'PRINCE' MAY BE KING ON LUKAS' BOUNTIFUL TRIPLE CROWN TRAIL
Darrell Wayne Lukas has enough horse equipment around his well-manicured barn for a remake of High Noon. But he might be in need of a few more of his distinctive white bridles if all his Triple Crown hopefuls make it to the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
Lukas already has won five straight Triple Crown races, something no other trainer has ever done, and he has more horses nominated this year --17-- than anybody else.
But what's a trainer to do when he has Santa Catalina Stakes winner Prince of Thieves, a heavily-hyped maiden like Dr. Caton, Breeders' Cup Juvenile runner-up Hennessy, San Miguel Stakes winner Honour and Glory, Editor's Note and Victory Speech, among others, to prepare for owners who want to win the world's most popular race?
Well, one thing he's not going to do is rank them, especially some three months before the Derby, even though his former assistant, trainer Randy Bradshaw, thinks Prince of Thieves is at the head of the class.
"I don't know what he based that on," Lukas said as the daily race track chores abated on a summer-like morning at Santa Anita. "I would be reluctant to say that. I'm not going to rate them. It serves no purpose to try and make a pecking order or a depth chart on my 3-year-olds.
"But I know that Randy personally always liked that horse. Jerry Bailey, who rode him in his maiden win, likes him a lot, so we've been high on him. But as far as making a depth chart, I won't do that till the day before the Derby. Randy says Prince of Thieves is athletic and nifty? I think those things are very true. He's got a little bit better turn of foot than Timber Country had. Of course, he's by a different sire. He's a three- quarter brother. But he's not as big.
"He's a little bit niftier, I think he knows where his feet are a little better, he gets into a race quicker. Whether he'll win the Preakness (as Timber Country did last year), or accomplish as much, who knows? The other horse (Timber Country) was a champion, this one's had three outs."
But his last out was his best. Prince of Thieves, a disappointing sixth on Jan. 12 after breaking his maiden by nearly seven lengths at Aqueduct last Nov. 11, won the Santa Catalina Stakes by three lengths over such heralded hotshots as Smithfield, Matty G. and Alyrob. Still, the trainer who had most of the 354 Triple Crown horses nominated would not go out on a limb. It's plain too early.
"I don't want to rate 'em as to which one I think's the best, second-best, because I think that's really foolish at this point, and it serves no purpose. I would say this: Prince of Thieves is really one of our top contending horses. We're gonna try and take him all the way, as we are some of the others. He's jumped right into the middle of this thing very quickly. He's got a mile-and-a-sixteenth stakes race in early February under his belt . . . a lot of horses are already into the stakes picture and he's already there in a major racing center at Santa Anita. So he's obviously got to be considered very, very seriously as a candidate at this point."
Last year, 2-year-old champion colt Timber Country received most attention as the 3-year-old campaign began. Thunder Gulch went on to win the Derby, but with no pre-race fanfare. He was 24-1.
"Thunder Gulch didn't draw a lot of attention until the third week in February when he won the Fountain of Youth," Lukas pointed out. "Then people looked at him, but they really got on his bandwagon after he won the Florida Derby. This horse (Prince of Thieves), winning that race (Santa Catalina), is a little bit ahead of that schedule."
Asked his thoughts on Appealing Skier's half-length upset of last year's 2-year- old champion colt, Unbridled Song, in the Hutcheson Stakes, Lukas said: "It's not my job to evaluate it; that's your job."
Then he proceeded to evaluate it.
"But in looking at it, there are a lot of things that you have to realize the trainers are trying to do. I read the comments by the trainer of Unbridled Song (Jim Ryerson) and I accept that. He's obviously got a very, very fast horse, because his works say that all the time. So he's trying to accomplish something to get this horse to relax. Whether he did it in that race, or got outrun, is not for me to judge, and I don't want to be that judge.
"In all fairness, Benny Perkins' (Sr.) horse (Appealing Skier) ran damn well. He took it to him, he made every pole a winning one and he stayed in there. So I would say on that particular day, he was the horse. Now whether the other guy (Ryerson) was really trying to get his horse to win or not -- I think he did. But, on the other hand, it's not for me to evaluate."
Bradshaw, who has 11 Triple Crown nominees, second only to Lukas, has been high on Prince of Thieves from the outset. "He's always been the best-looking 3-year-old Wayne has," said Bradshaw, who hopes to start his first Derby horse on May 4. "Dr. Caton is a big horse, the kind you can't make any mistakes with (in a race), but Prince of Thieves is nifty and athletic. I think he has the best future of 'em all."
TOP 10 COMMENTS BETTORS HATE TO HEAR FROM TREVOR DENMAN
The top 10 comments bettors hate to hear about their horses from track commentator Trevor Denman (add your horse's name to the following):
10. " . . . is not responding."
9. " . . . never fired a yard today."
8. " . . . lost his rider."
7. " . . . can find no more."
6. " . . . has thrown in the towel."
5. " . . . is being pulled up and is out of the race."
4. " . . . gave the field five lengths at the start."
3. " . . . did not go on."
