A Lot Is Riding on Free House

As John Toffan followed his horse, Free House, off the track at Churchill Downs, a friend of the owner said, “Nothing like a gray, is there, John?”

“Nothing like a gray who can run,” Toffan shot back.

Free House can run, all right. He won the Norfolk Stakes at Santa Anita as a 2-year-old and the Santa Anita Derby a month ago. And here Saturday, he will try to end a disappointing run for Santa Anita horses in the Kentucky Derby.

In the 1980s, the Santa Anita Derby was a thoroughfare to Churchill Downs. Kentucky Derby winners Gato Del Sol, Ferdinand, Winning Colors and Sunday Silence all used the California race as a prep. But since Sunday Silence won here in 1989, West Coast shippers have come up empty.

That could change Saturday, with Free House and Silver Charm, season-long rivals at Santa Anita, given good chances of knocking off the favorites, Pulpit and Captain Bodgit, in the 123rd Kentucky Derby.

Silver Charm is also a gray, and he’s trained by a gray, the prematurely snow-thatched Bob Baffert. Although Free House has beaten Baffert’s colt twice in three meetings, including his victory by a head in the Santa Anita Derby, Silver Charm is more fancied here and is expected to go off as the third choice in the betting.

Free House was listed at 6-1 in an early morning line, and his price may be even higher by post time. Toffan, in fact, found a future book in Las Vegas last week that listed him at 12-1.

The role of Derby sleeper is fine with Toffan, who bred and races Free House with Trudy McCaffery, his partner in life as well as in the horse business. On Monday, after Free House had worked a strong five furlongs in 1:02 over a muddy track, reporters at the barn gathered around Sal Gonzalez Jr., his exercise rider, and Toffan shouted, “Don’t say anything to knock the price down, Sal.”

Free House is trained by Paco Gonzalez, the exercise rider’s brother.

With Cavonnier, Baffert finished the closest of seconds to Grindstone last year, but Gonzalez has more Derby experience. For the late Joe Manzi, Gonzalez galloped Masterful Advocate, the 12th-place finisher in the 1987 Derby, and in 1991 he saddled Mane Minister, who ran third. Mane Minister, who was 86-1 in the Derby, the longest shot in the field, also finished third in the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, the other Triple Crown races.

While the Gonzalez brothers tend to Free House in virtual anonymity, Baffert draws large media crowds. Baffert is cover-boy cute, always smiling and one of the few trainers who might get the drop on Wayne Lukas in a glibness duel at 10 paces.

Paco Gonzalez has a winning smile too, but it is partly hidden by his brush mustache, and his low-key approach is the opposite of Baffert’s California-carefree style.

“It doesn’t bother me that nobody’s paying much attention to my horse,” the 52-year-old Gonzalez said. “It was the same way before the Santa Anita Derby. Maybe it’s because my horse is a California-bred. Maybe it’s because Bob [Baffert] talks more than I do. I’m just happy that my horse is doing good.”

In the Santa Anita Derby, Free House ran as an entry with Bagshot and went off at 7-1. He had beaten Silver Charm by three-quarters of a length in the San Felipe Stakes three weeks before, but Baffert’s horse was 2-1 in the Santa Anita Derby. Silver Charm just missed in the second race after he and Sharp Cat punished each other with a pace that resulted in a 1:34 2/5 opening mile.

“It looked like [Silver Charm] was coming back at us in the stretch,” Gonzalez said. “But my horse stopped running after he got the lead. He did the same thing in the San Felipe.”

Baffert said he hadn’t really feared Free House going into the Santa Anita Derby; he was more concerned about Sharp Cat stealing the race.

“I had no respect for Free House,” he said. “It was Kent [Desormeaux] who won that race for them. He rode a really smart race.”

Now Desormeaux is without a mount in the Kentucky Derby. He would have been aboard Pacificbounty, but that colt was scratched Monday because of a foot injury. David Flores, a veteran rider but a Derby newcomer, has the assignment on Free House.

“I’m not worried that [Flores] hasn’t been in a Derby,” Gonzalez said. “He’s been riding so good for so long, and he’s a guy who has won big races.”

Flores rode Free House last September, in the first race the colt ever won, and he also was aboard for the San Felipe victory.

On a fast track, Silver Charm worked five furlongs Tuesday in 1:00 3/5. The way the two Santa Anita grays have trained here, they will not be able to use the track surface as an excuse. Gary Stevens, who has won the Derby twice, will ride Silver Charm for owners Bob and Beverly Lewis.

“Quite a few horses in this field are coming off great wins,” the 44- year-old Baffert said. “It’s a tough field, and it looks like there could be a blanket finish.”

Even more overlooked than Free House in the 13-horse field is Hello, who finished third in the Santa Anita Derby, beaten by only two lengths. Weighing less than 900 pounds, Hello will be the smallest horse in the race. With Chris McCarron sidelined by a shoulder injury, Mike Smith will ride Hello for the first time.

Perhaps Hello may weigh more by race day. Murray Friedlander, the bloodstock agent who picked out Hello in Europe late last year for owners Al and Sandee Kirkwood, was seen shopping with trainer Ron McAnally at a supermarket near Churchill Downs the other day. Their cart was filled with carrots for Hello. They appeared to have bought every carrot in the store.

“That should last him for about two days,” McAnally said.

Kentucky Derby Notes

Deeds Not Words, whose only victory came in a maiden race at Del Mar last August, has become a surprise starter for the Kentucky Derby, which will extend trainer Wayne Lukas’ record of having started at least one horse in the race for 17 consecutive years. . . . Other probables are Captain Bodgit, Pulpit, Silver Charm, Free House, Hello, Crypto Star, Phantom On Tour, Concerto, Jack Flash, Shammy Davis, Celtic Warrior and Crimson Classic. . . . Only five grays have won the Kentucky Derby. The last was Winning Colors--technically a roan--in 1988. The other grays were Gato Del Sol in 1982, Spectacular Bid in 1979, Decidedly in 1962 and Determine, the sire of Decidedly, in 1954. . . . Three California-breds--Decidedly, Swaps in 1955 and Morvich in 1922--have won the Derby. . . . Captain Bodgit worked a half-mile Tuesday :48 2/5. . . . The best Derby workout of the week was Pulpit’s 1:00 2/5 on Monday. . . . After 70-degree sunshine Tuesday, there could be showers for the rest of the week, including a chance of rain Saturday afternoon. There have been three off tracks for the Derby in the last 26 years. . . . Chris McCarron, sidelined because of a shoulder injury, will join the ABC team for the telecast of the Derby.

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Race at a Glance

* What: 123rd Kentucky Derby

* Where: Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

* When: Saturday, 2:30 PDT

* TV: Channel 7

DERBY TO DERBY

This is what Santa Anita Derby winners have done in the Kentucky Derby since Sunday Silence won both races in 1989:

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Year Horse Finish 1990 Mister Frisky 8th 1991 Dinard Injured, did not run 1992 A.P. Indy Injured, did not run 1993 Personal Hope 4th 1994 Brocco 4th 1995 Larry The Legend Injured, did not run 1996 Cavonnier 2nd

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