THE KENTUCKY DERBY : Momentus Has Little Momentum : But 3-Year-Old Doesn’t Lack for a Special Courage

Luck and horse racing go hand in hoof, and no more so than during the Kentucky Derby.

It takes one kind of luck to make it to Churchill Downs and another kind to win here.

And then there is the kind of luck enjoyed by Momentus, one of the probable starters in Saturday’s 113th running of the Derby.

Momentus is not just lucky to be here, he’s lucky to be alive.

Earlier this week, Wally Dollase, the chestnut colt’s trainer and part owner, detailed Momentus’ good fortune.

During the Juvenile Stakes at Hawthorne in Chicago last Sept. 17, Momentus, racing for only the second time, decided to act like he was in the steeplechase.

Spooked by something as he and jockey Alex Solis were leading the field by more than four lengths in the stretch, Momentus ducked in sharply and tried to leap the inside rail, slamming into and shattering the eighth pole in the process.

Solis bailed out seconds before the accident and escaped unhurt, squirming under the rail before the onrushing field reached him.

Momentus was less fortunate. He broke four ribs and almost ruined his right foreleg. His injuries required 178 stitches during subsequent surgery at the University of Illinois.

“He fractured four ribs and one of the ribs was fractured near the end and it was actually completely severed,” Dollase said. “(The end of the severed rib) was about three inches long and they took that out.

“When you look at the incident (on tape), it kind of appeared that he might have hurt his neck because he appeared to hit the pole with his neck. But there wasn’t any problem there at all. No soreness or anything.

“But the right front (foreleg), that eight-inch gash was right down to the cannon (shin) bone. You could see the cannon bone. That’s what scared us all. Would this horse ever be able to come back off that injury?”

The incident might not have happened had it not been for the weather and its effect on the track.

“It was an off track, so (Momentus) was in off the rail about 15 or 20 feet because he didn’t want the heavy going where the rail was,” Dollase said. “Had he been on the rail, he probably would have made it all the way through without any mishap.

“But (running wide) gave him an escape clause and he took it. As soon as he got to the gate (the starting gate alongside the outer rail that apparently spooked him), he took a left turn. It happened so quickly, of course, that the jockey didn’t have time to straighten him out.

“(Solis) was pulling his head to the right and, by doing that, he actually wasn’t able to see the rail until the last instant. When he did, he turned him loose and jumped off, he bailed out. Then the horse saw (the rail) and he just leaped over (it) and, of course, went through the eighth pole.”

Dollase, who breeds thoroughbreds at his Rio Vista Farm in Atascadero in central California, paused and, in retrospect, saw some humor in the incident.

“We’re thinking about the Grand National (steeplechase in England) after (the Derby),” he said, smiling.

But it was no laughing matter at the time.

“It was his second race, and being a green horse and being out in front by himself, that’ll scare even Ferdinand (the 1986 Derby winner),” Dollase said. “He was a guy who didn’t like to be out in front by himself either.

“Had (Momentus) had another horse alongside him to give him a little more courage, he probably wouldn’t have done that.”

As it was, Momentus almost impaled himself on the eighth pole in his desire to flee the starting gate, if, indeed, that’s what spooked him.

“Hawthorne being an older race track, about 3 to 3 1/2 feet was a solid 8 by 10 post and then they built the eighth pole on that,” Dollase said. “And that was made out of, like, one-inch by eight-inch lumber, but it was old. Thank goodness it was old because as soon as he hit it, it shattered to pieces.

“But he did slide across the top of that post and the post itself is probably what broke his ribs. How in the world he ever survived this thing, who knows. But he did.”

Momentus even surprised onlookers by walking away from the accident and then, later, surprised Dollase and veterinarians with his calmness during surgery.

“The main thing I noticed is that he immediately jumped right up after it happened,” Dollase said. “That gave me hope. I couldn’t believe he walked off and that he didn’t walk lame. That was remarkable after that tremendous vault over that rail.

“He’s a very athletic horse, though. Extremely athletic. A lot of horses would have gone right through the rail, probably, but this guy went over the top of it.”

Momentus might be spooked by starting gates, but he does not lack courage of another sort.

“Like the veterinarian put it when he was sewing up his leg, he couldn’t believe the courage this horse had to stand there under a local anesthetic and let him do what he had to do,” Dollase said.

“(Momentus) was being treated for shock and (the veterinarian) didn’t want to use a lot of tranquilizers on top of the shock medicine. So he said, ‘Let’s just use a local anesthetic and maybe we’ll get lucky and won’t have a lot of problems.’

“You’ve got to be a special horse to do this. I think this is the way he is. He’s a very courageous horse. I felt he was special when I purchased him (for $105,000 last year) and now I know he’s special. And that’s why we’re here.”

The accident ended Momentus’ 2-year-old campaign and it was not until Feb. 21 that he made his 3-year-old debut at Santa Anita. The memory of the accident was still with him, however, and showed in his performance.

Going into the race, Dollase knew that Momentus, though physically sound, might still be bothered by his experience.

“I’ve had horses in the past that just get bumped in a race and that’s enough to scare them for two races,” he said.

“The first race he ran at Santa Anita, he ran at about three-quarter speed. He wasn’t putting out at all. I think he was testing the water. He was just out there thinking, ‘When’s it going to happen?’ And nothing happened, he had a good experience.”

His confidence apparently restored, Momentus won his next race, at Golden Gate Fields, despite another mishap when Solis dropped his stick while changing hands in the stretch. Momentus then finished fourth in the Jim Beam Spiral Stakes at Turfway and third in the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland.

His record now shows two victories in six starts and earnings of $102,348.

Those are modest credentials compared to most of the other Derby horses, and Dollase admits that his colt is a longshot. Still, just getting here was a longshot, but Momentus managed it and seems to have taken to Churchill Downs.

“He’s dead fit, improving every race, and we’re looking forward to a big race come Saturday,” Dollase said.

Solis will not be riding Momentus in the Derby, Dollase said, because Solis’ new agent would prefer him to stay at Hollywood Park.

“Momentus is a 75-1 shot or a 100-1 shot--whatever it is, it doesn’t make any difference--so the agent felt that it was in (Solis’) best interest (not to come),” Dollase said.

Nor does Dollase blame Solis for what happened at Hawthorne.

“He did nothing wrong,” Dollase said. “Thank goodness he bailed out early. He could really have gotten himself in trouble. That was the smart thing to do. The horse caused the accident. It wasn’t Alex doing all that out there, that’s for sure.”

Don Brumfield, a Churchill Downs regular, is expected to ride Momentus Saturday.

“If we’re fortunate enough to get an inside post and save some ground, he’s a very easy horse to ride,” Dollase said. “He will rate just perfect for any rider. And then if he can kick in at the end, I know how fast this horse is. He can kick in as fast as any horse in this race. We’ll just see what happens.”