DEL MAR : Blacksburg Ties La Jolla Mark in Second Consecutive Victory

Eleven days after Blacksburg toyed with his opposition in a division of the Oceanside Stakes, the 3-year-old colt delivered a repeat performance at a longer distance in the $109,700 La Jolla Handicap.

Blacksburg’s margin at the end of the La Jolla was 3 1/2 lengths, compared to five in the one-mile Oceanside, but on Sunday the son of Seattle Slew and Devil’s Sister, an Alleged mare, matched the stakes record, running 1 1/16 miles on grass in 1:41 3/5. The La Jolla has been run at its current distance only since 1987, with Perfecting turning in a 1:41 3/5 victory in 1988.

“This is a very aggressive horse,” said Kent Desormeaux, who rode Blacksburg. “When I call on him, he always has a gear left.”

On the lead has been the place to be on Del Mar’s turf course. On Saturday, Desormeaux won the San Clemente Handicap with the front-running Golden Treat. In an earlier grass race Sunday, Visible Gold established a big early lead under Laffit Pincay and coasted home.

Desormeaux came back to win the race after the La Jolla, giving him his third three-victory day of the season. Desormeaux, the leading jockey in the Hollywood Park meeting that preceded the one here, is No. 1 in the Del Mar standings with 17 winners after 11 days.

Treekster, the California Derby winner in April and second in the Swaps Stakes at Hollywood two weeks ago, broke down a step or two past the finish line in the La Jolla. Treekster, who finished fifth, suffered a broken left foreleg and had to be destroyed with a lethal injection.

“I don’t know what happened to him,” said Treekster’s jockey, Gary Boulanger. “Two jumps after the wire, I heard a terrible pop. He had a compound fracture. He warmed up fine and felt fine. You can’t figure things like this.”

Vladimir Cerin, Treekster’s trainer, had debated about shipping Treekster to Seattle for the Longacres Derby, then decided to keep the colt here for the La Jolla.

On the turn for home, Desormeaux gave Blacksburg three quick whacks from the right side with his whip and the colt extended his lead over Free At Last and Saintry, who were in closest pursuit.

Free at Last finished second, three-quarters of a length better than Fax News, the 57-1 shot who was the longest price in the nine-horse field.

Blacksburg, paying $4.60 as the favorite, earned $64,700 for William T. Young, his owner and breeder. In the Oceanside, Blacksburg had ended a four-month stakes drought for trainer Wayne Lukas at Southern California tracks.

“Don’t bury us yet,” Lukas said. “We’re plugging along. It’s just that we’ve set some lofty goals. Twilight Agenda will come back a fresh horse and Lite Light’s training really well.”

In Blacksburg’s first 13 starts, he was a dirt horse, winning three times. His grass debut brought an allowance victory at Churchill Downs in June. Then he finished fourth and was disqualified to seventh for interference in the Round Table Stakes at Arlington International in July.

Blacksburg’s next grass race was the split Oceanside. “With this race coming up so quickly, we didn’t do anything in between, just easy gallops,” Lukas said Sunday.

“I trained him like he was the best horse, although sometimes you get burned that way.”

Lukas will have three weeks to get Blacksburg ready for the Del Mar Derby, a 1 1/8-mile grass race on Aug. 29.

“This horse is a run-off artist,” Desormeaux said. “You just can’t get him to settle at all. He wants to go and go and go. I’d hate it if another horse ran with him. Who knows what would happen then? I don’t pull any harder on a horse who is galloping. I was empty at the wire. And, of course, I can’t complain too much about him running off. If he keeps doing it this way, we’ll all be rich.”

Phone Roberto, second to Blacksburg in the Oceanside, might have pushed Lukas’ colt Sunday, but he stumbled leaving the gate and finished eighth.

Gary Stevens came out to the paddock to ride Eliza, the half-sister to 1991 Santa Anita Derby winner Dinard, in Sunday’s sixth race.

Pat Valenzuela, who is under contract to ride owner-breeder Allen Paulson’s horses, is sitting out a suspension, hence the opportunity for Stevens.

“Congratulations,” Stevens said to Paulson’s wife, Madeleine, who had won the Sword Dancer Handicap with Fraise at Saratoga the day before.

Stevens was trying to beat the Paulsons with Quest For Fame in the Sword Dancer, but the heavy favorite finished fifth.

“Your horse just ran the heart out of my horse,” Stevens said. “But I’ll tell you what--make sure you keep him on the hard ground, like this.” Then the jockey tapped the paddock grass with his boot.

“That’s funny,” Allen Paulson said. “We were told that he likes soft going. Maybe he likes it either way.”

The pleasantries over, Stevens went out and rode Eliza to a 2 1/4-length victory in her first start. The daughter of Mt. Livermore and Daring Bidder, Dinard’s dam, beat maiden 2-year-old fillies in a 5 1/2-furlong time of 1:03, four-fifths of a second off of the track record.

Horse Racing Notes

Another Review and Claret, the 1-2 finishers Saturday in the San Diego Handicap, could have a rematch in the $1-million Pacific Classic on Aug. 30. To get in the race, however, Claret would have to be supplemented at a cost of $30,000, because he wasn’t nominated. All owners have to pay $5,000 to enter and $10,000 to run. First place is worth $550,000. . . . Wednesday’s $75,000 De Anza Stakes, a six-furlong race for 2-year-olds, has drawn seven horses, including Zealous Faith, a filly who ran ninth in the Junior Miss at Del Mar on July 31. The others entered are Adamax, Super Season, Boss Soss, Wheeler Oil, Dr. Bryan and Catch The Gold.