LOUISVILLE – If it’s any consolation to the horseplayers bloodied by Giacomo’s calamitous Kentucky Derby victory, two of the greatest trainers of the modern era made him an automatic betting throwout.
“Let me put it to you this way,” said D. Wayne Lukas, the money maestro of the game. “I train in California where Giacomo trained, and I used eight horses in my Derby superfectas and I never even gave Giacomo a thought.”
Bobby Frankel, who is about as shrewd as they come in the horse business, said, “I would never have bet Giacomo – or any other of those California horses. I study the sheets [performance charts which evaluate every horse’s running history] and they didn’t even have Giacomo in the ballpark.”
Twenty-four hours after the Derby, this riotous old horse town is still in shock. Giacomo at 50-1, Closing Argument second at 70-1, trifectas in the tens of thousands, $1 superfectas in the hundreds of thousands.
What a bloodbath! A local paper summed it up in a two-word headline: Holy Giacomoly!
Even winning jockey Mike Smith’s best friend, Bryan Cox, the former NFL linebacker, couldn’t believe it when Smith touted him on the horse. He said, “Mike kept telling me to get the money down, but I kept telling him I was looking at the form and I didn’t like what I saw. In the end, I put $50 across the board on him.”
The plodder killed everybody else. The form analysts still don’t believe it. The Beyer numbers didn’t even come close. The new “fresh horse” training vogue got clobbered. The bloodstock experts are walking in circles. And the horseplayers feel like little lambs led to the slaughter.
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The story of the 131st Derby was the assassin’s role played by Spanish Chestnut, entered specifically to strip Bellamy Road, Afleet Alex and High Fly‘s winning chances. The flyer ran an unbelievable six furlongs in 1:09.59, the second fastest in the 131-year history of the race.
Yet, Nick Zito was magnanimous in defeat yesterday. He said, “Everyone knew what was going to happen. We knew no one was going to get a break here, but it’s a horse race. Bellamy Road and High Fly were perfectly positioned to win. We had every opportunity. We have no excuses.”
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The Derby was a rousing cap to Mike Smith‘s roller-coaster career. He has ridden more than 4,000 winners, he’s in the Hall of Fame and he has sat on some terrific horses, including Holy Bull, Azeri, Skip Away, Lure, Sky Beauty and Prairie Bayou.
But ever since he suffered a horrendous fall at Saratoga back in 1998, suffering a broken back among other fractures, he has struggled. His business fell away in New York, prompting him to move to California. Now he has moved back to Kentucky hoping to jump-start his career.
The Derby had been a jinx for him, with three seconds, a third, and three losing favorites. But on Saturday, his persistence all came together for him and yesterday he was still so excited he was like a kid in a candy store.
“Giacomo can not only win the Preakness, he can win the whole Triple Crown,” he yipped.
Smith also disclosed the winning owners, Jerry and Ann Moss, bet $200 on Giacomo’s nose for him, returning $10,200 – a nice bonus to add to his $163,000 winning riding fee.
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Jerry Moss is a big wheel in the Hollywood music and recording industry, producing one hit after another from Herb Alpert to Sting. After the Giacomo rout, some horseplayers figure he also produced Johnny Ray‘s old hit, “Cry Me A River.”
Frankel said he knew the Mosses. “They fired me 15 years ago – but a week later I got the Juddmonte [rich Arab clients] horses. But they are very good people.”
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Next to the superfecta hitters, no one was more excited over the Derby than Kiaran McLaughlin, the 44-year-old New York-based trainer, who saddled Closing Argument, the longest shot on the board.
McLaughlin had all his family at the track and at the eighth pole Closing Argument seized the lead and looked a sure winner. The McLaughlin Clan was delirious. Then came Giacomo.
“It was as if the rug was pulled from under us,” he said. “This was our first Derby horse and he was 70-1 and we were so happy, but later on it will sink in and I’ll think, ‘Damn, we almost won the Derby.’ “
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Recalling the spectacle of all the big horses getting whipped in the Derby, Frankel said, “Every year, the Derby destroys $100 million worth of horses – and this year is no exception.”
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Tim Ritchey, trainer of the gallant Afleet Alex, can’t wait to get to Pimlico for the Preakness in two weeks. “That will be in our backyard,” he said. “We’re going to have a hell of shot.”
Ritchey was ecstatic over jockey Jeremy Rose‘s Derby ride. “I’m so proud of him,” he said. “He did everything right. There was a lot of bumping, but Jeremy tracked Jerry Bailey [on High Fly] all the way and rode a great race.”
