Notes on a Scorecard - Jan. 6, 1993

Told that a double-barreled winter storm was supposed to be headed here, Bob Hess Jr., the thoroughbred trainer, didn’t fret. . . .

Instead, he mentioned the names of several horses in his barn he thought were capable of handling a muddy track at Santa Anita. . . .

Hess seems to have a horse for every occasion these days--slow or fast track, male or female, sprinter or router, grass or dirt specialist, claimer or stakes performer. . . .

A Stanford graduate, he even has a 4-year-old named Berkeley Grad. Just about the same time that Jerry Tarkanian was fired by the San Antonio Spurs, a Hess-trainee named Tark the Shark was retired to the farm. . . .

Hess is the hottest conditioner on America’s toughest racing circuit, having won two Hollywood Park and two Del Mar titles in the last 16 months, and he and jockey Kent Desormeaux, out now because of an injury, are becoming nearly as popular a combination at the betting windows as Charlie Whittingham-Bill Shoemaker used to be. . . .

Of the more than 200 trainers listed in the Santa Anita media guide, Hess, who turned 27 in July, is the seventh-youngest. . . .

However, as the son of a trainer, he has been learning his craft for two decades. He hung around his father’s barn at Golden Gate Fields and Bay Meadows in the Bay Area at 5, walked hots a couple of years later and earned an assistant trainer’s license at 17. . . .

“Going to Stanford was the best thing that ever happened to me,” he said. “But at 8 o’clock the morning after graduation (B.A., economics, Class of ‘87), I left for Hollywood Park in a truck and trailer with a groom and two horses my dad had given me. Training was what I always wanted to do.” . . .

Forty of the 50 horses in the Hess barn are claimers, but he also has a Kentucky Derby candidate in Del Mar and Hollywood Futurity winner River Special. . . .

“I’ve always dreamed not only of having a horse in the Derby, but of winning it,” Hess said. “River Special is the best horse I’ve ever had. He has tremendous desire. He would give his life to win. He knows where the wire is, and he wants to get there first.” . . .

Hess insists that horses really do know whether they have won, been beaten at the wire or have finished up the track. . . .

“A filly may sulk and not eat well for weeks after a poor performance,” he said. . . .

Of course, that is not a problem that many Hess-trained horses have had lately. . . .

As they welcome Wayne Gretzky back tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Forum, the Kings have a 20-14-5 record. Gretzky had 55 points--17 goals and 38 assists--after the same number of games last season, but the Kings’ record was 16-16-7. . . .

Actually, Gretzky’s return will have little immediate effect on the box office. The rematch with the Lightning, who upset the Kings on their first visit here, was nearly sold out before the announcement that the Great One would play. . . .

Mike Ditka’s temper tantrums could be tolerated by the Chicago Bear hierarchy only as long as he continued to win football games. . . .

USC President Steven Sample demonstrated his hands-on approach toward athletics when he hired a new football coach before he selected a new athletic director. . . .

Miami alumni are second-guessing Coach Dennis Erickson for not putting in anything new for the Sugar Bowl. . . .

Chris Walsh, who is more athletic than his older brother Steve, should make his presence felt as a redshirt freshman quarterback for the Hurricanes next season. . . .

Look-alikes: Marv Levy and Pat Paulsen. . . .

The four-time Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers’ game against Buffalo on Saturday will be their first at Three Rivers Stadium during the playoffs since 1982. . . .

An interesting matchup Sunday at Joe Robbie Stadium is that of Bill Arnsparger, the San Diego Chargers’ defensive coordinator, against his old boss, Don Shula of the Miami Dolphins. . . .

Kentucky Coach Rick Pitino is getting much of the credit for making the three-point shot an important weapon in college basketball, but didn’t Paul Westhead beat him to the punch at Loyola Marymount? . . .

Jimmy Jackson--the former Ohio State guard who was drafted fourth by the Dallas Mavericks, but hasn’t signed--can afford to sit out the season because he has a $2-million endorsement deal with Nike. . . .

News item: Shaquille O’Neal is named NBA rookie of the month for the second consecutive time. Reaction: They should retire the honor for the rest of the season. . . .

The Colorado Rockies, who have yet to play a game, have four players up for arbitration.