San Fernando

Minister Eric broke through with a first stakes win on Saturday (Benoit)

Diamond A Racing Corp.’s MINISTER ERIC (Old Trieste) proved best after
dueling with Mass Media (Touch Gold) down the stretch of
the $198,000
San Fernando Breeders’ Cup H. (G2) for four-year-olds at Santa Anita Saturday.

Indian Country (Indian Charlie) led the way early as he fought side-by-side
with Skipaslew (Skip Away). The pair raced through fractions of :22 4/5, :46 1/5
and 1:10 as Indian Country held the slight edge. Rounding the second turn of the
1 1/16-mile affair, Indian Country drifted off the pace, which opened the way for
Mass Media and the eventual winner to battle for the lead. Minister Eric was too
strong on the outside for the runner-up and ended the race in a time of 1:42 over a fast track.

“Taking the blinkers off turned him around,” trainer Richard Mandella said.
“You could see him relax today. He (Rene Douglas) had him in a perfect spot all
the way. We’ll consider Minister Eric for the Strub (S. [G2] also for four-year-olds), but I don’t know if I’ll
want to come back in three weeks (February 5) again. There are a lot of options
the whole year.”

Minister Eric left the gate at 7-1 under Douglas to pay $16, $6.60 and $5.60
to his backers. Mass Media, who was off as the 2-1 favorite, finished a half-length behind at the wire and gave out
$4.80 and $4, rounding out a $36.10 exacta ($1) as the 5-2 favorite. Skipaslew
held on to third to pay $12.20 and end a $684.70 trifecta ($1) at 41-1.
Hard-closing Imperialism (Langfuhr) managed to end the 5-2-6-11 superfecta, which
paid $2,772.30 for $1.

Castledale (Ire) (Peintre Celebre), My Creed (Beau Genius), Harvard Avenue
(You and I), Action This Day (Kris S.) and Indian Country rounded out the order
of finish. El Don (Cee’s Tizzy), Sinister G (Matty G) and Perfect Moon (Malibu
Moon) were withdrawn.