GOLDEN GLIMPSES #70 GOLDEN GLIMPSES #70 PREAKNESS CAN'T MATCH DERBY IN EXCITEMENT FOR STEVENS
Gary Stevens may need a secretary soon. Not a racing secretary. A social secretary.
Of course, it's not every week a jockey is elected to the Hall of Fame, then wins the Kentucky Derby three days later. Day after the Derby, he returns to Hollywood Park and wins three races, and for good measure, a week later, he captures the $600,000 Pimlico Special on Gentleman.
What made this Derby victory so special were the members of the winning party.
Silver Charm's owners, Bob and Beverly Lewis, are sort of extroverted and educated versions of Ma and Pa Kettle.
Trainer Bob Baffert is a contemporary Will Rogers who has members of the media hanging on his every metaphor.
And in Gary Stevens, well, racing has hardly ever had a better-looking, more erudite spokesperson. If Gary were a foot taller, he could challenge Tom Cruise and Mel Gibson for leading man roles.
Still, when I sat down with the 34-year-old Stevens in Hollywood Park's jockeys' room to watch the Derby replay last Wednesday, a full four days after his exciting triumph, I could barely believe it when he told me it was his first look at the rerun.
"This was the first time I had a chance to watch the replay," Stevens said of his third Derby win. "I'd seen the stretch drive a couple of times, but hadn't seen the whole race. This was the first time, and it's really thrilling.
"The last few days have been, real, real hectic. My head's kind of swimming right now with a lot of congratulations from friends. I think I listened to messages for about 35 minutes on Sunday night when I got home, and the same thing on Monday and Tuesday. It's a little bit overwhelming, but it's a good kind of overwhelming. No, it really hasn't sunk in yet."
Nor had his chances of winning the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes, on Saturday at Pimlico. The distance of 1 3/16 miles is 1/16 shorter than the Derby, and the turns at the Maryland track are sharper than those at Churchill Downs. But Stevens was unconcerned. He knows he has the horse, and he has every confidence in the 44-year-old Baffert, whose hair is whiter than Heather Locklear's teeth.
"It's definitely not going to be a hindrance to him," Stevens said of Silver Charm. "Bob's a very sharp, astute horseman. He'll have this horse sharpened back up for the shorter distance. Silver Charm is going to see some new competition, but I think he'll be up to the challenge."
Stevens, as gifted with self-expressions as he is, still wasn't able to focus on the week that was.
"I really can't put into words what this whole week has meant," said Stevens, who was able to keep his emotions in check until he saw the replay of Baffert hugging Lewis after Silver Charm hit the wire.
"Now that," said Stevens, "brings tears to my eyes."
Alex Solis was disappointed in not winning his first Derby, but had nothing but praise for Captain Bodgit, who lost by a head.
"I'm very proud of him and very grateful he ran his race," Solis said. "You have to love him for his courage. I guess it wasn't meant to be. It was Silver Charm's turn to win the Kentucky Derby, and sometimes you cannot change destiny.
"We had every chance and I'm so proud of my horse and (trainer) Gary Capuano. He did a fantastic job and showed a lot of class (in defeat)."
Solis left to fate his chances of turning the tables on Silver Charm in the Preakness, which should be disadvantageous to his horse's come-from-behind style.
"He's a good horse and he can adapt to anything. It all depends on how the race sets up. If we have to be close, we can use him a little bit. Whatever it takes to win the race, that's what we'll do."
GOLDEN PICKS
BRAVE ACT -- Love for turf continued with upset win in Will Rogers Handicap. Present form will allow him to add to 5-4-1 grass record.
BIT OF PETRONE -- Nine-year-old endured brutal trip while finishing third. Clear journey versus cheap routing claimers nets another victory.
CLOSE TO GOLD -- Had no chance after horrendous start, but closed resolutely to be beaten five lengths. Tab against claiming maidens.
SOME SAINT -- First-timer didn't change leads till deep stretch, then got rolling too late as 9-5 choice. Won't be maiden long.
THE HOMESTRETCH: Preakness picks: Touch Gold, Silver Charm, Captain Bodgit and Free House . . . Within 30 days, Kent Desormeaux went from two potential Kentucky Derby rides to none. "It's definitely one of the more depressing situations of my life," said Desormeaux, who rode Free House to victory in the Santa Anita Derby on April 5, but lost the mount to David Flores, then missed the Derby when his other mount, Pacificbounty, suffered a nagging foot injury. "To win the Santa Anita Derby and then wind up with nothing in Kentucky is really disappointing. But you have to keep things in perspective. I still have a very nice horse in Pacificbounty, and I think he'll prove himself one of the best 3-year-olds in the country when he comes back, and that thought certainly will keep my spirits up." Paco Gonzalez, unhappy with Flores' speed tactics on Free House in the Derby, has Desormeaux reunited with the gray colt for the Preakness. Meanwhile, Walter Greenman hopes to have Pacificbounty ready for the June 15 Affirmed Handicap . . . Dick Mandella, who saddled Gentleman to win the $600,000 Pimlico Special and also Wild Rush to upset 1-2 favorite Anet in the $500,000 Illinois Derby on Saturday, says Santa Anita Handicap winner Siphon will prep for the $1-million Hollywood Gold Cup in either The Californian on June 1 or the Met Mile on May 26 . . . Soundalikes: Mel Stute and Sparky Anderson, Wayne Lukas and Jim Harrick . . . And this poignant point from an anonymous East Coast e-mail reader: "OTB serves a tremendous service to the race track. Did you ever go into an OTB in Queens, N.Y.? You do not want the slime that hangs out in OTB at the race track."
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