GOLDEN GLIMPSES #129

August 25, 1998

By ED GOLDEN

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas has fessed up. In an age when spin doctors concoct excuses at whim in an attempt to cover their butts when things go wrong, Lukas assumed full responsibility for Tactical Cat’s loss as the 3-10 favorite in the Saratoga Special at Saratoga on Aug. 19.

Tactical Cat finished third in a field of four, beaten 9 1/2 lengths. According to the Daily Racing Form, here’s what Lukas had to say after the race:

"I’ll take the blame for this one. I ran a short horse. If I had to do it over again, I would have run him in the Sanford (on July 30). He’s a better horse than that. I just did a poor job of getting him ready."

Well God bless George Washington and Holy Honest Abe!

Imagine if everyone in today’s sordid society was as truthful as Lukas.

Press conferences might sound something like this:

"He blew the race. All he had to do was ride his horse and not worry about the other one. You don’t lose a race with a five-length lead at the eighth pole. We had the $5 million bonus in our pocket. He won’t be ridin’ too many of my horses after this." -- Bob Baffert on Kent Desormeaux, after losing by a nose in the Belmont to miss winning the Triple Crown.

"Hell, yes, I bet on other sports. I bet on every sporting event I could. I’d have bet on curling if I could have. Do you know how boring it is sitting in the dugout between innings, waiting for radio and TV commercials to end? And I’ll lay you 8-5 I make it to the Hall of Fame." -- Pete Rose.

"Nah, the biting wasn’t spontaneous. I planned it after I seen ‘Silence of the Lambs.’ My hero isn’t Joe Louis, it’s Hannibal Lechter." -- Mike Tyson.

"Sure, it was my DNA, damn right I cut my hand on the bloody knife, absolutely they’re my shoes and no question about it, the gloves did fit." -- O.J. Simpson, on the Nicole Brown Simpson/Ron Goldman murders.

"Why Paula Jones and Monica Lewinsky? Girls appeal to me who are what I’d call ‘off-pretty.’ You know, big beaks, chunky chests. My ego feeds on inferior-looking women, makes me feel even more important. Commander-in-Chief has a nice ring to it, but it doesn’t beat a little inappropriate action in the Oval Office." -- Bill Clinton.

THE HOMESTRETCH: This from a knowledgeable backstretch source: "News focusing on how many horses are breaking down (at Del Mar) is not what racing needs. The recent Los Angeles Times story was beating a dead horse, so to speak. There are many unrelated events that were thrown into that equation. A claiming horse breaking down past the finish on the turf course leads to a variety of opinions about the surface on the main track. That’s like complaining about pot holes on Baldwin Ave. (near Santa Anita) leading to funding a new surface for the 210 Freeway. The bottom line is there is too much racing for too few horses with greedy owners. This sentiment is heard again and again at the track." . . . A decision on 1999 racing dates was delayed by the California Horse Racing Board pending the outcome of Senate Bill 27, which would provide $40 million in tax relief to the California horse racing industry. Gov. Pete Wilson is expected to sign the bill shortly. It would become law on Jan. 1 and allow limited full-card simulcasting to the Golden State, in addition to increasing purse money. An obvious step in the right direction would be a reduction in racing dates. Now who will be the first to step forward? . . . Chris Antley, expected to be in his comeback by now, is still battling a weight problem and probably won’t resume riding until Oak Tree on Sept. 30 . . . Little wonder jockey Guillermo Guiterrez was caught with a battery during a race at Los Alamitos. "He was bragging so much about using the device," says one insider, "it got to be a source of annoyance and someone turned him in." . . . Francisco (Paco) Mena, the all-time leading rider at Fairplex Park until he was displaced last year by David Flores, will return for the 18-day Pomona meet Sept. 10 through Sept 27. Ironically, Mena has not ridden at Fairplex in several years, while Flores, a six-time Pomona champion, has opted to skip Fairplex this season to escape any risk of being labeled just a "fair" rider . . . Saturday’s Travers is expected to draw a small field, with a rematch between 1-2 Haskell finishers Coronado’s Quest and Victory Gallop. Despite the additional distance from 1 1/8 miles (Haskell) to 1 1/4 miles (Travers), I still like Coronado’s Quest. If you expected Old Trieste to push Coronado’s Quest in the Travers, forget it. He’s not running. "Right now, he’s stabled at Del Mar and he’s happy," said trainer Mike Puype. "I believe he’s good enough to race in the Travers, but I think the mile-and-a-quarter is too much for him." Puype adds that the Breeders’ Cup Classic "is not in our plans right now. We are focusing on the Strub series at Santa Anita the end of the year." . . . Woody Stephens, who died of emphysema Saturday at age 84, was the consummate horseman. The native Kentuckian will be best remembered for achieving racing’s equivalent of Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak--winning five consecutive Belmont Stakes from 1982 through 1986 . . . Aug. 12 was something of a career day for Joe Steiner. The 34-year-old rider won two races, including the fourth on $98.40 winner Sterling Heights. "I don’t remember the last time I won two races in one day in Southern California," Steiner said. "I won a lot of races when I was an apprentice and (trainer) Johnny Longden rode me a lot. I remember winning five in one day a long time ago. Sometimes I only ride one horse a day, so maybe this will open some doors for me." Steiner’s uncle and grandfather, both named Jack Leonard, were jockeys and that’s how he came to ride.

Meanwhile, Flores is persona non grata with Baffert these days. Seems his agent, Jim Pegram, took off a Baffert horse he had committed to ride and now is paying the price. "It’s something that’s being worked out," said Baffert, who trains Kentucky Derby winner Real Quiet for Jim’s brother, Mike Pegram. "Let’s just say Flores is under suspension from me right now." Flores did ride the Baffert-trained 13-1 shot Heavenly Refrain to a fourth-place finish in Saturday’s fourth race. Baffert’s barn is winning, no matter who he rides. He leads all trainers in victories at Del Mar this meet and even won a race with Cowboy Jack Kaenel . . .

Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens was scheduled to undergo surgery on his left knee at 12 noon Tuesday at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla near Del Mar and will miss his ride on Belmont Stakes winner Victory Gallop in Saturday’s $750,000 Travers Stakes at Saratoga against Coronado’s Quest. Stevens is expected to be sidelined up to three weeks.

Stevens, 35, Del Mar’s leading rider with 28 victories, was injured in a freak accident Sunday when going to the gate on Isitever, a 2-year-old colt owned by Mike Pegram and trained by Bob Baffert. The colt, making his first start, ducked away from something during the warm-up and when Stevens attempted to regain his balance, he wrenched the knee, forcing him to relinquish the mount.

"Dr. Michael Kimbell will perform the surgery," said Stevens’ agent, Ron Anderson. "Gary will be in rehab starting Thursday morning and should be back riding within 14 to 21 days. Dr. Kimbell doesn’t think there will be any complications. It’s pretty much textbook, he says." Anderson said Stevens has had two previous surgeries on each knee.

Alex Solis, who rode Victory Gallop to a second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby before being replaced by Stevens in the Preakness and the Belmont, is likely to ride the 3-year-old in the Travers. -- ED GOLDEN.

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