Stevens Has the Horse and a Noble Cause

Only three jockeys have won the Kentucky Derby more times than Gary Stevens.

Eddie Arcaro and Bill Hartack each won it five times, once more than Bill Shoemaker. Stevens is among a quartet -- with Isaac Murphy, Earl Sande and Angel Cordero -- with three victories.

Stevens is hoping that this evening in Louisville, Ky., he will be tied with Shoemaker. All the Hall of Fame rider needs is for Noble Causeway to cooperate.

A handsome son of Giant’s Causeway, a brilliant European racehorse who just missed against Tiznow in a thrilling Breeders’ Cup Classic a few years back, Noble Causeway has improved under trainer Nick Zito.

Purchased by My Meadowview Farm for $1.15 million as a yearling, Noble Causeway flourished at Gulfstream Park, winning twice and finishing second to stablemate High Fly in the Florida Derby on April 2.

He gained ground on the favorite that day and has the look of a colt that will take to 1 1/4 miles, which can’t be said about many of his 19 opponents.

The anticipated quick pace should also be to his advantage and he will go off at a healthy price. Stevens already has a Derby win with a longshot, Thunder Gulch, who was 24-1 for trainer Wayne Lukas when he won in 1995.

Bellamy Road, generally considered the best of the five 3-year-olds Zito will be running today, is a deserving morning line favorite. He has been dominating in two races since joining the barn, especially in winning the Wood Memorial by 17 1/2 lengths while equaling the track record at Aqueduct for 1 1/8 miles.

In both of his authoritative wins, Bellamy Road went to the front early and widened on his opposition.

He is racing other speed types today, so the question is, how will he react if he isn’t on the lead?

It may not matter. Bellamy Road simply may be a freak capable of blowing away this field as well. Or he may resent it if jockey Javier Castellano tries to rate him and call it quits, leading one to wonder if owner George Steinbrenner will give him his pink slip if that happens.

Bandini, like Noble Causeway, has gotten better with each start for trainer Todd Pletcher, who is among the best in the country but without a Derby win. A son of Fusaichi Pegasus, who won this race five years ago, Bandini won’t be too far off the pace, but has shown he can finish and he also acts as if the distance is well within his range.

Afleet Alex was brilliant -- against a suspect field -- in the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park last month, winning his sixth in nine starts. He has run only one stinker in his life, but can he return with another big performance three weeks later?

And what kind of trip will he get from jockey Jeremy Rose, who was blamed by many for the colt’s loss in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last fall?

The other Zito runners? Andromeda’s Hero has yet to win a graded stakes and is overmatched, High Fly has lost only once in six starts but seems vulnerable at 10 furlongs, and Sun King hasn’t progressed. He was flat in the Blue Grass after a less-than-impressive victory against a soft field in the Tampa Bay Derby.

The California contingent -- specifically, those coming off the Santa Anita Derby -- isn’t strong. No Santa Anita Derby winner has won the Kentucky Derby since Sunday Silence in 1989. The streak won’t end today.

Buzzards Bay reportedly has done well since his upset in Arcadia, but he probably isn’t as good as Buddy Gil or Castledale, the last two horses to win the Santa Anita Derby, then bomb in Kentucky for trainer Jeff Mullins. Buzzards Bay finished behind Uncle Denny and Wannawinemall in the El Camino Real Derby at Bay Meadows before his success in Arcadia.

Wilko has been training well but has lost 11 of 14 and was out-finished by longshot General John B in finishing third in the Santa Anita Derby. And General John B was beaten by 26 lengths in the Florida Derby by High Fly. Still, Wilko could find his way into the trifecta or superfecta.

Greeley’s Galaxy earned his biggest victory at Hawthorne, blitzing seven opponents in the Illinois Derby on April 9, prompting owner B. Wayne Hughes to supplement the Mr. Greeley colt for $200,000. A lot of people will be rooting for Warren Stute, 83, to become the oldest trainer to win the Derby, but this is a much more difficult spot.

Some continue to sing the praises of Giacomo, but he has only a maiden win to his credit, High Limit looms as a pace casualty, Coin Silver looked good winning the Lexington but might have moved up in the mud and sunny skies are forecast today, Going Wild and Spanish Chestnut don’t belong, Flower Alley, Greater Good, Sort It Out and Closing Argument are pretenders, and Don’t Get Mad, who won the Derby Trial a week ago, is three for three at Churchill Downs but is probably a late-running sprinter. He has been beaten by 16 lengths in his two races around two turns.