THE DERBY BEFORE THE DERBY

The obsession to win a Kentucky Derby routinely produces horsemen with greenbacks in hand, but the race before the race--the search to buy a Derby contender--has been especially lively and pricey this time around. To the saw that money is no object can be added the dictum that money has no meaning.

It wasn’t enough that Sheik Mohammed, the crown prince of Dubai, spent almost $10 million to buy two American horses for an all-out attack on the Derby. More recently, the sheik’s people came calling on trainer Bob Baffert’s people, hoping to buy Prime Timber, one of the favorites for Saturday’s Santa Anita Derby.

“They offered more than they paid for Worldly Manner,” Baffert said.

Worldly Manner, trained by Baffert last year when he won the Del Mar Futurity, was reportedly sold for $5 million and is now training for Saeed bin Suroor, the sheik’s man in Dubai and Newmarket, England.

Since Aaron Jones had paid a measly $375,000 for Prime Timber at auction, he didn’t treat Sheik Mohammed’s $5-million-plus offer for the colt cavalierly.

“What do you think?” Jones asked Baffert.

Baffert, who won the 1997 Kentucky Derby with Silver Charm and used Real Quiet for a rousing encore at Churchill Downs last year, said that if Prime Timber reached Louisville this year, he’d prefer being with him.

“You’d get a 5% commission on the sale, you know,” Jones said, still dangling the possibility.

The economics made no sense. A 5% piece of $6 million--if indeed that was the price--comes to $300,000. That’s $300,000 in hand. Even if Prime Timber does win the Kentucky Derby, Baffert’s share of the purse would be about $75,000.

“I’d still rather win another Derby,” Baffert finally told Jones.

When the 125th Kentucky Derby is run May 1, Sheik Mohammed may have to make do with what he has, which besides Worldly Manner includes Comeonmom, the other American horse, who reportedly cost $3 million; Aljabr, a close second to Worldly Manner in a recent trial race for the sheik’s horses in Dubai; and Prado’s Landing, who is expected to run in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland a week from Saturday.

Other than Prado’s Landing, the rest of Sheik Mohammed’s contingent is expected to run in the Derby off in-house preps in Dubai. An unconventional plan, to be sure.

“Anybody who doesn’t take them seriously should reconsider,” trainer Richard Mandella said.

Mandella, who saddled one of his older horses, Malek, for a second-place finish behind Almutawakel, who runs for Sheik Mohammed’s brother, in last Sunday’s $5-million Dubai World Cup, attended Worldly Manner’s trial race several days before.

“I was very impressed with the race,” Mandella said. “Worldly Manner won as he pleased.”

While Sheik Mohammed was unsuccessful in adding Prime Timber to his kraal, other horse owners caught sniffing the Derby roses have been able to hop on to the road to Kentucky.

Madeleine Paulson, whose husband raced Cigar, spent more than $1 million on K One King before his second-place finish behind Stephen Got Even in last Saturday’s Gallery Furniture.com Stakes at Turfway Park. A year ago, Paulson and her partner, diet guru Jenny Craig, spent much less on a colt called Rock And Roll, then watched him finish 14th of 15 starters in the Derby.

Bill Condren, who won the 1994 Derby as one of the partners in Go For Gin, bought a piece of Wondertross from George Steinbrenner after the colt’s 2-year-old season was over. In the bargain, Wondertross was moved to the barn of trainer Nick Zito, who unlocked the Derby vault before Baffert did, winning with Strike The Gold and Go For Gin.

Arthur Hancock III, who won the Derby twice in the 1980s, with Gato Del Sol and Sunday Silence, got the best of both worlds when he sold his colt, Menifee, as a yearling for $37,000. Jimmy Stone, a gas-driller from Louisiana, was the buyer, and afterward Stone, who has known Hancock since he was in short pants, turned around and sold 50% back to the breeder.

In his last race, Menifee finished second in the lackluster Tampa Bay Derby, not a good sign this late in the Derby chase. But there still appears to be something out there for everybody. Pineaff, the winner at Tampa Bay Downs, reportedly will take on new ownership before he runs again. And Capsized, who’s 8-1 on the morning line for the Santa Anita Derby, has a generous helping of owners who now include Robert and Janice McNair, who bought a 50% interest in the colt in early March. The McNairs, by the way, were introduced to racing six years ago by Arthur Hancock.

