It’s a Sure Thing, Dollase Has Stake in Sunday Races

Trainer Wally Dollase has been on a stakes roll in recent weeks and hopes to keep it alive Sunday at Hollywood Park.

Worldly Ways started the run with a victory in the Cinema Handicap two weeks ago, then Irish Wings and Windsharp both won last weekend.

Heavily favored in the Estrapade Stakes at Hollywood Park, Windsharp didn’t disappoint on Saturday, then the next day, Irish Wings scored a mild upset in the Golden Gate Handicap at Golden Gate Fields.

The hopes Sunday lie with Helmsman and Deputy Commander. Helmsman is among 14 who were entered Friday morning in Sunday’s $400,000 Shoemaker Breeders’ Cup Mile. Deputy Commander will run in the $100,000 Affirmed Handicap three races later.

One of the stars of the 1995-96 Santa Anita meeting, during which he won the Strub Stakes, Helmsman will be racing for the first time this year in the Shoemaker.

Back problems sidelined the 5-year-old El Gran Senor horse after he finished sixth in the Citation Handicap late last year.

Actually, the problem first surfaced after he had finished a distant third in the Hollywood Gold Cup nearly a year ago. He was rested with the Breeders’ Cup Mile in mind and returned for that race, finishing sixth.

All is apparently well now with Helmsman, who is owned by a partnership that includes Horizon Stable, Michael Jarvis and Frank Stronach, the majority owner of Belmont Stakes winner Touch Gold.

“He’s very fit right now,” Dollase said. “He’s doing super. He couldn’t be doing any better. I popped him out of the gate [Friday morning] and he was on his toes.

“He just needed a lot of time. I laid him up last summer, brought him back for the Breeders’ Cup and then ran him [in the Citation], but he was never right.

“I decided after that I would give him three months off. That seemed to take care of the problem. His back isn’t bothering him anymore.”

Before his two off-the-board finishes, Helmsman was one of the more consistent horses around. Besides winning the Strub--that followed a victory in the San Fernando Stakes--he was second to Fastness in the Inglewood Handicap and second to Tinners Way in the Californian.

In the Shoemaker, he will be back on the turf, the surface on which he began his career in Europe. He has won three times in 12 tries on the turf and is two for five on the main track.

“He’s a special horse,” Dollase said. “He’s got the pedigree, the conformation and he can run.

“He’s always hooked the best and been within striking distance of them. Now, he’s healthy and it could be a different story. He’s a free runner who’s got a lot of class.”

To win the Shoemaker, Helmsman is also going to need some luck. The overflow field means the horse that gets the best position is probably going to win.

Unlike last year, when Fastness was expected to win--and did--as the prohibitive favorite, the Shoemaker is wide open, and a case can be made for just about all of the entrants.

Corey Nakatani, Dollase’s son-in-law, will ride Helmsman and Deputy Commander. The jockey recently came back after having had surgery to remove a benign cyst from his neck.

Meanwhile, only six will go in the Affirmed, the final prep for next month’s Swaps Stakes, which may attract Silver Charm, Touch Gold and Free House.

Third in the Crown Royal American Turf at Churchill Downs on May 2, Deputy Commander will be trying for his first stakes victory in the 1 1/16-mile race and his second win in six lifetime starts.

A son of Deputy Minister who broke his maiden by four lengths at Santa Anita on March 16, Deputy Commander was next tried in the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park.

Over a track that favored closers in the latter half of the program--after some renovation was done--he faded to fifth. Crypto Star rallied from last to win the race.

It was then decided to abandon any Triple Crown plans for Deputy Commander, but Dollase remains high on the colt.

“He’s training great,” he said. “He’s like a big, oversized kid. He’s just getting it all together. I think he’s going to be a major player down the road.

“He’s sometimes his own worst enemy. He’s overly aggressive and quite studdish, but the sheer talent is definitely there. I think he’s getting a little better every race.”

Holzmeister, owned by Stronach and Robert McNair’s Stonerside Stable, is the one to beat in the Affirmed on the strength of his 8 1/2-length victory in the seven-furlong Harry Henson Stakes on May 26. Also in the field is Hello, making his first start since finishing eighth in the Kentucky Derby.

Horse Racing Notes

Jewel Princess is a possible starter in the Milady Breeders’ Cup Handicap on June 22, or she could go to New York for the Hempstead Handicap six days later, according to Wally Dollase. . . . Irish Wings, who won an allowance race impressively at Hollywood Park before his victory in the Golden Gate Handicap, next will run in the American Handicap at Hollywood Park on July 4.

Like Skip Away, Will’s Way--third behind Skip Away and Formal Gold in the Massachusetts Handicap on May 31--is considered possible for the $1-million Hollywood Gold Cup on June 29. . . . Oakhurst, who finished last in the Cinema Handicap on May 31, was shipped to Austria earlier this week and will run in the Austrian Derby on June 28 at a track in Vienna. Oakhurst is co-owned by Frank Stronach, a native of Austria.

Really Happy and Majestical Moment head a field of eight 3-year-old fillies in today’s $100,000 Princess Stakes at 1 1/16 miles. I Ain’t Bluffing, the winner of last month’s Railbird Stakes, is skipping the Princess because of a foot bruise, according to trainer Ron Ellis.