DEL MAR : Pat Valenzuela Picks Up Where He Left Off With a Victory on Best Pal in Balboa Stakes

DEL MAR —  Pat Valenzuela picked up where he left off Wednesday. In his first day back since becoming ill early Saturday, Del Mar’s leading rider won the $80,325 Balboa Stakes aboard Best Pal.

How he felt about the 2-year-old gelding’s performance in the prep for the Del Mar Futurity or the developments of the past several days were thoughts he kept to himself.

Approached by a group of reporters after Best Pal’s two-length victory over Xray, Valenzuela waved them off, saying he didn’t want to talk. When asked if there was a specific reason, he silently stood up and made his way to the shower.

Scheduled to ride Sunny Blossom in a Pimlico stakes Saturday, the 27-year-old jockey called in sick from his hotel. In light of Valenzuela’s past--he tested positive for cocaine last fall and was suspended for 60 days--there was immediate suspicion.

Valenzuela was taken off his mounts at Del Mar Sunday and Monday, then was cleared to ride locally after meeting with stewards David Samuel, Hubert Jones and Mort Lipton Wednesday morning.

“He came in at 9:45,” Samuel said. “He told us he took a flight (to Maryland) Friday night and when he got there early Saturday morning, he felt a little woozy. When he got to his hotel, he took a nap. When he woke up around noon, he called Pimlico and told them to take him off all his mounts except Sunny Blossom. At about 2 o’clock, he realized he was too sick to ride and called the stewards and told them he wouldn’t be able to ride in the stakes.

“He said he tried and was unsuccessful in getting a doctor to come to his room. He said he was too sick to fly out Saturday night, so he waited and came back to California Sunday evening.”

Accompanied by agent Bob Meldahl, Valenzuela went to see Dr. Neil Fisher in Covina Tuesday. Fisher, who talked with the stewards Wednesday morning, said Valenzuela was sick from some sort of a virus or possibly had a case of food poisoning. According to Samuel, Valenzuela said one of his daughters had similar symptoms.

Asked to take a drug test, Valenzuela did so without objection. “There was no problem at all,” Samuel said. “He seemed like he was in a good mood when we talked to him.”

Looking more and more like the one to beat in the Del Mar Futurity, Best Pal took full advantage of a perfect trip in the Balboa for his second stakes victory of the meeting.

Not tested by a weak field in the I’m Smokin Stakes July 27, the California-bred son of Habitony sat a couple of lengths off even-money favorite Iroquois Park and Gold Crest Express while they battled through the first half-mile, then took command into the stretch for his third win in four starts.

“I was surprised we weren’t favored today,” trainer Ian Jory said after Best Pal paid $5.20 to win. “I don’t want to sound cocky, but I thought we would be. We always knew he was a nice horse, so we’ve been confident all along. I’ve trained him pretty easy. He’s a pretty sensible kind of horse and doesn’t need a lot.

“I feel confident for the Futurity (on Sept. 12 at a mile). Distance is no object. He beat a handy field today and will appreciate the extra furlong. Two turns should be no problem. I didn’t tell Patrick anything. He knows the horse and works him all the time. I’ll probably just jog him up to the Futurity and work him once.”

Successful in the De Anza Stakes two weeks earlier, Iroquois Park faded to fourth after his early efforts, beaten more than nine lengths.

“He wouldn’t relax,” Gary Stevens said. “He just didn’t settle at all. When we hit the three-eighths pole, I felt like he was relaxed then, but I knew he was done. He got really tired.

“He’s a better colt than what he showed today. I’d throw the race out. It’s a possibility he might have bled because he was really blowing after the race.”

Xray, a son of Allen’s Prospect who had finished third in the De Anza, looked as though he might give Best Pal a battle through the stretch but proved no match. This, despite the fact he was able to slip through along the rail while the winner swung wide.

“I thought I was going to gallop,” said Eddie Delahoussaye, who took over from Valenzuela on the 7-1 fourth choice. “I thought I had a lot more horse than what I did. But Pat’s horse just really accelerated.”

Horse Racing Notes

The hearing for trainer Ron McAnally’s appeal on the disqualification of Tight Spot in Sunday’s Del Mar Derby is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Sept. 5. . . . Through the first four weeks of Del Mar’s meeting, the average on-track attendance is 17,062, up 2.3% percent from 1989, and the combined, on and off-track attendance is 35,488, up 2.7%. . . . Jockey Robbie Davis became a father for the fourth time when wife Marguerite gave birth to six-pound five-ounce Daniel Edmund Tuesday.