Kotashaan’s Slump Ends by 7 Lengths

Kotashaan won his first race in almost a year Monday, a seven-length victory in the $219,600 San Luis Obispo Handicap at Santa Anita.

Holiday bettors that included a crowd of 23,870 at the track sent Kotashaan off as the 9-5 second choice, and the 5-year-old French-bred overtook The Name’s Jimmy at the top of the stretch and drew off.

Earning $129,600 for his owners, Elaine and Gerard Wertheimer of New York, Kotashaan had last won March 12, 1992, when he made his debut in the United States. He had run five races since.

“I had hoped to run this horse in the San Juan Capistrano series last year, but he had a few setbacks,” trainer Dick Mandella said.

Mandella plans to run Kotashaan in the $250,000 San Luis Rey Stakes on March 21 and the $400,000 San Juan Capistrano Handicap on April 18.

Kent Desormeaux, who rode Kotashaan for the first time in a second-place effort in the San Marcos Handicap on Jan. 23, was aboard again Monday.

“Usually, this is a hard horse to handle,” Desormeaux said, “but this time he cooperated.”

Kotashaan, carrying 114 pounds, ended a five-race losing streak and paid $5.60. His time on a yielding turf course was 2:27 3/5, over a distance that was 97 feet short of 1 1/2 miles. The race started on the backstretch instead of coming down the hill.

Carnival Baby finished second, a neck better than The Name’s Jimmy, with Toulon, the 3-2 favorite and the high weight at 120 pounds, running sixth in an eight-horse field.

“He didn’t like the soft going,” said Toulon’s jockey, Eddie Delahoussaye. “When it gets a little firmer, he’ll be fine.”

Horse Racing Note

Kent Desormeaux has been fined $1,000 for “failure to ride his mount out until (the) finish line is passed” in Saturday’s ninth race.