Mehmetori Gets There on Time : Del Mar: Big crowd, printers slow things down on opening day. Forest Glow wins second half of feature.

On a day when the daily programs and many favorites were not known for their timeliness, Mehmetori was a punctual arrival at the wire in the first half of the Oceanside Stakes as Del Mar launched its 43-day racing season. Wednesday’s crowd was 25,684, and despite temperatures in the 80s, there was still a blizzard--of discarded parimutuel tickets.

Mehmetori’s late-running victory by a head over In Excess was a breeze compared to the second half of the Oceanside. Forest Glow, in front almost all the way, held on to nose out Pro for Sure, who rallied from far back.

The finish was so close that the jockeys, Gary Stevens aboard Forest Glow and Laffit Pincay astride Pro for Sure, lingered in front of the tote board until the placing judges eyeballed the picture from the photo-finish camera.

Either way, the winner’s circle was going to get a MacDonald. Forest Glow is trained by Brad MacDonald, and Mark, his older brother--by a year--saddles Pro for Sure.

Brad MacDonald, 32, got his first stakes winner at Del Mar, as did Richard Mulhall, who trains Mehmetori. A $33,000 yearling purchase, Mehmetori could not have won, in Mulhall’s opinion, but for a canny, gritty ride by Julio Garcia, who also was scoring his first Del Mar victory.

“He came between horses (in the stretch) and that was the difference,” Mulhall said. “If he goes around, I don’t think my horse gets there.”

Predecessor finished third, almost two lengths behind Mehmetori, with the 3-1 favorite, Robyn Dancer, running fifth.

Garcia failed to sweep the Oceanside when Kept His Cool, the 3-1 favorite in the second division, finished off the board. After Forest Glow and Pro for Sure, it was three lengths back to Bel Air Paster in third place.

The crowd was about 1,600 more than the attendance at last year’s Del Mar opener. The early-bird patrons, who can start betting at 8:30 a.m., were frustrated when the track programs didn’t arrive until almost an hour after the windows opened. Just before the day’s first post, there were long lines at the stands selling programs.

“No matter how you prepare, something always seems to happen,” said Joe Harper, the longtime Del Mar general manager starting his first season as track president. “The delay in the programs is one of the disadvantages of having them printed in San Diego (about 25 miles away).”

More than 100 miles north of Del Mar, at Hollywood Park, where there was satellite betting on the races here, the programs didn’t arrive until 30 minutes before the first post.

Mehmetori was not tardy, although placed last after a half-mile in his 10-horse field. He earned $40,575 for his owners, Jack Arnold and Bill Miller, running the mile on grass in 1:35 2/5, and paying $9.40 for a $2 win ticket.

The victory was only the second in nine starts for Mehmetori, and his first in four races on grass, and the win could trigger a good season for the Mulhall barn, which hasn’t had much success here in recent years.

Mulhall, 51, also trains Mohamed Abdu, who will be one of the contenders in the Eddie Read Handicap later in the season, and he got good news even before Mehmetori ran when Sawsan, a 2-year-old filly, worked five furlongs Wednesday morning in a promising :59 1/5. Sawsan will be running in the Junior Miss Stakes next Wednesday.

Forest Glow, bred and owned by John A. Bell III, ran in Kentucky as a 2-year-old and needed two races at the recently completed Hollywood Park meeting before hitting his stride, winning an allowance race on July 4.

“This is my first stakes win anywhere, and I’m in a state of mild shock,” Brad MacDonald said. “I beat my brother by an inch. While we were waiting for the photo, I asked him if he wanted to split (the purse) and he told me no.”

Stevens, leading Del Mar rider in 1987-88, wound up with three winners Wednesday. Forest Glow was timed in 1:36 and paid $25.40.

“I didn’t know who won,” Stevens said. “When I stood up two jumps after the wire, the other horse was ahead of me. This course doesn’t favor speed at this time of the meet, but Brad said to just let him roll. That’s his style, and I wasn’t supposed to fight him. I tried to steal away with a half-mile to go and it worked, but it was a little closer than I liked.”

Pincay thought that Pro for Sure had gotten up in the last jump. The five-time Del Mar riding champion quietly walked off the track while Stevens and Brad MacDonald gave each other high-fives in his wake.

Horse Racing Notes

Only one favorite, Saratoga Chill, won. The undefeated 3-year-old daughter of Saratoga Six has won three races by a total margin of 19 lengths. . . . Laffit Pincay, riding Old Alliance in the first half of the Oceanside, came out with his colt, giving Julio Garcia and Mehmetori room to come through. . . . Del Mar’s on-track handle was up 10% compared to a year ago.

Great Communicator, who made his first start of the year last Saturday and finished next to last at Hollywood Park, is scheduled to run in the 1 3/8-mile Escondido Handicap at Del Mar on Aug. 11, according to trainer Thad Ackel. “That race the other day was 1 1/16 miles,” Ackel said. “That’s like sprinting for this horse.” . . . Trainer Ron McAnally said he hasn’t decided whether Bayakoa will run in the Palomar Handicap on Saturday. . . . According to his agent, Scotty McClellan, Chris McCarron’s return to action has been moved up to the end of August. McCarron suffered broken legs and a broken forearm in a spill at Hollywood on June 3.