Hollywood Park handicapping roundup: Week of Nov. 30

A $136 winner – and the rest of the story

When a horse pays $136, such as Royaly Dunn on Nov. 23, sometimes there is a story.

“People don’t see behind the scenes,” trainer Caesar Dominguez said a day after Saul Arias rode Royaly Dunn to the meet’s highest payoff in a $32,000 maiden-claiming sprint.

Royaly Dunn was unplaced in three previous starts, twice under leading rider Rafael Bejarano. When Bejarano jumped to another horse, it seemed he had given up.

But according to Dominguez, Bejarano did not give up despite an Oct. 19 route at Santa Anita in which Royaly Dunn set the pace and faded to seventh.

“Something happened,” Bejarano told Dominguez. “She might have bled. Shorten her up, and I want to ride her back.”

Dominguez nodded. “Okay,” he said, and took Royaly Dunn back to his barn. It turns out, Bejarano was right.

“We scoped her, and she had a lot of mucus, and she bled,” Dominguez said.

Perhaps there was hope. Royaly Dunn had an alibi – she was sick. “I told my clients I have to hit her with antibiotics, and I can’t run her for [at least] 30 days,” Dominguez said. He is accustomed to waiting.

Dominguez, 65, once operated a top stable. His top runners included Grade 2 winner Fit to Lead; three-time stakes winner Wind Flow; Regal Groom, a stakes winner at all four Thoroughbred tracks on the circuit; and Awesome Gambler.

The stable slowed when Dominguez stopped buying yearlings.

“We used to go to Kentucky every year and buy 10 or 15 babies, but my clients are retired, and they’re not buying anymore,” he said. “So, now I am depending on California breeders.”

Dominguez is down to 12 horses. His most recent win had been more than a year ago, on Nov. 11, 2012.

Through it all, the affable Dominguez always has had a smile. He has won almost 600 races; his horses have earned almost $15 million.

“It’s not that I’m a bad trainer, it’s that I have no stock,” he said. “You could give these horses to Bob Baffert, John Sadler, or Todd Pletcher, and they’re not going to win with them.”

Royaly Dunn recovered from her sickness, and Dominguez contacted Bejarano’s agent to ride her back. He declined, noting that he already committed to the favorite, Mini Candy, a first-timer trained by Sadler. Dominguez named Arias on 67-1 outsider Royaly Dunn.
“If she breaks good, let her go,” Dominguez told Arias. He rode to instructions.

Royaly Dunn broke running, battled between foes, set the pace, got headed, kept fighting, and won by a head with a nice ride from Arias.

Sometimes there is a story behind a longshot. The filly’s bleeding and sickness gave her an alibi for a recent loss. The other key factor that contributed to her win was this: Royaly Dunn beat a weak group. She went six furlongs in 1:13.34 and earned a 34 Beyer Speed Figure.

Diamond Bachelor benched

Stakes-winning 2-year-old Diamond Bachelor will skip the Grade 1 CashCall Futurity on Dec. 14 after all and target a 3-year-old campaign, according to trainer Patrick Biancone.

Sired by War Front, Diamond Bachelor had two wins and a second on turf before he misfired on dirt in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

“The important thing is he came back good,” Biancone said. “We decided to give him the break we were going to give him anyway and have a nice 3-year-old.”

Biancone did not specify where Diamond Bachelor will return. The colt’s best races have been on turf, but he could try once more on the main track.

“Everything is still open,” Biancone said.

CashCall Futurity candidates

Tamarando ran himself into the CashCall Futurity with a solid win Nov. 23 in the $100,000 Real Quiet Stakes. Jerry Hollendorfer trains the California-bred son of Bertrando, whose siblings include sprint stakes winners U’narack and Luckarack.

Tamarando won the 1 1/16-mile Real Quiet by 3 1/4 lengths and earned an 86 Beyer.

Craftsman, an Irish-bred who won 2 of 4 in Ireland, including a Group 3 race, is expected to make his U.S. debut in the Futurity.

Previously trained by Aidan O’Brien, Craftsman is now trained by Simon Callaghan.

Potential candidates for the Futurity, in order of probable odds: Shared Belief, Tamarando, Tap It Rich, Bond Holder, Craftsman, Kobe’s Back, and Candy Boy.

Baffert babies

Add the colt Indianapolis to the roster of promising 2-year-olds trained by Bob Baffert. The son of Medaglia d’Oro won his career debut Nov. 24 with a rally-wide trip and an 81 Beyer. A sibling to graded-stakes-winning sprint fillies Heart Ashley and Ashley’s Kitty, Indianapolis was the 15th Baffert-trained 2-year-old to win a special weight this year.

Baffert’s special-weight winners comprise 10 fillies and five colts. The fillies: Spring Moon, Cadron, Secret Compass, Awesome Baby, Jojo Warrior, Georgia, Miss Personality, Be Proud, Streaming, and Global Hottie. The males: Can the Man, New Year’s Day, Tap It Rich, Beach Hut, and Indianapolis.