HORSE RACING / WOOD MEMORIAL : Veitch Hopes His Colt Will Make History

John Veitch, a Civil War buff, was giving a mini-history lesson on the Wood Memorial. Should Veitch’s horse, Kyle’s Our Man, win both today’s Wood and the Kentucky Derby May 4, the trainer would make history.

No horse has ever won the Gotham, the Wood and the Derby, and Kyle’s Our Man is the only one with a chance this year.

“I know all about what the history books say,” Veitch said. “But I don’t think it means anything. For one thing, not many good horses, except Secretariat, have ever run in the Gotham.”

When Kyle’s Our Man ran in the one-mile Gotham two weeks ago, Veitch wasn’t so sure the 3-year-old colt was a good horse.

“As a 2-year-old, I liked him,” Veitch said. “But then this year he hadn’t lived up to that promise. He had gone downhill.”

Veitch is hoping that Kyle’s Our Man puts two good races together, which would be a first for the horse, who has won three of 10 starts.

One of his best races was when he finished less than a length behind Scan and Subordinated Debt in last November’s Remsen at Aqueduct, which is easily the horse’s favorite track. The first time he ever ran, last September, he broke his maiden here, and he has also won the Nashua Stakes and the Gotham at Aqueduct.

“That had something to do with bringing him here, instead of staying in Florida,” the Belmont Park-based Veitch said. “I was very discouraged about the way he ran this winter down there. After that second race, I figured we might as well get him out of Florida. I don’t have to go out of town to be embarrassed, I can do it just as well at home.”

The first time Kyle’s Our Man ran this year, at Gulfstream Park in February, he finished third as the 3-5 favorite in an allowance race. Two weeks later, he was sixth in the Fountain of Youth, 12 3/4 lengths behind the winner, Fly So Free.

In the Gotham, Kyle’s Our Man broke on top and and stayed there, completing the mile in a sharp 1:34 3/5.

“The Wood is an eighth of a mile farther, but I can’t see him running any differently than he did in the Gotham,” Veitch said. “There’s really not an alternative. He’s an aggressive horse. He can’t be (restrained).”

During a five-furlong workout at Belmont Wednesday, exercise rider Keith Ricks didn’t have a chance. Kyle’s Our Man ignored Ricks’ restraining tactics and ran the first three furlongs in a little more than 32 seconds, finishing in a fast :58 3/5. The track was especially fast and Meadow Star, the undefeated filly who also will be in the Wood today, worked in the same time. But Veitch was in awe of his horse’s opening three-eighths of a mile.

“Unbelievable,” said the trainer, who has also had Alydar, Before Dawn, Davona Dale, Our Mims, Sunshine Forever and Proud Truth. “I’ve never had a horse work that fast for the first part of a workout. But I don’t think it will hurt him. There’s enough time between Wednesday and Saturday. That’s one of the reasons I scheduled the workout a day early, in case he might do something like this.”

Angel Cordero Jr. rode Kyle’s Our Man in the Gotham, but Jerry Bailey, who was aboard for the colt’s other two victories, will be astride him today. Cordero had committed to riding Tong Po, a Maryland horse, in the Wood, but Tong Po was injured and Veitch had already given the assignment on Kyle’s Our Man to Bailey. Cordero, who has won the Wood four times, with Flip Sal, Bold Forbes, Instrument Landing and Air Forbes Won, wound up with the mount on Happy Jazz Band, a non-stakes winner who is 10-1 in the morning line.

Kyle’s Our Man is the 2-1 favorite, with Meadow Star at 5-2 and Cahill Road, the full brother to 1990 Kentucky Derby winner Unbridled, at 3-1. Others running in the 10-horse field will be Wildly Special, King Mutesa, Lost Mountain, Excellent Tipper, Another Review and Vouch For Me.

Although Meadow Star has never been around two turns in running up a nine-race winning streak, Veitch respects the filly.

“She should be very, very tough,” Veitch said. “It’s bull that fillies shouldn’t be running against colts, because some of them deserve to. I didn’t nominate Davona Dale to the Derby (in 1979), but if I had, I would have run her in the race.”

Instead, Davona Dale won the Kentucky Oaks, the race for 3-year-old fillies, the day before the Derby.

Veitch expects Kyle’s Our Man to be leading the Wood at the top of the stretch.

“After that, we’ll just have to see what he’s got left in him,” the trainer said. “Somebody will either blow our doors off or we’ll win it.”

Wood Memorial Notes

Kyle’s Our Man, a son of In Reality and Lady Donna, a Graustark mare, was bred and is owned by Dan Galbreath, the former owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates and a real-estate magnate with international holdings in a depressed market. The horse is named after Galbreath’s grandson. Galbreath’s father, John, won the Kentucky Derby twice, with Chateaugay and Proud Clarion, the English Derby with Roberto and the World Series three times.

The best finishes by fillies in the Wood are a second by Carolyn A. in a division of the race in 1947 and a third in 1980 by Genuine Risk, who went on to win the Kentucky Derby. . . . Today’s forecast is for cool weather, with a chance of showers in the late afternoon. An off track would enhance Kyle’s Our Man’s chances. . . . King Mutesa, Another Review and Vouch for Me ran second, third and fourth, respectively, in the Gotham.