Hollywood Invitational : In Blanket Finish, 6 Break Record

Just what does it take to win around here anyway?

There will be more than a few trainers and jockeys at Hollywood Park asking themselves precisely that question this morning.

On Monday, in the $300,000 Hollywood Invitational, six horses broke the course record for a mile and a quarter. But there was only one winner.

In the most dramatic finish seen at the Inglewood track this meeting, Political Ambition, ridden by Eddie Delahoussaye, won the Grade I stake in 1:58 3/5, shaving two-fifths of a second off the turf course record set by Estrapade in 1986.

But it was not the winner’s time that had the crowd of 35,850 on its feet for the entire stretch drive, it was the fact that six horses were battling neck and neck the whole way to the wire. The race was so close that even after it was over no one was quite sure who had won.

Eventually, once the photo had been studied at length, the top six finishers in the seven-horse field were separated by, respectively, a neck, a nose, nothing (there was a dead heat for third) a head and another head. In all, there was less than a length between first-place Political Ambition and sixth-place Rivlia.

Since a length in horse racing translates into a fifth of a second, each of the top six finishers bettered Estrapade’s time, but five of them lost all the same.

“It almost looked like a quarter horse race coming down the stretch,” said Chris McCarron, who was trying to repeat his victory of a year ago on Rivlia.

There was a difference this time around, however. Whereas in its first 19 editions the Invitational had been run at 1 1/2 miles, this time it was set for just 1 miles. According to McCarron, had they run another quarter-mile, Rivlia still would not have won.

“He was about a length off the lead turning for home and he got beat a length,” McCarron said. “He ran good, he just couldn’t get to them.”

The only horse that did not run well, in fact, was Swink, who finished last, 8 1/2 lengths behind the winner. Jockey Laffit Pincay rode four winners Monday, but aboard Swink he was never in contention.

It was relative longshot Baba Karam, with Aaron Gryder in the irons, who got up for second, a neck behind Political Ambition and a nose ahead of Gary Stevens on Skip Out Front and Ray Sibille on Great Communicator. The latter two finished in a dead heat for third place. A head behind was Roi Normand with Fernando Toro aboard, then came Rivlia and finally, trailing, came Swink.

The victory was Political Ambition’s sixth in 13 career starts and his fifth on the turf. It was worth $165,000 to his owners, Clover Racing Stable and partners, and almost doubled the 4-year-old bay colt’s earnings, increasing them to $447,155.

According to Delahoussaye, Political Ambition, a grandson of Round Table by Kirtling out of Rose Pink, had to go full bore to win and probably would have lost had the race been run at the old distance.

“He was all out trying to win,” Delahoussaye said. “You don’t worry about how much horse you have left, you just try to get to the wire first.”

This is something Delahoussaye has done quite frequently of late. In addition to his victory on Risen Star in the Preakness Stakes, the 36-year-old jockey has won the John Henry, the Mervyn LeRoy and the Will Rogers handicaps in the past three weeks.

Speaking of his latest win, Delahoussaye was his usual low-key self. He was not even aware of setting a course record, he said.

“Fast tracks make fast times,” he said, “but he’s a nice colt, anyway. He’s a hard-trying colt. It worked out great. I’m tickled to death.”

Trained by Neil Drysdale, who also sent out John Henry Handicap winner Deputy Governor and Will Rogers Handicap winner Word Pirate, Political Ambition was coming off a seventh-place finish in the Early Times Classic at Churchill Downs. He had won a division of the Hollywood Derby on the Hollywood Park course last November, but even that performance was nothing compared to his effort Monday.

Political Ambition paid his backers $7.40, $5.40 and $2.60. The Irish-bred Baba Karam, making only his fourth American start and his first at Hollywood Park, paid $14.60 and $4.20, while Great Communicator, who finished second in the 1987 Invitational, and Skip Out Front each returned $2.20.