Proudinsky holds on for San Gabriel repeat; Lava Man last

Proudinsky reaches for the wire (Benoit Photo) Johanna Louise Glen-Teven’s PROUDINSKY (Ger) (Silvano [Ger]) rallied to the lead at the top of the stretch and gamely repelled the late challenge of 7-5 favorite Loup Breton (Ire) (Anabaa) to score a repeat victory in Sunday’s $150,000 San Gabriel H. (G2) at Santa Anita. The turf feature held added significance this year, serving as the eagerly-awaited comeback from retirement for seven-time Grade 1 star Lava Man (Slew City Slew), but the popular gelding could not go wire-to-wire in his reappearance and ultimately faded to last. Proudinsky’s success continued the sparkling run for trainer Humberto Ascanio, who had sent out Fluke (Brz) (Wild Event) to win the Citation H. (G1) and Ventura to capture the Matriarch S. (G1) during Hollywood’s Turf Festival over Thanksgiving weekend. Like Fluke and Ventura, Proudinsky had been conditioned by Ascanio’s longtime boss and mentor, the late Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel.

Ironically, just as he had done a year ago, Proudinsky was entering Sunday’s
San Gabriel off a fourth in the Citation. Moreover, he was reuniting with Rafael
Bejarano for the first time since the 2008 San Gabriel.

When the gate opened, Lava Man broke alertly in his first start in 17 months,
and the Doug O’Neill charge soon set up shop on the front end, much as he did in
his prime. After Lava Man got away with a comfortable opening quarter in :24,
Proudinsky moved up to prompt the leader through steady splits of :48 and 1:11
4/5. The three-year-old Acclamation (Unusual Heat), who had been forwardly
placed on the inside in the early going, switched out to launch his bid on the
far turn. When confronted by the dual challenges of Proudinsky and Acclamation,
Lava Man tried to resist, but the eight-year-old came up empty in the drive.

Instead, it was Proudinsky who took up the baton and left Acclamation behind
through one mile in 1:35 1/5. Meanwhile, the one-run closer Loup Breton slipped
through along the rail, saving all the ground, and threatened to overhaul
Proudinsky in deep stretch. The defending champion had too much in reserve,
however, and kept finding more to stave him off by a neck. Proudinsky negotiated
1 1/8 miles on the firm turf in 1:46 4/5 and returned $5.60, $2.80 and $2.20 as
the 9-5 second choice.

Proudinsky (center) confronts Lava Man (right) (Benoit Photo) “It looked like Lava Man was going to be the speed in the race,” Bejarano recapped. “When the one (Acclamation) broke a little slow, I knew we’d have try to get into position to put some pressure on. When we passed the half-mile pole, the one pressed us from the outside, so I let my horse run to hold our position. At the top of the stretch, I asked him and he gave me a good turn of foot. I could see the seven (Loup Breton) was really running on the rail, but my horse was running faster, and they couldn’t catch him.” “Good horses do the job,” Ascanio said. “I learned from the Bobby Frankel school. I’m not Bobby Frankel, but I just do his thing. I knew Julio’s horse (Loup Breton, trained by Julio Canani) was going to come running at the end, but I was real confident. He (Bejarano) had a lot of horse, and he told me he had a lot of confidence in the horse. He said he was going to win.”

Loup Breton, just failing to get up from dead last in the seven-horse field,
pulled 1 1/4 lengths clear of Acclamation. The runner-up gave back $2.80 and
$2.20. The 5-1 Acclamation nosed out 25-1 longshot Great Siege (Ire) (Rock of
Gibraltar [Ire]) for third-place honors, yielding $3. The $1 exotics were worth
$7.60 (exacta), $22 (trifecta) and $87.20 (3-7-1-5 superfecta). Cherokee Artist
(Cherokee Run), Sir Dave (Untuttable) and Lava Man completed the order under the
wire.

Proudinsky’s scorecard now reads 22-7-4-2 with $1,225,960 in his account. The
six-year-old has compiled five stakes victories. In addition to his two San
Gabriel trophies, he has won the past two editions of the Mervin H. Muniz Jr.
Memorial H. (G2) at Fair Grounds, as well as the 2006 Bay Meadows Derby (G3).
The bay claims six stakes placings, including the 2007 San Gabriel and Citation;
a close second to champion Big Brown in the 2008 Monmouth S. and a third to
Presious Passion (Royal Anthem) there this year; and a photo-finish loss in the
2006 Arlington Classic (G3) in his American premiere. Proudinsky was originally
stakes-placed in his native Germany.

Bred by Dr. R. Wilhelms, Proudinsky is out of the Dashing Blade mare
Proudeyes (Ger), making him a half-brother to German Group 3 hero Proudance (Tannenkonig).
Proudeyes is also responsible for a yearling filly named Pavie (Lomitas [GB])
and an unnamed weanling colt by Corinthian. This is the family of Proudwings
(Dashing Blade), an English, German and Italian highweight older mare at
distances from seven to 9 1/2 furlongs.