2003 Cal-bred News

Gold Rush IV
Saturday April 26, 2003

General Challenge Aims for Tiznow

ARCADIA, Calif. (Apr. 15, 2003) -- Golden Eagle Farm was represented in last year's California Gold Rush by B. Thoughtful winner Favorite Funtime, but it came at a bittersweet time for her breeders.

"It was a difficult year for us," recalled Betty Mabee, whose husband, John, the founding father of the farm, died at 80 following a second stroke on Apr. 24.

Now, two days after the first anniversary of Mabee's passing, Golden Eagle will have a strong contingent in the 10 California Gold Rush races at Hollywood Park.

The horse whose appearance will be especially and hotly anticipated is General Challenge, one of the Mabees' top stars of recent years.

Now 7, the General Meeting-Excellent Lady gelding has won nine of 18 starts and banked $2,876,018. Eight of his victories have come in stakes, three of them Grade I events -- the 1999 Santa Anita Derby and Pacific Classic and the 2000 Santa Anita Handicap.

But when the big chestnut goes to the post for the $150,000, 7 ½-furlong Tiznow Stakes on Apr. 26, it will be his first appearance in a starting gate in nearly 2 ½ years -- since a fourth-place finish in the Pacific Classic of Aug. 26, 2000.

"He was supposed to come back the following July, but he injured a tendon in his left front," recalled Walter Solis, Goklen Eagle Farm's racing manager the past three years. "Then, we hoped he'd run last fall at Hollywood, but he popped a splint."

Still, several strong recent workouts for trainer Bob Baffert at Santa Anita suggest that General Challenge might be on the verge of a major comeback.

The Tiznow will be his first start against fellow Cal-breds since he won the California Breeders' Champion Stakes at Santa Anita in his second career start on New Year's Day, 1999.

"The Tiznow is a perfect place to start him back,"Betty Mabee said. "We're hoping for the best, and hoping his injuries don't catch up to him."

Mrs. Mabee said she won't wait long to see whether or not General Challenge can again be competitive at the top level.

"He's done wonderful things for me and John," she said. "If after a race or two we see he's not the same horse he was, we'll bring him back to the farm and make a pony out of him.

"If, on the other hand, he's still able to compete in stakes, we've told Baffert we want him to stay in California and not ship all over the country. There are plenty of good races here in California."

A notoriously nervous shipper, General Challenge has raced outside California twice, finishing fifth in the Louisiana Derby and 11th in the Kentucky Derby.

According to Solis, seven other Golden Eagle runners will compete in the California Gold Rush:

Wagon Train (Unbridled-Gather the Group) in the TVG Khaled Stakes; Dream Copy (Souvenir Copy-Fantastic Look) in the Megali Farms Stakes; Early Snow (Souvenir Copy-Regina's Vice) and Heroic Firefighter (Souvenir Copy-Wings of Wishes) in the Pepper Oaks Farm Stakes; Cornicopia (Souvenir Copy-Garden of Roses) in the Rancho San Miguel Stakes; Chief Planner (General Meeting-Flag of Freedom) in the Snow Chief Stakes; and Long Term Wish (Souvenir Copy-Warmest Wishes ) in the Melair Stakes.

Long Term Wish gave Golden Eagle its first stakes victory of 2003 when she won the Boo La Boo Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 15, rallying from 17 lengths back to beat My Kai by a neck.

"Óne of he last things John wanted to do was establish Souvenir Copy as a stallion," Betty Mabee said. "Long Term Wish started it off, and now we have all these other young Souvenir Copies we have high hopes for."
--Larry Bortstein