Stevens: El Roblar 'something special'

ARCADIA, Calif. - Trainer Bruce Headley and jockey Gary Stevens have high hopes for El Roblar, a 3-year-old War Chant colt who won first time out against one of the strongest maiden fields of the meet in Sunday's sixth race. El Roblar beat the well-regarded Fusaichi Pegasus colt Canteen, another first-time starter, by three-quarters of a length in 1:16.88 for 6 1/2 furlongs on the fast main track.

"He's something special, boss," Stevens told Headley after the race.

"Gary told me all along he liked him," Headley said. "He looks good, he acts good, and he runs good."

El Roblar was purchased by Headley on behalf of majority owner Jess Jackson's Four Star Stables as a yearling for $250,000 at Keeneland. That's about 10 times what Headley usually spends on yearlings, but Jackson - owner of the popular Kendall-Jackson winery - has given Headley a bigger budget. Headley joked that the 10 percent share he has in the colt is about what he usually spends for an entire horse.

"When I picked him out, I thought he looked good," Headley said. "He's long-legged and flat-muscled. He looked like the kind of horse who would go a mile and an eighth or a mile and a quarter. He had great movement. He had the exact conformation I like for a distance horse - long legs, very correct, and a lot of bone."

Neil Drysdale, the trainer of Canteen, can take some consolation in running second. He thought Canteen would improve with more distance, and he also trained both War Chant and Fusaichi Pegasus, the first-crop sires of the first two finishers.

Trainer Lewis on the mend

Trainer Craig Lewis was temporarily paralyzed from the waist down late last week as a result of a severe problem with his back, but by Sunday night he had progressed to the point where he was using a walker at Arcadia Methodist Hospital.

"I think I'm making some progress, but being paralyzed is not a lot of fun," a groggy Lewis said via telephone from his hospital bed. "I had a bulging disk. I had gone to a chiropractor to work on it, but the doctors are telling me that aggravated it and exacerbated the problem. It was basically bone hitting bone. It causes excruciating pain. I'm not in as much pain right now. I guess that's the miracle of morphine.

"I do feel a lot better. I can at least walk with a walker," he said. "The inflammation is so severe, it's like it's pulling you down. The inflammation is on its way to being reduced, and the doctors said once it's reduced I should be able to walk, and then they'll let me out of here. I'm hoping it's soon."

Lewis, 57, has one winner so far this meet. He is best known as the trainer of Santa Anita Derby winner Larry the Legend, as well as stakes winners Cutlass Reality and Music Merci. He was the leading trainer at Hollywood Park's spring-summer meeting in 1988.

Island Fashion heads Santa Monica

The Sunshine Millions on Saturday will receive the bulk of attention at Santa Anita this week, but an important Grade 1 race will be run Sunday. It's the $250,000 Santa Monica Handicap, at seven furlongs for older fillies and mares, and it will be headed by defending winner Island Fashion, who has done her best work at Santa Anita.

Island Fashion has won three times and finished second twice in five starts at Santa Anita. She won the Lady's Secret Breeders' Cup Handicap here during the Oak Tree meeting last fall. She was fourth most recently in the Matriarch Stakes on the Hollywood Park turf, where she took up sharply midway around the final turn.

Patrick Valenzuela will ride Island Fashion for the first time.

Others expected to run in the Santa Monica include Elusive Diva (Kent Desormeaux the rider), Royally Chosen (David Flores), Tamweel (Rene Douglas), and Tizakitty (Garrett Gomez).

Mas cerveza, por favor

Lewis and Donna Cenicola and Mike Agosto should have celebrated with a Mexican beer after their 3-year-old filly Two Times Won, a California-bred daughter of Memo, defeated open-company maidens going 6 1/2 furlongs in Saturday's third race.

The Cenicolas bred the filly, then invited their longtime friend Agosto - a wine distributor from San Diego - to take 10 percent of the horse during a Mexican vacation to Cabo San Lucas a year ago. The name Two Times Won, Donna Cenicola said, was inspired by a sign offering "2 X 1" beer specials during happy hour.

