22 Mzo. USA. San Luis Rey H. G2. Santa Anita Park. 12f. Turf. 200.000 $
1.- BOULE D'OR (T.Baze)
2.- PORFIDO (D.Flores)
3.- WARNING ZONE (G.Gomez)


The wire came just in time for the veteran Boule d'Or, a recent $50,000 claim by trainer Jeff Mullins who stole the $200,000 San Luis Rey Handicap (gr. IIT) with a well-timed ride from jockey Tyler Baze on the Santa Anita turf Saturday.

Baze caught a field without much speed and put his 112-pound impost to best use, opening up by nearly a dozen lengths on the backstretch run of the 1 1/2-mile endurance test. Boule d'Or maintained a healthy seven-length advantage with a quarter-mile to go when his rivals, including the 6-5 favorite On the Acorn, failed to make up much ground to that point. The Irish-bred Boule d'Or, despite getting weary, had just enough left to post a three-quarters of a length over Porfido and Warning Zone, who were separated by a nose for second and third after chasing Boule d'Or for most of the journey.

"Wire, wire, wire," Baze responded when asked his thoughts as Porfido and Warning Zone closed in.

Expected to go to the lead at the outset from his far outside post, Boule d'Or actually left the gate a little slowly as Porfido and Warning Zone led through the stretch the first time around. Baze was unhappy with the slow early pace and took the lead on the outside into the clubhouse turn. When his pace rivals didn't move with him, the 7-year-old Boule d'Or suddenly had a greatly expanding advantage on the backstretch. Predictably, Boule d'Or tired in the final furlong but held on gamely.

"It just seemed like he was in front for 20 minutes," Bone said. "I just hoped he'd get to the finish line before the other horses did."

Mullins claimed Boule d'Or for $50,000 from Paddy Gallagher out of a 1 1/8-mile optional claiming allowance event Jan. 20 on behalf of longtime client Bob Bone and his partners Don Johnson and Jim Robinson. In his first start for his new connections, Boule d'Or scored a front-running 3 1/2-length win under Victor Espinoza in another allowance/optional claiming race at 10 furlongs Feb. 29. That got Mullins thinking the Croco Rouge horse might do the same thing at the San Luis Rey distance.

"My partners were looking for a quality horse," Bone explained. "I spotted this one. I was actually just about to call Jeff (Mullins) when Jeff called me. We also got Church Service out of that race, so that was pretty productive for us."

Boule d'Or was trained in Great Britain by John Akehurst and has experience on synthetic tracks. He began his U.S. career more than 13 months ago, but was winless in America in seven starts before finally breaking through for Mullins. Overall, his record stands at 7-7-9 in 48 lifetime starts with earnings of $544,981. The San Luis Rey victory was worth $120,000