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NEW YORK -- Survivalist lived up to his name and won the Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct on Saturday, sweeping past the field in the final strides and withstanding a steward's inquiry to move onto the Kentucky Derby trail.Pavo, who finished second in a gallant effort, was disqualified to fourth after stewards ruled that the colt's jockey, Alan Garcia, inadvertently whipped Naughty New Yorker in the face during a wild stretch run. Garcia somehow managed to ride most of the race with his feet out of the stirrups.In the revised order of finish, 6-5 favorite Galloping Grocer was moved up to second from third, and Naughty New Yorker, whose rider Jean-Luc Samyn claimed foul, was moved up to third place from fourth.Survivalist gives trainer Shug McGaughey a Derby hopeful just two weeks after the Hall of Famer's other prospect, Defer, ran out of the money in the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park.Galloping Grocer, with Mike Luzzi aboard for the first time, was laying third and seemed to be ideally placed for a winning effort. But when the nine-horse field turned for home, a five-horse battle ensued to the finish.Survivalist, taken six wide by jockey Richard Migliore, avoided most of the problems inside of him and stormed past Pavo, Galloping Grocer, Naughty New Yorker and Byanosejoe.Samyn's objection was against Survivalist, but the stewards ruled that it was Pavo's rider who committed the foul."I was nervous because you don't know which way it's going to go,'' said Migliore after riding his fourth winner of the day.Garcia said his saddle slipped."It was very difficult,'' he said. "I was trying to ride him for the win. The saddle was in the front, and my legs were out of the stirrups.''The winning time for the one-turn mile was 1:35.61. Survivalist paid $8.90, $4 and $2.90. Galloping Grocer paid $3.40 and $2.30, and Naughty New Yorker paid $2.60 to show.The first five finishers were less than two lengths apart. Survivalist beat Pavo by three-quarters of a length, with Galloping Grocer another neck back. Naughty New Yorker was a half-length farther back, with Byanosejoe another head behind.Lieutenant Danz was sixth, followed by Mr. Congeniality, Maddy's Lion and Distinctive Trick.Dominick Schettino, who trains Galloping Grocer, said his New York-bred gelding "ran great. There's nothing to be sorry about.'' Galloping Grocer, who came into the race off a fourth-place effort in the Whirlaway, will run next in the Wood Memorial on April 9.Survivalist, a 3-year-old son of Danzig, is owned by the Phipps Stable, and earned $90,000 for the victory. The 3-year-old colt finished second to top Derby prospect Sun King in a one-mile allowance race last month at Gulfstream Park.Now, Survivalist has all but earned his way onto the Derby trail, with the Wood his likely next stop before the Derby on May 7."I don't know if he's a Derby horse yet,'' McGaughey said. "He'd have to prove it to me. The Wood is a good possibility. I don't want to go to the Derby just to go to the Derby. I want to take the right horse.''Naughty New Yorker also will be pointed to the Wood, trainer Pat Kelly said. The New York-bred colt came in to the Gotham of runner-up finishes in the Whirlaway and the Count Fleet.Earlier, 27-1 long shot Dixie Talking -- with Garcia aboard -- won the $100,000 Cicada Stakes for 3-year-olds fillies, with even-money favorite Alfonsina finishing third.Meanwhile, Sun King enhanced his Derby credentials in Florida, easily winning Saturday's $250,00 Tampa Bay Derby as the 1-20 favorite. Sun King, trained by Nick Zito, is now 2-for-2 this year after finishing third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile to end his 2-year-old campaign. Next stop for Sun King is the Blue Grass at Keeneland on April 16.

