Patrick Biancone is among five Eastern trainers planning to stable at Hollywood Park for the track's autumn meet when a division of 16 horses arrived Nov. 2.Thomas Brandebourger, 21-year-old assistant to Biancone, was organizing the stable in Barn 51 South Friday morning. "Sixteen horses arrived yesterday afternoon," said the French-born Brandebourger. The contingent included Grande Melody, a 3-year-old filly nominated to the $60,000-added Audrey Skirball-Kenis Stakes on Nov. 12."She will probably work Tuesday, the same day Mr. Biancone arrives," said Brandebourger of the Irish-bred filly, a French import coming off a 4 ½-length allowance victory on the Keeneland turf Oct. 11 in her United States debut.Biancone was attracted in part because of a new synthetic surface called Cushion Track that has been widely praised by horsemen.Lisa Lewis is already in Southern California from New York with 13 horses in Barn 53 and is scheduled to be joined next week by Christophe Clement with five horses and Todd Pletcher with an unspecified number. Richard Dutrow Jr. has already shipped three horses here to Barn 64 and more are expected."I brought 13 and three more stuck in New Jersey should be here by mid-November," said Lewis Friday. "I'm excited to be here. So far, so good. I worked a couple yesterday, and a couple today, and the riders say they get over the track real well."
Lewis, a Maryland native with 16 years of training experience, described her stable as a mixed bag with some inexperienced 2-year-olds and some older horses. She recalled two previous visits to Hollywood Park.