HOLLYWOOD PARK : A Thanksgiving Tradition Has Individualist in Winner’s Circle

Obviously, Individualist doesn’t mind working the holiday.

For the second time in three years, the 5-year-old Bel Bolide gelding won the $110,600 On Trust Handicap, Hollywood Park’s Thanksgiving Day feature. Last year, John and Betty Mabee’s homebred finished second to Run On The Bank.

After breaking well from his outside post in the field of nine California breds, the 4-1 third choice settled nicely, then took over early in the stretch under Laffit Pincay and drew off to win by 2 3/4 lengths in 1:27 3/5 for the 7 1/2 furlongs. His Legacy gave trainer Dave Hofmans a sweep of the exacta, rallying to beat Softshoe Sure Shot by a head.

After being victimized by an awful trip in the roughly run California Cup Mile, Individualist couldn’t have had a better journey Thursday over a track where he has always run well. Besides his On Trust victories, he won the Hollywood Prevue locally as a 2-year-old in 1989.

“Post position was the most important thing,” Hofmans said. “He’s not the kind of horse that overcomes a lot of trouble. He was telling me he was going to run well, but he’s done that before and not run well. I was just hoping he’d put it together today.

“He really got wiped out in that last race (when 12th in the Cal Cup Mile). I don’t know how he stayed standing. He loves this track. The long backstretch helps him settle.”

Winner of the 1 1/2-mile Cal Cup Starter Handicap, His Legacy didn’t have the cleanest trip at 9-1.

“We kind of got squeezed a little bit at the start,” jockey Paul Atkinson said. “We got in a little tight in the lane when another horse started laying on him. I switched and started hitting him a few times left-handed and just pulled back, pushed that horse out of his way and just went on. I don’t think we could have beaten the winner, but I think my horse ran very well to get second.”

Stuck on the rail after the scratch of Bullet Points, Charmonnier finished fifth as the 9-5 favorite and was never a factor. He has lost eight in a row since his upset of Best Pal in the 1991 Cal Cup Classic.

“He didn’t show as much speed as I thought he would,” Corey Nakatani said. “He tried. He’s just not that fast a horse. They were running every jump of the way. He needs (more distance).”

Fresh off a victory in the California Cup Sprint, Answer Do will try for his third victory in a row in the $200,000 Hollywood Turf Express at 5 1/2 furlongs today.

A 30-1 shot when he won the race in 1990, the 6-year-old To-Agouri-Mou gelding was the 2-1 favorite when he scored in the second division last year, defeating Apollo by three-quarters of a length.

Eddie Delahoussaye will try to remain unbeaten on Answer Do, who is the 7-2 second choice in the field of 11. In his only collaborations with the California-bred gelding, Delahoussaye won last year’s Turf Express and the Cal Cup Sprint on Nov. 7.

Gray Slewpy, who finished 11th of 14 in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Oct. 31, is the 3-1 favorite in what will be his third start on the turf. He won his only sprint on the surface by five lengths, then was seventh in the Spotlight Breeders’ Cup Handicap last year. Kent Desormeaux will ride for trainer Dan Hendricks.

Other contenders in the Turf Express are Gundaghia, who won the other division of the race in 1991; Regal Groom and the two mares, Bel’s Starlet and Glen Kate.

Second as the favorite in the Cal Cup Sprint, Gundaghia is 9-2 on the morning line as he seeks his second victory in eight starts on turf. Gary Stevens has the mount for trainer Bob Baffert.

A 5-year-old son of Runaway Groom, Regal Groom is also 9-2, and trainer Caesar Dominguez’s horse is comfortable on any surface. He has eight victories on dirt, but has been in the money in seven of 12 on turf. Most recently, he won the Morvich Handicap on Oct. 31 at Santa Anita. Martin Pedroza will ride.

Glen Kate, who is owned by Wayne Gretzky and Bruce McNall, was a three-length winner of the Laurel Dash last month in Maryland, and she upset Heart Of Joy at Hollywood Park last summer. She drew the rail and will be ridden by Laffit Pincay.

Bel’s Starlet, who has seven victories in 17 starts on turf, will bid for her third consecutive victory. With Desormeaux on Gray Slewpy, Russell Baze picks up the mount on Bel’s Starlet for trainer Richard Mandella. Bel’s Starlet was fifth in the division of the Turf Express won by Answer Do last year.

Rounding out the field are Cardmania, Salt Lake, Repriced, Letthebighossroll and Bold N’Flashy.

Horse Racing Notes

Individualist paid $10.60 and earned $65,600 for his eighth victory in 39 starts. . . . For the record: The Matriarch will not be the last race of the Autumn Turf Festival. To accommodate ESPN, it will be run as the seventh race on Sunday and the Citation Handicap will wrap up the Festival. . . . In addition to the Turf Express, today’s card also features the $60,000 Political Ambition at 1 3/16 miles on turf. . . . Making his first start since finishing last in the Kentucky Derby, Disposal won the fifth race Wednesday. The even-money favorite, ridden by Alex Solis, covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:42 1/5, defeating Atlantian, Ruhlmann’s half-brother, in a $33,000 allowance race. . . . Hollywood Park will hold a race for amateur jockeys on Dec. 12. The race was approved at the last California Horse Racing Board meeting.