Chief’s Crown May Win It Ugly Today in Run for the Roses

For five straight years at Churchill Downs, being favored to win the Kentucky Derby has been a curse. But that may end today when Chief’s Crown, who runs better than he looks, faces 12 mostly qualified opponents in the 111th running of America’s most famous race.

Although the field is as balanced as it has been in many years, there appear to be no holes in Chief’s Crown’s record. Blemishes are few and mainly forgotten.

Chief’s Crown, the champion 2-year-old and undefeated in three starts as a 3-year-old, has had only three non-winning starts in his 12-race career. He finished fourth the first time he ever ran--a riderless, loose horse compromised his chances--second in his second outing and second to Spectacular Love on an off-track in the 1984 Futurity at Belmont Park.

No one is saying that Chief’s Crown is the next coming of Affirmed, Seattle Slew or any other Triple Crown champion, but he’s a consistent horse who figures to do considerably better than Althea, Marfa, Air Forbes Won, Proud Appeal and Rockhill Native did in the Derby. That infamous five not only betrayed the public’s confidence in the last five Derbies but also collectively never won another race.

Better looking than a camel but not pretty enough to win a beauty contest, Chief’s Crown is a rather smallish bay colt whose way of running is less than fluid. He pounds the racing strip when his hoofs hit the ground, a running style reminiscent of Cougar II on the West Coast and Northern Dancer in the East.

Neither of those horses had to apologize for his style, though, Cougar II winning the national grass championship in 1972 and Northern Dancer winning the ’64 Derby in a time that set the record until Secretariat, Chief’s Crown’s grandsire, came along with a 1:59 2/5 in ’73.

There’s always a question of whether a young 3-year-old can handle the Derby’s 1-mile distance, since few starters in the race have ever been asked to run that far before, but Chief’s Crown’s win in the Flamingo Stakes at Hialeah March 30 would seem to underscore his stamina. He held off Proud Truth and Stephan’s Odyssey in a dramatic stretch duel, winning by a length and appearing to be a horse who wasn’t going to let anyone pass him.

But despite a six-race winning streak that was capped by a near-record performance in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland April 25, Chief’s Crown’s run to the roses will be no cakewalk. The opposition includes five horses who have won stakes in their most recent starts--Eternal Prince in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, Skywalker in the Santa Anita Derby, Tank’s Prospect in the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park, Stephan’s Odyssey in the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland, and Spend A Buck in the Garden State Stakes at Garden State Park.

Advance betting at Churchill Downs Friday, which totaled $288,974 in the win pool, surprisingly left Spend A Buck as the co-favorite with Chief’s Crown, both at 9-5. After those two came Proud Truth at 6-1 and the Rhoman Rule-Eternal Prince entry at 7-1.

The Derby is worth $581,800, with $406,800 going to the winner. The complete field, starting with the inside post, consists of Irish Fighter, Chief’s Crown, Rhoman Rule, Tank’s Prospect, Eternal Prince, Stephan’s Odyssey, Encolure, I Am the Game, Floating Reserve, Spend A Buck, Proud Truth, Skywalker and Fast Account. All will carry 126 pounds.

A crowd of more than 125,000 is expected to watch in 75-degree sunshine.

“The reason this field is so consistent is because hardly any good horses got hurt this year,” said Angel Penna, who trains Rhoman Rule. “Script Ohio is not here, but other than him, it’s the same horses that started the year.”

Another absentee is Saratoga Six, an undefeated 2-year-old before he broke down at Santa Anita late in ‘84, preparing for an early showdown with Chief’s Crown in the Norfolk Stakes. Chief’s Crown won the Norfolk by 1 1/2 lengths, his first start beyond a mile and the last time he was truly less than impressive.

Enhancing Chief’s Crown’s reputation is that he has handled a variety of tracks, California’s as well as those in New York, Florida and Kentucky.

Still, there are other trainers here who are outspoken about their chances against the favorite. “If you don’t pick my horse to win, you’re making a mistake,” Butch Lenzini, the trainer of Eternal Prince, said to a New York newsman Friday morning.

“It’s a balanced field, and Chief’s Crown is very consistent,” Lenzini added. “But I still like my chances. It’s a jockeys’ race, and that will have a lot to do with the outcome.”

Eternal Prince and Spend A Buck know only one way to run--in the lead and usually all out--so the jockeys on the horses behind them must decide how soon to push their horses so that no one steals the race. Most of the time, though, front-runners cave in because of the 1,234 1/2-foot stretch at Churchill Downs, one of the longest in racing.

Chief’s Crown, who usually sits just off the leaders before making his move, has a style that has been effective in many previous Derbies. But as Wayne Lukas, the trainer of Tank’s Prospect, has noted, there is no blueprint for winning the Derby. If there were, Lukas wouldn’t have come up empty while running seven horses in the last four years he has been here.