Hariboux rises to the occasion in Cinema Stakes

Hariboux isn’t very big, but he stood tall on Saturday at Santa Anita, holding off his stablemate K P All Systems Go in a thrilling stretch drive to capture the $150,000 Cinema Stakes for 3-year-old turf runners.

Hariboux ($3.60), favored in a field of five, overtook pacesetting Dominant Soul coming off the bend and stayed in front the whole way down the lane to prevail by a neck. Heywoods Beach was another length back in third, then came Dominant Soul and Liar Liar. Club Aspen and Constitutionaffair were scratched.

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The only one who wasn’t concerned with who would prevail was Jeff Mullins, who trains both. Hariboux, like the older Grade 1 winner River Boyne – also trained by Mullins for the Cohen family’s Red Barons Barn and Rancho Temescal – is an undersized import who has thrived since coming to this country.

The Cinema was the third win in the last five starts for Hariboux, a gelding who is now 6 for 11. Most significantly, though, this was his first try at 1 1/8 miles after running five straight times at one mile since arriving from his native Great Britain. He was ridden by Umberto Rispoli, whom Mullins credited with realizing the pace was unfolding at a crawl. Rispoli moved Hariboux three paths wide entering the first turn to advance from last to second.

“He took it upon himself to get up and get position,” Mullins said. “I hadn’t given him any instructions. Normally you’re cussing when they make a move like that, but it worked out.”

K P All Systems Go, meanwhile, “got buried on the rail behind a slow pace,” Mullins said. Jockey Abel Cedillo got him out in upper stretch and K P All Systems Go had dead aim on Hariboux the final furlong, but Hariboux would not let him by.

Dominant Soul led early through an opening quarter in 24.64 seconds, during which Rispoli made his move, a half in 49.63 seconds, and six furlongs in 1:14.22. Hariboux got first run on his stablemate, and completed 1 1/8 miles on the firm course in 1:50.29.

But while K P All Systems Go took the worst of it from a pace standpoint, it was Hariboux who had the worst of it coming into the race. He had missed some training time in late April and early May, Mullins said, because “he got loose one morning, slid, and cut up an elbow.”

“He missed a work, but he still got the job done,” Mullins said.

Mullins said he likes horses the size of River Boyne and Hariboux because “little horses have a better turn of foot on grass.”

“This horse looks like River Boyne when we got him,” Mullins said.

If Hariboux turns out as good, that’ll be big.