California racing officials asked Churchill Downs Inc. to explain its long-term plans for Hollywood Park after widespread speculation among industry officials last week that Churchill was nearing a deal to sell the racetrack to developers.Churchill officials have cited company policy in declining to comment on the speculation, which has occurred sporadically over the past several years. Hollywood Park, which Churchill bought in 1999 for $140 million in cash, is situated on 240 acres of land in Inglewood, a neighborhood convenient to beaches, Beverly Hills, and Los Angeles International Airport.The Thoroughbred Owners of California invited Churchill officials to a board meeting last Thursday to address the issue, but Rick Baedeker, the president of Hollywood Park, declined to comment on the company's plans for the track, according to Drew Couto, the president of the TOC. Baedeker did not return a phone call for comment."These are things we've been hearing year after year, and I think everyone understands that Churchill is not going to be at Hollywood much longer," Couto said. "Depending on who you talk to, Hollywood is worth anywhere from $250 million to $300 million, and that's a lot of pressure on a publicly traded company."Churchill owns seven racetracks, including its flagship track in Louisville, Ky., Arlington Park outside Chicago, Calder Race Course in Florida, Fair Grounds in New Orleans, Ellis Park in western Kentucky, and Hoosier Park in Indiana. While profitable, the company has been largely unsuccessful in its attempts to add slot machines at its tracks, to the chagrin of shareholders who want to see the company capitalize on expanded gambling.California racing has been beset by problems over the past several years, including short fields, spiraling workers' compensation costs, static handle growth, and a recent series of positive tests for illegal alkalizing agents. In addition, the state's racetracks and card rooms lost a humbling battle at the polls last year in an attempt to get approval for slot machines.Several racing officials said that if Churchill were to sell Hollywood, the company might seek to run a race meet under Hollywood's dates at either Santa Anita Park or Los Alamitos Park. Hollywood will run two meets this year, from April 22 to July 17 and from Nov. 9 to Dec. 9.Santa Anita is owned by Magna Entertainment Corp., the country's largest racetrack operator and also a publicly traded company. Los Alamitos, which runs a mixed meet year-round, is privately owned by Ed Allred.A Magna official said Monday night that Churchill has not approached the company about running a meet at Santa Anita. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Magna officials had asked Churchill during meetings on Monday whether Churchill planned to sell Hollywood Park and got no response.At Los Alamitos, which is in the southern Los Angeles metropolitan area, Churchill would likely need to pay for extensive racetrack improvements to attract Southern California Thoroughbred horsemen. The track has only a five-eighths-mile dirt course, although the property does have stables for 1,400 horses.Allred did not return phone calls on Monday and Tuesday.Couto said that should Churchill sell Hollywood, Southern California horsemen would have "plenty of options," including, perhaps, the construction of a new track east of the city, funded by owners. Couto said that year-round racing in Southern California would not be threatened if Hollywood Park were no longer part of the racing landscape."Obviously, if a racetrack decides they are not going to play anymore in Southern California, we'll realign the racing calendar," Couto said. "But we'll still have year-round racing. We'll have a calendar that maximizes our strengths and minimizes our weaknesses."The Southern California racing year begins on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita and moves to Hollywood in April. Del Mar Thoroughbred Club north of San Diego runs a six-week late summer meet, and then racing moves to Fairplex Park in the Los Angeles area for three weeks. The Oak Tree Racing Association runs a five-week meet at Santa Anita next, before racing moves to Hollywood for the remaining month of the year.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. -- Trainer Bill Mott has quietly had himself another good Gulfstream Park meeting, coming into the weekend's action second in the standings behind Todd Pletcher. But the nine time Gulfstream training champion made some real noise on Sunday when sweeping the $100,000 Canadian Turf and Honey Fox handicaps with Old Forester and Sand Springs.Old Forester ($24.00) rallied from just off the pace under Eibar Coa to a 1.25 length victory over Gulch Approval in the one mile and one sixteenth Canadian Turf. In the process, the 4-year-old son of Forestry set a new course record after covering the distance in 1:38.20 seconds. Old Forester is owned by Live Oak Plantation.Sand Springs (13.20) led throughout then narrowly outlasted the late charging Potra Fabulous to post a nose decision in the Grade 3 Honey Fox.Old Forester raced well placed behind the pace of Keep Cool in the Canadian Turf, eased out from behind traffic at the head of the stretch before overtaking Gulch Approval to win going away. Gulch Approval stalked the early leader, gained a slim lead in early stretch but proved no match for the winner while finishing a head in front of the 5-2 favorite Muqbil.Sand Springs, who broke far behind her field when defeated as a 3-5 favorite in her first start of the meet, got away clean and set some rapid fractions in the Honey Fox. Despite the fast pace, jockey Jerry Bailey saved enough at the end to to just hold off the fast finishing Potra Fabulous and Shaconage who was also coming on well down the stretch.Sand Springs was making just her second start for Mott after being purchased privately by the Sweetenham Stud during the fall of 2004."Bill said this would be the acid test for Old Forester today," said assistant trainer Ken McCarthy who saddled both Old Forester and Sand Springs in Mott's absence. "I think she's probably learned to sit back a little bit and finish better as she's gotten older. He hung at the end of his last start, he tends to pull himself up if he makes the lead too early, but Eibar got him to wait a little longer today. He rode a great race."McCarthy said the key to Sand Springs' victory was the break."The break is everything with her," said McCarthy. "With her it's a simple game plan. If she breaks clean she's going to be on the lead and even though she set fast fractions she's the kind of filly who will gut it out to the end."

