Strong finish for Espinoza

What had been a forgettable Hollywood Park meet for jockey Victor Espinoza improved on the final day.

Normally at or near the top of the rider standings for a number of years on the local circuit, Espinoza won at about a 5% clip during the 32-day season but wrapped things up with a lucrative prize.

Espinoza teamed with 13-1 shot Into Mischief to win the $750,000 Hollywood CashCall Futurity on Saturday, defeating 2-1 favorite Colonel John and 10 other 2-year-olds in the Grade I.

The stakes win was the second of the day for the jockey. Earlier, Greg’s Gold, the 1-2 favorite, had gone wire to wire to take the $107,800 On Trust Handicap.

In winning for the second time in three starts, Into Mischief, who had finished second as the favorite in the shorter Hollywood Prevue, had no trouble with the stretch to 1 1/16 miles.

Able to get good position early despite his post near the outside in the bulky field, Into Mischief tracked longshot pacesetter Eaton’s Gift for most of the trip, took over when that one tired and wound up winning by a little more than a length. Owned by Wayne Hughes and trained by Richard Mandella, Into Mischief ran the distance in 1:40.82.

Mandella, whose only other Futurity win had come with Afternoon Deelites in 1994, was confident Into Mischief would handle more ground given how he finished in a seven-furlong workout earlier in the month.

“He went in 1:26 and galloped out in 1:38 2/5,” the Hall of Fame trainer said. “He ran really well in his first race [a sprint win Oct. 21 at Santa Anita]. He was a little green, but the raw talent was obvious. In his second race, he got a little excitable and had a little bit of jitters going to the gate. He left there like he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do and most of his greenness came in that race.

“He made up for everything today. I told Victor to let him run out of there and then just do what you want and for right now that is better. Hopefully, this colt will get smarter as we go.”

Espinoza, who had won the 2004 Futurity with eventual 2-year-old champion Declan’s Moon, believes there are a lot more significant victories ahead for Into Mischief.

“He was real strong at the end and was waiting for horses,” Espinoza said. “It was very impressive for him to run like this today. This horse has a really unbelievable future.”

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Jerry Hollendorfer became the fourth trainer in history to reach 5,000 victories when Political High won the final race of Hollywood Park’s meet.

Long the kingpin on the Northern California circuit, Hollendorfer, who was at Golden Gate Fields on Saturday where his lone starter (Alottadar) finished fourth in the eighth race, had two winners on the Inglewood program. His 4,999th win came with favored Gold Trim in the third.

In hitting the milestone, Hollendorfer joined Dale Baird (who tops the list with 9,445 wins), Jack Van Berg (6,328) and King Leatherbury (6,227).

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The win by Greg’s Gold, a 6-year-old Lake George gelding, was his eighth in 23 starts for owner-breeder Bill Boswell and trainer David Hofmans. The gray gelding ran the 7 1/2 furlongs in a Cushion Track record 1:26.78. Big Bad Leroybrown, the 4-1 second choice, was second and Add Heat finished third.

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Hollywood Park concluded its autumn meet with a gain in average daily mutuel handle. The Inglewood track was up 4% over 2006, even though last year’s figures were buoyed by the simulcast of the Breeders’ Cup from Churchill Downs. The average handle during the 32-day meet was $10.8 million.

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bob.mieszerski@latimes.com