Mandella Caught in Classic Dilemma

Gentlemen, the probable favorite in the $4-million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Hollywood Park on Nov. 8, is likely to miss the race because of a virus, trainer Richard Mandella said Friday.

“He’s very doubtful,” Mandella said. “I need to get a solid mile workout into him, and right now I don’t know when I’ll be able to do that.”

Should Gentlemen miss the race and cost the Classic its biggest drawing card, a Breeders’ Cup early-payment rule again will come under scrutiny. Gentlemen’s owners, among them R.D. Hubbard, the chairman of Hollywood Park, are required to make a pre-entry payment of $267,000 by noon Monday to make the horse eligible. That money is not refundable, should he not run.

Gentlemen, who was bred in Argentina, was not nominated for the Breeders’ Cup by his breeder. His current owners must pay $800,000--20% of the purse--to make him eligible, and the first third is due Monday. The rest, which is refundable should a horse scratch, is due at entry time Nov. 5.

“If it was a normal race, I could play it closer to the vest,” Mandella said. “But with that Monday payment deadline, I just don’t know.”

In most stakes races, nonrefundable supplementary payments are due at entry time, which is usually 48 hours before the race.

Twice before, owners have made substantial early supplementary payments to the Breeders’ Cup and then forfeited their money because their horses were unable to run.

In 1984, the first year of the Breeders’ Cup, John Henry was scheduled to run in the $2-million Turf at Hollywood Park and his owner, Sam Rubin, paid $130,000 of the $400,000 supplementary. A few days later, John Henry was scratched because of a leg injury.

Then in 1992, at Gulfstream Park, Verne Winchell paid $120,000 of the $360,000 that was necessary to make Sea Cadet eligible for the $3-million Classic. Three days before the race, and a few hours before entries were drawn, Sea Cadet injured himself in a morning gallop and was withdrawn.

Hubbard, the principal owner of Gentlemen with a 40% interest, was traveling Friday and D.G. Van Clief, president of the Breeders’ Cup, also could not be reached for comment.

“When the rule was put in, at the start of the Breeders’ Cup, the idea was to eliminate gamesmanship,” said Jim Gluckson, a Breeders’ Cup spokesman. “The idea was to make sure the supplemental horses were actually going to run.”

Before Gentlemen ran a fever that reached 102 degrees Thursday, two to three degrees higher than normal for a horse, he was scheduled to work a mile at Hollywood Park on Sunday. The 5-year-old’s temperature went down slightly late Thursday, but Friday morning it was still over 101. There is also a cellular imbalance in his blood. He is being treated with antibiotics for what is not considered a life-threatening situation.

“There’s no cause for great alarm,” Mandella said. “But coming at the time it has, there’s a big question mark. He’s just sick now, but we don’t want to do anything that could make him real sick. I would have to gallop him for a couple of days before he had that mile work, and the temperature has to go down before we think about that. You don’t want to do anything that would run this into pneumonia.

“The plan is to run the horse next year, and we don’t want to push him into this race and jeopardize what we have down the road.”

Mandella said Gentlemen’s problems this week are unrelated to the ulcerated throat that compromised his chances when he ran fourth in the Woodbine Mile on Sept. 20. Gentlemen’s throat condition has cleared up, he said.

Gentlemen has won four of six starts this year, including victories in the Pimlico Special, the Hollywood Gold Cup and the Pacific Classic at Del Mar, and is a candidate for horse of the year.

In July, the Breeders’ Cup, recognizing that several good horses weren’t eligible, made a change in one of its supplementary rules that encouraged Hubbard and his partners to run Gentlemen. Most of the supplementary money will be added to the purses in the seven Breeders’ Cup races.

Another horse-of-the-year candidate, Skip Away, will be running in the Classic after his owner, Carolyn Hine, announced she would be paying a $480,000 supplemental to make him eligible. The first $160,000 of that amount is due Monday.

Skip Away, last year’s champion 3-year-old, has won only three of nine starts this year, but last Saturday was a convincing winner in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park. Sonny Hine, husband of Skip Away’s owner, said he has hired Mike Smith to ride in the Classic. Jerry Bailey, who rode Skip Away last Saturday, is committed to ride Behrens at Hollywood Park.

Skip Away, Formal Gold and Touch Gold will vie for favoritism in the Classic, which probably will have a larger field if Gentlemen doesn’t run. Other probables are Deputy Commander, Down The Aisle, Whiskey Wisdom and Dowty. The trainers of Honor Glide, Anet and Savinio are also considering the race.

Breeders’ Cup Notes

Sandpit may be a $240,000 supplementary entry in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. . . . Las Vegas oddsmaker Roxy Roxborough’s line on Gentlemen went from 9-5 to 5-2. Roxborough has both Formal Gold and Skip Away at 3-1 in the Classic, and Touch Gold at 7-2. Touch Gold, who’ll be ridden by Chris McCarron, worked a mile in 1:39 and Deputy Commander, with his Classic jockey, Corey Nakatani, aboard, went seven-eighths in 1:24 2/5. . . . Formal Gold worked seven furlongs at Hollywood Park in 1:25 2/5.

Favorites in the other Breeders’ Cup races are Singspiel, 4-5 in the Turf; Spinning World, 3-1 in the Mile; Hidden Lake, 3-1 in the Distaff; Richter Scale, 3-1 in the Sprint; Favorite Trick, 3-2 in the Juvenile; and Countess Diana, 3-2 in the Juvenile Fillies. . . . Gary Stevens will ride Grand Slam in the Juvenile, enabling McCarron to regain the mount on Souvenir Copy. . . . Stevens will ride Silver Maiden in the Juvenile Fillies. . . . Trainer Bob Baffert has decided not to run Marie J. in the Juvenile Fillies and another of his 2-year-olds, Eastside Westside, is tabbed to run on the grass at Hollywood Park on Nov. 5, opening day.