Santa Anita: Fury Kapcori won't have it easy in Santana Mile

ARCADIA, Calif. – Fury Kapcori enjoys a battle and would have been a factor in the Santa Anita Handicap on March 8. But trainer Jerry Hollendorfer and assistant Dan Ward decided against facing a horse with the same running style as Fury Kapcori.

“If you have a speed horse, Game On Dude is going to kill you,” Ward said.

He never had the chance. Fury Kapcori skipped the Big Cap to point for the spring handicap series at Santa Anita, which begins Sunday. Fury Kapcori tops a field of seven in the $75,000 Santana Mile, a race that is easier than the Big Cap even if the pace is not.

Appealing Tale, 2 for 2 since being gelded, is expected to set the pace. He does not go slowly.

“We’re going to take them as far as we can, as fast as we can,” Appealing Tale’s trainer, Peter Miller, said.

It has been the winning style all winter. Through Thursday, the Santa Anita dirt track had produced 40 front-running winners from 106 routes; 62 winners were within a length of the lead after the first half-mile.

The track profile benefits Fury Kapcori, whose recent wins earned the same Beyer Speed Figures as Appealing Tale (103 and 104). On Sunday, he faces millionaire Clubhouse Ride and outsiders Cat Burglar, Spud Spivens, For Cash, and Get Happy Mister.

The winner of the race might be the horse who survives the pace battle, and Fury Kapcori is no stranger to a fight. He relishes it.

“He loves to be in the battle,” Ward said. “He runs better when he is head-and-head. If you take him back, he just stays there.”

Rafael Bejarano rides the 4-for-12 Fury Kapcori, whose spring campaign will target the local handicap series that includes the Grade 3 Precisionist Stakes (formerly the Mervyn LeRoy) on May 3, the Grade 2 Californian on May 31, and the Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita (formerly the Hollywood Gold Cup) on June 28.

“They’re all a month apart, so there is no reason to ship anywhere,” Ward said.

On Sunday, the horse to catch is Appealing Tale, who responded to the ultimate equipment change.

“We gelded him – that’s been the biggest change,” Miller said. “He wasn’t giving 100 percent. His mind wasn’t in the game.”

It is now. Since being gelded, Appealing Tale has scored two front-running wins at one mile. Appealing Tale, 3 for 4 at Santa Anita, will be ridden by Victor Espinoza.

Clubhouse Ride is racing into shape and using the Santana Mile to prep for the $1.5 million Charles Town Classic on April 19. Trainer Craig Lewis said Clubhouse Ride missed a week of training with a foot issue following his third-place finish March 8 in the Grade 2 San Carlos at seven furlongs.

“He’s doing well physically, it’s a question of fitness,” Lewis said. “He missed a week, and he needs this race. He’s not ready to go a mile and an eighth against those horses.”

Lewis was referring to Charles Town Classic candidates Game On Dude, Lea, and Blueskiesnrainbows.

Clubhouse Ride, the runner-up last year at Charles Town, will be ridden Sunday by Tyler Baze.