HOLLYWOOD PARK : Annual Reunion Romps in Opener

Reversing a trend, on-track attendance was up when Hollywood Park began its 37-day fall meeting Wednesday.

The count, which wasn’t released until 35 minutes after the ninth race, was declared official at 13,931, compared to 11,729 on opening day in 1989. This was the first time since 1985 that the opening-day crowd wasn’t smaller than in the previous year.

Fresh from their easy victory with Quiet American in Saturday’s $638,000 NYRA Mile at Aqueduct in New York, trainer Gary Jones and jockey Chris McCarron had another laugher with Annual Reunion in the $65,000 Allez France Handicap.

Annual Reunion made 4-5 look like an overlay with a five-length victory in the 1 1/16-mile turf race, easily dispatching Mahaska and six other 3-year-old fillies.

The Cresta Rider filly was confidently ridden by McCarron, and the only question remaining to be answered at the top of the stretch was by how many lengths she was going to win.

This was the first victory on turf for Annual Reunion, but she had run very well over this course last summer. In her first start on the grass, she was beaten by a head by Materco in the Honeymoon Handicap.

“She’s kind of a frail little thing, and she came up to today’s race real fresh. And she’s always run well fresh,” Jones said. “She loves this course, and we’ll probably run her back in the Dahlia (on Nov. 17). We’ll take a look at it and see.”

Riding Annual Reunion for the first time since early in her 16-race career, McCarron noticed a big difference.

“She’s matured a lot,” he said. “She was green back when I rode her. I’ve never ridden her on the turf before, and she used to climb when the dirt hit her in the face.

“This grass course is in great shape. It’s nice and green for this time of year. It’s got a lot of bounce, and I feel very comfortable on it. This filly obviously loves it. (Around the turn,) I was confident. I had one filly (Mahaska) in front of me, and I didn’t know whether she’d be able to carry her speed or not. I had a lot of horse sitting behind her, and I was able to go ahead and get by her.”

Making her first start on turf, Mahaska finished three lengths ahead of 14-1 shot Vaguely Charming. Then came Daughter of Wolf, She’s a V.P., Classic Ice, Invitation Waltz (the 7-2 second choice who broke very slowly) and Ali’s Song.

Jose Santos didn’t take long to make himself at home in California.

On his first day after moving from New York, the Eclipse Award-winning jockey won with his first mount, riding Paula Revere to a $16.20 upset in Wednesday’s fourth race.

Julio Garcia was originally named on the 2-year-old Caveat filly, but he began a five-day suspension Wednesday for being disqualified aboard Stylish Stud in last Saturday’s $300,000 California Cup Classic. So Santos was named by trainer John Sadler.

“It’s nice to start off on the right foot,” Santos said. “I won with my first horse here and I won the last race I rode in New York--Sports View in last Sunday’s Discovery Handicap at Aqueduct.

“People have been helping me and everybody wants to give me business. Things have started out real good, and it seems like people really respect me here.”

A fourth place aboard Daughter of Wolf in the Allez France Handicap was the best Santos could manage with his other three mounts.

Horse Racing Notes

The stewards still haven’t heard from jockey Pat Valenzuela, who called in sick Saturday at Santa Anita’s Oak Tree meeting and later refused to take a drug test. If Valenzuela doesn’t meet with stewards Pete Pedersen, Tom Ward and David Samuel before Monday, he will be suspended. . . . Annual Reunion’s final time was 1:41 1/5 and her fourth victory was worth $38,000 to owner John Mabee. . . . There’s a Pick Six carryover of $48,481.47 for today.

Itsallgreektome, Septieme Ciel and Silver Ending are among the probable starters in Sunday’s $200,000 Hollywood Derby at 1 1/8 miles on the turf. Itsallgreektome was second in the Breeders’ Cup Mile; Septieme Ciel is a multiple-stakes winner from France, who was a Breeders’ Cup Mile also-eligible; and Silver Ending won the Pegasus on Sept. 21 at the Meadowlands. Belmont winner Go and Go is a possible entrant.

High Hook continued his love affair with Hollywood Park when he won the seventh race. The 8-year-old gelding, who had three victories at Hollywood during the summer meeting, has won nine of his 19 starts at the track. He completed a double for the jockey-trainer combination of Alex Solis and Bill Spawr. Their other victory was with Truly Naughty in the third race. Solis, who also won the sixth on Van Beethovan, was celebrating the ninth anniversary of his first victory as a jockey.