GOLDEN GLIMPSES #61 GOLDEN GLIMPSES #61 McCARRON PLAYS MUSICAL HORSES, LANDS ON DERBY WINNERS
Timing is everything, and for a world-class rider like Chris McCarron, that and a little bit of luck can bring victory in the Kentucky Derby.
A few short weeks ago, McCarron had his pick of three promising Triple Crown hopefuls -- Mud Route, Silver Charm and Hello. That's not to say more opportunities won't be cropping up later.
But Mud Route bucked his shins. He'll miss the Triple Crown. Silver Charm came down with a fever, and sat out his scheduled dance in the San Rafael Stakes on March 2. He's back, though, and will go in the San Felipe on Sunday. Hello said good-bye to his chances in the San Rafael when he broke through the gate before the start. The Irish-bred colt still ran a game third.
Playing musical horses before the Run for the Roses is nothing new to McCarron, who won the Derby in 1987 on Alysheba and in 1994 on Go For Gin. In fact, both mounts came at the 11th hour.
"I got on both Go For Gin and Alysheba late," said McCarron, who will be 42 on March 27. "In fact, I picked up the mount on Bold Arrangement Tuesday before the Derby, and he was second to Ferdinand (1986). There have been springs I've been on some colts that looked like Triple Crown material, and I was going to have to make a choice.
"Last winter I had Alyrob and Cavonnier. Eddie D. (Delahoussaye) had been riding Smithfield for Charlie Whittingham, but for some reason, he wouldn't ride him in the Santa Anita Derby, so I was going to ride him. But he got hurt. Cavonnier wound up being my Kentucky Derby horse. We won the Santa Anita Derby, but just got beat in the big one.
"Go For Gin ran three weeks before the Derby in the Wood Memorial. Irgun won the race under Gary Stevens, but he was already committed to Brocco for the Kentucky Derby. When Jerry Bailey finished second behind Irgun on Go For Gin, he jumped ship and went for Irgun. But Irgun got hurt and never ran in the Derby. So when Nick Zito needed a rider for Go For Gin, I jumped at the opportunity and it turned out to be a real lucky blessing."
GOLDEN PICKS
KIDNAP -- Lost all chance when she hopped at start, but made up much ground to finish fourth. Handles bottom claimers with good break.
VIVAT REGINA -- Ran winning race in first start in more than seven months, but no one was going to beat 7-10 choice Sexy Fresa. Can handle $32,000 claimers, especially on stretch out, but don't expect 9-1.
THE HOMESTRETCH: What began last Nov. 6 as a simulcast stalemate between California tracks and the Nevada Pari-Mutuel Association now seems to have come down to a mano-a-mano between Santa Anita and the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC). Major issue: percentage fee paid by the NPA to the tracks. "I think the TOC is apparently bound and determined that Nevada pay a higher rate than 3.5 percent," said Santa Anita president Cliff Goodrich. "The TOC is on record as saying their number is 4.0. But we have a 3.5 contract that we're prepared to honor today, and were prepared to honor two months ago, and we were not allowed to (by the TOC). The evidence is there that this stand by the TOC is hurting everybody -- Nevada, the tracks and the horsemen.". . . Siphon, Sandpit and Gentlemen, Richard Mandella's 1-2-3 finishers in the Santa Anita Handicap, were due to ship March 18 for the $4-million Dubai World Cup on March 29 . . . Nice touch: Santa Anita congratulating Mandella with a full page ad in the Daily Racing Form . . . Is the reason Hollywood Park honcho R.D. Hubbard applied for additional racing dates -- against the trend of the California Horse Racing Board -- that he's interested in selling his stock? . . . Trainer Brian Mayberry, best known for his success with 2-year-olds, is undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer, but Mayberry, who was 59 on March 8, is "doing well," says his wife, Jeanne . . . Golden Pick Pacificbounty, winner of the Golden Gate Gate Derby at 11-1 and the El Camino Real Derby at 5-2, could make his next start in the $600,000 Jim Beam Stakes at Turfway Park on March 29. "He's not eligible to the Santa Anita Derby and we'd have to supplement ($20,000)," says trainer Walter Greenman. "We'll just keep picking our spots." Inexcessivelygood from the Bob Baffert barn is another Jim Beam candidate, while Baffert's In Excessive Bull was due for throat surgery this week . . . Nice guys finish first: Bill Seward of KNX Radio, Inside Santa Anita and points west, is moving on to become an ESPN SportsCenter anchor. Kurt Hoover, who provided ideal chemistry as Seward's trusty sidekick, will replace Seward on Inside SA and retain his duties as satellite wagering host . . . Racing oddity: When Make Room for Zoom won at $42.80, he paid more to win than the Pick Three of $40.70. There were two odds-on winners in front of the 20-1 shot . . . Moonlit Swoon's victory marked the fifth consecutive winner for owners Ron and Susie Anson, trainer Doug Peterson and jockey Matt Garcia, but it was no record for the former conditioner of Tayhill Farm's Seattle Slew. "In 1977, I won nine straight races at Gulfstream and New York," said Peterson. The Ansons have been Chicago Cub fans for more than three decades, and their silks sport Cub colors . . . If I were a headline writer (and I am, you know), I'd have penned this after Mandella finished 1-2 with Brazilian-breds Siphon and Sandpit in the Big 'Cap: "MANDELLA BRAZILLIANT.". . . And what's all the fuss about Riddick Bowe making a fast exit from the Marines? He just got their motto confused. He thought it was "a few good days!"
The Running Horse (https://www.isd1.com/)
