HOLLYWOOD PARK : Scherando Puts Mena Back on Top

The end of the Hollywood Park season could mean the beginning of revived careers for the trainer and jockey who won Monday’s $101,400 Hollywood Juvenile.

Saddled by Richard Mulhall and ridden by Paco Mena, Scherando, a 16-1 shot, beat Prince Wild by half a length with Burnished Bronze, the 3-5 favorite, third.

Mulhall, 51, was in critical condition last year after going into a septic shock while being treated for a kidney infection. He was hospitalized for six weeks and was away from his horses for 2 1/2 months. “I damn near died,” Mulhall said.

Mena, who said he is “43, going on 50,” suffered a severe back injury in 1987 in a spill at Fairplex Park in Pomona, where he has had his most success as a rider. Rather than risk disk surgery, Mena chose to let time heal his back, and made a second attempt to resume riding this season at Hollywood.

Mulhall gave Mena the mount on Scherando six weeks ago, after Alex Solis had ridden the 2-year-old colt to a fourth-place finish in his first start. Scherando won for his new jockey, and two weeks after that they finished second, three lengths behind Burnished Bronze, in the Ladbroke Futurity at Golden Gate Fields.

Mulhall thought he might have a better chance to beat Burnished Bronze Monday because the son of Seattle Slew was breaking from the inside post, not a good spot from which to sprint at Hollywood.

While Scherando surged from the gate, Burnished Bronze and Eddie Delahoussaye broke slowly. Burnished Bronze remained inside horses, in third place, all the way around, while Scherando and Prince Wild turned the Juvenile into a two-horse race.

Prince Wild, ridden by Julio Garcia, ran outside of Scherando through the stretch, but could never get closer than within a head of the winner. Prince Wild finished five lengths ahead of Burnished Bronze, who beat Zurich by a neck for fourth place. A foul claim by Gary Stevens, Zurich’s rider, against Delahoussaye for interference in the stretch was disallowed by the stewards.

Scherando, owned and bred by Chase Mishkin, earned $56,400 and paid $34.80 to win for running six furlongs in 1:09 3/5.

Delahoussaye bore the brunt of Burnished Bronze’s dull effort. “Poor Eddie,” said trainer David Hofmans, who could hear the disapproval of the crowd of 23,079 even before Delahoussaye dismounted.

“I’m used to that stuff,” Delahoussaye said in the jockeys’ room. “My horse broke slow, and then I thought he was going to jump the fence. He was shying from the other horses, showing his greenness. This was the first time he had to run inside horses. The other horses came in and he got scared. He got intimidated. But I still don’t think that cost him the race, because he had his chance after that. He just didn’t run.”

Through last Friday, Mena had won five races in 91 mounts races at the meeting. It was Mena’s first victory in a $100,000 race since 1981.

Horse Racing Notes

Laffit Pincay Jr. won the last race of the season on Handsome Weed to win his 13th riding title at Hollywood Park. Pincay, who went into the day tied with Gary Stevens with 63 winners, won twice to once for Stevens. . . . Ron McAnally won the training title with 26 victories, six more than Gary Jones.