Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 8, 1994 TAG: 9405100160
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LOUISVILLE, KY. LENGTH: Long
Go For Gin, winless in his three previous starts, dominated the 120th Kentucky Derby on Saturday in the way many people thought Holy Bull might, or perhaps Brocco would.
The bay colt, a 9-1 betting choice ridden by Chris McCarron, was second going into the clubhouse turn and first coming out of it. He stayed there to win the Derby by two lengths over Strodes Creek on a damp day over a sloppy Churchill Downs track.
Meanwhile, Holy Bull, who had led most of his previous eight races and went wire-to-wire in five of his seven victories, struggled home 12th in a field of 14 3-year-olds. Holy Bull, off at 2-1, became the 15th consecutive beaten Derby favorite. The last betting choice to win was Spectacular Bid in 1979.
Brocco, the second betting choice, finished fourth after being third at the top of the stretch.
A month ago, trainer Nick Zito, 46, who won the Derby in 1991 with Strike the Gold, had predicted that Go For Gin would win the Derby.
During Derby week, however, he would not go quite that far.
"I don't know if he's up to the status of Holy Bull and Brocco, but he's close," Zito said.
On Saturday, Go For Gin stomped the status of Holy Bull and Brocco into the mud.
"I'll be at the Preakness with bells on," Zito shouted during his second trip in four years to the most famous winner's circle in horse racing.
Go For Gin was second behind Ulises going into the first turn and ahead of that member of the mutuel field coming out of it. McCarron took Go For Gin to the rail then for the run to the roses.
At the top of the stretch, it quickly became obvious who the Derby winner would be.
"When I stepped on the pedal at the 3-16ths pole, he cut," McCarron said. "I was really happy when I looked back under my legs and didn't see anyone coming."
McCarron, 39, who won the 1987 Derby on Alysheba, guided the winner home in 2:03 3-5 on the first sloppy track for a Derby since Citation won in 1948. It was the third off track at the Derby in the past three years.
A crowd of 130,594 cheered Go For Gin to the wire, especially those who wagered on him and collected $20.20, $8.40 and $5.80 for a $2 bet.
Strodes Creek, ridden by Eddie Delahoussaye and trained by 81-year-old Charlie Whittingham, already the oldest winning trainer in Derby history, returned $7.80 and $6.
Blumin Affair, ridden by Jerry Bailey, finished 2 1/2 lengths behind Strodes Creek and three-quarters of a length ahead of Brocco, paying $8 to show.
Completing the order of finish were Soul of the Matter, Tabasco Cat, Southern Rhythm, Powis Castle, Mahogany Hall, Smilin Singin Sam, Meadow Flight, Holy Bull, Valiant Nature and Ulises. Each starter carried 126 pounds.
Kandaly was scratched because of a track made sloppy by hard rain on Friday and earlier Saturday.
Holy Bull's performance had to be a disappointment to 74-year-old owner-trainer Jimmy Croll, who on Wednesday was voted into the National Racing Hall of Fame. Holy Bull was bequeathed to Croll by Rachel Carpenter, a longtime Croll client and partner who died Aug. 14, the day the gray colt won in his debut.
Holy Bull was so docile in the post parade that he didn't need the assistance of a lead pony, but that lethargy never left him after the gate opened.
As Mike Smith, Holy Bull's rider, walked from the track, Croll, befuddled, spread his arms and asked, "What happened?"
Said Smith, "It just wasn't meant to be. He got away really bad and he got away flat-footed. Every step he tried to take was the wrong one."
Holy Bull, who was not used to looking ahead at horses, never was better than fifth, and that was with three-quarters of a mile still to run.
McCarron said his instructions from Zito were to press Holy Bull from the start.
"When I found myself to be on the lead," McCarron said, "I elected to ease him back. But he didn't want any part of that. When he got a half-length in front, he seemed to relax."
Once Go For Gin got into the lead, there was nobody to press him.
"This horse is a superior off-track horse," Zito said. "He's a free-running horse."
It was the fifth start on a sloppy or muddy track for Go For Gin, and his record is three wins and two seconds.
When Strike the Gold won the 1991 Derby for Zito, he came from far off the pace; in fact, with three-quarters of a mile to go, Strike the Gold was 12th.
