SANTA ANITA : Bequest Equals World Record in Turf Race

Can a trainer call one of his owners in Tokyo and tell him that his mare equaled a world record, but really didn’t look that impressive doing so?

No, and consequently Neil Drysdale has probably saddled Bequest for her last race, because when he reaches Gerald Leigh with the details of Sunday’s $216,400 Santa Barbara Handicap at Santa Anita, the only option left will be to send her to be bred to one of those fancy stallions in Kentucky.

Bequest won the Santa Barbara by two lengths and ran 1 1/4 miles on grass in 1:57 2/5, matching the world-record time by Double Discount in winning the Carleton Burke Handicap at Santa Anita in 1977. Although the start of the 1 1/4-mile distance at Santa Anita is run downhill, giving horses an advantage, the American Racing Manual still recognizes times over this course.

The goal for Bequest at Santa Anita this winter was for her to establish her value as a broodmare. The 5-year-old Kentucky-bred, a daughter of Sharpen Up and a granddaughter of The Minstrel, ran third in the Santa Ana Handicap three weeks ago as Noble and Nice and Annual Reunion dead-heated for the victory, but on Sunday she beat both in the rematch, which almost resulted in a dead heat for second place.

Noble and Nice nosed out Annual Reunion for second, and it was another two lengths back to Appealing Missy, who went off the 3-2 favorite in the field of six.

Carrying 117 pounds, the same as Annual Reunion, and ridden by Eddie Delahoussaye, Bequest earned $126,400 and paid $6 as the second betting choice. The Santa Barbara was her fourth victory to go with three seconds and one third in 10 starts. She had earned only $110,891 before Sunday.

“If she goes to Kentucky, I have mixed feelings,” Drysdale said. “I’m glad to see her win a Grade I, but I’ll be sorry to lose her.”

Without being struck by Delahoussaye’s whip, Bequest ran in fourth place during the early stages of the race, with Noble and Nice and Annual Reunion battling for the lead through fractions of 46 seconds for a half-mile and 1:09 2/5 for six furlongs.

The mile time was 1:33 2/5, with Bequest moving up at the quarter pole and taking the lead with about an eighth of a mile to run.

“She probably wouldn’t have gone any faster if I’d hit her,” Delahoussaye said. “I think she was pretty much running as fast as she could without it. She did everything right today, and I knew the added distance would help her because she was always coming on and running out real well.”

Trained by Guy Harwood when she won one of four starts in England, Bequest joined Drysdale’s barn late in 1989, but because of a training injury at Santa Anita she was about eight months’ late in getting to the races.

“She was coming out of the tunnel one morning and kicked a railing and fractured a splint bone in her leg,” Drysdale said.