THOROUGHBRED RACING / KENTUCKY OAKS : Eliza Loses; McGaughey Sweeps

Trainer Shug McGaughey’s horses spent all Friday afternoon outrunning California counterparts to the wire at Churchill Downs, with the piece de resistance being Dispute’s upset of Eliza in the $294,200 Kentucky Oaks.

Before 81,882, biggest ever for an Oaks day, McGaughey saddled Lure to beat Star Of Cozzene by three-quarters of a length in the $196,150 Early Times Turf Classic, and he also won the $92,800 Louisville Budweiser Breeders’ Cup Stakes with Quilma, who overtook Looie Capote in the stretch to win by three-quarters of a length.

“I thought we’d have a good day, because of the way these horses were training,” said McGaughey, who doesn’t have a starter in today’s Kentucky Derby. “I had the most confidence in Lure to win, but I also liked Dispute a lot. All of them were training sharp.”

Eliza, last year’s champion 2-year-old filly and the winner of the Santa Anita Oaks in March, paid the penalty for having tried to beat males in the Santa Anita Derby on April 3. She had a hard race that day, finishing third behind Personal Hope and Union City, two of the favorites for the Kentucky Derby.

In the Kentucky Oaks, Eliza wasn’t as close as she usually is, running in fifth place down the backside. When she inched ahead of Dispute at the head of the stretch, she was unable to put McGaughey’s filly away. Dispute came on under Jerry Bailey to win her fourth consecutive race this year.

“My filly was trying to get out all the way down the backstretch,” said Pat Valenzuela, Eliza’s jockey. “She wasn’t herself today. She wouldn’t get into the bit. This was not one of her top days. When she put a head in front, she stopped. She didn’t kick on. She ran her guts out the other day, but I don’t know how much that affected her. Maybe she bled today, because that wasn’t like her at all.”

The time for 1 1/8 miles was 1:52 2/5. With Eliza going off at 3-5, Dispute paid $12.20 as the second choice.

Lure, the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Mile last year, won his fourth race in five starts on grass and broke the course record for Churchill Downs, running 1 1/8 miles in 1:46 1/5. Ridden by Jerry Bailey, Lure paid $4.20.

Quilma, with Jose Santos aboard, paid $15.60 and ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:44 3/5. Looie Capote, the 8-5 favorite, had a two-length lead at the eighth pole and wound up beating third-place Hitch by three lengths.

Horse Racing Notes

Based on Churchill Downs betting of $343,314 in the win pool Friday, Bull Inthe Heather is the 9-2 Derby favorite. Other odds: Prairie Bayou, 5-1; Union City, 6-1; the seven-horse parimutuel field, 7-1; Wallenda, 8-1; Personal Hope, 9-1; Rockamundo, 10-1; Sea Hero, 11-1; Storm Tower, 12-1; Dixieland Heat, 15-1; Kissin Kris, 17-1; and the entry of Corby and Diazo, 20-1. . . . Derby attendees will include former President George Bush and Virginia Kelley, mother of President Clinton. . . . The Derby purse will be $985,900, to be split among the first four finishers, $735,900, $145,000, $70,000 and $35,000. . . . Randy Romero, the hard-luck jockey who has been in a few serious spills and who nearly burned to death in a sweat-box accident at Oaklawn Park several years ago, hinted that he might retire if Dixieland Heat gives him his first Derby win. “I would have quit a long time ago if I had won a Derby,” said Romero, 35, in an interview with Brad Telias of CBS Radio. “I’ve been through a lot, but the Derby is still one of my goals. I might stop if I won this one.”