Weekend Racing at Santa Anita : Ferdinand to Carry 128 Pounds as Favorite in San Antonio ‘Cap

Had Ferdinand been assigned just one more pound for Sunday’s $250,000 San Antonio Handicap at Santa Anita, trainer Charlie Whittingham probably would have left him in the barn.

Whittingham had expected a San Antonio impost of 127 pounds for last year’s horse of the year, but 128 from Tom Robbins, the Santa Anita racing secretary, isn’t enough to make the trainer skip the race. Ferdinand, making his first start since becoming a 5-year-old on Jan. 1, can use the San Antonio as a prep for his rematch with Alysheba in the $1-million San Anita Handicap on March 6.

Whittingham has won the Big ‘Cap seven times, and in three of those years--with Pretense in 1967, Ack Ack in 1971 and Lord at War in 1985--his horses also won the San Antonio.

If Ferdinand wins Sunday as the odds-on favorite, how he wins will determine how much weight he’ll carry in the Big ‘Cap. This is one of those times when Whittingham and jockey Bill Shoemaker wouldn’t mind taking one of those nose decisions that Ferdinand frequently finds himself involved in, one way or the other.

Chris McCarron, who will ride Alysheba in the Big ‘Cap, will be trying to beat Ferdinand in the San Antonio with Sabona, a longshot.

“If Ferdinand wins Sunday, I hope it’s by the length of the stretch,” McCarron said. “Because maybe then they’ll pile some weight on him in the Big ‘Cap.”

Under 126 pounds, Alysheba was a convincing winner of the Charles H. Strub Stakes last Sunday, and is expected to pick up a pound for the Big ‘Cap. A win in the San Antonio will probably also add a pound to Ferdinand’s burden March 6, which would leave the two rivals two pounds apart, 129-127. Alysheba, who won last year’s Kentucky Derby, the year after Ferdinand, is now a 4-year-old, but there’s no concession on the scale of weights for a horse his age running against older horses at 1 miles--the Big ‘Cap distance--in March.

At 128 pounds, Ferdinand is carrying the most weight of his life. He carried 126 for two of the big wins in his career--the Kentucky Derby in 1986 and the Breeders’ Cup Classic last year--and he won the 1987 Hollywood Gold Cup at 124 pounds.

The last horse to win the 1 1/8-mile San Antonio while carrying more than 126 pounds was Gun Bow with 129 in 1965.

In Sunday’s seven-horse field, Ferdinand’s most viable opposition comes from his own barn. Whittingham is also starting Judge Angelucci and Swink, who will be running on dirt for the first time.

The Whittingham runners drew the first three post positions, with Ferdinand and Shoemaker on the rail and just outside them Swink and Laffit Pincay and Judge Angelucci and Eddie Delahoussaye.

Judge Angelucci, a close second in the San Pasqual Handicap to Super Diamond, who will also be a factor in the Big ‘Cap, is next in the weights to Ferdinand with 122 pounds. Swink carries 117.

Rounding out the field are Faster Than Sound and Gary Stevens, 113 pounds; He’s a Saros with Jorge Velasquez, 113; Sabona and McCarron, 114, and Crimson Slew with Rafael Meza, 115.

Whittingham was asked if he was concerned about Ferdinand facing too much weight later in the year. “I shouldn’t be because they don’t pile on the weight like they used to,” the trainer said. “John Henry, he went through his entire career carrying 127 or 128 most of the time.”

John Henry, who retired in 1984, still holds the record for earnings with almost $6.6 million, which is unusual because there has been a surfeit of million-dollar races in recent years.

If they stay sound, Ferdinand and Alysheba have good shots at John Henry’s money record. Ferdinand could go over the $3.5-million mark Sunday, and Alysheba reached the $3.1-million level with his win in the Strub.

Ferdinand could have even more opportunities for rich purses than Alysheba if Whittingham decides to try him on the grass again. The trainer has the Arlington Million on his mind, which will be run at Woodbine in August.

Though bred for grass--a son of Nijinsky II and a grandson of Northern Dancer--Ferdinand’s only two turf starts, last spring, were disappointments.

“The first time he ran on grass, he ran badly, and that was my fault,” Whittingham said. “The second time was my fault again.”

But Whittingham keeps looking at Ferdinand’s pedigree and tells himself that eventually the horse will wake up on the grass.

Horse Racing Notes

Ferdinand worked a half-mile Friday in :47 1/5. Swink worked three-eighths of a mile in a quick :34 4/5. . . . Ferdinand’s last race, nine weeks ago, was his win by a nose over Alysheba in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The last time Ferdinand ran off of a long rest, he returned from a vacation of more than six months and took the Malibu at Santa Anita in December of 1986. . . . The last two horse-of-the-year champions--Ferdinand and Lady’s Secret--continued to race. The four champions before that--Spend a Buck, John Henry, All Along and Conquistador Cielo--were retired.

Pat Valenzuela has missed riding 12 days this season, the last 6 in succession, and he’s not scheduled to ride today or Sunday. Four times in recent years Valenzuela has unexpectedly discontinued riding, telling stewards that he had personal problems or was ill. . . . A field of 9 or 10 is likely for Monday’s $200,000 San Luis Obispo Handicap, at 1 1/2 miles on the turf. The high weights are Forlitano at 121 pounds and Rivlia at 120. . . . Twelve fillies and mares have been invited to the 1 1/8-mile Santa Margarita Handicap a week from Sunday, with Very Subtle heading the list at 120 pounds, followed by Mausie and Top Corsage at 119 apiece. . . . The Breeders’ Cup Distaff, which had been a 1-mile race, has been shortened to 1 1/8 miles when it’s run at Churchill Downs in November. The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and the Juvenile Fillies, which were mile races last November at Hollywood Park, go back to 1 1/16 miles. . . . Landseer won Friday’s first race at Santa Anita and paid $193.60, the track’s biggest win price of the season. The daily double of $1,381.60 was also a season high, with Sea Cache, at $11.60, winning the second race. Landseer, 3 for 53 lifetime, hadn’t run since last March and hadn’t won in almost 15 months.