"After Strike the Gold won the Derby, I said I felt I was invited to sit in God's living room," Zito said. "Someone said, `Yeah, but only for a moment.' Guess what? I'm here again."
It was the second visit to the Derby winner's circle for owners William J. Condren, 60, and Joseph M. Cornacchia, 61. They also owned Strike the Gold with B. Giles Brophy.
Go For Gin's victory on an overcast, 60-degree day ruined several good story lines besides that of Croll's gift horse getting wrapped in a blanket of roses.
There also was the story of Tabasco Cat, trainer D. Wayne Lukas' December nightmare horse he hoped would be his Derby dream colt. On Dec. 15, Tabasco Cat got loose in the Santa Anita stable area and ran over Jeff Lukas, the trainer's son and assistant, who suffered brain injuries and nearly died.
There also were the stories of Albert Broccoli, 85, the producer of 16 James Bond movies, and songwriter Burt Bacharach. Broccoli had to settle for fourth with Brocco, and Bacharach watched his Soul of the Matter finish fifth.
Go For Gin earned $628,800 from a purse of $878,800, boosting his career earnings to $1,018,340 on a record of five wins and three seconds in 10 starts. That's a lot of money but in the world of American horse racing, a Derby winner is like a Van Gogh - priceless.
\ THE 120TH KENTUCKY DERBY\ JOCKEY TALK (BY ORDER OF FINISH)\ 1. CHRIS MCCARRON (GO FOR GIN): "It's an exhilarating feeling getting to the wire first and hearing the people scream. It's difficult to describe. It gives me goose bumps. It's terrific."\ 2. EDDIE DELAHOUSSAYE (STRODES CREEK): "Laffit (Pincay, on Valiant Nature) liked to have gone down on the first turn and I was dead behind him. I had to snatch my horse. I was really getting into gear at the top of the stretch but the other horse had too much."\ 3. JERRY BAILEY (BLUMIN AFFAIR): "He had trouble getting hold of the track at the quarter pole. He was slipping and sliding, but overall we had a good trip."\ 4. GARY STEVENS (BROCCO): "He warmed up fine and was relaxed in the gate. Too relaxed. He was looking up in the grandstand, stargazing, and we missed the break by a length and a half, two lengths. He just walked away from the gate."\ 5. KENT DESMOREAUX (SOUL OF THE MATTER): "There was someone in the way the whole way. I never got clear sailing. I set him down at the three-eighths and then at the quarter pole I had to steady. Brocco crossed my path at the eighth pole, but he was clear."\ 6. PAT DAY (TABASCO CAT): "I never felt like I had much horse. When Smilin Singin Sam came by me at the half-mile pole, my horse offered no resistance. He was just spinning his wheels and going nowhere."\ 7. GARRETT GOMEZ (SOUTHERN RHYTHM): "We got squeezed back leaving the gate and I had to rush him up a little."\ 8. CHRIS ANTLEY (POWIS CASTLE): "Our original plan was to come from off the pace, but the horse showed sharper speed. I don't know why, maybe because he was running so hard after the winner last time out, but he broke a length in front."\ 9. WILLIE MARTINEZ (MAHOGANY HALL): "My horse was giving me everything he had. He's hard to get going, but once I got him going he was going fine. At the head of the stretch, he got stopped and he lost all chance."\ 10. LARRY MELANCON (SMILIN SINGIN SAM): "He didn't get away as well as I expected, about a step slow. So he never had a chance to flash that speed." 11. SHANE SELLERS (MEADOW FLIGHT): "He wasn't getting hold of the track. I just didn't think I had anything."\ 12. MIKE SMITH (HOLY BULL): "Nothing went right. We got a bad start, and then we got wiped out breaking, and then on the first turn we got wiped out again. It's the Derby. You've got to have the best horse that day. It just wasn't meant to be, I guess."\ 13. LAFFIT PINCAY, (VALIANT NATURE): "On the first turn, the inside horse came out and put me over heels. That horse was running straight and all of a sudden he came out. My horse seemed to come out of the race OK.\ 14. JORGE CHAVEZ (ULISES): "He broke real good and was running OK but when I asked him for more at the three-eighths pole I had no horse left."
Keywords:
HORSE RACING
by CNB