El Cielo Easily Wins Santa Anita Feature

But for a neck, El Cielo would be undefeated in his last eight races.

Trainer Craig Dollase’s reliable 7-year-old gelding, running farther than 6 1/2 furlongs for the first time, drubbed a solid field of grass horses Thursday at Santa Anita in a $72,000 optional claiming race.

Second to El Cielo, beaten by 4 1/2 lengths, was Hawksley Hill, an 8-year-old gelding who has earned $1.5 million. Third, a neck behind Hawksley Hill, was Redattore, a South American import making his first start for trainer Richard Mandella. Both of the runners-up were returning from long layoffs and hadn’t run in 2000.

El Cielo’s only loss in his last eight starts was to Fabulous Guy by a neck in the Reb’s Policy Handicap at Santa Anita last February. El Cielo won two races before that, and has won five in a row since. Overall, he’s had 11 wins and two seconds in 17 starts and earned $536,895.

Another of El Cielo’s losses came at Santa Anita in March 1999, when he broke in the air and unseated jockey Jose Valdivia Jr. El Cielo broke awkwardly again Thursday, but Valdivia stayed aboard this time.

“He didn’t break well, but that might have been a blessing in disguise,” Valdivia said. “This horse makes it look easy.”

Valdivia has ridden El Cielo 10 times, winning seven. He was busy riding in Japan in November, when Corey Nakatani took over for a win in the Hollywood Turf Express Handicap.

El Cielo has now won eight of 11 starts at Santa Anita. He paid $4.60 as the favorite, hitting the wire in 1:33 1/5 for the mile.

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With harness racing now concentrated in Northern California, Los Alamitos will begin year-round quarter horse racing tonight with a 50-night meet that runs through April 29. The second meet, for mixed breeds, is 132 nights and runs from May 3 through Dec. 16.

The first meet will offer racing three nights a week, Friday through Sunday. There will be no live races at Los Alamitos on Super Bowl Sunday, Jan. 28. The longer meet runs four nights a week.

The opening-night feature is the $27,500 Millennium Handicap, which has drawn nine horses, among them Meddlin In Money, winner of the Breeders Championship Classic on Dec. 17.

Dashing Knud, winner of the Los Alamitos Million, is expected to make his first start as a 3-year-old in the Derby trials on Feb. 10.

Horse Racing Notes

Jockey Pat Valenzuela told the Daily Racing Form that he hopes to make a comeback in February. Valenzuela, who won the 1989 Kentucky Derby with Sunday Silence, has been in trouble much of his career because of drug and alcohol abuse. He tested positive for amphetamines early last year and is not eligible for relicensing until Feb. 11. The California Horse Racing Board will determine whether he gets another chance. . . . Tiznow, who has been training with a patched quarter crack, is scheduled to work seven furlongs Saturday. . . . Surfside is a possibility for the El Encino Stakes on Jan. 21.