Bruce Headley

[bdw0617]

Headley in long dry spell
By JAY PRIVMAN
DEL MAR, Calif. - Four months ago, Santa Anita's winter meeting ended. Since then, hockey season ended. Basketball season ended. And trainer Bruce Headley stopped winning.

Whether on Cushion Track at Hollywood Park, or Polytrack at Del Mar, Headley has not won a race since April 13. He has had plenty of seconds, too many for his taste. Headley is hoping to end his inglorious streak no later than Sunday, when he sends out Arson Squad in the Grade 1, $1 million Pacific Classic and Surf Cat in the Grade 2, $300,000 Pat O'Brien Handicap.

The new era of synthetic surfaces has been "a mystery so far," the veteran trainer said Tuesday morning. His horses are training well, and not coming back injured. "They're just coming back with defeats," Headley said. "Sometimes you spend your time losing. It's a hard game."

Arson Squad was sixth in the San Diego Handicap on July 21, but he won the Strub Stakes earlier this year and the Swaps Stakes last year. Following the Strub, Arson Squad popped an abscess in a foot, which required a layoff, Headley said.

Surf Cat, 5, returned from a 14-month layoff on July 7 and finished second, just a head behind Bilo, in the Triple Bend Handicap at Hollywood Park. They have a rematch in the Pat O'Brien. Surf Cat gave Bilo nine pounds (123 to 114) in the Triple Bend. The spread is six pounds (122-116) for the O'Brien, in which Surf Cat was made the highweight.

Before going to the sidelines last year, Surf Cat won four straight races, including the Mervyn LeRoy Handicap at Hollywood Park. He has finished first or second in 11 of his 12 races. At age 3, he won the Swaps Stakes.

Headley said he has not adjusted his training methods for Polytrack, believing his recent run is more a matter of bad luck than bad horses or training.

"You can't teach an old dog new tricks," he said. "I'm doing my old style. It hasn't thrown me into a tailspin. I'm still training exactly the same way."

Headley said training and handicapping Polytrack is "quite a guessing game."

"The old handicappers, the ones that have been around 30 years, are all mixed up," he said. "It's very slow. It's a brand-new project. Our old tracks, the sandy loam, were fine. We started getting problems when they started adding wood products to them, and it would ball up in their feet."


http://www.drf.com/news/articles/87604.html


say it isn't so Bruce. I mean... The last time you won a race I was cutting a check for my taxes... seriously.

100 days? I mean.. just drop one to get a monkey off your back...when it rains it pours I guess

[Tucumcari]

HAs he ridden anyone other than Solis.... I bet there are a HUGE string of seconds on his record...

[louis finochio]

magnificence will return after HP fall, they put a blister on her insted of surgery to remove her chips. patience is golden.