HORSE RACING : Pincay Must Put His Recuperative Powers to the Test One More Time

Four days after breaking his collarbone for the 10th time in his 26-year career, Laffit Pincay was back in the saddle.

A medical miracle? Not really. Only rehabilitation redux. Pincay was astride his hobbyhorse-from-hell in the safety of his Glendale home, pumping gingerly at the spring-loaded neck of the special exercise beast while softly cursing his rotten luck.

There is no good time for a jockey to go down. As independent contractors, they lose money when they don’t ride. But for a 43-year-old Hall of Famer faced with a constant swarm of younger challengers, any time lost on the sidelines is brutal for business.

Pincay, who turns 44 on Dec. 29, has hit the ground more often than a rodeo clown in the last four years. Most of the time he has walked safely away. But considerable damage has been done:

--May 1986, a severely sprained ankle.

--December 1987, a fractured vertebra.

--August 1988, 10 broken ribs and a punctured lung.

--January 1990, cracked collarbone No. 9 in an exhibition harness race.

Still, Pincay’s incredible recuperative powers have helped in maintaining his status as an active legend. He continues to produce for a loyal circle of clients, even though that circle has been shrinking. Such leading trainers as Charlie Whittingham, Gary Jones and Wayne Lukas use Pincay sparingly these days, if at all.

As a result, Pincay’s 1990 numbers will be his lowest in years. In fact, this will be the first time since 1966 that his name will not appear among the top 10 money winners. Only Bill Shoemaker has won more races than Pincay, and no one has earned more money. But is there finally a chink in the Iron Man’s armor?

“I see no diminution in his talent at all,” said trainer Darrell Vienna, who gave Pincay the mount on Fly Till Dawn when they won the $750,000 Budweiser International on Oct. 21.

“If anything, he is riding with more feel, more savvy than ever,” Vienna added. “Where once he may have relied solely on his tremendous strength, now he will use his wits and experience.”

An off year for Pincay is still a dream season for almost any other rider. When he was thrown from Dr. Damascus after the ninth race last Thursday, his 1990 mounts had earned $6.2 million, 11th best in the nation. But that represents a $500,000 pay cut from his 1989 total. And Pincay, who has been going through legal action against his financial advisers, will sometimes half-jokingly admit, “I got to keep riding. I need the money.”

In truth, Pincay will keep riding as long as he loves the chase. No one--not Angel Cordero, not Eddie Arcaro, not even Manuel Ycaza--has enjoyed a reputation as such a ferocious competitor.

“I still have a lot of enthusiasm, and I want to keep doing good,” Pincay said. “That is more important than anything else.

“Physically, I feel very good. And mentally, I’m much better now than I’ve ever been before. I don’t do the things I used to do. I’d rather get beat than cause trouble and get suspended.”

If Pincay is more mellow these days, his patience has been sorely tested this year, beginning with his fluke injury in that Los Alamitos harness race on Jan. 26. Pincay was appearing with a group of other jockeys to benefit the Don MacBeth Fund for disabled riders. So much for the rewards of charity.

As a direct result of the January collarbone fracture, Pincay lost the mounts on Bayakoa in the Santa Maria and Santa Margarita Handicaps (she won them both), on Criminal Type in the San Pasqual Handicap (he won) and on Mister Frisky in the San Vicente Stakes (again, a winner).

Conceivably, Pincay could have continued riding Criminal Type in such subsequent victories as the San Antonio Handicap, Pimlico Special, Metropolitan Handicap, Hollywood Gold Cup and Whitney Handicap. And Mister Frisky won two more stakes, one of them the $500,000 Santa Anita Derby.

Other factors have made 1990 an uphill climb for Pincay:

--In March, he fired longtime agent Tony Matos, considered one of the best in the business.

--Trainer Woody Stephens, Pincay’s top East Coast connection, has been seriously ill this year and in no position to provide top mounts.

--Pincay’s biggest score of the summer, the $300,000 Del Mar Derby, was taken away by the stewards on a controversial disqualification. Pincay was suspended five days in the bargain. Later, the disqualification was overturned by a racing board hearing officer, but that hearing is being continued and the winning Derby purse of $165,000 remains in limbo.

Then, in what should have been a grand moment in the national spotlight, Pincay’s victory aboard Bayakoa in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff was overshadowed by the death of Go for Wand.

Now, he must recover from his latest spill in time to ride Bayakoa in the Silver Belles Handicap at Hollywood Park on Dec. 22.

“The doctor says it’s up to me, how hard I want to work to come back,” Pincay said. “I’m already exercising, stretching my muscles, and riding my ‘horse’ downstairs.”

After going down last week, Pincay lay quietly on the track, taking the familiar inventory.

“I didn’t feel any pain, but I hit so hard I knew I must have broken something,” he said.