INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Bobby Frankel won the Breeders' Cup Distaff with Ginger Punch last month, but was not at Monmouth Park, and took little joy out of the day, because the Hall of Fame trainer was back home in California caring for his ill dog, Happy, who is suffering from cancer.
Happy's health, while far from ideal, is better, owing to an improved appetite, Frankel said, following a couple of rounds of chemotherapy. So perhaps Frankel will be able to better enjoy his next attempts at winning Grade 1 races, because he has several good shots during this weekend's turf festival at Hollywood Park.
Frankel will send out Proudinsky and Silent Name in the $400,000 Citation Handicap on Friday, and Precious Kitten and possibly Citronnade in the $500,000 Matriarch Stakes going one mile on Sunday.
"Precious Kitten is definitely running," Frankel said. "The distance might be too short for Citronnade, but I can always enter and look at the field."
Both Citronnade (1:01.40) and Precious Kitten (1:02.60) worked five furlongs on Cushion Track on Monday morning at Hollywood Park.
Frankel will be going for his fourth straight win in the Matriarch, a race he has won seven times in the last 10 runnings. He is tied for the most Matriarch wins with the late Charlie Whittingham.
Others expected for the Matriarch are Dance Away Capote, Lady of Venice, Naissance Royale, Vacare, and Wait a While.
In addition to Frankel's pair, the Citation, at 1 1/16 miles, is expected to include Crested, Independent George, Palace Episode, **** Parade, Willow O Wisp, and Zann.
Large field likely for derby
The other Grade 1 race of the week is the $500,000 Hollywood Derby on Sunday. Nobiz Like Shobiz will attempt to give trainer Barclay Tagg his second straight win in the 1o1/4-mile race, following Showing Up last year.
Others likely for the Hollywood Derby are Augment, Bold Hawk, Daytona, Medici Code, Mostacolli Mort, Patch of Blue, Ten a Penny, Twilight Meteor, Warning Zone, and Worldly.
Twilight Meteor worked a half-mile in 48.60 seconds on Monday on Cushion Track for trainer Todd Pletcher.
The turf festival begins on Friday with the Citation and the Grade 3, $100,000 Generous Stakes for 2-year-olds going one mile. That field is expected to include Adriano, Coastal Eddy, Gone Grand, Indian Sun, Make Them Break, Meer Kat, Race the Moon, Robscarvic, The Leopard, and Yes It's a Cat.
Saturday's double features are the Grade 3, $150,000 Hollywood Turf Express at six furlongs and the Grade 3, $100,000 Miesque Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at one mile.
The Turf Express is expected to have Bonfante, Council Member, Desert Code, Fast Parade, Get Funky, Moth Ball, Night Chapter, Quietly Mine, T.D. Vance, and Unusual Suspect.
California Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Runforthemoneybaby is expected for the Miesque, which also should include Carnival Queen, Excitement, Ididntmeantoo, La Mina, Macellya, Sea Chanter, and Del Mar Debutante winner Set Play.
The Green Monkey goes on the green
After a pair of losing efforts at Belmont Park, the world's most expensive and chronicled maiden, The Green Monkey, has moved to Hollywood Park and will move to the turf for his third start in the fourth race on Wednesday.
The Green Monkey, purchased for $16 million at auction in February 2006, was third and then fourth in a pair of dirt sprints at Belmont this fall for Pletcher. Before leaving New York, The Green Monkey turned in an encouraging work on the turf in company with The Leopard, who subsequently competed in the inaugural Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.
Garrett Gomez will ride The Green Monkey in Wednesday's race, which is at 1 1/16 miles.
"He's trained well since he's been here," Michael McCarthy, Pletcher's Hollywood Park assistant, said Monday. "Two nice works on the Cushion Track."
Business as usual for Valenzuela
Stop us if you have heard this before: Jockey Patrick Valenzuela returned from his latest absence and won with one of his first mounts back, got a warm reception from the fans, and had a couple of inquiries involving ontrack incidents with longtime rival Corey Nakatani.
He had been away for nearly a year, and it was like nothing had changed.
Valenzuela finished fourth in his first mount back on Saturday in the seventh race, and lodged an unsuccessful objection against Nakatani, who rode the race's second-place finisher.
Valenzuela finished second and then last with two other mounts Saturday, then was sixth, second, and ninth in three mounts Sunday before winning with El Gato Malo in the seventh race.
Of course, the race was not declared official immediately, because Nakatani, who finished fourth on Rate of Change, claimed foul against Valenzuela. The stewards quickly ruled the result would remain unchanged.
Jara has fractured collarbone
Jockey Fernando Jara was expected back Saturday following an accident the previous weekend, but subsequent examination and an additional set of X-rays found a collarbone fracture, which will keep him out for another two or three weeks, according to his agent, Bob Meldahl.
Jara had a live mount on Sunday in first-time starter Gayego, who won impressively by three lengths against maidens for trainer Paulo Lobo. In Jara's absence, Mike Smith substituted.
Bejarano joins jockey colony
Rafael Bejarano, who will ride here through the winter, has three mounts at Hollywood Park on Wednesday, beginning with El Gitano, a first-time starter for Frankel who takes on The Green Monkey in the fourth race.
Bejarano, like many of the top riders on this circuit, will be adding to his frequent-flier account over the next week. Bejarano will ride here through Friday, go to Churchill Downs on Saturday to ride Turn Away in the Golden Rod and Cool Coal Man in the Kentucky Jockey Club, then return to Hollywood on Sunday.
Bejarano's itinerary is nothing compared with Garrett Gomez and Richard Migliore, who are traveling so much you would think their agent, Ron Anderson, is getting a cut of the frequent-flier miles, too.
Gomez is at Churchill on Thursday to ride Panty Raid in the Falls City Handicap, returns to Hollywood on Friday to ride Zann in the Citation, heads to Aqueduct on Saturday to ride Midnight Lute in the Cigar Mile and Sunday Elegance in the Demoiselle, and is back here Sunday for mounts on Wait a While in the Matriarch and Twilight Meteor in the Hollywood Derby.
Migliore flew to New York on Sunday to be with his family for a day, then was scheduled to fly to Japan on Tuesday in order to ride Student Council in Saturday's Japan Cup Dirt before returning to the United States, perhaps in time to ride Augment in the Hollywood Derby.
Joe Talamo will also be in Tokyo to ride Artiste Royal in the Japan Cup, on turf.
Smith will be at Churchill on Thursday to ride Tessa Blue in the Falls City.
Julien Leparoux will be here on Sunday to ride Lady of Venice in the Matriarch, then heads to Japan for an international jockey competition before returning to California, where he, like Bejarano, will be based this winter.
Prevue tops Thanksgiving program
D. Double You was scratched from the Real Quiet on Sunday in order to run Thursday in the $100,000 Hollywood Prevue Stakes, the feature on the Thanksgiving card that has an early post time of 11 a.m. Pacific.
The Prevue, at seven furlongs for 2-year-olds, is headed by Into Mischief, who was a powerful debut winner Oct. 21 for trainer Richard Mandella at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meeting, and Massive Drama, who won first time out at Monmouth for trainer Bob Baffert on the first of two Breeders' Cup cards Oct. 26.
The Hermosa Beach Handicap, a 1o1/2-mile grass race for fillies and mares, also was scheduled for Thursday, but drew only three entrants, according to Martin Panza, Hollywood Park's vice president of racing, and was postponed.
"We'll bring it back in about two weeks," Panza said.
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