DEL MAR : Pincay Rides Royal Chariot to End Slump

A graded stakes victory had been a long time coming for Laffit Pincay and even longer for Ed Gregson.

Jockey and trainer both ended dry spells when Royal Chariot held off River Rhythm by half a length to win the $250,000 Del Mar Handicap on Saturday.

It was Pincay’s first graded stakes victory since College Town won the Arcadia Handicap on a sloppy Santa Anita main track on March 5.

Gregson’s last was with Slew Of Pearls in the 1990 Del Mar Oaks. “Two old men got back in the winner’s circle,” Gregson, 57, said.

Looking like anything but a senior citizen, Pincay, 48, rode the 7-2 second choice flawlessly. He tracked the pace set by Opera Score and Marvin’s Faith, moved up closer on the turn, took over entering the stretch and went on to win in 2:13 3/5 for the 1 3/8 miles on turf.

A problem child before he was gelded near the end of his 3-year-old season, Royal Chariot has developed into a consistent performer who can handle both dirt and grass.

After being beaten badly in his first four starts, the 5-year-old son of Strawberry Road has six victories, two seconds and two thirds in 11 tries.

Although he has three victories on the main track, don’t look for owners Dorothy and Vincent Kanowsky to try Royal Chariot on the surface any time soon.

He developed foot problems after finishing third behind Best Pal and Tossofthecoin in the Native Diver Handicap last Dec. 4 at Hollywood Park. Gregson says they are behind him now, but grass is where he will stay.

Pincay, who has been Royal Chariot’s rider for his four starts since he returned from a three-month layoff, will also remain, and Gregson had high praise for the world’s second-winningest jockey.

“I can’t say enough for this rider, the way he gets along with this horse,” the trainer said. “He gave him a picture-perfect ride today. Do you see any difference in him physically? He’s one of the greatest, and over the years he’s been very lucky for me. I’ve had a good relationship with him.

“One of the reasons that this jockey colony is so strong is because of him. A lot of the young riders have been influenced by Laffit.”

River Rhythm, a 9-2 shot, finished half a length in front of Party Season. Snake Eyes, the 2-1 favorite, checked in fifth.

“He just wasn’t into it,” jockey Gary Stevens said of Snake Eyes. “I had to get after him all the way.”

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Whether the 1995 version of Lakeway is anywhere close to last year’s will be better known after today’s $313,000 Chula Vista Handicap.

The best 3-year-old filly in the country through most of 1994, Lakeway, the daughter of Seattle Slew, is the 9-5 favorite against only five opponents in the 11/16-mile Chula Vista.

Third in her comeback sprint in the Rancho Bernardo Breeders’ Cup Handicap, Lakeway has trained well of late, prompting trainer Gary Jones to say she has looked more like her old self.

Eddie Delahoussaye will again ride for owner Mike Rutherford, and a victory or a narrow defeat would send Lakeway to Kentucky for the Spinster early next month at Keeneland.

Borodislew, who won the Bayakoa on July 31 and who is perfect in two starts since Eduardo Inda became her trainer, is the 5-2 second choice. She has shown the ability to run patiently, and those tactics could pay off in a race where the pace figures to be legitimate. Chris McCarron, who is trying to win his first riding title at Del Mar since 1984, will again be aboard.

The other four starters in the Chula Vista, which is a Grade II, are Top Rung, who finished second in the Vanity after surprisingly not making the lead in that race; Wild Lightning, who won the Vielle Vigne over this track by seven lengths on Aug. 18; Golden Klair, who who has three thirds in four starts at Del Mar; and Angi Go.

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Jockey Christine Davenport suffered a break in a thoracic vertebrae when involved in a spill in Saturday’s third race.

Riding longshot Brent’s Leader, Davenport went down when the 3-year-old colt clipped the heels of Pirate’s Gulch early in the stretch and fell.

She was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, where X-rays revealed the break. Davenport was to be kept overnight at the hospital.

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Miss L Attack, a 13-1 shot, defeated 11-1 outsider Airistar by a nose to win the $76,275 June Darling, the race before the Del Mar Handicap. Rene Douglas rode the winner for trainer Henry Moreno and owner Jack Finley.