The Triple Bend served as a good prep for Redattore, who roared to a two-length win next out in the Eddie Read Handicap (gr. IT) at Del Mar. Redattore then finished third after setting the pace on a rain-soaked, yielding turf course in the Arlington Million (gr. IT). Two months later, Redattore ran fifth in the Oak Tree Breeders' Cup Mile Stakes (gr. IIT). He bruised his foot in the race and came out of it with an abscess that needed time to heal. The memories of the Triple Bend encouraged Mandella to try Redattore on the dirt again, especially with lucrative races like the Santa Anita Handicap and Dubai World Cup on the horizon. The San Antonio came up tough, however, when Frankel opted to keep Lido Palace in California rather than send him to Florida for the Feb. 9 Donn Handicap (gr. I). But Redattore was up to the task, settling into third as Euchre set the early fractions, and getting up in the final furlong after making a three-wide move around the turn. Euchre, under Garrett Gomez, finished second, 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Irisheyesareflying, who pressured Euchre on the lead through fractions of :23.68, :47.77, 1:11.60, and 1:36.29. Lido Palace was fourth, beaten three lengths, with fellow Chilean-bred Seinne fifth. Redattore's Brazilian barnmate, Straight Flush, was sixth, and Gander, making his first start in California, wound up seventh and last. Final time for nine furlongs on a fast track was 1:48.66. Lido Palace's failure to hit the board led to high payoffs in the show pool. Redattore paid $25.40 to win, $9.20 to place, and $32 to show. "I didn't have any excuse out there," Bailey said of Lido Palace, who carried high weight of 121 pounds, conceding five to the winner. Frankel said he would give Lido Palace a couple of months of rest and point for a summer and fall campaign in New York. "He's never really had a break since I got him," Frankel said. The Eddie Read was Mandella's only grade I victory in 2001, and it was one of just eight graded stakes he won. For some trainers, eight graded wins and $4.6 million in earnings would be an outstanding year, but Mandella, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001, is accustomed to greater success. "The next few weeks at least will be interesting," the trainer said, referring to the options he has with Redattore. "It hasn't been that interesting the last few weeks. I'm just glad to be back in the game."
CAME HOME AGAIN The $150,000 San Vicente (gr. II) usually isn't a Triple Crown prep race. There have been exceptions, such as in 1997 when Silver Charm defeated Free House en route to his Kentucky Derby (gr. I) and Preakness (gr. I) victories, but the seven-furlong race most often is won by 3-year-olds that later prove to have distance limitations. That may or may not be the case with this year's winner, Came Home, who rated behind the early leaders before finishing with a strong rally down the stretch to score by four lengths at 7-10. Ridden by Chris McCarron, Came Home covered the distance in 1:21.92. Jack's Silver, a half-brother to 2001 Kentucky Derby starter Jamaican Rum, finished second as a maiden, with pacesetter Werblin third. Popular, who pressed the pace, finished fourth, with longshots Line Rider and Mighty David fifth and sixth, respectively. Came Home won his first three starts last year, including the Hollywood Juvenile Championship (gr. III) and Hopeful Stakes (gr. I). He tired to be seventh after pressing the pace in the Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) on a track that wasn't kind to speed horses. The 1 1/16-mile Juvenile was Came Home's first race beyond seven furlongs. Trained by Paco Gonzalez, Came Home was bred in Kentucky by his co-owners, John Toffan and Trudy McCaffery, who, after the Hopeful, sold a 50% interest in the colt to Lane's End Farm and Texan John Goodman. Gonzalez said Came Home will be pointed toward the one-mile San Rafael Stakes (gr. II) on March 2. "We'll have to see how far he'll take us," said Bill Farish, who was on hand to represent Lane's End. Toffan hopes Came Home will take his owners well beyond the San Rafael. "Now that he's really learning to relax, I think he'll go on. He finished very strong today."
AT THE WIRE Trainer Bobby Frankel unveiled a potential turf monster in Beat Hollow, a Juddmonte Farms homebred by Sadler's Wells who had not raced since winning the Grand Prix de Paris (Fr-I) in June of 2000. The 5-year-old bay won a nine-furlong allowance race on Jan. 31 by a deceptively easy one length after getting caught in traffic on the turn for home. Alex Solis rode. Beat Hollow was winning for the fourth time in five starts, his only loss coming when third to Sinndar and Sakhee in the Epsom Derby (Eng-I). He'll go next in the $700,000 Explosive Bid Handicap (gr. IIT) March 24 at Fair Grounds...Frankel scored a stakes double Feb. 2 when another Juddmonte homebred, 6-year-old Auction House, shipped to Arizona and outgamed Devine Wind to take the $142,500 Turf Paradise Breeders' Cup Handicap at 1 1/16 miles on turf...Also shipping out of town for a stakes engagement Feb. 2 was Red Baron's Barn's Janet, who scored a 1 3/4-length win at Golden Gate Fields for trainer Darrell Vienna in the $100,000 Brown Bess Handicap (gr. IIIT) at 1 1/16 miles. The Ramona Handicap (gr. IT) and Yellow Ribbon Stakes (gr. IT) winner is nearing $1 million in career earnings...Wooden Phone, who won last year's Strub and this year's San Pasqual Handicap (both gr. II) for Tom Durant and Jim and Marilyn Helzer, will be sidelined for several months after a nuclear scan detected a fracture in his right shoulder. Bob Baffert trains the son of Pick Up the Phone...Granja Vista Del Rio Stable's Pelirrojo edged odds-on Raven Power by a neck in a closely watched mile allowance contest for 3-year-olds on Jan. 30. Farther back were two colts Baffert had high expectations for: Puerto Banus and True Monarch. Pelirrojo, a gray, stretch-running son of Flying Continental, is trained by John Sadler...Jockey Patrick Valenzuela scored his first stakes victory in more than two years on Feb. 2, winning the Pro or Con Handicap for California-bred distaffers aboard Ta Ta Be True, a daughter of Truly Met owned and bred by Tony and Josephine Rescigno. Ta Ta Be True was vanned off the track after the race when Valenzuela said she pulled up "sore."(Chart, Equibase)