Dirt Debut Is Big Test for Sligo Bay

There is little doubt Sligo Bay has the class to compete in Saturday’s $1-million Santa Anita Handicap.

The Sadler’s Wells horse is a Grade I winner, having taken the Hollywood Turf Cup last November, and he has earned more than $484,000 while finishing first or second in 10 of 17 starts.

In the Turf Cup, the 5-year-old also showed he could stay 1 1/2 miles, which is a quarter of a mile farther than he will have to travel Saturday.

What Sligo Bay does not have is main-track experience.

He will be making his dirt debut in Santa Anita’s richest and most famous race against a field that includes Congaree, who will be the odds-on favorite, defending champion Milwaukee Brew and the talented Richard Mandella-trained duo of Kudos and Pleasantly Perfect.

With the Breeders’ Cup set for Santa Anita this fall, owner Andrea Pollack, who races under the name Columbine Stable, and trainer Beau Greely thought it was a good time to see if Sligo Bay could handle dirt. If he doesn’t run well, no harm done. Sligo Bay can return to the turf and point toward his main objective, the Breeders’ Cup Turf.

If the well-bred horse does well Saturday in the 66th Santa Anita Handicap, his connections will have a new option. He could shoot for the other big main-track prizes on the local circuit -- specifically, the Hollywood Gold Cup and Pacific Classic at Del Mar -- and wind up in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Oct. 25.

“He’s doing really well,� said Greely, 31, who has never had a Big ‘Cap starter. “He’s coming up to the race in good shape. We breezed him on the dirt at Santa Anita last week and he seemed to handle it well.�

Sligo Bay worked half a mile in 47 2/5 seconds on Feb. 18. It was the fastest of 29 drills that morning at the distance.

A victory or a placing in the top three will also make Sligo Bay more valuable as a stallion.

His mother, Angelic Song, is a full sister to multiple stakes winners Glorious Song, whose important victories included the 1980 Santa Margarita Handicap, and his sire is Devil’s Bag, so his pedigree provides hope he will run well on dirt.

“If he were to run first, second or third on Saturday, it would increase his value considerably,� said Greely, who has been training since 1997 after working as an assistant to Criquette Head and Alex Scott in Europe and Mandella in California. “We’re definitely going out there to win, but if he goes out there and runs competitively, we’ll be really happy with that.�

Congaree, who has won three in a row for owners Robert and Janice McNair’s Stonerside Stable and trainer Bob Baffert, among them the San Pasqual and San Antonio Handicaps in Arcadia, could be the pacesetter Saturday. Or, he could be tracking longshot and last-minute entrant Trompolino.

Given the relative lack of speed among the other entrants, Sligo Bay and jockey Laffit Pincay could be running third.

“He’s got some tactical speed to be up close, but Laffit’s ridden this horse in all but two of his races [in the United States], so it’ll be up to him after the gates open,� said Greely, whose father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all trainers.

Pincay will be seeking his sixth ‘Big Cap win, but his first since he teamed with the late Charlie Whittingham to win with Greinton in 1986. Bill Shoemaker is the leader with 11 race victories.

Marching toward 10,000 victories, Pincay, 56, won his first Handicap with Cougar II in 1973, then followed with victories aboard Crystal Water in 1977, Affirmed in 1979, and John Henry in 1981, before Greinton’s hard-fought decision over 157-1 longshot Herat 17 years ago.