Frankel in Festive Mood With Two Victories

About the only thing that would have made the final day of Hollywood Park’s Turf Festival better for Bobby Frankel was for Spanish Fern to have finished second in the $500,000 Matriarch.

As it was, the Hall of Fame trainer had to settle for a 1-3 finish in the Matriarch with Happyanunoit the winner two races after his Super Quercus won the $500,000 Early Times Hollywood Derby with an impressive late run Sunday.

Winning for the third time in her last four starts, Happyanunoit--the 2-1 second choice--got up to beat 2-1 favorite Tuzla by a neck and give Frankel his third victory in the last four Matriarchs.

A New Zealand-bred owned by John Amerman, Happyanunoit was positioned well off the fast pace set by longshot Candy Lonly, came widest of all in the stretch and handed Tuzla her first loss in six starts over the Hollywood Park turf course. The winner ran the 1 1/8 miles in 1:46 1/5.

“I followed Tuzla all the way around and I was a little worried when we got to the eighth pole,” said winning rider Brice Blanc. “I don’t know how my filly found another gear at the sixteenth pole.”

Along with Frankel, jockey Alex Solis was sorry to see the Turf Festival conclude.

Solis’ victory on Super Quercus in the Hollywood Derby gave him wins in half of the six Festival races--and he finished third in the other three. He also took the Miesque with Prairie Princess on Friday and the Citation Handicap with Brave Act on Saturday.

Making his second start in the United States for owners Charles Kenis and Audrey Skirball, Super Quercus, a French-bred lagged near the back of the 14-horse field early, then swung to the outside entering the stretch and overtake Manndar to win by two lengths in 1:45 4/5 for the 1 1/8 miles.

“I could not have asked for a better trip,” said Solis. “The main concern was just to keep him out of trouble and that’s what happened.

“I got him outside at the three-sixteenths pole and he flew home. The way he was moving at the eighth pole, the only question in my mind was how far he was going to win by.”

Mula Gula, the 5-2 favorite in the Derby, was sixth--the worst finish finish of his 14-race career.

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Jockey Laffit Pincay moved to within nine victories of Bill Shoemaker’s career record of 8,833 when he won the $75,000 Queen Of The Green Handicap at Turf Paradise in Phoenix with 11-10 favorite Kits Peak. It was Pincay’s lone mount on Sunday at the track and he is named on three horses on Wednesday’s program at Hollywood Park.

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Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Silic will not start in the $1 million Hong Kong Mile on Dec. 12 because the 4-year-old colt has been coughing and has a slight temperature, trainer Julio Canani said.

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Jockey Isaias Enriquez was examined and released from Centinela Hospital Medical Center after being dumped by Be A Clown after the first race. X-rays were negative and Enriquez is expected to ride on Wednesday.

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Looking For Art, a 3-year-old pacing colt who was the runner-up in the Little Brown Jug Sept. 23 and winner of the Windy City Pace Nov. 19, was found dead in his stall in Greenville, Ohio.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Countdown to 8,833

Riding to the Record

Charting Laffit Pincay Jr. as he closes in on Bill Shoemaker’s record for victories as a jockey:

Sunday at Turf Paradise

Mounts: 1

Victories: 1

Overall: 8,824

Wins needed for tie: 9