ARCADIA, Calif. -- At 2, Tarlow was sometimes her own worst enemy, fighting nerves instead of rival fillies. But as she's grown older, Tarlow has developed into a top-class filly and a multiple stakes winner. Saturday, Tarlow won the first Grade 1 of her career in the $300,000 Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap at Santa Anita. She held off a late run from Dream of Summer to score by a nose. Breaking from the outside post in a strong field of nine older fillies and mares, Tarlow led throughout under Patrick Valenzuela. She set a quick pace of 23.40 and 46.99, led by a length on the backstretch and in midstretch, and was fully extended in the final furlong. Tarlow ($15.) finished 1 1-8 miles in 1:49.41. Miss Loren, the 5-2 favorite and 118-pound topweight, finished third, three-quarters of a length behind Dream of Summer. The winner of the Grade 1 Santa Maria Handicap last month, Miss Loren was making her first start for Ernie Moody's Mercedes Stable, having been purchased privately in late February. Tarlow, 4, races for Jerry and Ann Moss and is trained by John Shirreffs. Second in the 2003 Oak Leaf Stakes and ninth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies that year, Tarlow won the first stakes of her career in the Grade 2 La Canada Stakes for 4-year-old fillies here last month. Overall, Tarlow has won 4 of 10 starts and $439,740. "Racing has helped her," Shirreffs said. "She has improved instead of going the other way. She was high-strung at 2." *Cozy Guy ($8.20) won his first stakes since the California Cup Classic in the $109,800 Crystal Water Handicap for state-breds. A slight favorite, Cozy Guy stalked pacesetter Early Snow and rallied past that gelding to win by a length. Trained by Dan Hendricks and ridden by Alex Solis, Cozy Guy finished a mile on turf in 1:33.50. Early Snow, a 15-1 outsider, set an early pace of 22.73 and 46.79 seconds. Running Free, who fought with Early Snow for the lead, finished third in the field of eight. Cozy Guy pulled a 20-1 upset in the California Cup Classic last October. Owned by Lance and Jeff Hayes and Jerry Higman, Cozy Guy has won 7 of 18 starts and $418,104. *Thatswhatimean won her stakes and turf debut in the $85,300 China Doll Stakes. Ridden by Rene Douglas, Thatswhatimean ($14.20) finished a mile in 1:34.44. Thatswhatimean followed pacesetter Cee's Irish to early stretch before Douglas guided her to the outside. With a stretch-long rally, Thatswhatimean took the lead in the final 100 yards, scoring by a neck. Cee's Irish finished a half-length in front of On London Time in the field of seven 3-year-old fillies. Conveyor's Angel, the 2-1 favorite, finished sixth. Thatswhatimean has won 2 of 5 starts and $95,700 for owner B. Wayne Hughes and trainer Warren Stute.

Testing ground for late developers
By John SwensonDaily Racing Form
NEW ORLEANS - Because of its its relatively short 1 1/16-mile distance and its spot on the calendar eight weeks before the Kentucky Derby, the Louisiana Derby tends to attract 3-year-olds trying to establish their credentials around two turns and late-developing classics hopefuls.
Scipion and Real Dandy, the first two finishers in the Risen Star Stakes, fall into the latter category. Vicarage and Risen Star third-place finisher Storm Surge have yet to prove their two-turn prowess.
Before he won the Risen Star, Scipion only had a maiden victory to his credit, but his handlers knew he had the talent to win a graded stakes. Patrick Biancone took a patient route to the Risen Star, the final prep for the Louisiana Derby.
"Patrick took his time with him and let him develop," said assistant trainer Pierre Bellocq Jr. "He's grown over the winter and he's filled out nicely."
The Louisiana Derby is an appealing race for some trainers because the stretch at Fair Grounds is 1,346 feet, the longest in the United States, and provides valuable experience for what lies ahead. The stretch at Churchill Downs is 1,234 feet.
Biancone had the Louisiana Derby in mind for Scipion all along, in large part because he thought the late-running colt would benefit from the length of the Fair Grounds stretch.
