Silver Starlight Seeks to Graduate in Cali Oaks

Silver Starlight is a maiden going into Saturday’s California Cup Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at one mile on turf, but Doug O’Neill says there’s an upside to the endeavor.

“It’s in our own back yard, it’s a nice purse ($200,000), restricted to Cal-breds, she’s doing well, and we’re going to go after it,” the trainer said.

A daughter of the Storm Cat sire Mario Marini, the gray filly was fourth in her maiden voyage at Del Mar last November, then ran an encouraging second despite a wide trip late in a one-mile turf race for maiden allowance winners at Santa Anita on Jan. 1.

The Oaks field: Patsy G and Me, Drayden Van Dyke, 12-1; Singing Kitty, Aaron Gryder, 5-1; Swiss Skimmer, Frank Alvarado, 15-1; Heat the Rocks, Elvis Trujillo, 2-1; Sheer Pleasure, Kent Desormeaux, 5-2; Light One, Rafael Bejarano, 5-2; Tribal Express, Alonso Quinonez, 15-1; and Silver Starlight, Flavian Prat, 8-1.

BIG MACHER PASSES SPRINT FOR PALOS VERDES

Disillusioned by drawing the No. One post position, trainer Richard Baltas scratched likely favorite Big Macher from Saturday’s $150,000 California Cup Sprint and will point the California-bred son of Beau Genius to next Saturday’s Grade II Palos Verdes Stakes instead.

The field for the Sprint, which goes as race eight, with an adjusted morning line: San Onofre, Mike Smith, 4-5; Rousing Sermon, Elvis Trujillo, 4-1; Frensham, Mario Gutierrez, 10-1; Grazen’s Hope, Tyler Baze. 12-1; Follini, Edwin Maldonado, 10-1; Marino’s Wild Cat, Martin Garcia, 6-1; and Spirit Rules, Ignacio Puglisi, 6-1.

In addition to Big Macher, Frumious also was scratched.

SPAWR RECOUNTS ‘MARX BROTHERS’ EPISODE IN CAL CUP

When My Sonny Boy won the inaugural California Cup Classic in 1990, the storyline was right out of the classic Marx Brothers’ film, “A Day at the Races.” Difference was, Barry Fitzgerald wasn’t the trainer. It was Bill Spawr.

Spawr had Patrick Valenzuela booked to ride the 5-year-old son of To-Agori-Mou in the mile-and-an-eighth race, but P. Val pulled a last-minute Houdini, leaving Spawr without a rider.

Fourteeen horses were entered in the race, so everyone in the jocks’ room was spoken for. There was no rider available.

“Patrick didn’t show,” Spawr related at his barn Friday morning on the eve of Sunshine Millions California Cup Day tomorrow. “At the last minute, the jocks’ room calls and says he’s not here. I said, ‘Who’s left?’ Darryl (assistant Darryl Rader) and I walked to the room, and we were told that Jorge Velasquez (Hall of Famer and winner of the 1981 Kentucky Derby with Pleasant Colony) had just left and was heading to his car.’

“Darryl took off running and got him to come and ride the horse. Had it been a few minutes later, we would have had to scratch the horse. He won easy.”

Velasquez led throughout to score by 2 ½ lengths at odds of nearly 9-1.

“It was Charlie (then Clerk of Scales Charlie McCaul) who told Bill no rider was available,” Rader said. “Bill asked who was in the room and Charlie told him nobody. ‘Your only chance is Jorge, and he just left for his car. If you can catch him, maybe he’ll ride the horse. There’s no one left.

“He pointed to the jocks’ parking lot and I just started running my ass off,” Rader said. “Jorge was putting his bag in the trunk and I told him the story, he pulled it out and said, ‘No problem,’ and he jogged back.”

Recalled Spawr: “A few years ago I was at Belmont and I ran into Jorge. He’s a jock’s agent now. I went to introduce him to (owner) Roddy Valente, and Velasquez turned around in a New York minute and says, ‘Bill Spawr? My Sonny Boy?’ I said, ‘You remember that?’ He says, ‘How can I forget something like that?’

“Good thing Darryl is a fast runner or we’d have had to scratch the horse.”

Source: Ed Golden, Santa Anita Stable Notes