The win is the second in a row for Lazy Lode, who also won a Santa Anita allowance race in his only other start of the year. Currently trained by Richard Mandella, 7-year-old Lazy Lode (Lode--Lazy Fables, by Babas Fables) has won eight of 28 career races, including a pair of victories in the grade I Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes. In 1998, he won the Premio Republica Argentina (Arg-I) in his native Argentina. He was bred by San Ignacio de Loyola.Lazy Lode returned $3, $2.40, and $2.20 as the 1-2 favorite. Night Patrol paid $4.20 and $2.40. Wake the Tiger was worth $2.40 to show. The $1 exacta returned $6.60. (Chart, Equibase)
Lazy Lode dueled with Eagleton through the early going before pulling away to win the $150,000 Arcadia Handicap (gr. IIT) on a yielding turf course. The win marks the second graded stakes win on the Santa Anita card for The Thoroughbred Corporation, which also owns Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) winner Point Given. The Thoroughbred Corp.'s Poetic also won the track's second race, an allowance race on turf, giving the stable three winners on the card. The three Thoroughbred Corp. winners Saturday are each conditioned by a different trainer.Lazy Lode, ridden by Laffit Pincay Jr., stopped the timer in 1:49.74 and finished 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Night Patrol. Wake the Tiger, Eagleton, and Res Judicata completed the order of finish."Today, I just played it by ear," said Pincay. "The horse on the outside outbroke me, I saw the jockey take a hold of his horse so I decided to go to the lead and it worked out fine. I knew he had something left when we turned for home. He's that type of a horse; he just keeps going. Distance doesn't bother him; he just keeps going at one pace. I saw a shadow on the inside so I knew they were coming but I knew I had plenty of horse. And when I hit him a couple of times, he was gone."