Om sets sights on Hollywood Derby

ARCADIA, Calif. – Om is in position to become the first horse to sweep the three late-summer and autumn turf derbies in Southern California when he makes his next start Nov. 28 in the $300,000 Hollywood Derby at Del Mar.

Om won the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby on Sept. 6 and the Grade 2 Twilight Derby at Santa Anita on Saturday. The Grade 1 Hollywood Derby is run at 1 1/8 miles on turf, the same distance and surface as the other two races.

The three races have not always been scheduled in their current positions on the calendar. The Hollywood Derby was shifted from the spring to the fall in 1981 and relocated to Del Mar in 2014 after Hollywood Park closed in 2013. The Twilight Derby was first run in 1969. The race has been known as the Volante Handicap and Oak Tree Derby in the past.

There is no formal structure to the series such as a bonus for sweeping all three races. Through the summer and fall, the competition in each race has often changed, particularly with the inclusion in past years of runners from other circuits or from overseas.

Two horses have won two of the races – Ladies Din won the Del Mar and Oak Tree derbies in 1998, while Daytona won the Oak Tree and Hollywood derbies in 2007. Daytona was trained by Dan Hendricks, who trains Om.

Om won the Twlight Derby in a fashion similar to his victory in the Del Mar Derby, leading throughout and shaking off his rivals in early stretch. Ridden by Gary Stevens, Om won the Twilight Derby by 2 1/4 lengths over the English import Mister Brightside, a candidate for the Hollywood Derby. The win left Hendricks anxious for the Thanksgiving weekend race.

“Now the focus in on the Hollywood Derby and the Grade 1 win that could propel him to a higher stud value,” Hendricks said Sunday.

Om is owned by K.B. Sareen, the father of the late Taj Sareen, a Marine Major who was killed Wednesday after his fighter jet crashed in the English countryside. K.B. Sareen did not attend Saturday’s race, but members of his family were present. Hendricks said he spoke to K.B. Sareen on Saturday evening.

“It was the first time that he sounded pretty good,” Hendricks said. “I think the race was the first time the family had a chance to get their mind away from it.”

Om, by Munnings, has won 4 of 8 starts and earned $394,500.

** Jockey Alonso Quinonez was fined $500 by track stewards for two incidents in which he caused a welt or a break in the skin of his mounts in races at Los Alamitos and Santa Anita in recent weeks.

Quinonez, 31, was cited for his ride on Warren’s Wesley, who finished second in the fourth race Sept. 20 at Los Alamitos, and Dragon Flower, who won the eighth race Oct. 1 at Santa Anita.

** The Sportech Tote Co. was fined $1,000 by Santa Anita stewards earlier this month after a tote department employee listed the wrong horse as scratched in early betting Sept. 6 at Del Mar.

Love on the Road was announced as scratched for several minutes in the after 9 a.m. on race morning before the mistake was realized. Because betting was taking place at the time, the gelding was withdrawn from the betting pools for the day, stewards said at the time.

Love on the Road raced for purse money only and finished eighth. Sadly, Love on the Road broke down after the finish.

Sportech’s contract as the supplier of tote systems in California ended Sunday after AmTote received the contract earlier this year. The AmTote system will be installed in coming days and will be in use for Thursday’s opening day of the Del Mar autumn meeting.

** Santa Anita was fined $500 after one of its racing office employees failed to note that a horse had been gelded after receiving information from the horse’s stable at entry time, according to a ruling issued by the stewards Saturday.

The situation involved the first-time starter Mountain Hero, who finished fifth at 13-1 in the fourth race Nov. 9. The correct information was announced to the public more than an hour before the first race, according to stewards.