Besides Prime Timber and Capsized, six other horses are running in the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby. In a surprise to some, linemaker Jeff Tufts has made Desert Hero, undefeated but with only two starts, the 5-2 favorite, with General Challenge, Baffert’s other starter, next at 3-1 and Prime Timber, the powerful winner of the 1 1/16-mile San Felipe Stakes, the third choice at 7-2.

Desert Hero, who won the one-mile San Rafael by a neck over Prime Timber, hasn’t picked up any new owners since his career began, but he does have a new trainer in Mandella. Wally Dollase, in a shocking development, was fired by Prince Ahmed Salman’s Thoroughbred Corp., which races Desert Hero, on March 12.

“There’s never a good time to make a change,” said Richard Mulhall, general manager for Salman’s racing operation. “We gave some of the horses to Mandella because he’s the best trainer on the West Coast. He got Desert Hero because he didn’t have a Kentucky Derby horse. That had something to do with it.”

The Santa Anita Derby has produced the last two Kentucky Derby winners--Silver Charm and Real Quiet both finished second here--and Mulhall suggests that the script may not change. He’s unimpressed with the contenders from the East.

“I don’t like Vicar,” he said. “I didn’t like the whole Florida Derby. All the horses looked like they were just hanging on at the end. At this time, you want to see a horse finish strong. If they don’t, how are they going to go to Kentucky to run a mile and a quarter?”

Horse Racing Notes

The Santa Anita Derby field includes longshots Charismatic and Walk That Walk. Charismatic ran twice for a $62,500 claiming price before his second-place finish to Cliquot in the El Camino Real Derby at Bay Meadows. Charismatic will be the 28th Santa Anita Derby starter for trainer Wayne Lukas, who has had at least one horse in the race every year since 1979. Lukas has won the stake four times, but since 1989 his best finishes have been three seconds.

SANTA ANITA DERBY

* When: Saturday.

* Where: Santa Anita Park.

* Purse: $750,000.

* Race distance: 1 1/8 miles.

* Post: 2:30 p.m., Channel 11.

****

FIELD (Post-Position Order)

*--*

Horse Jockey Odds Honest Lady Desormeaux 4-1 Prime Timber Flores 7-2 Desert Hero Nakatani 5-2 Capsized Solis 8-1 Walk That Walk Antley 30-1 High Wire Act McCarron 8-1 General Challenge Stevens 3-1 Charismatic Pincay 15-1

*--*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Top Contenders

Ten horses vying for a spot in the 125th Kentucky Derby:

Horse: Prime Timber

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Record (St-1-2-3): 5-3-2-0

Last race: 1st, San Felipe

*

Horse: Vicar

Trainer: Carl Nafzger

Record (St-1-2-3): 6-4-1-0

Last race: 1st, Florida Derby

*

Horse: Cat Thief

Trainer: Wayne Lukas

Record (St-1-2-3): 10-2-4-3

Last race: 3rd, Florida Derby

*

Horse: Wondertross

Trainer: Nick Zito

Record (St-1-2-3): 6-3-1-2

Last race: 2nd, Florida Derby

*

Horse: General Challenge

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Record (St-1-2-3): 4-3-0-0

Last race: 5th, Louisiana Derby

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Horse: Desert Hero

Trainer: Richard Mandella

Record (St-1-2-3): 2-2-0-0

Last race: 1st, San Rafael

*

Horse: Excellent Meeting

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Record (St-1-2-3): 10-6-3-1

Last race: 1st, Santa Anita Oaks

*

Horse: Worldly Manner

Trainer: Saeed bin Suroor

Record (St-1-2-3): 4-3-0-1

Last race: 1st, Del Mar Futurity

*

Horse: Silverbulletday

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Record (St-1-2-3): 9-8-0-0

Last race: 1st, Fair Grounds Oaks

*

Horse: Stephen Got Even

Trainer: Nick Zito

Record (St-1-2-3): 4-3-1-0

Last race: 1st, Furniture Gallery