Rosy Outlook for Select Few; Nagging Doubts About Rest
For a Frenchman, trainer Patrick Biancone has a good grasp of the Kentucky Derby.
“Half of the 20 horses will lose the race in the paddock,” Biancone said the other day. “Five more will lose it coming out of the gate. That leaves five horses, and our job is to figure out which five those are.”
More or less, trainer David Cross made the same point after the fact at Churchill Downs in 1983. After Sunny’s Halo had won the Derby, Cross said, “I saw all those so-and-so’s dripping wet in the paddock and knew we only had a few to beat.”
What the field needs minutes before the running of today’s 131st Derby is the placidity of a Gato Del Sol, the longshot winner here in 1982.
“You could have shot off a cannon next to that colt, and he wouldn’t have flinched an inch,” Gato Del Sol’s late trainer, Eddie Gregson, once said.
Greater Good came unhinged running fifth three weeks ago in the Arkansas Derby, so the vibes aren’t good for him today, when he’s scheduled to run in front of an estimated 150,000 in sunny, 75-degree weather. But Greater Good is 20-1 on the morning line and might be a betting throw-out, anyway.
The handicapping trick is to eliminate as many of the remaining 19 as possible, and in this Derby, that’s a daunting task. Trainer Nick Zito might be starting a record-tying five horses, but there’s all kinds of room for somebody to deprive him of that third Derby win.
Of Zito’s quintet, all but Andromeda’s Hero seem well-behaved, especially Bellamy Road, who was 5-2 before Friday’s betting started and is almost certain to be the favorite at post time, which is 3 p.m. PDT. Andromeda’s Hero, generally considered the least of Zito’s chances, was stabled until Thursday at the Keeneland track, 70 miles to the east, the better to keep him away from the people traffic at the graying trainer’s Churchill barn.
But back to Biancone. The refugee from Longchamp, who trains in California and New York now, ran second to Smarty Jones with Lion Heart in last year’s Derby, and looks to have a say-so today with Spanish Chestnut -- if only for the first half-mile or so.
Spanish Chestnut, at 50-1, and with two demoralizing losses since leaving Santa Anita, doesn’t belong with this deep bunch, but he has a quick turn of foot and Bobby Frankel, the trainer of High Limit, says Biancone’s colt will be on the lead, giving Bellamy Road something to shoot at.
“What I don’t understand,” Frankel said, “is why they don’t quit messing around and call [Spanish Chestnut] a rabbit. Because that’s what he is. There’s nothing illegal about it, it’s been done for years, so why not just say what you’re doing?”
Spanish Chestnut is owned by Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, who also own the Todd Pletcher-trained Bandini, third choice on the morning line and winner of the Blue Grass Stakes. That race also had Spanish Chestnut, who stayed on top long enough to set up Bandini’s late run.
“I’m not worried about Spanish Chestnut,” said Javier Castellano, the jockey for Bellamy Road and riding in his first Derby. “Maybe he’ll go to the lead, maybe he won’t.
“A good horse can do whatever you want him to do,” he said. “Bellamy Road gives you a great feeling. He’s like a Mercedes, with all the power he gives you.”
The Venezuelan-born Castellano, 27, is married to the daughter of Terry Meyocks, former executive with the New York tracks. He might be a Derby rookie, but he’s no newcomer to big-race pressure. He rode Ghostzapper to victory in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic.
A rider in New York since 2001, Castellano comes from a racing family. His father and uncle rode, and the uncle told him 10 years ago, “Someday, you’ll be riding in the Kentucky Derby.”
Castellano has ridden Bellamy Road in all but one of his five starts. In the only race Castellano missed -- Ramon Dominguez had the mount -- the George Steinbrenner-owned colt suffered his lone defeat. Since Castellano regained the assignment, Bellamy Road has won twice, by 33 1/4 lengths.
Unusual about this Derby is that four of the contenders won their preps by gaping margins. Besides Bellamy Road’s 17 1/2 -length blowout in the Wood Memorial, Afleet Alex won the Arkansas Derby by eight, Bandini was six lengths the best in the Blue Grass and Greeley’s Galaxy dominated the Illinois Derby by 9 1/2 .
Even more unusual, none of those four is being ceded the yellow-brick road. Horses who ran behind them are being given second chances, and trainers of horses who have never raced them won’t believe it until they see it again.
Nick Zito? No braggart he. The other day, he even talked about losing. “If we can’t get one of them home, I’ll be down for a little while,” he said. “I just want them all to get good trips and get the chance to run a clean race. Training-wise, I’ll have no excuses. I just hope that by the time the field gets to the eighth pole, I’ve got a shot to win with somebody.”
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Beasts With Burdens
More than the odds are against many of the horses in today’s Kentucky Derby. They’ll have to beat history too:
Wilko
* No Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner has won the Derby.
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Don’t Get Mad, Going Wild
* No winner has started from posts 17 or 19.
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Greeley’s Galaxy
* The last Derby winner who didn’t race as a 2-year-old was Apollo -- in 1882. Greeley’s Galaxy didn’t make his first start until January.
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Don’t Get Mad
* Tim Tam in 1958 was the last horse to win the Derby Trial at Churchill Downs and then the Derby.
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Greeley’s Galaxy
* Charlie Whittingham, 76, was the oldest winning trainer, with Sunday Silence, in 1989. Greeley’s Galaxy’s trainer, Warren Stute, is 83.
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Buzzards Bay
* Sunday Silence was the last Santa Anita Derby winner to win the Derby.
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Flower Alley, Greeley’s Galaxy, High Limit
* No Derby winner since Exterminator in 1918 had only four prior starts.
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Bellamy Road, Closing Argument, High Limit, Wilko
* No Derby winner since Sunny’s Halo in 1983 had only two prep races as a 3-year-old.
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Source: Associated Press
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Facts and Figures
* What: The 131st Kentucky Derby.
* When: Today at 3 p.m. PDT.
* Where: Churchill Downs, Louisville, Ky.
* TV: Channel 4.
* Field: 20 3-year-olds.
* Distance: 1 1/4 miles.
* Favorite: Bellamy Road, 5-2.
* Total purse: $2,399,600.
* Winner’s share: $1,639,600.
* Weather: Partly cloudy, upper 70s.
* 2004 winner: Smarty Jones.