Santa Anita: El Commodore aims to unleash his speed in Lure

ARCADIA, Calif. – Whether he wins or loses the $70,000 Lure Stakes on Sunday at Santa Anita, El Commodore will do it his way.

The 6-year-old gelding’s uncompromising strategy will exploit his main weapon – speed.

“He’s one of those horses, you can’t take hold of,” trainer Mike Machowsky said. “He’s a free-running horse. He’s not going to outkick them.”

El Commodore did not use his asset last out. The son of El Prado was passively ridden, not asked for speed, and finished sixth of seven in a $100,000 stakes at the Los Angeles County Fair.

Sunday at Santa Anita, his new jockey, Gary Stevens, is expected to let El Commodore rock and roll in the one-mile turf race. And if he is good enough, El Commodore will lead nine others on a merry chase. “He needs to bounce away – that’s what I want,” Machowsky said.

Early in the fall meet, El Commodore would have had little chance over a closers-friendly turf course. Thankfully for front-runners, the profile has evened out. The past two weeks (Oct. 13-24), four of 11 turf races at one mile were won by pacesetters.

El Commodore has won six of 32 starts, and one of three since Machowsky took over training the East Coast transplant. His optional claiming win on Aug. 1 at Del Mar would probably be good enough to win the Lure, in which he faces a good field that includes comebacker My Best Brother, back-class Grade 1 winner Willyconker, and seven others.

Machowsky and Stevens will team with Caracortado on Nov. 2 in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. If he wins, El Commodore gets credit for an assist. He was the pacemaker for Caracortado in an important workout Oct. 19.

El Commodore’s main rival Sunday is My Best Brother, who had an alibi for his seventh-place comeback July 24 at Del Mar. A Grade 2 winner returning from a long layoff, My Best Brother finished seventh. A day later, trainer Julio Canani found out why.

“When he came back from the race, he was very sick,” Canani said. “He didn’t eat for two days, and had a 103-[degree] temperature.”

My Best Brother, winner of four of 11 starts, including the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby in 2012, was done for the summer while recovering from the virus. But he has worked well for his comeback, according to Canani.

“He’s training good. When he worked seven-eighths [Oct. 12], he went the last quarter in 23 [seconds], and the time before he worked six furlongs and he went [the last quarter] in 22 and 4 [fifths],” Canani said. “And he looks good, too.”

Rafael Bejarano rides My Best Brother, whose speed is likely to have him positioned right behind the pacesetter. If he runs as well as Canani says he has trained, My Best Brother can win the Lure.

Willyconker won the Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile in 2012 at Santa Anita while trained by Doug O’Neill. Claimed in May for $62,500 and now trained by Eric Guillot, Willyconker will be running late under Martin Garcia.

Others in the field are stretch-out Sirocco Strike, dropper Polytechnicien, and graded stakes-class comebackers Utopian and Venomous. The field includes Bio Pro, Huntsville, and Hawk’s Eyes.

The Lure is restricted to non-winners of a $55,000 stakes at one mile or more in 2013.