THOROUGHBRED RACING : Derby: One Five-Letter Word That Has Eluded Allen Paulson

No one has had worse luck than owner Allen Paulson the last two years in the Kentucky Derby.

In 1991, Paulson sent Dinard, a horse he had bred, to Churchill Downs. Winner of the Santa Anita Derby, Dinard was the probable favorite for the Kentucky Derby before he pulled a ligament in his left foreleg the week before the race.

Last year, Paulson’s red, white and blue colors were represented by Arazi, the overhyped French colt who had trounced the opposition in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs about six months earlier. At 9-10 odds, the shortest-priced one-horse Derby entry in 13 years, Arazi was gobbled up by Churchill Downs’ long stretch and finished eighth.

This year, Paulson is back for more. Having ousted his principal trainer, Dick Lundy, and sued him for alleged irregularities in the buying and selling of horses, Paulson now spreads his horses around, and several of his eight American trainers are involved in a renewed attack on the Triple Crown.

“I’m not necessarily looking for the best trainer,” Paulson joked. “I just hope I end up with the luckiest.”

One of those trainers, Gary Jones, will saddle Paulson’s Stuka on Saturday in the $150,000 San Rafael Stakes, a one-mile Derby prep that has fallen short of expectations because of the dropouts of the probable favorites--River Special, because of a fever, and Gilded Time, because of a hoof problem.

“I wish River Special was still in there,” Paulson said. “We would have liked another shot at him.”

Favored over River Special in the Hollywood Futurity in December, Stuka finished second, beaten by five lengths, in only his third start and his first around two turns.

“He might not be my best 3-year-old colt,” Paulson said. “Corby’s a strong horse who looks beautiful. I’d rate Stuka and Corby as about even right now.”

A son of Dahar with grass breeding, Corby is trained by John Sadler. Corby scored a five-length victory, going a mile on Feb. 10 in a race that was switched to the dirt because the turf course was soggy. Corby’s next start is scheduled to be the San Felipe Stakes on March 14.

Of the nine horses that Paulson nominated for the Derby, Preakness and Belmont, the best might be Eliza, the filly who clinched an Eclipse Award after winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies in October at Gulfstream Park.

Trained by Alex Hassinger, who supervises the development of Paulson’s off-track horses at the 70-year-old owner’s farm in Bonsall, Eliza will stay within her division for now, running in the Santa Anita Oaks on March 7, but Paulson would like to see her progress enough to make the Derby, which has been won only three times by fillies, the most recent Winning Colors in 1988.

“She’s a terrific horse,” Paulson said. “Her times are better than the colts’.”

In the Breeders’ Cup, Eliza ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:42 4/5. Less than two hours later, Gilded Time won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in 1:43 2/5.

Eliza’s name has five letters, as do many of the horses that race for Paulson, a pilot and aerospace executive who has helped set several world speed records for flying. The names of Arazi, Fowda, Eliza and Yappy come from pilot checkpoints, and although Stuka has the name of a World War II German divebomber, there is also a Stuka checkpoint, in Texas. Paulson is at a loss to explain how a six-letter horse, Dinard, got in there, but he also was named after a checkpoint.

Yappy, who once ran for a $50,000 claiming price, is another Jones trainee scheduled to run in the Sausalito Stakes at Golden Gate Fields on March 7.

“I love getting this man’s horses, and I love the way he names them,” said the fast-talking Jones, was back at work and winning races last Sunday, less than two weeks after suffering a mild heart attack. “So Yappy was named after a checkpoint, was he? I thought he might have been named after me.”

By keeping his horses apart before the Kentucky Derby, Paulson can keep the riding services of Pat Valenzuela, the stable’s contract rider for the second consecutive year. Valenzeula doesn’t earn the customary 10% of the purse for winning with any of Paulson’s horses, but works under a lucrative salary retainer, and there are also bonus provisions in his contract.

Valenzuela is also allowed to ride for other outfits as long as Paulson doesn’t have a horse in the race. Paulson said that Valenzuela did not qualify for the bonus last year, even though the stable won Breeders’ Cup races with Eliza and Fraise and earned close to $3 million.

For the San Rafael, Valenzeula and Stuka are in a situation much like the Hollywood Futurity, when they were facing a rival with more seasoning. Art of Living, who is also trained by Jones for owners John and Betty Mabee, has two winning races over Santa Anita’s track this winter, including a victory in the Santa Catalina Stakes on Jan. 21. Stuka hasn’t run this year.

Stuka drew the outside post in the six-horse race and will carry 118 pounds. The rest of the field, starting at the rail, consists of Lord Of The Bay, with Corey Black riding, 121 pounds; Union City, Chris McCarron, 115; Joyofracing, Mickey Walls, 115; Art Of Living, Gary Stevens, 118; and Devoted Brass, Kent Desormeaux, 115.

Horse Racing Notes

The Breeders’ Cup announced Thursday that the 1994 races will be run at Churchill Downs, then Belmont Park in 1995 and Woodbine in suburban Toronto in 1996. Woodbine is a new Breeders’ Cup host, and ’96 will mark the first time the series has been held outside the United States. This year’s Breeders’ Cup races will be run at Santa Anita on Nov. 6. . . . When 18 horses were entered for Saturday’s Fountain of Youth, Gulfstream Park was forced to split the Florida Derby prep into nine-horse divisions. Heading one half is Silver Of Silver. It’sali’lknownfact, Kissin Kris, Great Navigator and Summer Set are the standouts in the other division. Hidden Trick, the winner of the Hutcheson, is missing the race because of a virus and is expected to run in the Florida Derby on March 20. . . . Gilded Time galloped 1 1/2 miles Thursday. . . . Dinard is expected to resume racing this spring. The 5-year-old gelding suffered a recurrence of his pre-Kentucky Derby injury in last year’s Strub Stakes.

Bob Hess Jr. saddled three winners Thursday, moving ahead of Sandy Shulman into first place in the trainers’ standings. . . . Kent Desormeaux rode three winners. . . . There are nine probables for the $1-million Santa Anita Handicap, which will be run a week from Saturday: Best Pal, Bertrando, Marquetry, Jovial, Sir Beaufort, Star Recruit, Major Impact, Siberian Summer and Reign Road. . . . Jockey Sandy Hawley has ended his winter visit to Santa Anita and returned to Canada.