Columnist Ralph Siraco: Nakatani, Smith are getting back on track

Ralph Siraco's horse racing column appears Monday, and his Southern California selections run Tuesday through Friday. Reach him c/o Las Vegas Sun, 800 S. Valley View Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89107.

The first month of the new century -- and year -- is fast coming to an end. The Eclipse Awards are now sitting on their respective mantels, Y2K is now Y2-why and the winter racing seasons are well under way -- at least in the warm-weather sites of Florida and California -- with a pair of derbies already in the record books.

So, here are some observations scribbled across my Daily Racing Form. ...

* Santa Anita has logged 22 days of its 87-day session at the foot of the majestic San Gabriel Mountain range in Arcadia, Calif., and there are a pair of leaders at the top of the jockey and trainer standings that come as no surprise to those who follow the ponies.

Corey Nakatani, no stranger to Southern California riding championships, has climbed to the top of the Santa Anita jockey standings, getting win No. 25 in Sunday's third race at the Great Race Place. He leads another former Southern California riding titleist in Kent Desormeaux by seven wins. Desormeaux checked in with his 18th score in Sunday's opener.

Nakatani snagged a four-bagger twice last week and has teamed up in a majority of his victories with the meet's leading trainer, Bobby Frankel. The pair have been lethal on the turf as they showed in Nakatani's most recent winner aboard Central Lobby.

Frankel, who has won the Santa Anita trophy five times before, registered his 13th win on Sunday and is tied with Bob Baffert, who also checked in with No. 13 on Sunday, at the top of the standings. Baffert is defending a two-year title streak at Santa Anita while Frankel is trying for his first since the 1981-82 season.

* Also joining the millennium rejuvenation run is jockey Mike Smith at Gulfstream Park. Smith, who leads all riders at the South Florida track, must deal with newcomer Edgar Prado. The latter comes by way of the Maryland circuit and last summer's Saratoga meeting.

* Another rejuvenated jockey, Robby Albarado, has reclaimed the lead in The Fair Grounds jockey standings after missing the first week of competition. Albarado is making a comeback after back-to-back spills in 1998 and 1999 that resulted in a pair of skull fractures. The resilient rider goes for his third consecutive riding title at the Bayou track.

* Menifee, winner of the Haskell Invitational and Blue Grass Stakes last year, has been retired. The promising 4-year-old injured an ankle, forcing his exit from the racing wars. Another who has retired to the breeding shed is 1999 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner Soaring Softly. The Eclipse Award winner for that category had a near-perfect turf record last year, winning 7-of-8 races on the green.

Horse Chestnut, the South African wonder horse, sustained a career-ending injury while preparing for the February 5 Donn Handicap. He became the favorite for the first race of the "Champions on Fox" series with an awesome victory in his U.S. debut, capturing the Broward Handicap on January 8 while racing on the dirt for the first time. Now the race searches for a new marquee attraction.

* Team Lukas' pair of Breeders' Cup winners are still trying to find the post-Cup winners circle. Cat Thief, who won the Breeders' Cup Classic, has finished third in the Malibu Stakes and second in the recent San Fernando Stakes -- both at Santa Anita -- since winning the big one. Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Cash Run suffered her second defeat in Sunday's Santa Ynez Stakes while finishing off the board as the heavy favorite for the second time since winning her big one. She subsequently finished second in the Golden Rod at Churchill Downs.

* The California Horse Racing Board voted to accept the use of nasal strips on horses racing in the Golden State starting March 1. The strips, modeled after the ones used by professional athletes, have been used by many trainers on horses in different states recently and, in fact, were worn by both Cash Run and Cat Thief in their Breeders' Cup victories at Gulfstream Park in November. Hmmmm ... could there be a connection?

* The road to the Kentucky Derby continues this weekend with the Hutcheson Stakes at Gulfstream Park and the Santa Catalina Stakes at Santa Anita. The 3-year-old division has seen Forrest Camp defect from the Derby trail with body soreness and Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Eclipse Award winner Anees set back in his training schedule due to a nagging injury. Hollywood Futurity winner Captain Steve is still on track for his sophomore debut on Sunday at Santa Anita while two other promising colts have joined the Derby run. Impressive recent maiden winners Fusaichi Pegasus and War Chant will soon be tested in stakes competition.

* More handicapping contests are on tap this week in Las Vegas. On Wednesday, Arizona Charlie's will double the starting pot at $1,600 in their "Win/Quin" contest covering Santa Anita's card while the Gold Coast will hold another free $1,000 handicapping foray based on the last five races at Santa Anita.

Thursday, the Texas Station race book will offer another chance at $1,000 with its handicapping contest that covers the last three races at Gulfstream Park and the first three races at Santa Anita. And on Friday at the Sunset Station race book, the usual handicapping contest on the Santa Anita card has a show pool pot that has swelled to a $4,850 bonus carryover. The pot involves picking selections in the money (first, second or third) in each of the contest races. No one has swept the show bonus for the past three weeks, so the pool could climb to seven times the win guarantee with all the Super Bowl visitors this weekend. Bada Bing.

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