Kentucky Derby Notes : Ben Rochelle Finds Himself Discussing Snow Chief

Ben Rochelle is at Churchill Downs again, only this time the former vaudeville hoofer from Beverly Hills has a 3-year-old filly ready for Kentucky Derby week instead of a 3-year-old colt.

On Friday, Rochelle and the late Carl Grinstead’s widow, Pearl, will start Very Subtle in the Kentucky Oaks for 3-year-old fillies. Rochelle hopes the result is better than last year when Snow Chief, who ran for Rochelle and Grinstead, was the 2-1 favorite in the Derby and finished 11th.

“Everywhere I go, people don’t want to talk about all the races Snow Chief won,” Rochelle said after visiting Very Subtle’s barn Wednesday morning. “All they ask is, ‘What happened to Snow Chief in the Derby?’ But I got no complaints.”

Why should he? A few years ago, Rochelle bought a 50% interest in all of Grinstead’s horses--about three dozen--for $280,000 and just one of them, Snow Chief, has earned more than $3 million.

“I’m convinced that there’s more luck involved in this game than anything else,” Rochelle said. “You could probably follow around the best handicappers at the track and bet what they don’t like, and you’d do all right.”

Up the Apalachee, who was disqualified for interference in the stretch of the Fantasy at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., three weeks ago, will be the morning-line favorite Friday in the $200,000 Kentucky Oaks.

The field, by post position: Buryyourbelief, Miss Empire, Hometown Queen, Very Subtle, Super Cook, Chic Shirine, Up the Apalachee and Center Box. Very Subtle was declared the winner of the Fantasy when Up the Apalachee repeatedly blocked her path in the stretch.

Super Cook and Chic Shirine will run as an entry, since both are trained by Wayne Lukas.

There is the possibility that Hometown Queen, with Pat Day riding, might be sent postward as the favorite. Hometown Queen was a heavy favorite in the Fantasy and finished third after a rough trip.

Churchill Downs has scheduled two other stakes Friday, each worth $150,000. They are the Louisville Budweiser Breeders’ Cup and the Early Times Turf Classic.

Fran’s Valentine, who won the Kentucky Oaks in 1985, and North Sider will carry high weights of 123 pounds apiece in the Breeders’ Cup race. Also in the race are Queen Alexandra, I’m Sweets, Infinidad and Family Style, who like North Sider is trained by Lukas.

With the presence of male grass champion Manila, only three other horses--Creme Fraiche, Lieutenant’s Lark and Vilzak--are entered in the Turf Classic.

Manila will be ridden by Jacinto Vasquez, who on Wednesday was named by Manila’s trainer, LeRoy Jolley, to ride Leo Castelli in the Kentucky Derby. As expected, the mount on Jolley’s other Derby colt, Gulch, went to Bill Shoemaker.

The Derby is now a 17-horse field with the addition of Avies Copy, who finished last in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland a week ago.

Although trainer Wally Dollase says that he has a firm commitment from Don Brumfield to ride Momentus in the Derby, there were still reports that Brumfield might switch to Avies Copy, since he rides regularly for that colt’s trainer, Dave Kassen. Riders are to be officially named at entry time for the Derby this morning.

The rest of the Derby field consists of the entry of Gulch and Leo Castelli; the entry of War, Capote and On the Line; and Demons Begone, Masterful Advocate, Cryptoclearance, Bet Twice, No More Flowers, Alysheba, Shawklit Won, Candi’s Gold, Templar Hill and Conquistarose.

Capote, who is attempting to become the first 2-year-old champion to win the Derby since Spectacular Bid in 1979, became the last starter to arrive at Churchill Downs, landing at the nearby Louisville airport by plane from New York Wednesday afternoon.

Horse Racing Notes

Churchill Downs ran the first race on its new turf course Wednesday. . . . By rights, the trainer of Cryptoclearance ought to be Sonny Hine, the Maryland conditioner who was a cryptographer in the Army. . . . Pete Rose owns a small piece of Bet Twice. Rose, an inveterate horseplayer, used to play for the Phillies and the wife of one of Bet Twice’s owners, Cissie Levy, owns 10% of that baseball club. . . . Asked why he didn’t change Gulch’s running style earlier, getting him to come from off the pace as he has done in recent races, trainer LeRoy Jolley said: “We didn’t know in the beginning which way this horse would run for us. Horses don’t come with a set of directions.” . . . On the Line, in the Derby after winning the Derby Trial, missed three months of action in California because of a hoof injury. . . . Jeff Lukas, who has been running Wayne Lukas’ stable here until his father arrived Wednesday from New York, said that War was almost gelded. “We had permission from the owner (Tom Gentry) to do it right after he ran a bad race at Santa Anita in February,” Jeff Lukas said. “But then he won his next start and we forgot about it.” . . . Temperate Sil, out of the Derby because of a virus, is feeling better and is being pointed for the Swaps at Hollywood Park July 26 and the $1-million Travers at Saratoga a month later. “I missed four days with him, and that was the difference between running and not running in the Derby,” trainer Charlie Whittingham said. “He could probably even run in the Belmont (June 6), but I wouldn’t want to bring him back in a mile-and-a-half race.”.