HOLLYWOOD PARK : Claire Marine’s Unique Love of Hollywood Park Resurfaces

Chris McCarron was sorry Claire Marine didn’t have one more opponent in the $200,000 Matriarch on closing day at Hollywood Park.

“The way she ran today or the way she ran in Chicago (the Beverly D.) or when Robbie (Davis) rode her at Del Mar (the Palomar Handicap), I don’t think Brown Bess would have beaten her,” McCarron said after completing a stakes sweep for trainer Charlie Whittingham. Ruhlmann had won the Native Diver Handicap the day before. “But we won’t find that out until next year.”

At one time, Brown Bess was coming south for the Grade I Matriarch, but her handlers decided to give her some time off and she won’t be seen for several months.

However, the 7-year-old Northern California-based mare easily dispatched Claire Marine and nine others in Oak Tree’s Yellow Ribbon and probably earned herself an Eclipse Award as the nation’s top female grass performer.

This honor seemed destined for Claire Marine, but her fifth in the Yellow Ribbon was preceded by a fourth-place finish at 4-5 in the Las Palmas Handicap.

Moving over to Inglewood, the 4-year-old What A Guest filly bounced back, and although she has won seven races this year at four tracks, it is apparent she has a special affinity for the Hollywood Park turf.

Her latest victory, a wire-to-wire, one-length decision over 22-1 shot General Charge, was her third in four starts at Hollywood Park. Her only loss was by a nose to stablemate Fitzwilliam Place in the Gamely.

“She didn’t handle the track at Santa Anita like she did this one,” said Whittingham after his fourth stakes victory of the 30-day meeting. “Plus, she was giving a lot of weight in those races and it was kind of even today. She also had a trip to Chicago before those races.”

Still, her sixth added-money victory of 1989 probably won’t be enough to earn her the Eclipse. “It’s not over ‘til it’s over,” Whittingham said.

McCarron, who has been Claire Marine’s jockey in all but three of her 12 races this year, didn’t think she had any particular dislike for the Santa Anita grass.

“She didn’t act like she wasn’t handling it,” he said. “She never bobbled or took any bad steps. She just didn’t run her race either time.

“Charlie wanted a good fresh filly for the Yellow Ribbon, so he didn’t crank her up real hard for the Las Palmas. We wanted to win, but she came up a little empty that day. I thought it was possible she just needed the race.

“Then, when she didn’t run well in the Yellow Ribbon, I didn’t know what to think.”

With a couple of sharp recent works, including a :57 for five furlongs last Tuesday, Claire Marine signaled she was back and it was apparent after the first quarter-mile of the Matriarch she was going to be hard to catch.

Relaxing nicely, the 11-10 second choice had restrained early fractions of :23 4/5 and :48 2/5. She had more than enough left to beat General Charge while completing the last furlong in a rapid :11 4/5 en route to a final time of 1:47 2/5 for the 1 1/8 miles.

“It’s no problem getting her to relax,” said McCarron. “She just threw her ears straight up right away and loped around there.”

Claire Marine will continue racing next year.

The Matriarch disappointments were Colorado Dancer and Royal Touch, two-thirds of the entry which was the slim betting favorite. Fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, beaten only a length and a half by Steinlen, Royal Touch finished third Sunday, nearly four lengths behind. A half-length behind her was Colorado Dancer, who finished third in the Yellow Ribbon, her first U.S. race.

“No excuses,” said Russell Baze of Royal Touch, who will remain in Whittingham’s barn after being saddled by John Hammond for this race. “I think she probably prefers a softer course. She better get used to a firm track if she’s going to stay here.”

Laffit Pincay, who also rode Colorado Dancer in the Yellow Ribbon, was puzzled by her performance.

“She was a little bit fresh and tried to run (off) the first part, but I got through along the inside,” he said. “She gave it up a little the last part.

“She ran much better the last time, there’s no question about that. But I still think she’s a good filly.”

Far and away the longest shot in the field, General Charge looked like she might beat Claire Marine at one point in the stretch, and she might have staged an upset if the late-runner had gotten any help up front.

“She ran a dynamite race,” said Robbie Davis of Bobby Frankel’s 3-year-old General Assembly filly. “She’s been kind of a hard-luck filly. She always tries hard, but something always seems to happen. She’s only won one race on the turf and she probably should have won two or three.

“The outside post killed us. We were wide on both turns. Charlie and Chris can be pretty tough on a guy. I should know.”

Davis, who had four seconds, three thirds and a sixth in eight rides Sunday, also had to settle for second in the Native Diver when Lively One’s late rally came up a neck short.

Continuing its trend, Hollywood Park showed declines in both on-track attendance and handle.

The average attendance was 15,044, compared to 15,794 in 1988, which was a decrease of 4.6%. The average handle decreased 1.9%.

Factoring in the nine intertrack sites, total attendance increased 1.8% from ’88 and handle increased 3.9%.

Even though he didn’t ride the final five days, Eddie Delahoussaye won the jockey title, beating Gary Stevens, who also sat out the final week, 30-28. Delahoussaye has now won titles at three consecutive meetings. He also won at Del Mar and Oak Tree.

Dave Hofmans topped the trainers with 12 victories, two more than Ron McAnally and three more than John Sadler.