DEL MAR : It’s Like Old Times for Hibbert

When he was a boy of 57, Bob Hibbert owned Old Mose, the winner of the Del Mar Handicap in 1966. Old Mose was trained by the late Joe Manzi, who had ended a 10-year apprenticeship with Charlie Whittingham a couple of years before.

On Monday, at 83, Hibbert was once more back in the winner’s circle after a Del Mar Handicap, and the trainer--Rodney Rash--is another former Whittingham assistant.

That’s coming full circle to get to the winner’s circle. Hibbert’s horse this time was Navarone, scoring his third victory in six weeks here by winning the $250,000 race by one length before 18,012.

Whittingham has won the Del Mar Handicap seven times, but Monday he had to settle for second, with Qathif, the Sunset Handicap winner at Hollywood Park, also closing in the stretch to beat out Stark South, the third-place finisher, by 1 1/4 lengths. Stark South, who had led until Navarone and Pat Valenzuela overtook him in mid-stretch, was a head better than Berillon in the eight-horse field.

Berillon had held the Del Mar record for 1 3/8 miles on grass, a 2:12 4/5 in last year’s Escondido Handicap, but Navarone broke it three weeks ago, winning the Escondido in 2:12 2/5. On Monday, under 117 pounds, Navarone’s time was 2:15, Stark South’s slow early fractions culminating in a rapid final eighth of a mile in 11 4/5.

Luthier Enchanteur, who would have been the high weight with 118 pounds, was scratched because of a mouth infection that isn’t supposed to be serious. Trainer Bobby Frankel was still left with two starters in the race, Berillon and Never Black, who ran sixth.

Valenzuela, born four years before Old Mose’s victory, wound up riding four winners Monday.

Navarone’s first victory here came in an allowance race on opening day. The 4-year-old son of Irish River and Wind Spirit, a Round Table mare, has now won four straight, counting another allowance win at Hollywood Park in June.

Navarone’s first start of the year, on May 25, resulted in a second-place finish at Hollywood. The horse hadn’t been tried on grass until he arrived at Del Mar.

“With that pedigree, he was just crying to be run on grass,” Rash said.

As a 3-year-old, Navarone was trained by Wayne Lukas. He broke his maiden at Santa Anita, in his third start, then ran seventh in the California Derby at Golden Gate Fields. After one more unsuccessful race, he was given a year off to recover from a fractured cannon bone.

By the time Navarone was ready to leave the farm, Hibbert, responding to a letter Rash had written asking for a job, had decided to turn over many of his horses to the 33-year-old.

Navarone paid $3.40 Monday, his $137,000 payday accounting for more purse money than he had earned in nine previous starts.

By the stands the first time, Navarone was in third place, behind Stark South with Laffit Pincay and Duke of Paducah with Eddie Delahoussaye.

“When we went by the (tote) board the first time,” Valenzuela said, “I looked over and saw that time (25 2/5 for a quarter-mile) and I knew I had to go put pressure on Laffit.”

Midway down the backstretch, Navarone moved into second place, outside Stark South. Inside the furlong pole, Navarone and Valenzuela moved ahead.

“My horse gave it all he had in the lane,” Valenzuela said. “That’s what makes him so good. He’s putting out all he’s got every time he’s out there. He just keeps getting better and better.”

Two of Valenzuela’s other winners Monday were with offspring of Pirate’s Bounty, including Bountiful Native’s victory in the $50,000 June Darling Stakes.

Bountiful Native, trained by Dan Hendricks, is a 4-year-old filly who scored her third stakes win of the season here. All of them were by narrow margins, a neck Monday after a head victory in the Fantastic Girl Handicap on Aug. 6 and a three-quarter-length win in the Rancho Bernardo Handicap Aug. 22.