"His style of running tends to benefit from the long stretch," said Bellocq. "He's the type of horse that it takes him a little while to get going. The longer the stretch the better. The long stretch at Fair Grounds really suits him, and the stretch at Churchill Downs is also long, so this is a good preparation for the Kentucky Derby."
Real Dandy has developed step by step for trainer Steve Asmussen, bypassing such stablemates as the earlier-maturing Smooth Bid and Actxecutive, whose 3-year-old
campaign has yet to begin due to a variety of problems. Real Dandy blossomed in the Risen Star at the same distance as the Louisiana Derby with a strong run for second place.
"He's more mature, stronger and healthier," Asmussen said of Real Dandy's development.
Asmussen won the Louisiana Derby in 2001 with Fifty Stars.
"There are a lot of similarities between Fifty Stars and Real Dandy, from top to bottom," said Asmussen. "Both horses have been better the further they go. Fifty Stars was third in the Lecomte, fourth in the Risen Star, then he won the Louisiana Derby. He trained well and had the advantage of being a local horse; the seas parted that day and he won. Also Bob Zollars, who owns Real Dandy, was one of the owners of Fifty Stars. We're going to try to catch a lightning bug in the bottle twice."
Asmussen can see the Louisiana Derby as a stepping-stone in Real Dandy's development.
"Your ultimate goal is to win as many races with the horse as he's capable of," he said. "This horse has a number of big races potentially in his future. The longer he goes the better he gets. He's the type of horse you're always looking for."
For some horses, the Louisiana Derby provides an opportunity to get in a two-turn race without having to run nine furlongs. At Gulfstream Park, for example, all two-turn races are run at nine furlongs or longer.
Todd Pletcher will start Vicarage, a stablemate of Proud Accolade, who spiked a fever last weekend and will miss Saturday's race. The Louisiana Derby will be Vicarage's first start around two turns.
"We felt that the one and a sixteenth miles was an attractive distance," said Pletcher. "The timing of the race is good. It's time to see how he handles two turns on the dirt."
Questions about Storm Surge's distance limitations have dogged trainer Dallas Stewart ever since the Storm Cat colt lost his first attempt around two turns as the favorite in the 1 1/16-mile Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs last November. Stewart then brought Storm Surge to Fair Grounds for its 3-year-old series. He won the six-furlong Sugar Bowl handily, then proved he could rate around two turns in the one-mile Lecomte. He failed in his second attempt at 1 1/16 miles in the Risen Star, but Stewart hopes he will benefit from the experience and take another step forward in the Louisiana Derby.
"He's growing, but it's in strength," said Stewart, who won the 1999 Louisiana Derby with Kimberlite Pipe. "He's not tall, but he's getting stronger all the time. Every time he runs, no matter how hard, he comes back bouncing and ready for more. That's an extremely good sign, a sign he's getting stronger as he goes. He got a little tired at the end in the Risen Star and those horses caught him, but I expect him to improve."
He and the rest of the trainers with horses in Saturday's race are hoping that continued improvement in the Louisiana Derby will keep them on the Kentucky Derby trail

Chandtrue's Campaign Begins in Baldwinby Blood-Horse StaffDate Posted: 3/3/2005 9:18:17 PMLast Updated: 3/4/2005 5:41:50 PMChandtrue, unbeaten in four starts at Hollywood Park at 2, gets his sophomore campaign started on the turf in Saturday's $100,000 Baldwin Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Santa Anita.
Owned by Harold F. Greene and trained by Bob Hess Jr., Chandtrue hasn't started since capturing the six-furlong Hollywood Juvenile Championship (gr. III) on July 17 in his graded stakes debut. His 2-year-old resume also included wins in the ungraded Haggin and Willard Proctor Memorial stakes and total earnings of $182,970.
Hess wanted to start Chandtrue, who is nominated to the Triple Crown, in the Swale Stakes (gr. II) at Gulfstream Park Saturday, where he would have faced Lost in the Fog. But suitable travel arrangements could not be made, so Hess opted for the Baldwin instead.
"We were looking forward to running against Lost in the Fog in the Swale," he said. "We have a little history in that race having won it with D'wildcat (in 2001) and I thought seven furlongs on dirt would be ideal. I wasn't really keen on running him on the grass nor across the dirt crossover in his comeback. But because of difficulty in making travel arrangements and our inability to get him on a Tex Sutton flight – we would have had to go on an Air Cargo flight – we felt it was in the horse's best interests to stay here. Running in the Baldwin was the lesser of two evils, rather than going on a flight we weren't really pleased with."
