Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 6, 1990 TAG: 9005060139
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LOUISVILLE, KY. LENGTH: Long
In 1949, she had a good 2-year-old named Unbridled who failed to get to the Derby the next year. Saturday, in the sunshine at Churchill Downs, another colt named Unbridled, which she purchased for $70,000 as weanling, outran 14 rivals to win the Derby.
Among the beaten and battered were the two favorites - Mister Frisky, the winningest Derby starter in history with 16 victories, and Summer Squall, one of Kentucky's own.
Mister Frisky faded from the picture when the stretch run began and finished eighth. Summer Squall took the lead nearing the stretch, and for a brief moment it looked as if he might win.
Then Craig Perret unleashed Unbridled, and the Florida-bred thoroughbred ran away with the 116th Derby.
"Today was payday," said the jubilant Perret, who had finished second on Bet Twice in 1987 and third on Awe Inspiring in 1989. Perret got the mount on Unbridled, the Florida Derby winner, for the Blue Grass Stakes when Pat Day decided his Derby horse would be Summer Squall.
Day, the winningest jockey in Churchill Downs history, with 934 victories, failed to win the Derby for the eighth time. It was his third consecutive second-place finish, including one on favored Easy Goer last year.
During the week, trainer Carl Nafzger said Unbridled, who was lost in the publicity buildup given Mister Frisky and Summer Squall, had improved eight lengths since the Blue Grass.
In that race eight weeks ago, he finished third, 3\ lengths behind winner Summer Squall. His victory margin over Summer Squall in the Derby was 3 1/2 lengths, which adds up to a total of 6 3/4 lengths.
"He was ready," said Nafzger, 48, a former rodeo rider and blacksmith. "I predicted it. Thank goodness it's over."
Nafzger might have predicted his colt would be ready, but he didn't exactly predict victory.
"I figure he'll be competitive and so does the press, but how can you go against two horses that have been consistent every trip," he said before the race.
Summer Squall, who bounced back from a hairline fracture as a 2-year-old and from bleeding during a workout in February, was consistent again but had to settle for his second second-place finish against seven career victories.
Mister Frisky, who had picked up his first 13 victories in Puerto Rico and his next three in California, looked like a sprinter in the Derby.
"At the quarter pole, he just backed off," said trainer Laz Barrera, who won the Derby with Bold Forbes in 1976 and with Affirmed in 1978.
"He acted like he didn't like what was going on."
Summer Squall finished six lengths in front of Pleasant Tap, who was three lengths ahead of Video Ranger.
The track was muddy for every race until the Derby, when it was upgraded to good. It took Unbridled 2:02 to get around it for his second victory in five starts this year and his fourth triumph in 11 career outings.
He paid $23.60, $7.80 and $5.80 while earning $581,000 from a purse of $756,000.
Summer Squall returned $3.80 and $3.80. Pleasant Tap, ridden by Kent Desormeaux, was worth $12 to show.
As Real Cash and Mister Frisky, who were running 1-2, faded from contention on the turn, Summer Squall skipped by them. Then came Unbridled, and he was sailing.
And in the owners' section, Nafzger was happily shouting at the silver-haired Genter:
"He's taking the lead! He's taking the lead! He's taking the lead!"
Genter covered her mouth and shivered in delight.
"He's on the lead Miss Genter! He's going to win! He's going to win! He's a winner! He's a winner!"
Genter's smile widened, and Nafzger put his arms around her and gave her a big kiss.
Said the owner, who had a wheelchair nearby: "I couldn't see the race, so Carl made the call for me. He said, `He's sixth, he's fifth, he's going to win it.'
"We're No. 1," she said.
Stevens and Day were philosophical about their disappointing defeats.
"He just didn't put out his best performance," said Stevens, who was seeking his second Derby victory. He scored a wire-to-wire triumph with the filly Winning Colors in 1988.
"There weren't any traffic problems, no jostling or bumping of any sort. It just wasn't our day," he said.
Nor was it Day's day at a track where he has had so many good ones, once winning seven races; once six and eight times five.
"Finishing second three times is better than finishing third three times," said Day, criticized for previous Derby rides. "I believe one day it will happen, and when you wait that long it will be some kind of sweet."
The $23.60 mutuel payoff was the biggest since 1986, when Ferdinand returned $37.40.
Unbridled was 11th going into the first turn and 12th coming out of it. Perret moved him into sixth with a half-mile to go. He was second, just a half-length behind Summer Squall, with a little more than a quarter-mile remaining.
Then he blew past Summer Squall like a spring storm and the Derby was over.
Summer Squall was sixth until he moved into fourth with about a half-mile remaining. Then he took the lead on the turn and it looked like Day was headed for the one Churchill Downs victory he never has had.
Mister Frisky was well placed all the way, running fourth after the first quarter-mile, then moving into second, where he stayed until he began to fade when the race reached the quarter pole.
Completing the order of finish after Video Ranger were Silver Ending, Killer Diller, Land Rush, Mister Frisky, Thirty Six Red, Power Lunch, pace-setting Real Cash, Dr. Bobby A., Pendleton Ridge, Burnt Hills and Fighting Fantasy.
"If he runs a good race, I'll be thrilled," Neil Howard, the trainer of Summer Squall, had said.
A lot of trainers will have the hangover of Derby disappointment while racing fans toast Carl Nafzger.
Keywords:
HORSE RACING
by CNB