Clocker's Corner at Santa Anita For March 16, 2010

Not much goes on at race tracks across the country on Tuesday afternoons, but the morning hustle remains constant. Clocker's Corner, located at the top of the stretch at Santa Anita, is alive every morning with jockeys, trainers, agents, owners and of course the horses punching the time clock even before the sun does to get ready for competition in the afternoon.

We caught up with trainer Jorge Periban and 7-lb. apprentice jockey Mike James who were both gracious enough to take a few minutes in between their hectic schedule to speak with me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLKvC275HeE

Periban, whose Cardiff Giant ran fifth in the Grade 1, $300K Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park this past weekend after finishing third in the Grade 3, $250K Southwest Stakes there in February and second in the Grade 3, $100K San Rafael at Santa Anita in January, was pleased with how the one-time $32K claimer continued to exceed expectations.

“(Cardiff Giant) looks good after the race. I was not disappointed at all with his race. He ran his best against the best 3-year old horses in the country. So, I’m pleased, the owner is pleased, everybody is pleased," said Periban. "It’s really surprising because when you claim a horse you don’t know what to really expect with the horse. I never thought he was going to be like that, but you have to wait the time. He’s coming back on Thursday and we don’t know what the plan is at the moment. We’ll see after 10 days.”

Periban runs a modest stable at Santa Anita and acknowledges that the current economic conditions have made things difficult for his operation.

“At this moment, for everybody it’s hard. To have 15-20 horses is something I feel lucky to have because the economy is bad," said Periban. "But, we don’t have to see it that way. We have to be positive and I think that things are going to be better.”

Another horse in Periban's stable that has been a pleasant surprise is Streets of Heaven, out of the sire Street Cry who commands a $150K stud fee.

"The horse has class, but he has his problems. We’ve been taking care of him. I’m happy with the way he’s been running because I got that horse for free," said Periban. "The owners came to me and told me he has a horse that has an injury and we talked about the horse. I told him that if we don’t make it to a race I can give him a good home."

Streets of Heaven did make it back to the races, and after a disappointing first start for Periban in an $8k claimer at Hollywood Park on December 3rd, the horse won an $8K claiming race and finished 2nd by a neck at the same level to close out the year. That prompted Periban to try his luck in a $25K claiming race, and after finishing 2nd in that race and subsequently winning at the $10K level two weeks later, Streets of Heaven ran 4th beaten just over a length at the $32K level.

Breaking from post 12 and then the rail in his next two starts resulted in sub-par finishes for the gelding.

"He’s going to run for $8K next time," said Periban of his immediate plans for the horse.

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While this past Saturday was packed with highly-publicized stakes action across the country, it was also a big day for apprentice Mike James. A native of Glendora, which is just due east of Santa Anita, James decided to move back in with his parents and take his shot in the toughest jockey colony in the country after stints at Turfway Park and Golden Gate Fields.

"Winning my first race at Santa Anita on the same day that Zenyatta runs with all these people out here was a great thrill for me," said James, who won aboard Malibu Artiste in the 2nd race  - an $8K claimer for fillies and mares.

On paper, his horse appeared to be the clear speed of the field and went off as the 7-5 favorite on the big class drop. However, the race didn't unfold as expected.

"Two horses inside of me went to the lead so I decided to sit behind them in 3rd and conserve my horse," said the graduate of Chris McCarron's jockey school in Kentucky. "I got a lot of positive feedback for that ride and I hope that I can continue to get mounts through the meet even though it's tough because of the short fields in so many races."

James rides two on Wednesday's card and said he is particularly looking forward to his mount in the 3rd race aboard True Gatita for Sal Gonzalez in a $25K maiden-claimer.

"She's gone real nice for me in the mornings over at Hollywood Park and I think she could be ready to win," said James of the $40K Keeneland September 2007 purchase, which makes her the class of the field. 

The two losses on True Gatita's resume make her much more appealing than the majority of the rest of the field. However the horse to her inside, Sh Sh Shakin', has only lost once and will be a hunch play after the events of early this morning when a 4.4 earthquake shook Southern California.

(My apologies to Mike for not having the video of the interview we did as I ran into some technical issues. I look forward to Mike being gracious enough to speak with me again in the near future.)

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There was an added cast of characters this morning as the crew of Luck, an upcoming series on HBO produced by David Milch, was in the mix preparing to shoot their pilot. We'll have more coverage of their experience and the progress the production of the show is making in the weeks to come.