DEL MAR, Calif. -- Del Mar's "Battle of the Sexes" was decided by a nose.

Patrick Valenzuela coaxed Chester's Choice ahead of Julie Krone's tiring Woke Up Dreamin in the final stride to win the rare match race at the seaside track on Sunday.

The race was a promotional gimmick, and while it was hardly on the same scale as Seabiscuit versus Ligaroti on the same track 65 years ago, it at least provided a thrilling finish between two top jockeys battling for Del Mar's riding title. The victory gave Valenzuela a two-race lead over Krone in a meeting that ends Wednesday, and he thrust a fist in the air as Chester's Choice crossed the finish line a nose ahead.

"Congratulations on a great race," Valenzuela told Krone as they pulled alongside each other after the finish of the $50,000 race over 1 1-16 miles.

"It was a great race," Valenzuela said in the winner's circle. "She opened up a little bit, and coming into the stretch I had my horse on the outside and he responded very well."

Not used to that kind of pace, the nondescript 3-year-old colts were spent rounding the final turn. Chester's Choice looked like he was about to be soundly beaten as Krone, the sentimental favorite, opened a 2 1/2 -length lead aboard Woke Up Dreamin, the 1-2 favorite.

With the crowd cheering for Krone, Valenzuela swung his horse to the outside and got him going.

"The last furlong I was just busy riding my horse, yelling at him, screaming at him, just trying to get him to finish because I knew he would be getting a little tired," Valenzuela said. "His stamina got him to the wire today."

Krone could hear the crowd cheering for her, but she could also hear Valenzuela closing in.

"I knew it was going to be close," she said. "I was asking my horse for all he had left and he was trying. He was so leg-weary but he was trying. It was sure exciting for the fans."

Chester's Choice -- trained by a woman, Summer Mayberry -- was timed in 1:46.26 and won $35,000 for owner Robert Rupert. The 4-5 second choice, Chester's Choice paid $3.60. Woke Up Dreamin, owned by Mike Pegram, won $15,000.

"Summer did a heck of a job getting this horse ready for this race," Valenzuela said. "She knew she had to put some speed in the horse."

Woke Up Dreamin is trained by Bob Baffert, and he said earlier that he wished it were at a mile, not 1 1-16.

"Bob said that if I got beat, it was the training that did it," Krone said. "So I'm going to blame Bob."

The matchup originally was to have been Gary Stevens, who played jockey George Woolf in the movie "Seabiscuit," and Krone, who's spending her first summer at Del Mar.

But after Stevens was hurt in a fall at the end of the Arlington Million three weeks ago, Valenzuela replaced him.

Stevens returned to riding on Friday night, a week ahead of schedule.

Seabiscuit beat Ligaroti in a $25,000, winner-take-all match race on Aug. 12, 1938, a year after Del Mar opened.

Not quite three months later, Seabiscuit beat Triple Crown winner War Admiral in a more famous match race at Pimlico.

The last match race at Del Mar was in 1994, when Soviet Problem defeated Mamselle Bebette by 6 1/2 lengths in a battle of 4-year-old fillies.