Grey Memo could use racing luck

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The luck of Grey Memo and Hot Market can only improve when they start in Saturday's $100,000 On Trust Handicap at Hollywood Park. Both entered the $250,000 California Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Nov. 2 as leading contenders and each had a dreadful trip.

Grey Memo was the 5-2 favorite and may have been best. He turned for home within striking range but didn't have a clear path along the inside in early stretch. Grey Memo finished fourth, 1 3/4 lengths behind winner Calkins Road.

Hot Market, who was also 5-2, reared at the start and spotted the field several lengths at the break. He finished fifth, beaten 5 1/4 lengths.

A victory on Saturday wouldn't be as lucrative as a win in the California Cup, but it could salvage the month for either Grey Memo or Hot Market.

The pair face four others, including Spinelessjellyfish, who was second in the California Cup Mile, and Waingarth, who was second in the 2001 On Trust.

Affairintheforest and Bonus Pay Day are likely longshots in the On Trust.

Grey Memo will have a new rider on Saturday. Mike Smith replaces Alex Solis, a decision that trainer Warren Stute said was made by the partnership that owns the 5-year-old Grey Memo.

"He decided not to go five wide," Stute said, defending Solis's ride in the California Cup Classic. "When you go wide, horses get beat, too. These things happen to horses. I don't blame anybody."

Grey Memo won the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at 14-1 at Del Mar in early August, followed it with a 12th in the $1 million Pacific Classic, and was then sixth in the Goodwood Breeders' Cup Handicap. Earlier this year, he went to the Middle East and won the $1 million Godolphin Mile, a race that could be on his schedule in 2003.

Last year, Grey Memo finished fourth in the On Trust Handicap, but has won four stakes here.

Hot Market races for owners Harris Farms and Per Antonsen and is trained by Craig Lewis. A 4-year-old, Hot Market was sidelined by knee problems for much of 2001, but has made up for it with three wins in nine starts this year. He finished a game second to Disturbingthepeace in the Pat O'Brien Handicap at Del Mar in August and then was pointed for the California Cup Classic.

Frankel's presence heavy

There were 14 supplemental nominations on Wednesday for the six-race Autumn Turf Festival here on Nov. 29-Dec. 1. Half of them came from trainer Bobby Frankel.

Frankel won two of the biggest races of the 2001 Festival - the $500,000 Matriarch with Starine and the $500,000 Hollywood Derby with Denon - and will have runners in those races next week.

In the Hollywood Derby, Frankel will start Inesperado and Royal Gem, both of whom were supplemented for $15,000. In the $500,000 Matriarch, the Frankel-trained Tates Creek was supplemented for $15,000. Banks Hills was already eligible, having been nominated earlier this year when trained by Andre Fabre in France.

Frankel will also start Peace Rules and Bis Repetitas in the $200,000 Generous for 2-year-olds on Nov. 30; Decarchy in the $500,000 Citation on Nov. 30; and Mockery in the $200,000 Miesque Stakes for 2-year-old fillies on Nov. 29. Supplementary nominations for the $200,000 races cost $10,000.

In the past, Frankel has criticized the early nomination procedure for the Turf Festival, saying he would prefer to supplement his hopefuls closer to the races when he has a better line on their condition.

Others who were supplemented include Ocean Drive and Tangle for the Miesque; Capsized, Kachamandi, and Kimberlite Pipe for the Citation; and Music's Storm and Union Place for the derby.

Music's Storm won the Bien Bien Stakes on Nov. 6, and Union Place is coming off a victory in the Calder Derby.

Golden Apples in Matriarch work

Golden Apples, winner of the Beverly D. Stakes and Yellow Ribbon Stakes, worked six furlongs in 1:11 on Thursday in preparation for the Matriarch Stakes.

Trained by Ben Cecil, Golden Apples needs a win in the Matriarch to attract further support for the Eclipse Award as the nation's outstanding turf filly or mare. Despite wins earlier this year, her campaign wasn't helped by a troubled fourth behind Starine in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf. Starine has since been retired.

Tates Creek and Banks Hill will be an entry in the Matriarch. Other probables include Affluent, Choc Ice, Dress to Thrill, and Tout Charmant.

Golden Apples will be ridden by Patrick Valenzuela, who hasn't ridden since Nov. 3 after serving suspensions for riding infractions earlier this year. Valenzuela dropped the appeals of those suspensions in early November, and was married during his time away from racing.