Hall
of Fame trainer Richard Mandella doesn’t flinch when the term “hard luck horse”
is used to describe Setsuko, the 4-year-old colt he’ll saddle Friday afternoon
in the $125,000 Grade II Cougar Handicap.
“Definitely
a hard luck horse all his life,” Mandella said Wednesday morning while
overseeing workouts at trackside. “He ran second in the (2010) Santa Anita
Derby then didn’t get in the Kentucky Derby. I’d say bad luck follows him.”
Setusuko,
a son of Mandella-trained 2003 Breeders’ Cup Classic and 2004 Pacific Classic
winner Pleasantly Perfect, made a late run from last of 10 in last year’s Santa
Anita Derby to miss by 4 ½ lengths of catching Sidney’s Candy. He thus came up
short on graded stakes earnings to qualify for the Kentucky Derby field of 20.
The
oh-so-close theme has continued into Setsuko’s four-year-old season. He was
second to Game On Dude, nosed out at odds of 25-1 in the Santa Anita Handicap
on March 5, and the runner-up result only became official after stewards ruled,
following a long and controversial inquiry, that there would be no change in
the order of finish.
Moving
to Hollywood Park, Setusuko, ridden in his last three starts by Victor
Espinoza, was second – for the sixth time in 14 career starts – in The
Californian in June, then fourth in the Hollywood Gold Cup on July 9.
Setsuko
has only a maiden victory as a 2-year-old, in December of 2009 at Hollywood
Park, going into Friday’s 1 ½-mile Cougar II, which is a “Win and You’re In”
qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Marathon on November 4 at Churchill Downs in
Kentucky.
“We’ll
try him at a mile and a half and see if he can break that (non-winning) chain,”
Mandella said. “It’s a month away to the Pacific Classic. I would think
that he could do the mile-and-a-half, and it’s definitely an easier field than
would be in the Pacific Classic.
“
I’d like to get a chance to win a race with him and I would think this would be
a chance. I’m not saying he’s going to, but this will give him a chance.
“It’s
a Win-and-You’re-In race, which is important now because they pay entry fees,
expenses and that kind of stuff. It’s a big deal.”
A
field of eight has been entered in the Cougar II. While Setsuko would have a
large advantage regarding the level of recent races, Mandella is taking none of
the competition lightly. Especially Bourbon Bay, a 5-year-old turf specialist
who has raced on synthetics only once in 19 career starts and is trained by
Mandella’s fellow Hall of Famer, Neil Drysdale.
“You
don’t know how (Bourbon Bay) would adapt to the main track. He’s a tough old
horse and obviously Neil thinks the race suits him or he wouldn’t have him in
there,” Mandella said.