Weekend Racing at Del Mar : Whittingham to Go With Mazaad

If somebody asked which Whittingham has won the most stakes races at Del Mar in the last three seasons, the automatic answer would probably be Charlie.

It would also be wrong.

Michael Whittingham, Charlie’s 38-year-old son, is the correct answer. He won last Sunday’s San Diego Handicap with Skywalker and last year won the Ramona Handicap with Daily Busy.

Charlie Whittingham, even though he’s easily the leader in lifetime stakes wins at Del Mar--he has 53, followed by Tommy Doyle with 33--hasn’t won a stake here since Dr. Daly was first in a division of the Oceanside on opening day in 1983. When the 73-year-old Whittingham failed to win a stake in 1984, it was the first time in 15 years that he had been shut out.

Del Mar 1986 doesn’t figure to be a blank for the elder Whittingham, however. He has several established stars in his barn, among them Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand. On Sunday, in the $75,000 La Jolla Mile Handicap, Whittingham will start another 3-year-old, Mazaad, who will be either the first or second choice in the betting.

Mazaad, an Irish-bred who raced in England as a 2-year-old for Sheik Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum before Whittingham got him this year, shares top-weight honors with Vernon Castle in the La Jolla. Each will carry 120 pounds.

Vernon Castle, winner of the California Derby at Golden Gate Fields in April, hasn’t won since and ran 11th on the dirt in the Silver Screen Handicap at Hollywood Park July 5. That performance may have showed what his trainer, John Sullivan, has long suspected--that the horse’s future is in grass races like Sunday’s.

Fourteen horses are entered in the La Jolla, and, even though Del Mar’s turf course has been widened this year, there still is only room to safely accommodate 12, which leaves Au Bon Marche and Midnight Cocktail on the also-eligible list in the event of scratches. Starters were determined according to horses that had been assigned the highest weights by racing secretary Tom Robbins.

The La Jolla field, starting on the inside, consists of Southern Halo, Marvin’s Policy, Rafael’s Dancer, Kimridge Road, Tripoli Shores, Bolton, He’s a Saros, Top Corsage, Vernon Castle, Full Charm, Mazaad and Grand Allegiance.

Mazaad, who will be ridden by Bill Shoemaker, has victories in both of his American starts, although it took a stewards’ disqualification of Sovereign Don in the Will Rogers Handicap at Hollywood Park May 24 for Mazaad to win.

Sovereign Don finished half a length ahead of Mazaad but was moved back to fifth for crowding horses inside him near the wire. Wayne Lukas, Sovereign Don’s trainer, has appealed the decision to the California Horse Racing Board.

In Mazaad’s first start in this country, he won without legislation, finishing first by half a length in the Spotlight Handicap at Hollywood on May 11.

Top Corsage is the only filly in the La Jolla, which in 45 previous runnings has probably never been won by a female. Del Mar’s records of the race in its early years don’t specify the sex of the winners.

In her last start, July 11, Top Corsage was a 3 1/2-length winner in an allowance race on the grass at Hollywood Park. Trainer Jerry Fanning had wanted to run Top Corsage in the Hollywood Oaks five days before, but her plane flight was delayed from Minnesota, where she had run third in the Canterbury Oaks.

Top Corsage, who has shown early speed in recent races, has been in contention in all seven of her grass starts, with two wins, three seconds and two thirds.

Horse Racing Notes Lady’s Secret could become an early favorite for horse-of-the-year honors if she wins the Whitney Handicap at Saratoga today. Lady’s Secret, who has already won major stakes on both coasts, is attempting to become the first female to win the Whitney since Gallorette in 1948. . . . Chris McCarron, who rode the winners in the San Clemente Stakes the last two years, can’t extend that streak at Del Mar today, since he’s riding Burnished Bright in the Sorority at Monmouth Park. Gary Stevens is also at Monmouth to ride Delicate Vine, an undefeated 2-year-old filly seeking her third straight win. . . . Stevens will be back Sunday to ride Bolton in the La Jolla Mile, but McCarron moves on to Minnesota, where he has the mount on Treizieme in the Canterbury Turf Classic.

Another Del Mar jockey, Santiago Soto, will ride Flying Pidgeon at Canterbury Sunday. Soto and Flying Pidgeon teamed to win the Hollywood Invitational in May. . . . McCarron won the Schuylerville, Saratoga’s opening-day stake, with Sacahuista on Wednesday. . . . Next Tuesday morning, John Henry is scheduled to work six furlongs for the first time since he started his comeback. The 11-year-old gelding’s last five-furlong work, in 1:00 2/5, was a second faster than the previous time. . . . Johns Treasure, who finished second to Danzig Connection in the Belmont Stakes, broke a bone in his left front foot while running last as the favorite in the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth last Saturday.