THOROUGHBRED RACING : Pleasant Tap Gets a Clear Shot, Wins the Suburban Handicap

Pleasant Tap, who would have won the Nassau County Handicap on June 6 with a clear trip, got one Saturday and defeated Strike The Gold in the $500,000 Suburban Handicap at Belmont Park.

Third along the rail most of the way under Eddie Delahoussaye in the seventh leg of the American Championship Racing Series, Pleasant Tap took over the lead from longshot Defensive Play with about a furlong to run and went on to beat Strike The Gold by 1 1/2 lengths in 2:00 1/5 for the 1 1/4 miles.

Strike The Gold, far back early as stablemate Loach took a seven-length lead while setting the pace with a half-mile in 46 flat, finished 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Defensive Play, who was ridden by David Flores.

The big disappointment in the Suburban was Sultry Song, the upset winner of the Hollywood Gold Cup last month. He finished ahead of only Crackedbell and more than nine lengths behind Pleasant Tap.

“I didn’t have any horse at any time,� said Jerry Bailey, Sultry Song’s rider.

Pleasant Tap’s eighth victory in 29 starts and first at 1 1/4 miles moved him into a three-way tie for third in the ACRS point standings. He has 17, the same as Twilight Agenda and Sea Cadet. Strike The Gold moved into the lead with 27 to 23 for the sidelined Best Pal.

A 5-year-old son of Pleasant Colony, Pleasant Tap hasn’t been worse than second in his last six starts. He carried 119 pounds Saturday, the same as Strike The Gold, who carried 116 during his Nassau County victory.

“The weight shift helped him, but he had traffic problems in his last race,� winning trainer Chris Speckert said. “He was the best horse today, but I thought he was the best horse last time.�

All Delahoussaye knows is that Pleasant Tap loves the Belmont surface.

“Every time he runs on it, he runs great,� he said. “If he continues to run the way he has been, I don’t see why he wouldn’t be considered the best horse in the country. He’s as good as any horse in the country right now.

“I just left him alone down the backside. He was comfortable where he was. Sometimes, he has a tendency to lug in, but when I pulled him out to make his run, he did everything just perfect. He has a lot of talent, but he can be temperamental.�

Strike The Gold was 21 lengths behind Loach after a half mile.

“I thought with that fast work (a 1:34 3/5 mile on July 4) he might be closer to the pace, might stay up there closer to Loach,� trainer Nick Zito said. “But he lost contact with the field. He finished well, made a big run.

“Loach did exactly what we wanted him to do. But, the (front-runner) can help you or it can help others. When you have a pacesetter like that, the winner is going to be a horse coming from off the pace . . . this time it just wasn’t us. Maybe next time we’ll get lucky.�

Pleasant Tap, who paid $6 to win at Belmont Park, returned $5.60 at Hollywood Park, where the race was simulcast.

After spending the week in court, Chris McCarron got a rude welcome back to Hollywood Park Saturday.

Riding No Commitment in the second race, McCarron was dumped shortly after the start. “The left side of my head hit (the ground) really hard,� said the jockey, who is involved in a lawsuit regarding the alleged mismanagement of his investments. “When I got back here (to the jockey’s room), I had a really throbbing headache.�

McCarron sat out the next two races and lost a winner--Brave Hearted, a 2-year-old Dancing Brave filly who won in her first start under Goncalino Almeida in the fourth race.

By the end of the afternoon, McCarron wasn’t complaining. He won four consecutive races, capped by Forest Glow’s two-length victory over Glen Kate in the $153,850 Hollywood Park Budweiser Breeders’ Cup.

It was the second consecutive victory for the 5-year-old Green Forest horse in the race and he has lost only once in seven sprints on the turf. The defeat was by a nose to Apollo on June 30, 1991.

The 7-10 favorite, Forest Glow took a clear lead, then held off Glen Kate, the only female in the field of five, in the final sixteenth and won in 1:01 4/5 for the 5 1/2 furlongs.

The 123-pound highweight, Forest Glow has 10 victories in 19 starts and trainer Brad MacDonald said he probably will make his next start on dirt in one of two stakes at Del Mar, either the six-furlong Bing Crosby or the seven-furlong Pat O’Brien.

Horse Racing Notes

Jockey Chris McCarron’s other victories came on heavily favored Devil’s Orchid and on two Julio Canani-trained horses, Odalea and Saratoga Gambler. Odalea defeated 7-5 favorite Danzante by a half-length in the $61,200 Matinee Stakes. . . . Paseana, winner of six consecutive stakes, is the 2-5 morning line favorite for the $300,000 Vanity Handicap today at Hollywood Park. The 127-pound highweight, the 5-year-old Ahmad mare will be spotting her six rivals from nine to 15 pounds. The other entrants: the Allen Paulson-owned Fowda and Campagnarde; Guiza; Laramie Moon; Steff Graf, and Re Toss.

Since the Grade I Vanity is a designated race, Pat Valenzuela will be able to ride Fowda even though he will begin a five-day suspension today. Valenzuela was disqualified aboard Never Canceled in the sixth race on Thursday. . . . Superstrike, who is trained by Bruce Jackson and ridden by Danny Sorenson, won the $300,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash by nearly five lengths Saturday at Laurel. A 3-year-old bred in England, Superstrike paid $28.20 and was timed in 1:09 4/5 for the six furlongs. The victory was worth $180,000 to owner David Kruse. Dolly’s Fortune, ridden by Kent Desormeaux, was seventh in the Dash and behind him were Fabulous Champ (11th under Corey Nakatani) and Southern Justice (12th under Alex Solis).