Danzilation on the run for percentage man

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Trainer Terry Jordan, who will send out probable second-choice Danzilation in Sunday's Hastings Park Speed Handicap, has consistently been one of the top percentage trainers at Hastings Park. This year is no exception: He has won with 16 of the 34 horses he has started - an impressive 47 percent win average.

Jordan started out as a part-time trainer in 1959 and had immediate success with his first horse, Rose Pea. "She was a nice mare and I think I won five races with her that year," recalled Jordan. He became a full-time trainer around 1980 and since then has won with close to 30 percent of his starters.

One of the reasons Jordan wins races at such a high rate is his ability to spot his horses where they can win, and it's not very often that his horses aren't favored.

"It's a pretty easy formula, actually. Read the condition book," he said. "Especially here, where you generally have a good idea about which horses will be entered. I'm not afraid to wait for the right spot."

Jordan, who turned 60 this year, met his wife, Yan Hua, a couple of years ago when he was involved in a hotel venture in Beijing, China. The couple recently had a daughter, Jade. "I guess it was time to settle down," laughed Jordan.

Jordan hopes that Danzilation, who needs to be in front, will also settle down when he runs Sunday. Danzilation dominated the 3-year-old division at Portland Meadows in 2001, and it looked like he would be a serious factor in the older stakes division when he finished a very close second to Lord Nelson in the George Royal Stakes, April 28. His next three starts were against stakes horses. He didn't hit the board in any of the races, but he did show tremendous speed in the 1 1/8-mile Lieutenant Governors' before fading to fifth.

Jordan dropped Danzilation into a $50,000 optional sprint on Aug. 3 and he was never threatened as he cruised to a two-length victory. Jose Alferez rode Danzilation in his last two starts and will be up again on Sunday.

"After the Lieutenant Governors', Alferez asked me if he could ride him back," said Jordan. "Danzilation kind of ran off with him in that race but he thought he could get him to run a lot better next time, which he did."

Danzilation will likely face pressure from King Jeremy Sunday and it's hard to say how he will stand up to it. "He's a free running horse and you just have to let him run the way he wants to run." Jordan said.

Babyish

Five of the seven races scheduled Friday evening are for maiden 2-year olds. One of the more interesting will be race 1. It looks contentious and features a couple of first-time starters with potential.

Cree is a half-brother to B.C. Derby candidate Blowin in the Wind and has trained well for his first start. He comes out of the Dave Forster barn.

Aquita isn't likely to be favored because she's a filly facing colts, but she bears watching as a half-sister to local champion Sophie J. Robbie Anderson trained Sophie J and he is pretty high on her younger sister. "She's shown a lot in the mornings and I think she'll be a pretty nice filly," he said. "Most of her five-furlong works have been by herself and when I hooked her up in company, she went a very fast three-eighths" - 35.80 seconds on June 17. "I'm not crazy about starting her out of the one hole though."

Anderson didn't want to run her against colts, but the filly version of the same race didn't fill and he wants to get a race into her before the Lassie Stakes, Aug. 25.