Dixie Pearl Is Shining After First Stakes Win

Dixie Pearl, a 17-1 shot, won the $106,400 Autumn Days Handicap Wednesday in the first day of Oak Tree’s 27-day meeting at Santa Anita. The 9-10 favorite, Track Gal, finished fourth under high weight of 125 pounds.

Dixie Pearl, who had run on grass only once before and had never won a stake, carried 116 pounds for trainer Richard Mandella, with Eddie Delahoussaye in the saddle.

The 4-year-old filly ran 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:12 1/5, earning $66,400 for her owners, Jerry and Ann Moss. Ski Dancer, who won three consecutive races coming down the hill at Santa Anita last winter, finished second, two lengths behind, and she was three lengths better than Cat’s Cradle, the third-place finisher.

“I think they saddled my filly with all that weight to make sure they’d have a full field,” said John Sadler, who trains Track Gal. “She was handicapped too high. We’ll still consider the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, after we look at the two-week weather forecast for Canada.”

This year’s Breeders’ Cup will be run on Oct. 26 at Woodbine, outside Toronto. Last year, Track Gal caught a muddy track and ran 11th in the Sprint at Belmont Park.

Naturally, Mandella praised Santa Anita’s turf course, which has been overhauled yet one more time, but even the runners-up were optimistic that the Arcadia track, after spending millions in recent years, may have come up with a decent grass layout at last.

“It’s the best course I’ve seen,” said trainer Walter Greenman, who saddled sixth-place Bouche Bee. “There’s no sand flying in horses’ faces like they had before.

“This course has a nice cushion, yet it holds together. The horses just scoot over it. They’ll be setting records when the real good horses run over it.”

Delahoussaye said that the previous turf course was doomed from the start.

“The first time I rode on it, I knew they were in trouble,” he said. “This one’s different. It’s firm, but it’s not rock-hard. Maybe they finally got it right.”

Although finishing fifth in the Autumn Days with Tabled With Saros, Kent Desormeaux said:

“This is the best course I’ve ridden on anywhere. I finished off the board and it was one of the most enjoyable rides I’ve ever had.

“I don’t even think we need goggles on this course.”

Horse Racing Notes

Dixie Pearl was trained by Brian Mayberry before making her first start for Richard Mandella in December 1995. Under Mandella, the filly has four wins, two seconds and one third in eight starts. The only disappointment was her last start, a fifth-place finish in the 1 1/8-mile Gardenia Handicap at Ellis Park on Aug. 18. “Maybe the shipping to Kentucky didn’t agree with her,” said Mandella, who still thinks that Dixie Pearl can be effective going a route. Dixie Pearl’s only other start on grass was a fifth-place finish in the Miesque Stakes at Hollywood Park as a 2-year-old in 1994. . . . On-track attendance of 26,450 was down more than 6,000 from last year and was the lowest since off-track satellite betting was introduced in 1988. The overall handle of $9.2 million was comparable to a year ago. Oak Tree officials thought Wednesday’s crowd was affected by the Dodgers playing at home in the National League division playoffs.