Busy weekend yields crowded Derby picture

Richard Rosenblatt

Monday, March 15, 1999 | 11:27 a.m.

HALLANDALE, Fla. -- The road to the Kentucky Derby got a little more crowded, and there might even be a few fillies around when it comes time to run for the roses.

Bob Baffert's fearless fillies -- SilverBulletDay and Excellent Meeting -- won their stakes races over the weekend, and the trainer of the past two Kentucky Derby winners is still considering both for the May 1 derby.

SilverBulletDay easily won the Fair Grounds Oaks in New Orleans on Saturday, while Excellent Meeting won Sunday's Santa Anita Oaks by a neck.

Baffert said SilverBulletDay would continue to race against fillies until it's derby decision time. Excellent Meeting will next face the boys in the Santa Anita Derby on April 3.

Only three fillies have won the derby -- Regret, Genuine Risk and Winning Colors.

Vicar proved to be the best among 3-year-olds in the East with a nose victory over WonderTross in Saturday's Florida Derby, while another Baffert duo -- Prime Timber and Exploit -- were one-two in Saturday's San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita.

In the biggest surprise of the weekend, long shot Kimberlite Pipe won Sunday's Louisiana Derby, beating out Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Answer Lively and Ecton Park.

Yet another of Baffert's brigade, General Challenge, finished fifth after breaking poorly from the gate. With the win, Kimberlite Pipe moved into derby contention.

While Vicar's trainer, Carl Nafzger, watched the competition, he said it's tough to figure who should be the leading derby contender.

"You can't really tell anything until you run against them," Nafzger said. "You can watch them and take note of their style, but until they all meet, you just don't know."

Nine years ago, Nafzger won the derby with Unbridled on his first attempt. On Sunday, he was feeling pretty good about his chances of winning another one with his second Derby contender.

"If you're not having fun now, you're in trouble," Nafzger said. "This has been a lot of fun, and we're going to have a lot more fun now."

Vicar will be shipped to Churchill Downs on March 19, where the 3-year-old son of Wild Again will prep for the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on April 10.

"There can only be one winner; we have a horse in there, and we know it'll be competitive," Nafzger said as he stood in front of his barn and watched a playful Vicar munch on a cinnamon raisin bagel. "He did what we wanted him to. He dictated and he relaxed."

Nafzger allowed Vicar to trot a mile around the track Sunday morning, just to "clean out his system" after winning a four-horse stretch battle that also included third-place finisher Cat Thief and fourth-place finisher Certain.

"Now he'll just walk for a few days," the trainer said.

Nafzger plans to keep on smiling until the next test for his gutsy colt. In his previous race, Vicar edged Cat Thief by a neck in the Fountain of Youth on Feb. 20.

Wondertross, who finished second despite a tough trip over the 1_threeeighths miles, is being pointed toward a rematch with Vicar in the Blue Grass, trainer Nick Zito said. Wondertross is co-owned by New York Yankees boss George Steinbrenner and William Condren.

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas said Cat Thief would also go in the Blue Grass.

Grits'n Hard Toast, who finished ninth in the field of 10 colts and geldings, bled and developed a lung infection, trainer T.V. Smith said Sunday. He will be sidelined indefinitely.

Adonis, who finished sixth, is also trained by Zito, who said the Ernie Paragallo-owned colt would run next in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 10.