CAVONNIER, SEMORAN PUT BAFFERT IN DERBY'S 'FINAL FOUR'

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CAVONNIER, SEMORAN PUT BAFFERT IN DERBY'S 'FINAL FOUR'
Bob Baffert is getting antsy. The 43-year-old trainer presents a calm outward demeanor, but he was doing some serious rooting Saturday from his box at Santa Anita where his 10-1 shot, Cavonnier, won the $1-million Santa Anita Derby.

"I was just praying he would find room at the quarter pole," the White-Haired Wonder said of his California-bred comet. Baffert now has two serious Triple Crown candidates. His other is Remington Park Derby winner Semoran, who guns for his fifth straight victory this Saturday in the Blue Grass Stakes.

"I had a belly ache from screaming," Baffert confessed. "I said, 'Get through, get through.'"

And get through Chris McCarron did, easing Cavonnier off the rail and outside even-money favorite Honour and Glory and 96-1 shot Super Mining. Once clear, Cavonnier went on to a 1 3/4 length victory over 9-2 shot Alyrob, who was behind a wall of horses turning for home before bearing out into Matty G in mid-stretch. That incident caused the stewards to disqualify Alyrob from second to last.

"I've never run a horse in the Kentucky Derby before," Baffert said. "I've never made it this far. I've had Derby fever before, but I tried to go with sprinters. There's so much luck involved, too. It's a long ways off, and you've got to keep them healthy. But so far Cavonnier is a happy horse and a healthy horse. Even during the winter, his hair never got long. It's always slick. He's always looked so healthy that he must have a tremendous metabolism."

Just like his trainer. Baffert buried any nervous nature when he stopped training quarter horses five years ago.

"They have futurity races every minute, or so it seems," Baffert said. "Thoroughbreds are a lot easier on your heart. The only time I overdid it was when Thirty Slews won the (1992) Breeders' Cup Sprint. I was hanging over the rail and I couldn't believe my eyes.

"But the Santa Anita Derby is a lot different from the Breeders' Cup. When you win this race, the first thing you think about is the Kentucky Derby. That last 16th of a mile, I was trying to picture Cavonnier coming down the lane at Churchill Downs with Alyrob chasing him . . . winning the Breeders' Cup is like winning the Kentucky Derby, especially winning with a horse that doesn't figure. I knew Cavonnier figured, but nobody else did."

On the differences of Cavonnier and Semoran: "Cavonnier is a very smart horse. He doesn't do anything more than he has to do. I have to work him a little faster than I do a normal horse because he would just gallop around otherwise. So I have to put brisk works in him. He paces himself and I think that's why he's so sound, because he doesn't over-extend himself in the mornings.

"Semoran, he goes out there and wants to run off every day. So you have to watch him, because he could hurt himself."

On Semoran's chances in the Blue Grass: "He's not getting much recognition, but they'll respect him after the Blue Grass. I think I've got two legitimate shots at the Derby, and I don't want to go just to be there.

"I want to go to win."

GOLDEN PICKS

CRIOLLITO -- Argentine-bred was impressive winning first start in seven months at six furlongs, even though sprinting is not his game. He's no Cigar, but should make presence felt on handicap circuit this season for sizzling Baffert barn.

DON TON -- Gelded son of turf champion Manila enjoyed his first grass start, finishing creditable third at 28-1, despite vaulting from $28,000 claiming level to maiden special weight category. Shouldn't tarry long among winless.

EGAYANT -- Broke through gate an eyelash before it opened, losing 15 lengths, and was declared a non-starter for wagering purposes. Still looked sharp on the hoof and showed enough interest while making up the difference and then some to beat two horses. Merits serious consideration next time vs. allowance routers.

SIYAH NARA -- Nearly unseated Alex Solis after gates opened and jock's foot came out of right stirrup. Regained her composure and ran miraculous third, beaten only 2 1/2 lengths after trailing by more than 10 in compact field of five. Needs only event- free trip against female allowance routers.

SYN'S WAY -- Idaho-bred maiden ran winning race in defeat, finishing game second in debut to odds-on favorite Meadowjet. Similar effort lands 3-year-old colt in winners' circle.

THE HOMESTRETCH: Trainer Wally Dollase was thrilled with Alyrob's second-place effort in the Santa Anita Derby, despite the subsequent DQ: "I was ecstatic the way he ran and I thought the stewards made the right call. But now, I'm a little nervous about getting into the Kentucky Derby. Money wise, he may not qualify, but he deserves to be in that race. I felt he was as good as the winner and better than anybody else in the race." . . . Wayne Lukas said Prince of Thieves, in striking position leaving the half-mile pole before fading to sixth, "bled into his trachea. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to compromise the way he finished. We'll treat him with Lasix for the Kentucky Derby and take it from there." . . . With two Kentucky Derby contenders, Chris McCarron suggests calling Baffert "D. Wayne Baffert" or "maybe just B. Bob Baffert." . . . Corey Nakatani, who faces his third suspension of the meet after Alyrob's disqualification from second to last: "I was riding to win, that's all." . . . After eight years on the beat, Daily Racing Form Southern California handicapper Brad Free will depart his post soon to man the desk at DRF's Phoenix headquarters. "I've got as big an ego as anybody here," admitted Free, who, along with sidekick Steve Anderson, is one of the hardest-working press box regulars. "I'll miss it. But you gotta do what you gotta do." . . . Lucky Gary Jones wasn't under oath in a court of law when I asked him more than two weeks ago if he was retiring from training. He could have been nailed for perjury -- unless he was being prosecuted by Marcia and Chris. Asked face-to-face, Jones said he was not retiring. But in the April 3 Daily Racing Form, Jones said his last day of training would be April 22, final day of the Santa Anita meet . . . Dick Mandella says Dubai World Cup runner-up Soul of the Matter is pointing to the $1-million Hollywood Gold Cup and a rematch with Cigar on June 30. "He's doing great and his feet are in good shape," said Mandella. "We gave Cigar a scare and we'll see if we can beat him on our home ground." . . . As reported in Gaming Today on Feb. 17, look for a revamped racing page in the Los Angeles Times starting with the Hollywood Park meet. Among the revisions: elimination of the handicappers' consensus box, condensed charts, and an abbreviated, analysis-type graded handicap -- all in the name of saving space . . . Trainer Eddie Gregson says winning the 1982 Kentucky Derby wasn't his most satisfying victory. "Maybe because it came early in my career," the 57-year-old Los Angeles native said, "but there were other races that in a sense were more meaningful to me, horses that I've bred myself that won a big race, or developing a horse like Super Diamond, who had so many infirmities. He was so unsound, but he earned almost $1.5 million, won a Grade I as a 9-year-old. I got a bigger thrill out of that. But there's nothing like the Derby. I was sitting in a box way at the top of the grandstand, and to this day I don't have any idea how I got downstairs. I don't remember what route I went or anything. I have no idea." Gregson recently was elected vice president of the California Thoroughbred Breeders' Association. John Harris, owner of Harris Farms in Coalinga, California, is the CTBA's new president . . . Bobby Frankel's hearing for Nimble Mind's testing of Grade I positive morphine from a winning race on Jan. 3 was postponed from April 3 and rescheduled for next month . . . Eoin Harty, assistant to Baffert, remembers his early days on the track when Charlie Whittingham was winning every stakes race in California, especially those on grass. "His stable was so good," Harty says, "he had horses who would have been stakes runners in other barns, and he just used them as rabbits to get his other big horses ready to run." Times have changed. With 12 racing days remaining, Whittingham, who will be 83 on Saturday, had won only two races from 38 starts, just over five percent.

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