Sharp Cat Gets Taste of the Unexpected

Sharp Cat defeated the two fillies that were expected to be her main competition in the $200,000 Mother Goose Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

However, Sharp Cat had to settle for second place because she had no answer for 18-1 shot Ajina in the final sixteenth of the race.

At the wire, Ajina, trained by Bill Mott for owner Allen Paulson, had 1 1/4 lengths on Sharp Cat and completed the 1 1/8 miles in 1:48 2/5 under Mike Smith.

Sharp Cat, the 4-5 favorite trained by Wayne Lukas, finished two lengths ahead of 8-5 second choice Tomisue’s Delight and 5 1/2 clear of 9-2 third choice Salt It.

In trying to emulate her earlier victory in the Acorn Stakes at Belmont on May 31, Sharp Cat took the lead easily from her inside post under Gary Stevens and was left alone up front in setting fast fractions of 22 3/5, 45 4/5 and 1:10 2/5 for six furlongs.

Ajina, closest to Sharp Cat throughout the race, moved up around the turn to get within a head of the lead after a 1:35 3/5 mile and then took over late with strong urging from Smith--much to the amazement of Mott.

“This is such a big surprise, especially in a tough race like this against Sharp Cat,” said Mott. “Going into the race, I wasn’t sure if [Ajina] was going to be able to outrun [Sharp Cat], but we really weren’t left with that many options. I guess we’ll have to chalk this one up to luck.”

Lukas offered no excuses for Sharp Cat, who was going for her sixth Grade I victory.

“I thought we got away with realistic fractions, so I thought we were in good shape,” he said. “[In the Acorn] we had to go 1:08 and change and still were able to get it done going a mile. But [Ajina] tracked us from a good spot and had a better day than us. We were in a position to win it and just couldn’t hold off the winner.”

The Mother Goose was the second leg of New York’s Triple Tiara series--which is three races for 3-year-old fillies. The final race in the Tiara is the Coaching Club American Oaks at Belmonton July 19, but Sharp Cat could return to California and run in the $200,000 Hollywood Oaks on July 6.

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Trainer Richard Mandella, who could be running as much as two-thirds of the field in the $1-million Hollywood Gold Cup a week from today, had three of his four possible entrants work seven furlongs Saturday morning.

Siphon, the defending champion who will try to become the only horse other than three-time winner Native Diver to repeat in the Gold Cup, worked the fastest. Exercising alone, he went the distance in 1:24.

Gentlemen and Sandpit, meanwhile, worked in company and were timed in 1:25 2/5.

“They all looked really good today,” Mandella said. “They’re as good as they can be.”

Of the three, Gentlemen is the only one coming off a victory. He defeated Skip Away in the Pimlico Special over a month ago. Siphon, who missed the Californian Handicap at Hollywood Park on June 1 because of some minor muscle soreness, hasn’t raced since finishing second to Singspiel in the $4-million Dubai World Cup in late March. Sandpit finished last in the Hollywood Turf Handicap after setting a very slow pace.

Talloires, the fourth Mandella probable, worked a mile on turf in 1:36 on Thursday. Other possibles for the 1 1/4-mile Gold Cup are Marlin, River Keen and Will’s Way.

Marlin was fourth in the Santa Anita Handicap in his last race on the dirt, while River Keen was the upset winner of the Californian in his U.S. debut. The decision whether to run Will’s Way in the Californian will be made a workout this morning at Belmont.

Horse Racing Notes

Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Silver Charm got a standing ovation from a crowd of 14,000 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., as he was brought out onto the track for a workout after the fifth race. Silver Charm, who went three furlongs in 33 4/5, returned to Churchill Downs after losing to Touch Gold in the Belmont Stakes on June 7 in a bid to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. Silver Charm’s next race will be the $1 million Haskell Invitational on Aug. 3 at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J. . . . The entry of Twice The Vice and Exotic Wood was still intact as of late Saturday afternoon and will be the 4-5 favorite in the $200,000 Milady Breeders’ Cup Handicap today at Hollywood Park. Twice The Vice could be scratched this morning by trainer Ron Ellis and run instead in Saturday’s $250,000 Hempstead Handicap. . . . K.O. Punch, the 1-2 favorite, won for the second time in two starts with a 12-length victory in the $66,630 Haggin Stakes for 2-year-olds Saturday at Hollywood Park. He was ridden by Chris McCarron for trainer Wayne Lukas and owner The Thoroughbred Corp. of Prince Ahmed Salman. K.O. Punch completed the 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:03 4/5.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.