BackTrack: Copelan Adds to Success in Hollywood Prevue

Fred Hooper's Copelan proved 1 1/2 lengths the best of the eight horse field in Saturday's (Nov. 27, 1982) seven-furlong Hollywood Prevue. He collected $62,850 of the $107,850 purse and, according to trainer Mitchell Griffin, "set himself up just right for the big one." The big one is the Hollywood Futurity, in which he is expected to cross paths with Roving Boy. 



Copelan, the star of juvenile racing in New York this year, ran fourth at 2-5 odds in Meadowlands' Young America Stakes (G1) in his last start. He was 4-5 for the Prevue, however, with Cardiff Stud Farm's and T90 Ranch's Desert Wine, second to Roving Boy in the Norfolk Stakes (G1) and Del Mar Futurity (G2), expected to provide his most serious challenge. 



Griffin, who missed a work prior to the Young America with his charge, put Copelan on edge with three furlongs in :33 3/5 the morning before the Prevue, and the Hooper homebred was ready when the gates opened. 



Unlike many Eastern runners in their first starts in Southern California, Copelan was not caught off guard by the fast-breaking Western horses. He quickly moved into third behind Kim Como and R. Awacs, with Desert Wine being pushed by jockey Frank Olivares to race fourth. 



Kim Como stopped suddenly at the far turn, but 21-1 R. Awacs, a maiden who had finished second in his only start Nov. 6, kept going. The fractions were fast—:21 4/5, :43 4/5, 1:08 3/5. 



Copelan took the lead at the top of the stretch, but could not pull away from his lightly regarded rival until the sixteenth pole, when R. Awacs weakened. 



"Even though he did not take off and leave that other horse, he sure got the job done," said jockey Jerry Bailey. 



R. Awacs, owned by Universal Stable, hung on for second, 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Desert Wine, which "ran in spots." Then came Aguila, Mezzo, Paris Prince, Roll a Natural, and Kim Como. Final time was 1:21 2/5, which knocked three-fifths of a second from Sepulveda's stakes record. 



"He is a kind, intelligent horse—the athletic type—which takes after his mother," said Griffin who will start a 60-day suspension Dec.15 for the discovery of procaine in Copelan's system after a Belmont Park victory July 31 (Copelan was disqualified from the first money). 



Eighty-five-year-old Hooper bred Copelan from two erstwhile Hollywood Park's favorites, Tri Jet and Susan's Girl, the latter the champion 3-year-old filly of 1972 and top older filly or mare the following season. Tri Jet had an ankle chip operated on by Dr. Robert Copelan who also repaired Susan's Girl's sesamoid. The surgeon suggested Hooper name a horse after him, "so when Copelan was born I phoned him. 



"I got this foal here that cannot stand up, but I will name him after you if you want," Hooper told Copelan with a chuckle, and so the horse was christened. 



"I turn my horses out after they are weaned and do not bring them up until they are ready to be broken," said the Ocala, Fla., farm owner. "Out in the field, Copelan was always the first to come up to anyone."



Copelan which carried co-top weight of 122 pounds with Desert Wine, took his earnings to $436,410 with his Prevue victory. The Eclipse Award for 2-year-old colts now rests on the Futurity.