HORSE RACING : Stevens Logging Lots of Flight Time in Quest of National Championship

Gary Stevens wants a national championship so bad he can taste it. For now, however, it tastes like airline food.

Stevens, who leads New York’s Jose Santos by $1.1 million in the 1990 purse-money race, is spending more time in the air than in the saddle these days, all in the name of winning that elusive national riding title. He says the prize is worth the hassle but admits his recent itinerary has been borderline crazy.

After wrapping up the Hollywood Park meeting by winning both the Swaps Stakes and the Juvenile Championship, Stevens moved his family to the beach and spent the last weekend of July riding at Del Mar. Since then, his bags have never been unpacked, and won’t be until mid-September.:

His recent travels:

Aug. 4--Stevens is in Saratoga to win the $234,000 Whitney Handicap on Criminal Type.

Aug. 8--Back at Del Mar, he wins the $81,375 De Anza Stakes with Iroquois Park.

Aug. 10--Saratoga again, and he finishes fifth in the Ballerina Stakes with Open Mind.

Aug. 11--On a side trip to New Jersey, Stevens wins the $200,000 Sapling Stakes at Monmouth Park with Deposit Ticket.

Aug. 12--Home again for a third on Golden Pheasant in the $270,250 Eddie Read Handicap at Del Mar.

If it’s Friday, Stevens must be flying somewhere. Tonight, he is heading back to New York to ride Sir Richard Lewis in Saturday’s Travers Stakes at Saratoga. It will be the first of three million-dollar mounts for Stevens on the next four weekends.

After a return ride on Deposit Ticket in the $150,000 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 25, Stevens has a date in Chicago on Sept. 2 with Golden Pheasant in the Arlington Million. One week later, he will be in Toronto to ride Jovial in the $1-million Molson Challenge.

Don’t be surprised to see Stevens come up with a mount for the $500,000 Woodward Handicap at Belmont Park on Sept. 15, or the $1-million Super Derby at Louisiana Downs on Sept. 23. And after that?

“Hawaii,” Stevens said.

What, for the Maui Million?

“Nope,” he replied. “I’m going with my family for six days. I’ve got to take a break so I can stay fresh for the rest of the year. I think riding hard for 12 months is what cost me the title in 1986.”

Stevens admits to going sour in the waning hours of ‘86, when he came up barely $26,000 short of the national championship. His frustrations mounted when Santos was sidelined with a minor injury in late December, and still he could not overtake his eastern rival.

“In a way, Jose deserved the title, missing a couple weeks like he did,” Stevens said. “But I know my agent (Ray Kravagna) was very disappointed that we came so close and missed. I think that’s made him even more determined this year to get me live mounts in the richest possible races every week.”

Expectations have been high for Stevens since he made his first splash on the local circuit at 22 by nearly winning the 1985 Santa Anita title in his first full meet there. He maintained that momentum by winning 10 of the 15 local titles between 1986 and ’88.

Since 1986, Stevens has won more money than any other California-based jockey. By all rights, he should have won a national title or two and an Eclipse Award by now. But injuries have made a disproportionate impact on his otherwise brilliant career. Beginning with torn knee ligaments and a dislocated and broken shoulder in the fall of 1985, the Idaho native has gone through three significant rehabilitations in less than five years.

“People look at the standings and say, ‘Yeah, there he is again like always,’ not really realizing that I’ve overcome a lot of obstacles to get there,” Stevens pointed out.

Stevens’ chase for the 1987 championship was derailed when he broke his ankle in an October accident at Santa Anita. In 1988, he stayed healthy and had the best year of his career. He won the Kentucky Derby, his mounts earned $13.7 million--and still he finished third to Santos.

Last year at about this time, Stevens was stalking Pat Day for the money lead, ready to pounce with a bountiful fall lineup of choice mounts. Then, on Sept. 8 at Del Mar, he broke his wrist and sliced open his forehead in a grisly turf-course spill. He was out for six weeks.

“I kind of rushed coming back from the injury here last year,” Stevens admitted. “I felt 100%, but it takes awhile to get your timing back. You can run, jog, exercise and ride bikes, but there’s only one way to get race-riding fit. And that’s to ride races.”

Curiously, a major injury has worked to Stevens’ advantage this year. When Chris McCarron was knocked out of action on June 3 in a spill at Hollywood Park, trainers turned to Stevens to fill the void.

“Definitely, I’ve picked up a ton of business because of Chris’ injury,” Stevens said. “It’s a grim thought, I know. But that’s the way it is in this industry.”

Lately, the damage in the Stevens family has veered away from Gary and toward his parents. A few weeks ago, his father, trainer Ron Stevens, was kicked in the knee by a horse at Del Mar. Then his mother, Barbara, suffered a severe fracture of her lower right leg in a fall at home.

“I ended up looking after things at Dad’s stable here,” Stevens said. “Training in the morning and riding in the afternoon--some schedule!”

And don’t forget those 6,000-mile weekend jaunts.

“I used to hate to travel,” Stevens said. “I don’t really like it any more now, but at least I’ve learned how to do it.

“For example, I never could sleep on a plane, so I would try to rest up before the flight. That didn’t work at all, because then I’d get on a red-eye and be awake all night.

“I also don’t try to change with the time zone. If I’m tired, I find somewhere to crash. A couple hours of sleep and I feel great.”