2. " . . . has to do more."
And the No. 1 comment bettors hate to hear from Trevor Denman about their horse ". . . was never happy today."
GOLDEN PICKS
SUPER MINING -- Randy Bradshaw-trained soph lost photo so close even jockey Chris McCarron, aboard ultimate winner Zanferrier, thought he lost. Probably would have won the high quality maiden race, in which 9-10 favorite Dr. Caton finished third, if he hadn't done a dance in deep stretch. Should prevail in next start, but you won't get 14-1 this time.
U DIRTY RAT -- Second race back after 27-month layoff was impressive. Bill Spawr-trained gelding rallied from out of the clouds to be beaten only two lengths, and did it while breaking from the No. 1 slot going 6 1/2 furlongs. Should break maiden vs. $25,000 types with better post.
THE HOMESTRETCH: "DIAZ CAPTURES WRITING AWARDS" --
Headline on Page 1 of Jan. 14 Daily Racing Form. Now, the question has been raised, did
Stephanie Diaz win on the up and up? Diaz, racing writer for the Riverside-Press
Enterprise, is the first person to win for both newspaper and magazine writing since the
two categories were introduced in 1971, and the only one to earn an Eclipse Award in
both classifications in the same or different years. Reportedly, there are allegations by
jockey Donna Barton and former rider Braulio Baeza, that Diaz did not talk to them
and may have contrived comments and events. Diaz, unlike most press box regulars, has
a passion for horses and not betting. A sensitive and skilled writer, she won an Eclipse
for magazine writing in 1993, and initially thought the charges would merely go away
after they arose in oral form. But now that they have appeared in public print, she has
retained a Denver attorney, Craig Skinner, "to help her address allegations of plagiarism
and unethical conduct," according to Skinner. "So far, and I don't mind saying this is not
off the record, we have found no evidence of either," Skinner said. The Eclipse
ceremonies, hosted by John Forsythe, were held Friday at the Hotel del Coronado in San
Diego, where Diaz was scheduled to accept her awards. The Eclipse Awards are
sponsored jointly by the Thoroughbred Racing Associations, National Turf Writers
Association, and Daily Racing Form. "The best way to handle any review would be by an
independent body," said one prominent member of the NTWA, "and not by any or all of
the vested groups." . . . Wally Dollase, explaining 13-10 favorite Alyrob's lackluster
fourth-place finish right after the Santa Catalina Stakes last Sunda y: "He wasn't the same
horse he was on a fast race track. They were putting up fast times, but there's no way you
can consider that a fast track. You can see on the replay where Odyle dropped in on him
and he had to go around him. By that time, the race was over . . . he just wasn't getting
hold of it, that's what he (Chris McCarron) told me, so that's all I can say. I thought the
horse was in very good shape, better than I'd ever had him, but obviously he didn't run as
well. I've been around some good horses, and I think he's as good as any of 'em." Four
days after the race, Alyrob had a clean bill of health, although Dollase said he will
consider making an equipment change for the gelding's next start. "I couldn't find a
thing," Dollase said. 'I thought I might find some problem, but he ate up that night and I
was real happy to see that. I might put blinkers on him, because I observed the films for a
long time, and it seemed when he picked up (the crowd noise), he threw it up and he was
running in spurts, not really concentrating. I might put cheaters on him, like I do
Helmsman. That's the only thing I could see that might move him up a notch." Dollase
had no race in mind, but said he plans to space his starts about a month apart . . . Hall of
Fame jockey Eddie Delahoussaye, on why he set the early pace with Smithfield in the
Santa Catalina Stakes, when all the experts had Matty G. lengths in front: "He broke
runnin' and he was very relaxed. They went :47 and change (:47 3/5). I thought Matty G.
would be out quicker, but the track wasn't lightening fast, either. I didn't like the inside,
too deep down there." Eddie D. had little choice once Smithfield broke smartly from the
No. 1 post position, while Matty G. broke from the extreme outside No. 6 . . . Bob
Baffert's Triple Crown hopeful, Cal-bred Cavonnier, could make his next start in the
San Rafael Stakes on March 2. "We've got to find out if he's good enough sooner or
later," Baffert said . . . Racing downhill? The Sport of Kings, already relegated to the
back of most sports sections unless there's a scandal, may lose more space in the Los
Angeles Times. Don't be surprised if the handicappers' consensus box is ancient history
after the Santa Anita meet . . . R Friar Tuck ($7) and Our Golden Promise ($4.20), two
Golden Picks, combined for a $23.40 late double on Friday . . . Dick Mandella plans to
send Afternoon Deelites and Dare and Go in the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap on
March 2, and Soul of the Matter in the $4 million Dubai Classic on March 27. Gary
Stevens is scheduled to ride for Burt Bacharach in the world's richest race . . . It's unfair
to knock Cigar for not being a weight carrier. After all, he only totes what the racing
secretaries give him . . . Gene Short, agent for Kent Desormeaux, has grown a beard
and suddenly become a Kris Kristofferson lookalike--less 20 years. "I just wanted a
different look," Cajun Gene said.
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