Toccet getting race over BC track

ARCADIA, Calif. - He is neither as fast nor as imposing as Candy Ride or Mineshaft. But if Toccet makes it to the Breeders' Cup Classic, the East Coast-based 3-year-old will have something those older Classic rivals do not - a race over the Santa Anita track.

Toccet was scheduled to leave Maryland at 1 a.m. Thursday for Santa Anita, where he will run the Grade 2 Goodwood Handicap on Oct. 4. Toccet will not face a stellar cast in the Goodwood, but the strength of the field doesn't matter to his owner, Dan Borislow.

"The reasons were to get a race over the track, and get him used to the climate," Borislow said Wednesday.

A rematch with Empire Maker- another incentive- is not expected to materialize. Empire Maker faces Mineshaft Sept. 27 at Belmont Park in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. Pacific Classic winner Candy Ride will train up to the BC Classic.

Beyond familiarizing himself with Santa Anita in the 1 1/8-mile Goodwood, Toccet is seeking redemption for a fifth-place finish Sept. 1 in the Pennsylvania Derby. Borislow said trainer John Scanlan accepts responsibility for Toccet's dull effort that race.

"John takes 100 percent of the blame," Borislow said. "He did too much with the horse - breezed too fast, too close [to the race]."

Toccet will have his first breeze at Santa Anita on Sunday or Monday.

Toccet has won seven of 10 starts, and will be making only his third start of 2003 in the Goodwood.

His rivals will include Pleasantly Perfect, who has not raced since March; Fleetstreet Dancer, third in the $1 million Pacific Classic; and Grey Memo, Southern Image, and Taste of Paradise.

* Mike Smith has picked up the mount on BC Juvenile Fillies hopeful Tarlow, who faces Halfbridled on Sept. 28 in the Grade 1 Oak Leaf Stakes at Santa Anita. Julie Krone rode John Shirreffs-trained Tarlow in her Aug. 18 debut win, but will stay with Halfbridled. Another Shirreffs-trained filly, Debutante runner-up Hollywood Story, will run in the Oak Leaf, ship to New York, or run in a two-turn maiden race early in the Oak Tree meet.

* Yankee Gentleman was scheduled for his first workout Thursday since winning the Pirate's Bounty Sept. 6 at Del Mar with a 117 Beyer Speed Figure. Shirreffs said Yankee Gentleman runs Oct. 5 in the Grade 1 Ancient Title Handicap. Trainer Patrick Biancone told the Santa Anita racing office that Zavata also would run in the six-furlong Ancient Title. Others expected are Bluesthestandard, Omega Code, Green Team, and Publication. Disturbingthepeace, who might have run in the Ancient Title, is out for the season with a sesamoid injury.

* Joey Franco, a graded stakes winner sprinting and routing, is being considered for the Grade 2 Oak Tree Breeders' Cup Mile on turf Oct. 5. His other option is the Ancient Title. Special Ring is the early favorite for the Oak Tree Mile.

* Voodoo Dancer, Heat Haze, and Dublino are among the horses expected to run the Yellow Ribbon Stakes on Sept. 28.