Opening Day Is Mixed for Valenzuelas : Horse racing: Fernando suffers serious back injury; Pat wins Malibu.

The riding Valenzuela cousins had a contrasting day as Santa Anita opened its 58th season Monday, Pat riding Powis Castle to an unexpected victory in the $109,300 Malibu Stakes after Fernando suffered a serious back injury in a spill during the first race.

Because of heavy traffic, not all of the crowd of 46,904 saw the accident, which also resulted in the death of one horse and minor injuries to two other jockeys.

When Snowy River Miss’ right foreleg snapped on the far turn, the 3-year-old filly and her rider, Fernando Valenzuela, went down. Chris McCarron and Paul Atkinson, attempting to avoid Snowy River Miss, were also unseated. Valenzuela and McCarron left the track in an ambulance. X-rays showed that Valenzuela suffered two compression fractures of vertebrae, while McCarron escaped with bruised ribs. Atkinson, who suffered cuts and bruises, rode one more race, but complained of dizziness and was excused from his remaining mounts.

Valenzuela, who finished eighth in the Santa Anita standings last season, is expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks. Snowy River Miss was destroyed, but the other two horses, who continued around the course, were apparently uninjured.

Shiny Slew, who won the race, was disqualified by the stewards for coming over on Snowy River Miss and Hawks Fly Hi going into the far turn. The interference was not believed to be related to Snowy River Miss’ breakdown. Hawks Fly Hi became the winner of the race, and Shiny Slew was placed last. Abe Santos, one of the owners of Shiny Slew, said his group would appeal the stewards’ decision to the California Horse Racing Board.

So on a day when staying out of trouble was not the easiest of tasks, Pat Valenzuela found room for Powis Castle on the rail leaving the stretch turn, and they beat favored Ferrara by a half-length in the seven-furlong Malibu.

“My instructions to Pat before the race were just not to fall off,” said trainer Rodney Rash, who had spent most of the year in frustration, trying to win distance races with Powis Castle--including the Kentucky Derby. Powis Castle, eighth in the roughly run Derby and ninth in the Preakness, had won only one of nine 1994 starts before Monday. The last time he ran at a distance less than a mile, last December, he won a minor stake at Turfway Park and was bought after the race by Berry Gordy, founder of Motown Records.

“We bought him as a Triple Crown candidate,” Rash said. “But he’s built and trains like a sprinter. We thought all along that he might be a sprinter, but he made more than $250,000 stretching out. It looks like we’ll keep sprinting him now.”

Powis Castle earned $64,300 Monday, paying $17.60 to win and reaching the wire in 1:20 4/5, which was four-fifths of a second slower than the track record set by Spectacular Bid in the 1980 Malibu. With Pat Valenzuela a pound overweight, Powis Castle carried 117 pounds, one more than Ferrara and three less than the high-weighted College Town, who finished fourth in the eight-horse field. Numerous ran third, five lengths behind Ferrara, who set demanding opening splits of :22 2/5 and :44 4/5.

Valenzuela was a change for Powis Castle, who had been ridden by several other jockeys, including Gary Stevens, who was aboard for the colt’s only 1994 victory, in a division of the Oceanside on grass at Del Mar.

“I think we’ve got the right jockey for what we want to accomplish with the horse next year,” said Roger Campbell, who manages Vistas Stables for Gordy.

Ferrara, ridden by Chris Antley, shook off Uncaged Fury and I’ma Game Master, who battled him for the early lead. Ferrara didn’t weaken even though Powis Castle slipped past him at the top of the stretch.

“Boy, he ran game,” Antley said. “That other horse got by me, and my horse tried to come back on again. I just couldn’t overhaul him in the last part. I rode Powis Castle in the Kentucky Derby, and I definitely think his best distance is seven-eighths to a mile. He showed himself today.”

Valenzuela was introduced to Powis Castle in two sharp workouts recently.

“He come home great both times,” Valenzuela said. “He came home great today too, and I knew I could outfinish the horse on the lead. I never even had to hit him. Halfway around the turn, Chris Antley was worried about horses outside of him, so I was able to take advantage. We went to the inside and snuck up on him. I don’t know if this horse is strictly a sprinter. Could be.”

Horse Racing Notes

Pat Valenzuela, Chris Antley, Dan Sorenson and Gary Stevens won with horses scheduled to be ridden by jockeys injured in the first race. . . . Yutaka Take, who has been Japanese riding champion four times, also rode a winner. . . . Corey Nakatani, who underwent minor surgery last week, rode in the first race, felt uncomfortable and took the rest of the day off. . . . The handle of $16.1 million, including almost $10 million off-track, was a record for a Santa Anita opener. . . . Sardula, who won the Kentucky Oaks, the Del Mar Debutante and the Hollywood Starlet, has been retired and will be bred to Seeking The Gold. . . . Phone Chatter and Twice The Vice are two of the eight horses entered in Wednesday’s $100,000 La Brea Stakes. . . . Soviet Problem, back from a seventh-place finish in a $1.9-million race in Japan, will get a three-month rest and resume racing. . . . Best Pal’s first start at the meeting will be in the $200,000 San Pasqual Handicap on Jan. 22.