$55,950 San Clemente Stakes at Del Mar : Our Sweet Sham Keeps Valenzuela From 6 Wins

DEL MAR — When trainer Craig Lewis claimed Our Sweet Sham for $50,000 at Hollywood Park in mid-May, he made no apologies.

“This filly is going to win some races for me,” Lewis said.

What Lewis didn’t know was that Our Sweet Sham was going to pay dividends on the turf. Our Sweet Sham, who won the day Lewis claimed her--the second victory of her career--immediately added two more wins in allowance company at Hollywood.

Running the first grass race of her career Saturday, before 26,508 fans at Del Mar, she made the quantum jump, winning the $55,950 San Clemente Stakes by holding off Mille Et Une in the final strides.

Mille Et Une, who came into the San Clemente with two straight wins, could have given jockey Pat Valenzuela the biggest riding day of his career. Instead, Valenzuela settled for five wins out of seven mounts, which matched a pair of five-victory days that he registered in the same week during an Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita in 1980.

Our Sweet Sham, able to set slow early fractions in the 1 1/16-mile race, won by a neck and paid $12.60, $7.60 and $4.40 as the third betting choice. Mille Et Une returned $7.20 and $3.80. T.V. Residual was another 4 1/2 lengths back and paid $3.20 to show.

Rekindling, who went off the 17-10 favorite, did not have the best of trips and finished sixth in the 10-horse field.

Our Sweet Sham was timed in 1:43 1/5, earning $33,450 for the partnership of Ed Brown and Rubin Ratzlaff, who are electrical suppliers from Los Angeles.

Ironically, Our Sweet Sham was ridden by Santiago Soto, the Chilean who recently began riding in California. Our Sweet Sham was claimed by Lewis from Brian Mayberry, the trainer who introduced Soto to United States racing in Florida six years ago.

“When I claimed this filly, I wasn’t really thinking turf with her,” Lewis said. “But we breezed her on the grass, she went all right, and the conditions of the race suited her perfectly, so we went ahead and ran her.”

Soto rode Our Sweet Sham the day Lewis claimed her, then Corey Black and Gary Stevens were aboard for the Nostrum-Sweet Pretense filly’s wins in her next two starts. Soto inherited the mount Saturday because Stevens was at Monmouth Park in New Jersey, where he rode Delicate Vine to a five-length win over Burnished Bright in the $200,000 Sorority Stakes.

The win was Soto’s second stakes victory of the meeting, the first coming last Saturday aboard Flying Girl in a division of the Osunitas Handicap.

“There wasn’t much speed in the race, and this filly is good on the lead,” Soto said. “She broke well and nobody followed me. When the other horse (Mille Et Une) came to me in the stretch, she took off again. I think this filly’s better on grass than dirt.”

Going into the San Clemente, the 23-year-old Valenzuela had won with Bevroyphyl ($6.60) in the first race, Native Priss ($4.40) in the second, Ginger Flash ($74.60) in the fifth and Biloxi Blues ($4.40) in the sixth. In the fourth race, Valenzuela finished fourth aboard Sentimental Song, who was a 45-1 longshot.

“When I looked at my mounts today, I figured I had the chance to win three or four races,” Valenzuela said. “I thought Ginger Flash was one of those three or four. The exercise rider who had been on her in the mornings told me that she had been working good.”

After Mille Et Une finished second to Our Sweet Sham, Valenzuela would have liked another chance at No. 6 in the ninth race with Foreign Legion.

“I thought he had a good chance to win,” Valenzuela said. “But the trainer (John Sadler) scratched him.”

Mille Et Une was in fourth place, on the rail, going into the far turn, and Valenzuela brought her outside Our Sweet Sham in the upper stretch as the other horses in front of them, Ohslewsanna and Hopeful Gal, began to fade.

“We ran out of ground,” Valenzuela said. “The wire just came up too quick. The other filly kinda got away from us and we just couldn’t get her.”

Even without a sixth win, and even before Saturday’s five wins, it has been a profitable year for Valenzuela. Going into late July, he ranked 10th in the national purse standings with a total of $3.4 million.

Melair, the undefeated filly who had been one of Valenzuela’s top stakes mounts, has been sent to the farm for a rest, but the jockey has other prominent horses left, such as Al Mamoon, who will be one of the favorites in next Sunday’s $150,000 Eddie Read Handicap here.

Today, in the $75,000 La Jolla Mile Handicap, Valenzuela rides Southern Halo, who has been second in his last two starts under Bill Shoemaker.

Valenzuela, who has six mounts besides Southern Halo, is not thinking small, however.

“The last time I rode five (winners), I came right back and got five more,” he said. “Maybe I can do it again.”

Horse Racing Notes

Trainer Wayne Lukas remained at Del Mar while his son Jeff saddled Lady’s Secret for her win Saturday in the Whitney Handicap at Saratoga. “The reason we ran her against colts is because we’re shooting for Horse of the Year,” Wayne Lukas said. “As far as I was concerned, she was already the Horse-of-the-Year leader even before Saturday. This is some tremendous filly. She’s been in training for three years, without one rest, and she still gives you a top performance every time she runs.” Gene Klein, who owns Lady’s Secret, was also at Del Mar, where his 2-year-old colt, Biloxi Blues, won the sixth race. “I bought Lady’s Secret privately, for $350,000,” Klein said. “I’d like to find another one like her.” . . . Another Lukas filly, Family Style, didn’t fare as well Saturday, beating only one horse in the Ak-Sar-Ben Oaks. . . . Vernon Castle is the co-top weight at 120 pounds with Mazaad in today’s La Jolla Mile at Del Mar and may go off the favorite, but at least one rival trainer doesn’t fear the 3-year-old son of Seattle Slew. “I don’t think he’s that much of a horse,” Darrell Vienna said. “His entire reputation has been built on winning one race.” Since winning the California Derby at Golden Gate Fields in April, Vernon Castle has been 15th in the Kentucky Derby, second in the Cinema Handicap and 11th in the Silver Screen Handicap. Vienna has two starters, Marvin’s Policy and Tripoli Shores, in the La Jolla. On Monday, Vienna will be at Saratoga to saddle Cheapskate in the $100,000 Albany Stakes. Cheapskate has won the St. Paul Derby at Canterbury Downs and finished a troubled second in the New York Derby at Finger Lakes in his last two starts.