Worldly tries for a rare double

Let Bob Do It was the last horse to win the Will Rogers Stakes and Cinema Handicap. The 3-year-old won both turf races in 1996.

Worldly, a gelded son of Selkirk, has a chance to match the accomplishment when he faces seven others in the Cinema Breeders’ Cup Handicap today at Hollywood Park.

A Grade III at 1 1/8 miles, the Cinema comes five weeks after Worldly won the Will Rogers, which is a sixteenth of a mile shorter, by half a length as the 8-5 favorite.

Owned by Christopher Wright and trained by Ben Cecil, Worldly won once in three starts in his native England, but is unbeaten in two races in this country. Before the Will Rogers, he won an allowance race at the Cinema distance April 6 at Santa Anita. Regular rider Victor Espinoza remains with the gray.

The 3-year-old to beat this afternoon is Golden Balls. An Irish-bred son of Danehill Dancer trained by Jim Cassidy for Fontana Racing LLC and the Gould Family Trust, Golden Balls used a powerful finish to win the one-mile La Puente by a nose in his U.S. bow April 14 at Santa Anita.

In defeating Desert Code by a nose, Golden Balls earned his third win in eight starts. He will be ridden by Brice Blanc.

Worldly and Golden Balls will be joined in the starting gate by Star Inside, Gweebarra, Streets Ahead, Level Red, Mr Eddie Boy -- who has won two in a row on the turf against lesser competition at Golden Gate Fields -- and Tycoon Doby.

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Hollywood Park will add more wax to the top layer of its Cushion Track in the coming weeks.

Eual Wyatt Jr., Hollywood Park’s general manager, said track officials will meet with representatives of the English company that manufactures Cushion Track this weekend to determine exactly when the additional wax will be applied.

“There has been a decrease in wax content in the top layer,” Wyatt said in a statement. “The change is probably a natural occurrence with the enormous amount of traffic we’ve had on this racetrack. The tests indicate the pad under the top layer is relatively unchanged from when it was originally put down.”

Hollywood Park was the first California track to install a synthetic surface. Cushion Track was installed last summer and was used during last year’s fall meet. The material used in Cushion Track includes silica sand mixed with synthetic and elastic fibers and granulated rubber.

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Astra, one of the best turf mares of recent years, was euthanized earlier this month because of complications from colic. She was 11.

Bred and raced by Allen Paulson and his son Michael, the daughter of Theatrical won 11 of 16 and earned more than $1.3 million. Six of her victories for trainers Simon Bray and Laura de Seroux came in the Gamely Breeders’ Cup and Beverly Hills at Hollywood Park and the Santa Barbara at Santa Anita. She won each of those races twice between 2000 and 2002.

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Jockey Patrick Valenzuela, who said earlier this week that he hopes to begin riding again when Del Mar begins July 18, will need to re-apply for a license to the California Horse Racing Board before any comeback could start.

Valenzuela, whose career has been interrupted by several suspensions for substance abuse, hasn’t ridden since last fall after fracturing ribs in a walking ring mishap Nov. 26 at Hollywood Park. He subsequently had knee surgery and is undergoing physical therapy. His license expired at the end of 2006.

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With the $750,000 Hollywood Gold Cup one week away, it appears Lava Man will have six opponents when he tries to win the Grade I for a third consecutive year. Only Native Diver has won Hollywood Park’s signature race three times.

Besides Lava Man, who suffered his first loss in California in nearly two years when he finished second to After Market in the Charles Whittingham Memorial on turf two weeks ago, the Gold Cup is expected to attract Molengao, Big Booster, A.P. Arrow, A.P. Xcellent, My Creed and Wilko. Entries for the Gold Cup will be taken Wednesday.

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bob.mieszerski@latimes.com