Bienamado duplicated his sire's victory in the Hollywood Turf Cup

It was like father like son at Hollywood Park on December 2.

Hollywood Turf Cup S. (G1)
Hollywood Park, December 2, $400,000, 1 1/2 miles, turf, firm, 2:25.98
1-BIENAMADO, c. 4, Bien Bien-Nakterjal (GB), by =Vitiges (Fr).
2-Northern Quest (Fr), h. 5, Rainbow Quest-=Northern Goddess (GB), by Night Shift.
3-Lazy Lode (Arg), h. 6, Lode-=Lazy Fables (Arg), by Babas Fables.

And it was deja vu for co-owners (with Robert Sangster) Trudy McCaffery and John Toffan, trainer Juan "Paco" Gonzalez, and jockey Chris McCarron.

It all came together because Bienamado, also bred by McCaffery and Toffan, powered his way to an impressive three-length victory in the $400,000 Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes (G1). Under a patient ride from McCarron, the handsome four-year-old chestnut son of Bien Bien repeated his sire's 1992 conquest of the same race. Bien Bien, who was awarded first place when Fraise was disqualified for interference, was owned by Toffan and McCaffery, trained by Gonzalez, and ridden by McCarron.

In fact, McCaffery, at her bubbly best in the winner's circle, said, "I told Chris (in the paddock before the race) that he had ridden his daddy and now here he was riding the son. I loved his daddy to death, and this horse is very special."

Later, Toffan said, "If this horse had been sound for all this time, he could have been a very fine horse. Maybe we have him just right now and he can start things."

Well, if Toffan is looking for Bienamado to start things, his effort in the Turf Cup certainly puts him on the right track. And the money was not bad, either. For his third victory of the year from four starts and his fifth in 11 starts overall, Bienamado earned $240,000 to run his lifetime earnings to $721,089.

He did it in the easiest fashion, tracking the leaders from third place for much of the 1 1/2-mile race before launching his bid with a quarter-mile to go. Bienamado sprinted past pacesetter Vergennes with ease, and the only question remaining was the margin of victory in McCarron's record eighth Turf Cup triumph.

The late-running Northern Quest (Fr), owned by 3 Plus U Stable and trained by Bobby Frankel, closed with a rush to seal second-place by a half-length over Lazy Lode (Arg), who was trying for a three-peat in the Turf Cup, having won in both 1998 and '99. Vergennes wound up a distant fourth.

Return from injury

The winner was making his first start since finishing fourth in the Arlington Million Stakes (G1), from which he returned with a back injury that moved the very patient Gonzalez to slow his training regimen. Referring to the Million, the trainer said, "I took more time than normal because I didn't want to push him. I jogged him for six weeks ... he was 100%.

"The good thing was John and Trudy didn't push me," even though Toffan was hopeful of having Bienamado ready to run in the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1). But, Gonzalez said, "They said the horse comes first."

The Breeders' Cup was not possible because the colt began breezing a half-mile just a couple of weeks before the Cup. There were thoughts of the Japan Cup (Jpn-G1), but Gonzalez counseled against that, preferring to give the colt a bit more time to come to razor-sharp fitness. That fitness on December 2 allowed him to cut a wide swath through the Turf Cup field.

"I told John," Gonzalez said, "that I thought he would run really big."

Of repeating Bien Bien's feat, the trainer said, "It's very special winning with Bien Bien and then with his son. This horse has everything to be a good horse. He's got the attitude like a good horse, the stamina of a good horse, the body of a strong horse."

Winning rider McCarron got a perfect picture of the race from his stalking vantage point. "It did set up the way it looked on paper," McCarron said. "I was hoping that Lazy Lode would press the other horse (Vergennes) a little bit, but it was irrelevant, I guess.

"My horse was very aggressive the whole race. Being as fresh as he was, he was pulling me real hard. I let him pick up the pace leaving the three-eighths pole, and the race was on. From that point on, he simply was the best."

Gary Stevens, aboard runner-up Northern Quest, followed Frankel's instructions to let the horse find his stride at the back of the pack and make one run from the quarter pole. "When we got through, he finished real powerful," said Stevens, who is in the midst of a comeback after nearly a year in retirement.

Sky Jacking the Native Diver

It was practically a cakewalk for the speedy Sky Jack in the 22nd running of the $100,000 Native Diver Handicap (G3) on December 3 as the four-year-old gray California-bred son of Jaklin Klugman devastated a field of seven other runners in the 1 1/8-mile race on the main track.

Native Diver H. (G3)
Hollywood Park, December 3, $100,000, 1 1/8 miles, fast, 1:46.81
1-SKY JACK, g. 4, Jaklin Klugman-Sky Captive, by Skywalker.
2-Lethal Instrument, c. 4, Gulch-Running Redhead, by Storm Bird.
3-Grey Memo, c. 3, Memo (Chi)-B. Mozelle, by Snow Chief.

The win, by an easy seven lengths under a solid ride by Laffit Pincay Jr., was the gelding's second win in a row and his sixth in ten lifetime starts for owner Ren-Mar Thoroughbreds and trainer Doug O'Neill. The front-running win was a repeat of his previous victory in the California Cup Classic Handicap on October 28 at Santa Anita.

The final time was 1:46.81 on a fast track--after fractions of :22.91, :46.34, 1:10.01, and 1:34.50--and gave Pincay his third of four victories on the afternoon and third win in the Native Diver.

Finishing second was Lethal Instrument, who looked as if he might collar the winner as they turned into the stretch only to have Sky Jack take off again and win drawing away. Jockey Corey Nakatani thought Lethal Instrument had a solid bead on the winner, but "that other horse just rebroke and ran away from us," Nakatani said. "He must be drinking a different kind of water."

The race went just the way trainer O'Neill mapped it out.

"I told Laffit to get out of there," O'Neill said, "and I figured we'd be sitting off Saint Wynn, one of two horses trained by Vladimir Cerin, but Laffit just took him to the front and kept going."

Said Pincay: "He's a very fast horse. He has a lot of lick. He ran a wild race, this horse. I knew the Cal Cup wasn't a fluke. This could be a horse to get excited about."

With the winner's share of $60,000, Sky Jack increased his career earnings to $372,367. He has been off the board just once in his life.

NOTES-Veteran trainer Noble Threewitt and Laffit combined with the six-year-old gray mare Theresa's Tizzy for a repeat victory in the $82,300 Corona Handicap on December 2, repeating their 1999 win. The mare, who was claimed by the 89-year-old Threewitt two years ago at Del Mar and who has won $552,571 in 23 starts since that claim, broke a little slowly but went to the lead early, dogged by the speedy Hookedonthefeelin. With a quarter-mile to go in the six-furlong sprint, the Bob Baffert-trained Hookedonthefeelin stuck her head in front, but the older mare set the youngster in a tizzy by fighting back for the lead in midstretch and pulled away to a 1 1/2-length victory. The 53-year-old Pincay, who has five wins, two seconds, and a third in 13 rides on the mare, praised her as "a good filly and she tries hard every time. Like today, coming down the stretch, it looked like they had her beat, but she came back again and won the race."