The Baldwin, contested at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the downhill course, will be the turf debut for the Florida-bred son of Yes It's True. Chandtrue drew the outside post in the field of 12 and will carry 122 pounds while gaining the services of Corey Nakatani. He spots the remainder of the field from three to eight pounds.
Another Florida-bred Triple Crown nominee, Bushwacker, starts from the rail with Alex Solis in the irons. After breaking his maiden in his debut on the Hollywood Park turf in November, the son of Outflanker was a game second to Declan's Moon, beaten by two lengths in the Hollywood Prevue (gr. III). He ran eighth by 17 lengths in his last start, the Sunshine Million Dash, a race won by Lost in the Fog.
Eastern Sand ran second in the one-mile Hill Rise in his first start for trainer Jeff Mullins on the turf at Santa Anita Jan. 15.
British-bred The Pheasant Flyer, a two-time winner in England on turf before finishing 12th in a group III effort in October, joins the stable of Jim Cassidy.
Julio Canani sends out Sunny Sky, a turf stakes winner in France who ran third in his U.S. debut in the Generous (gr. IIIT) at a mile.
Irish-bred Il Colosseo returns to the lawn after back-to-back victories on the dirt at Wolverhampton in Great Britain late last year for trainer Linda Stubbs.
$100,000 Baldwin Stakes (gr. IIIT), 3-year-olds, about 6 1/2 furlongs (turf)PP. Horse, Weight, Jockey1. Bushwacker (FL), 114, Alex O. Solis2. Run Thruthe Sun (CA), 117, Jon K. Court3. Talking to John (KY), 117, Victor Espinoza4. Il Colosseo (IRE), 114, Mike E. Smith5. Eastern Sand (FL), 114, Patrick A. Valenzuela6. Cammies Future (GB), 114, Jose Valdivia, Jr.7. The Pheasant Flyer (GB), 114, Garrett K. Gomez8. High Standards (CA), 117, Edgar S. Prado9. Orbits World (CA), 119, Kent J. Desormeaux10. Hesabully (FL), 117, Tyler Baze11. Sunny Sky (FR), 114, Rene R. Douglas12. Chandtrue (FL), 122, Corey S. Nakatani

NEW ORLEANS -- Trainer Dallas Stewart has decided to replace Robby Albarado with Jerry Bailey on Storm Surge for the March 12 Louisiana Derby. Storm Surge won the Lecomte Stakes and finished third in the Risen Star with Albarado, the leading jockey at Fair Grounds, in the irons. "Robby did a great job on Storm Surge," said Stewart. "The decision is not a knock on anybody."
Why the switch to Bailey?
"He's Jerry Bailey," Stewart said. "We're hoping his big-race experience will be a factor in the Louisiana Derby."
Albarado's agent, Lenny Pike, downplayed the significance of the rider switch.
"Jerry Bailey isn't coming to Fair Grounds to ride Storm Surge," Pike said, noting that Bailey has the mount on Badge of Silver in the New Orleans Handicap on the same day. "He just happens to be here that day to ride Storm Surge."
Scipion and Real Dandy, one-two in the Risen Star, are slated to return in the Louisiana Derby, along with Rush Bay. Trainer Bobby Frankel, who is bringing Badge of Silver in for the New Orleans 'Cap, will bring along High Limit to run in the Louisiana Derby for his 3-year-old debut.
"He's coming," said Frankel. "He's a nice horse, and he's training well."
The undefeated High Limit has won both of his races by a combined 18 1/2 lengths. Both came last fall at Delaware Park while under the care of Anthony Dutrow. The Louisiana Derby will be High Limit's first start for Frankel, who will keep regular jockey Ramon Dominguez on the colt, a son of Maria's Mon. Frankel saddled Peace Rules to win the 2003 Louisiana Derby.
Todd Pletcher, who is bringing Pollard's Vision in for the New Orleans Handicap and Proud Accolade for the Louisiana Derby, may also bring his 3-year-old colt Vicarage for the Louisiana Derby.
Texcess, winner of the California Cup Juvenile and the Delta Jackpot Stakes, may also run in the Louisiana Derby, said his trainer, Paul Aguirre.
"It depends on how he works next week," said Aguirre, "but we'll probably come."
A gelded son of In Excess, Texcess has never been off the board in six starts, with a record of 3-2-1.