Some Concern for Buddy Gil

Buddy Gil ran the fourth-slowest Santa Anita Derby in the last 40 years, but there could have been reasons why the 3-year-old gelding took 1:49.36 to finish the 1 1/8-mile prep for the Kentucky Derby.

Trainer Jeff Mullins said Sunday morning at his barn that Buddy Gil bled from the nose even though the horse had been treated with Salix, a furosemide that is commonly used to discourage bleeding.

After the race, jockey Gary Stevens said that Buddy Gil was coughing noticeably as he was pulled up. Stevens said that Buddy Gil took so much dirt in his face that he had trouble breathing for the last quarter-mile.

“In the [post-race] test barn, [Buddy Gil] was found to have bled slightly,” said Bill Bell, the state veterinarian at Santa Anita. “He bled from both nostrils.”

“He was stressed from trying to get his air,” said Mullins, who also said that Buddy Gil hadn’t bled in his eight previous races. Buddy Gil has run on Salix -- which used to be called Lasix -- in all of his races.

Because he bled for the first time while running with Salix, Buddy Gil goes on the state vets’ list at Santa Anita. That means the horse can’t work out for 14 days. When he does work, he must complete five furlongs in at least 1:03 and be examined by a state vet afterward.

Mullins didn’t seem concerned. The Kentucky Derby, which is an eighth of a mile longer than Saturday’s race, will be run May 3. “He missed a work [because of a foot bruise] before the Santa Anita Derby and he still won,” Mullins said. “A lot of horses bleed. If you checked, probably half the horses in Saturday’s race might have bled. The time doesn’t bother me. I don’t pay that much attention to times.”

Mullins confirmed that Buddy Gil would run in the Kentucky Derby, but was unclear about shipping plans to Churchill Downs. It is not uncommon for Derby horses to ship in as late as the week of the race. Most trainers want to work their horses at least once over the Churchill surface before the race.

Bell said that when a request is made by a trainer, the California Horse Racing Board frequently allows a bleeder’s workout to be conducted at an out-of-state track. In that event, an approved veterinarian at the track would be deputized by California authorities.

While Buddy Gil’s unimpressive time might have qualifiers, some horsemen, in trying to project the horse’s chances in the Kentucky Derby, said simply that slow is slow. The final eighth of a mile was run in 13.22 seconds, an unspectacular time. Since 1964, the only slower winning times for the Santa Anita Derby were Ruken’s 1:49.80 in 1967, Marfa’s 1:49.40 and Came Home’s 1:50.02 last year.

In the only other race at 1 1/8 miles on Saturday’s card, Western Pride, a 5-year-old carrying 116 pounds, six less than Buddy Gil, won in 1:48.56.

In his two stakes wins on dirt this year, Buddy Gil has prevailed by a nose and a head.

“He’s some kind of horse,” said Scott Guenther, one of the horse’s five owners. “He’s got a big heart. I’ll tell you, he’s all heart. He’s a tough horse. He wants to beat you.”

The trainers of three other Santa Anita Derby horses will go on to Kentucky. Trainer Bob Baffert green-lighted Indian Express and Kafwain, who ran second and third, and trainer Ron Ellis, whose Atswhatimtalknbout, the 3-2 favorite who was fourth, said that his colt would leave for Louisville on Wednesday.

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Two weeks after floundering over a turf course he didn’t care for, Century City rebounded in style in the $150,000 Arcadia Handicap on Sunday at Santa Anita.

A disappointment since arriving in the United States several months ago, the 4-year-old Danzig colt earned his first graded stakes win in this country with a neck victory over pacesetter Gondolieri in 1:47.84 for the 1 1/8 miles on turf.

Owned by John Greely IV’s Kitchwa Stables and Thomas Nichols and trained by Beau Greely, Century City, the longest shot in the field of nine at nearly 20-1, was ridden by Jose Valdivia Jr.

A Group II winner in Ireland and second to Rock Of Gibraltar in a Group I last spring, Century City had failed in five of his first six races in the U.S. His lone win had come in the Turf Paradise Breeders’ Cup Handicap on Feb. 1.

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There were three winning tickets in the pick six at Santa Anita on Sunday. Each was worth $661,283.

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Posse, the 2-1 favorite and the only member of the field with a win at Keenland, defeated 2-1 second choice Roll Hennessy Roll by 2 1/4 lengths in the $107,900 Lafayette Stakes on Sunday. Owned by Bill Heiligbrodt and trained by Steve Asmussen, Posse, a 3-year-old son of Silver Deputy, completed the seven furlongs in 1:23.14 under jockey Corey Lanerie.

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Times staff writer Bob Mieszerski contributed to this report.