SANTA ANITA : Stute Hoping History Will Repeat

Contrary to his best instincts, trainer Mel Stute has tapped into the same source that produced his 1986 champion, Brave Raj, in hopes of landing another top filly.

Heaven for Bid, whose roan coat will make her easy to spot coming down the seven-furlong chute in today’s Santa Ynez Stakes at Santa Anita, began her career last fall in New Jersey with Ben Perkins, the same trainer who sold Brave Raj to Stute and his patron, Dolly Green, in the summer of 1986.

For her $300,000, Green got a Breeders’ Cup winner and an Eclipse Award champion. Brave Raj earned $933,650 in 1986, the most money ever won by a 2-year-old of either sex at the time.

“They say lightning never strikes twice in the same place,� Stute said in reference to his latest Perkins purchase. “That’s why I always worry about going back for seconds when the first time around worked out so well. But this filly could be the exception.�

Acting for owner Jerry Moss, Stute flew to the Meadowlands last November, inspected Heaven for Bid from head to toe, and put his seal of approval on the deal. The filly was in California eight days later.

In her first local appearance on Jan. 4, Heaven for Bid battled heavily favored Forest Fealty from the half-mile pole to the wire in a display of uncommon tenacity for such an inexperienced filly. Heaven for Bid won by a head while running six furlongs in 1:09 1/5. She also dumped jockey Gary Boulanger while pulling up after the race.

“She can be a little nasty when she’s on the track,� Stute said. “She has a habit of wheeling like that. After she’d done it a couple of times in the morning, we called Perkins and asked if she’d done it for him. He said yes.�

By now, Stute is fairly certain there were no other instructions Perkins forgot to include in the package. Stute already was aware that her sire, Spectacular Bid, the 1980 horse of the year, has been a relative disappointment as a stallion, boasting only a handful of major stakes winners among his nearly 200 sons and daughters who have raced.

“I’ve always found that hard to believe, because Spectacular Bid impressed me as a tremendous racehorse,� Stute said. “Maybe that’s one of the reasons I like this filly--I keep thinking her sire is due to come up with a real good one.�

Stute could use a little spark in his barn these days. After being in the spotlight for most of the 1980s with Brave Raj, champion colt Snow Chief, Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Very Subtle and a host of other stakes horses, the chain-smoking Hoosier has fallen on quiet times.

“Our last stakes winner?� Stute wondered aloud. “Pomona, I think. But right now I’m down to the lowest number of horses I’ve had in the last 10 years.

“Many of my clients are older gentlemen,� Stute went on. “Some of them are not in good health, and others are cutting back on their horses. Then when you hit a cold streak, people tend to forget about you.�

While Heaven for Bid could get 1990 off to a good start, Stute is reserving his highest hopes for the proven filly, Kool Arrival. Now a 4-year-old, the daughter of Relaunch is on the comeback trail after an eventful 1989 campaign both on and off the track.

Kool Arrival won five of 10 starts last year, including the Las Virgenes Stakes at Santa Anita and the Rancho Bernardo Handicap at Del Mar. On Oct. 10, she went through a sales ring at Del Mar, and on Oct. 11, she made her final start of the season, finishing last in the Autumn Days Handicap at Santa Anita. Stute immediately prescribed a long rest.

“It occurred to me that I was running my best horses all wrong,� the trainer said. “The horses that seem to get all the attention anymore are the ones that win at the end of the year.

“I’m convinced Kool Arrival can be the best mare in the country this year. That’s why you won’t be seeing her until this spring and summer, with an eye on the big races in the fall.�

The identities of the 1989 horse of the year, trainer of the year and jockey of the year will be revealed today at about 2 p.m. in the Club Court at the east end of the Santa Anita clubhouse. Jim McKay will be the host for the proceedings, which will be televised as part of ABC’s “Wide World of Sports.�

Fans at the track will be able to watch the ceremony on the in-house closed-circuit system, according to Santa Anita officials. Elsewhere on the West Coast, the eight minutes of envelope-opening and video clips can be seen during the program’s regular time period, from 4:30 to 6 p.m.

Charlie Whittingham is favored to win his third Eclipse Award as the nation’s top trainer, but don’t think for a minute he lost any sleep Friday night worrying about it.

“I know better than to get all worked up,� Whittingham said earlier this week. “Look what’s happened before. In ‘73, Lucien Laurin won the Triple Crown with Secretariat, and they gave the trainer award to Allen Jerkens. When Billy Turner won the Triple Crown with Seattle Slew, they gave it to Laz (Barrera).

“And just a couple of years ago, when I won the Breeders’ Cup Classic and horse-of-the-year (honors) with Ferdinand, they gave it to (Wayne) Lukas.�

The only other viable candidate for the trainer award this time is Lukas, whose national stable led the country for the seventh straight year and included champions Open Mind and Steinlen.

Win or lose, Whittingham will be on hand to accept congratulations from McKay for training Sunday Silence and also owning 25% of the obvious choice for horse of the year. Kent Desormeaux, who won a record 597 races in 1989, is a virtual lock as the top jockey.

Horse Racing Notes

Eddie Delahoussaye missed his mounts again Friday while recovering from being kicked in the leg by a horse last Tuesday. “It was a puncture wound, and some infection set in,� Terry Lipham, Delahoussaye’s agent, said. Delahoussaye is scheduled to return today. . . . Quiet American, among the top candidates for the $500,000 Strub Stakes on Feb. 4, worked a mile on the main track at Hollywood Park Thursday morning in 1:40 2/5.

A total of 34 horses have been nominated to the Legend’s Last Ride, Bill Shoemaker’s final race, next Saturday at Santa Anita. Among the eligibles are Steinlen, Patchy Groundfog, Royal Touch, Oraibi and Miswaki Tern. . . . Lively One and Present Value head a field of eight older horses going in the $163,800 San Pasqual Handicap Sunday. Also in the field are Candi’s Gold, Attesa, Avenging Force, Raise a Stanza, Criminal Type and Stylish Winner, who finished third in the same race last year.