After interrupted work, Senor Buscador goes three-eighths

Officially, Senor Buscador worked three furlongs in 36.60 seconds at Santa Anita on Friday in advance of a scheduled start in the Grade 1 California Crown on Sept. 28, but there was much more to his morning exercise.

The workout was part of a disrupted trip to the track for Senor Buscador, best known for winning the $20 million Saudi Cup in Saudi Arabia in February.

Senor Buscador was in the midst of a five-furlong workout when he was pulled up by jockey Joe Talamo after a siren went off, notifying jockeys and exercise riders of a mishap on the track. In this case, a horse had unseated a rider, Talamo said.

Riders at Southern California tracks are required to immediately stop working horses when sirens are triggered, in an effort to ensure safety.

Talamo pulled up Senor Buscador from the abandoned workout after a quarter-mile and then regrouped before working the 6-year-old three furlongs.

“It was unfortunate,” Talamo said of the sequence of events. “The plan was to go five-eighths. He went about a quarter-mile before the alarm went off.”

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Though far from a conventional morning, Senor Buscador handled the situation well, Talamo said.

“It didn’t take too much out of him,” he said. “It was like an interval work and that was not on the menu today, not what we planned and hoped for.”

Fincher, who spent Friday overseeing his horses at The Downs at Albuquerque, was left frustrated by the situation.

“It was [messed] up,” he said.

The $1 million California Crown is run at 1 1/8 miles. The winner receives a fees-paid berth to the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at 1 1/4 miles at Del Mar on Nov. 2.

Owned by Joe Peacock, Jr., Senor Buscador has started twice since his lucrative win in the Saudi Cup. Senor Buscador was a well-beaten third behind Laurel River in the $12 million Dubai World Cup in March before being rested through the spring. In his only start of the summer, Senor Buscador finished fourth in the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes at seven furlongs at Del Mar on Aug. 24.

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