Racing at Del Mar : Shoemaker’s Win Upstages On the Line

Bill Shoemaker came through with a winning ride in his final Del Mar race appearance on Sunday and in the process upstaged a brilliant performance by On the Line and Laffit Pincay in the featured $180,400 Del Mar Budweiser Breeders’ Cup Handicap.

Shoemaker, who was saluted earlier in the afternoon during a winner’s circle ceremony, has been blanked with three mounts before teaming up with a $25,000 claimer named Addie’s Bro in the ninth and final race of the day.

Shoemaker took the gray colt wire-to-wire in the 1 1/16-mile event to record his 889th Del Mar winner and career winner No. 8,822.

A half hour earlier, the day had belonged to Pincay, who won two races and put up a vintage ride aboard On the Line to beat Chris McCarron and Good Taste by a neck in the one-mile Breeders’ Cup sponsored race.

Using his patented combination of patience and power, Pincay kept his whip turned down and pushed On the Line to a final time 1:33 2/5 that came within a 1/5th of a second of the track record.

On the Line’s win--his fifth in nine starts this year and second stakes score of the meet--added financial insult to the injuries suffered by Gary Stevens in a spectacular spill on Friday.

With Stevens aboard for all but one of his races this year, On the Line had emerged as not only North America’s top sprinter, but also a dangerous commodity at middle distances.

But with Stevens sidelined indefinitely by a broken right wrist and hand, the 26-year-old rider had to watch as super-sub Pincay guided On the Line to his best race of 1989.

After leading from the start, the 5-year-old chestnut was challenged at the top of the stretch by Good Taste--the same Good Taste who nearly upset Alysheba and Ferdinand in the 1988 San Bernardino Handicap at Santa Anita.

The two red horses battled through the final 3/16ths of a mile, but On the Line, carry 124 pounds to Good Taste’s 117, refused to crack.

“I was just trying to hold him together, because I knew I still had a lot of horse,” said Pincay. “That was my plan--to save something for the last part.”

Pincay responded at the finish with a flourish of his whip, a gesture he usually saves for richer or more famous events. He also got an appreciative tap on the backside from McCarron’s whip, who hated to lose but knew a classic Pincay ride when he saw one.

“I thought I had him at the top of the stretch,” McCarron said later. “But my horse was just second best.”

Lively One, the race high weight at 125 pounds and the second betting choice, finished third, 3 1/2 lengths behind the top pair. After winning the San Diego and Cabrillo handicaps at the meeting, the son of Halo never threatened.

“Those two on the lead never backed up at all,” said Robbie Davis, Lively One’s rider.

On the Line paid $4.20 and $2.80, while Good Taste returned $3.20. With only four in the race--Hot Operator trailed throughout--there was no show betting.

Horse Racing Notes

Gary Stevens visited the track Sunday with his right arm in plaster and a crescent shaped cut on his forehead. His orthopedic surgeon will have a verdict shortly on when Stevens can come back, but in the meantime he plans on taking a peaceful cruise. . . . Del Mar Debutante winner Rue de Palm will face 11 colts Wednesday in the Del Mar Futurity. The Wayne Lukas-trained filly will be challenged by stablemates Bite the Bullet and Nevada, along with Single Dawn, Solar Launch, Drag Race, Green Baby, A. Sir Dancer, Doyouseewhatisee, Much Divorced, Chime Song and Kleven Up.

Sunday Silence cooled out fine from his remarkable 1:33 2/5 mile work at Del Mar Saturday, according to trainer Charlie Whittingham. The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner will van to Arcadia with the rest of the Whittingham stable on Thursday, then leave for Louisiana Downs next Monday to run in the Super Derby, Sept. 24.