GRINDSTONE, CAVONNIER IN PICTURE-PERFECT DERBY
Mike Marlowe held the fort for Team Lukas at Hollywood Park on Kentucky
Derby Day.
An assistant who has been with Lukas for eight years, while his cohorts basked in the glamour and glory at Churchill Downs, Marlowe's assignment was to saddle a maiden named Predictable in the sixth race. Predictable finished fourth.
Of course, there was no way Marlowe would miss watching the Derby and the subsequent nose victory by Grindstone over Cavonnier.
"We had Grindstone with us at Santa Anita this winter," the 32-year-old Illinois native said. "Honestly, most of us thought Prince of Thieves and Editor's Note were the two best prospects, but we're really happy for Mr. Young (Grindstone's owner and breeder, Bill Young). Overbrook Farm has put a lot into the business. They're classy people, they're Grade I people, that's for sure. If anybody deserves a Derby winner, it's Mr. Young."
Marlowe said early Sunday morning that he had spoken via telephone with his boss, trainer D. Wayne Lukas. "But he was so busy we didn't have time to discuss much, just that the horses were okay, but not which horses would run where next."
Whatever unfolds, it's a safe bet that Lukas will be represented in the Preakness with Grindstone, Prince of Thieves and Editor's Note when he shoots for an unprecedented seventh straight Triple Crown victory.
His streak began with Tabasco Cat in the 1994 Preakness and Belmont Stakes, followed by Thunder Gulch (1995 Derby), Timber Country (1995 Preakness) and Thunder Gulch again (1995 Belmont).
Meanwhile, emotions were bittersweet at the Santa Anita camp of trainer Bob Baffert, who sent out Cavonnier to lose the closest Derby since Tomy Lee beat Sword Dancer in 1959.
"Bob said he didn't get to see the replay where Cavonnier was hit in the head at the top of the stretch by Craig Perret's whip, but that he knew about it," offered California girl Christian Mendoza, 28-year-old exercise rider who has been with Baffert for four years.
"He said, 'Now I know what it's like to win the Derby for two minutes. It's just an amazing feeling.'
"After that, he said it felt like someone had socked him in the stomach. He feels good because he accomplished a lot, but on the other hand, what a way to lose. He called me at the barn after the race and I said, 'Is this the loser?' And he said, 'This is the super loser.'
"But he takes it well. I guess he's really grateful to come as far as he has with a horse like that."
And racing is grateful to have witnessed one of the greatest Kentucky Derby finishes of all time.
DENMAN, HOLLYWOOD: SPLITSVILLE
Although it was never indicated by Trevor Denman in my conversations with
him, and Hollywood Park releases said that Luke Kruytbosch was replacing Denman for
the spring/summer meet, the split between Denman and the track is permanent, at least
for now.
"The deal was that he offered to still call the fall meet, forever, if we wanted him to that," explained Hollywood Park's vice president of marketing and publicity, Rick Baedeker.
"(But) we'd then have ping-ponging announcers, so we're going to try to find a permanent announcer.
"Luke has been given a deal for this meet, but that's simply so that we can take a little bit of pressure off him and at the same time evaluate his performance. Every expectation is that he will be the permanent announcer.
"Trevor offered to save the fall, should we want to use him. I don't know what his preference is, but I would think it probably is to call the fall, so he wouldn't have all that time off."
Addressing rumors of an alleged stock deal gone awry between Denman and Hollywood Park, Baedeker said: "Trevor has nothing to do with any stock. He doesn't get stock as part of the deal. It has nothing to do with that.
"There were other rumors going around that he and Hubbard had a spat, and there is no truth to that. It's a typical type of rumor that people develop after the fact."
CIELED KISS-- Neil Drysdale-trained filly was beaten only a neck in first start in more than seven months, despite a tardy start, traffic problems and racing in tight on the rail through the homestretch. All she needs is a true trip.
LAGO -- Maiden finished undistinguished sixth at nearly 40-1 in only second outing and first turf venture, but saved ground throughout nine-furlong race and rallied discreetly, beaten just over five lengths. Could improve enough next time to get the money at hefty payoff.
THE HOMESTRETCH: Two out of three ain't bad: Our Kentucky Derby selections of Prince of Thieves, Alyrob and Grindstone held up fairly well, but would have been better, in hindsight, had we reversed The Prince and Grindstone. But of all the predictions I saw, no one had the gritty Grindstone even as high as third . . . Criollito, a Golden Pick, won the Churchill Downs Handicap at 4-1 and you could get down, since it was one of the early simulcasts on Derby Day . . . Wayne Lukas and Bob Baffert are accustomed to tight photo finishes. Both are former quarter horses trainers, and it was Lukas who encouraged Baffert to devote full time to thoroughbreds after Baffert won three California Cup races in 1991 . . . The deadlock between Hollywood Park and the Nevada race books over the percentage fee for simulcasts has been resolved, but it could be short-lived. "It was 3.29 percent and now it's 3.50," said Hollywood Park general manager Eual Wyatt Jr. "This is a single-meeting deal only," said Chairman R.D. Hubbard. "The reason we settled is any additional increase would have required approval from the Nevada Gaming Commission. That would have taken 30 to 60 days and the meeting would have been over. We'll continue to discuss an increase for the fall meeting with the Gaming Commission." And if you don't think satellite wagering is in its prime, chew on these figures: Despite an on-track opening night crowd of more than 32,000, total handle sans Nevada was $8.2 million. Last year, with more than 29,000 on-track, total handle was $9,756,407. . . It's official: Cigar's next start will be in the Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs on June 1. Then it's on to California for the $1-million Hollywood Gold Cup on June 30 . . . Trainer Cliff Sise Jr., who sent out 7-1 Paying Dues to dead-heat with 1-2 favorite Abaginone in the Los Angeles Handicap, has the Breeders' Cup Sprint on Oct. 26 as his long-range goal, but is pointing next to the $100,000-guaranteed Oakland Handicap at Golden Gate on June 1. "He came out of the race great and he's finally healthy," said Sise of the son of Cure the Blues, who has suffered from a myriad of ailments, including ulcers. If all goes well after the Oakland, Sise has Hollywood's $200,000-added Triple Bend Breeders' Cup Handicap on June 30 as the next stop. Sise was suspended the final three weeks of the Santa Anita meet and took advantage of the rare time off to take a seven-day Caribbean cruise . . . Joy Scott, fresh off a Santa Anita meet in which she set a record by a female rider with eight wins, suffered three broken ribs in a ninth-race spill Wednesday. Scott's mount, 52-1 shot It's Aloha, was slammed by two horses at the start, then clipped another horse's heels before stumbling. Scott,37, was tossed head-over-heels. It will be up to her when she resumes riding . . . The United Pegasus Foundation will hold its second annual golf tournament Monday, May 20, 12 noon at Via Verde Country Club in San Dimas. The Pegasus Foundation was formed to insure the dignity of all horses and accepts donated and rescued horses from California auctions and killer lots. It rehabilitates and retrains the horses for various riding venues and also has a retirement program. Checks may be sent to United Pegasus Foundation, 60 Alta St. #3, Arcadia, CA 91006. For more info, call Helen Meredith, 818 279-1306.
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