Lewis Cenicola trains about 10 horses. He is well known as the former exercise rider of two-time Horse of the Year John Henry. Jose Mercado, John Henry's groom, works for Cenicola and is the groom of Two Times Won.

"We've known each other 30 years, me and Jose," Cenicola said.

Cenicola said he decided to run Two Times Won against open company, rather than in a Cal-bred race two days earlier, because he liked trying the 6 1/2-furlong distance of the open race.

Two Times Won was one of four winners on the day for Douglas, the meet's leading rider.

"I think she's going to be better going longer," Cenicola said. "Rene thinks she'll be better going longer. She ran three-quarters in her comeback race. The Cal-bred race this week was at 5 1/2 furlongs. I didn't want to go the other way. This was an open race, but the distance was better."

French import Polyfirst sparkles

Richard Mandella, who has won with half of his 22 starters this meet, unveiled a promising French import on Saturday in Polyfirst, a 4-year-old filly who closed furiously to win a first-level allowance race on the downhill turf course.

Polyfirst was entered with stablemate Wakired, but Wakired was scratched.

"They both came to me in October, about 2 1/2 months ago," Mandella said. "Nothing had gone wrong until the other one started to cough. This one looked like the better one anyway. I wasn't surprised she ran well. I had ideas she would run well, but those are only trainer ideas. They don't mean anything.

"She's done everything right," Mandella added. "I might stretch her out next time."

Polyfirst had won once in eight starts in France, but placed in three listed stakes and one group stakes.

Mandella also won Saturday's final race with the 3-year-old Wild Rush colt Ulistnintome, who closed swiftly to beat maidens going long on the turf.

Frankel runners gearing up

Several of trainer Bobby Frankel's runners who have been idle since the Autumn Turf Festival at Hollywood Park worked over the weekend in preparation for their 2005 debuts.

Cajun Beat, the winner of the Hollywood Turf Express, worked five furlongs in 1:00.40 on Sunday morning at Hollywood Park. He could make his next start in the Grade 2, $150,000 San Carlos Handicap at seven furlongs on Feb. 26, Frankel said.

Intercontinental, the Matriarch winner, worked five furlongs in 1:02 on Sunday. She is being pointed to the Grade 2, $150,000 Buena Vista Handicap on Feb. 21.

Leroidesanimaux, who won the Citation Handicap, worked five furlongs in 1:01.80 on Saturday morning. He should return in the $300,000, Grade 2 Kilroe Mile, which will be run on March 5.

And Megahertz, who was second against males in the Hollywood Turf Cup, worked a half-mile on Saturday in 49.80 seconds. She is awaiting the Grade 2, $150,000 Santa Ana Handicap on March 20, Frankel said.

Rivals work toward San Vicente

Kirkendahl and Roman Ruler, who might meet in the Grade 2, $150,000 San Vicente Stakes on Feb. 13, worked Sunday at Santa Anita. Kirkendahl zipped five furlongs in 59.40 seconds, and Roman Ruler traveled six furlongs in 1:13.20.

The comebacking Chandtrue worked five furlongs in 59.80 seconds, but trainer Bob Hess Jr. said it was "a longshot" that the unbeaten colt would be ready for the San Vicente.

"I blew about three weeks when the track was muddy," Hess said.

* Declan's Moon, the unbeaten winner of the Hollywood Futurity, breezed a half-mile in 48.20 seconds on Saturday at Hollywood Park.

* Singletary, the Breeders' Cup Mile winner, breezed a half-mile in 49 seconds on Saturday at Hollywood Park.

* Malibu Stakes winner Rock Hard Ten, preparing for the Grade 2, $300,000 Strub Stakes on Feb. 5, worked one mile in 1:36.60 on Sunday at Santa Anita.

* Drysdale wants to try turf specialist Musical Chimes on the dirt, figuring the daughter of In Excess might handle the surface. He said she could make her next start in the Grade 1, $250,000 Santa Maria Handicap on Feb. 13. Musical Chimes worked six furlongs in 1:17 on the turf on Sunday at Santa Anita, with cones placed out in the course.