Rock Hard Ten Shows He Has an Edge

From the stands at Santa Anita, trainer Richard Mandella looked out on the stretch run of the $300,000 Strub Stakes, and didn’t especially like what he saw.

“Imperialism was coming, and he had momentum going for him,� Mandella would say later. “My horse had the lead, but he was loafing. I was worried.�

Mandella’s horse, Rock Hard Ten, had replaced Love Of Money as the leader at the eighth pole Saturday, and now was trying to hold off the charge of the gray horse.

Ernie Moody, who owns Rock Hard Ten in a partnership with Madeleine Paulson, was like Mandella through the stretch run.

“I wanted it to be a shorter race,� Moody said.

At the wire neither Gary Stevens, riding Rock Hard Ten, nor Alex Solis, aboard Imperialism, could tell which horse put his nose on the line.

Kristin Mulhall, the trainer of Imperialism, thought they had finished second, but then she heard people around her saying she had won.

The photo-finish camera gave the nose to Rock Hard Ten, on the inside, and Mandella had won his third Strub and his fifth graded stake of the 32-day-old meet.

Mandella said his horse saw Imperialism late.

“I hoped that he would have just enough concentration to hold him off,� he said. “And he did.�

For Stevens, who second-guessed his ride, this was his only other Strub win besides the one aboard Silver Charm in 1998.

“I made a bit of a premature move going into the turn,� Stevens said. “I do believe [Imperialism] got in front of me. I just stayed busy on my horse. He’s a fighter. The move I made took away from my horse’s final punch a little bit.�

Favored Rock Hard Ten, who had won the Malibu and then skipped the San Fernando, the centerpiece of the Strub series, paid $3.60, running 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.24, the slowest time for the stake since it was shortened by an eighth of a mile in 1998. Love Of Money finished third, 3 1/2 lengths behind Imperialism. The longshot Skipaslew was scratched.

The Rock Hard Ten camp must decide whether to run the colt in the $1-million Santa Anita Handicap on March 5, or ship 8,000 miles for the $6-million Dubai World Cup on March 26. Mandella, who won the Dubai race last year with Pleasantly Perfect, said that the horse wouldn’t try to run in both races.

Imperialism, who was last after a half-mile, didn’t end his seven-race losing streak, but Mulhall, Solis and owner Steve Taub were happy with his effort. Mulhall said it was the colt’s best race since his last win, in the San Rafael at Santa Anita in March. Solis, idle since July, when he cracked a vertebra at Del Mar, rode only one race before the Strub.

Solis had never ridden Imperialism before.

“The first race back, I was a little nervous,� Solis said. “But as soon as that gate opened, I was home. Imperialism ran a great race. The other horse kept fighting us, and he didn’t get tired, but I got tired. I was just happy that he ran such a good race.�

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“How about Going Wild?� trainer Wayne Lukas said.

“Yes, that sounds like a good name,� said Beverly Lewis, who names most of the horses that she and her husband, Bob, run.

The Lewises paid $600,000 for Going Wild at auction last year, and two races before the Strub he won the $102,300 Sham Stakes, beating Papi Chullo by one length. Favored Giacomo finished third.

Going Wild’s win at 1 1/8 miles came on the heels of his six-furlong win in the San Miguel on Jan. 17.

“We got lucky in the San Miguel, because I didn’t do the best of training jobs,� Lukas said. “But to win at this distance in early February, I love this.�

Lukas hopes to run Going Wild twice before putting him in the Kentucky Derby on May 7.

“Victor [Espinoza] gave this horse a textbook ride,� Lukas said.

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Saint Liam beat favored Roses In May by 3 3/4 lengths in the $500,000 Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla. Eddington finished third. Saint Liam, who paid $5.60, ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:48 2/5 .

In races for 3-year-olds at Gulfstream, Closing Argument beat Kansas City Boy by 1 1/2 lengths in the 1 1/8 -mile Holy Bull, with previously unbeaten High Fly third; and Proud Accolade won the 7 1/2 -furlong Hutcheson by 4 1/2 lengths.

Also at Gulfstream, Sis City, partly owned by New York Yankee Manager Joe Torre, won the Davona Dale; Maddalena stayed undefeated with a win in the Old Hat; and Medallist was best in the Deputy Minister Handicap. Favored Kela was third, beaten by 7 1/4 lengths, in the Deputy Minister.

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Jockey Ron Warren Jr., injured in a spill Friday night at Bay Meadows, underwent four hours of surgery after the race and is scheduled for another operation today. Warren, 40, broke his right leg and left hip.... Yougottawanna won Bay Meadows’ Seabiscuit Handicap. Jake Skate was second.