HOLLYWOOD PARK : Whittingham’s Mastery on the Line

Charlie Whittingham has “owned” a lot of races in his brilliant career, and, at 81, he retains his firm grip on the Matriarch.

A fixture on the Hollywood Park fall stakes schedule since 1981, Sunday’s $400,000 race is the final major turf event of the year for fillies and mares. Only once in this decade has Whittingham not won the Matriarch. His Royal Touch finished eighth and her stablemate Petalia was 10th in 1990, behind longshot winner Countus In.

Otherwise, the Grade I has belonged to Whittingham and he also closed out the ‘80s successfully when Claire Marine clicked. All told, he has won the race seven times.

If the Hall of Fame trainer is to keep his hot streak going, however, he will have to do so with a different weapon from the one he has wielded the last three years.

Two-time Eclipse Award champion Flawlessly is gone, having been retired a month ago. The Affirmed mare started her roll with a victory over Fire The Groom in 1991, beat Super Staff in a stakes record 1:46 the following year, then in 1993 out-battled Toussaud by a neck.

Whittingham will be trying this time around with Aube Indienne, a 4-year-old, French-bred daughter of Bluebird.

She certainly is no Flawlessly, but Aube Indienne hasn’t lost since joining Whittingham’s barn. She upset Corrazona in the Las Palmas Handicap, then followed that with a half-length victory in the $400,000 Yellow Ribbon during the Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita.

Aube Indienne doesn’t have anyone recalling some of the great female grass champions of the past, but a solid case could be made for her regarding the Eclipse Award were she to win Sunday.

That would give her two Grade I successes to close the year, one more than Hatoof, the leading candidate. However, Hatoof has run against better competition. Among her victims in the Beverly D. was Flawlessly and she was also second to Tikkanen in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.

Eight fillies and mares will oppose Aube Indienne, who drew the rail.

Alywow will make her Hollywood Park debut in the Matriarch and the 3-year-old Alysheba filly has had a productive year.

She has won three of eight starts and most recently was second to Raintrap in the Rothmans International. Mike Smith, the leading money-winner in the country, will be in to ride.

Exchange will make her first start on the turf since finishing last in the Gamely Handicap on May 30, 1993 and will also try to go over $1 million in earnings. Claimed for $50,000 by trainer Bill Spawr for owners Sid and Jenny Craig, Exchange has 13 victories in 27 starts and $929,950 in earnings.

The other stakes on the card and the final event in Hollywood Park’s $1.8-million Autumn Turf Festival is the inaugural Hollywood Mile.

The $150,000 race drew a field of six and will mark the return of Hollywood Gold Cup winner Slew Of Damascus. The Slewacide gelding has been idle since finishing a distant fourth in the Pacific Classic Aug. 13 at Del Mar. Chris McCarron will ride Slew Of Damascus, who has five victories in nine starts on the turf. His opponents are Inner City, Firm Pledge, Rapan Boy, Ventiquattrofogli and Romarin.

Horse Racing Notes

All starters in the Matriarch will carry 123 pounds except for the 3-year-olds, Alywow, Wandesta and Las Meninas, who will carry 120. . . . The race will be televised nationally by ESPN. It will be run as the seventh on the card and post time is 3:45 p.m. . . . In today’s $250,000 Generous Stakes, Perfect, the 2-year-old brother of Flawlessly, is a 4-1 choice. . . . Jockey Pat Valenzuela, who returned to action Thursday after having been sidelined since Oct. 6, didn’t ride Friday night and isn’t expected to ride today or Sunday after suffering a deep bruise on his right thigh when unseated by Ataboy Chad in Thursday’s ninth race.