Columnist Ralph Siraco: Bettors seek 3-year-old to go on a Ram-page

Ralph Siraco

Monday, Jan. 31, 2000 | 10:42 a.m.

Ralph Siraco's horse racing column appears Monday, and his Southern California selections appear Tuesday through Friday. Write to him c/o Las Vegas Sun, 800 S. Valley View Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89107.

Wanted: Kentucky Derby future book favorite. Urgently needed. Must be 3 years old, have sportsmanlike owners and no commitments outside of Louisville, Ky., on the first Saturday in May. Derby-experienced trainer preferred. Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner need not apply. Now that the St. Louis Rams have pulled out one of the longest-priced Super Bowl victories in history, those who held winning futures tickets at 200-1 may now be looking for another nugget in the Kentucky Derby this year.

And the way this year's sophomore class is shaping up, they'll have plenty of chances to root out a Ram-like price for the Derby.

Three months ago, the Rams looked like the Super Bowl favorites they eventually became, racking up victories week by week. But with just a little more than three months to this year's Kentucky Derby, there isn't an "eventual favorite" to be found. As a matter of fact, the class of sophomores for this year's Derby looks like the 200-1 variety that the Rams did three years ago.

So the want ad is out for the Derby favorite this year.

A trio of stakes races this weekend did nothing to yield a front-runner in this year's Derby picture, and with most of last year's juvenile contenders suffering setbacks and defeats, the applications are still being taken for the Derby favorite position.

First, the Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner, Anees, was installed as the Derby futures favorite after his impressive through-the-bias victory at Gulfstream Park last November. He, of course, would have to run through another bias -- that of having won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. In 15 years, no winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile has returned to win the Kentucky Derby. Anees is beset by nagging minor injuries and has yet to start this year.

Forest Camp, who turned heads at Del Mar last summer, has been put on the shelf by new trainer Eduardo Inda after his recent transfer from the Bob Baffert shed row. It seems Camp is body-sore and will need too much time to recover to make the Derby.

Dixie Union, who swapped victories with Forest Camp on the West Coast, is also gone from the Derby scene. The Left Coast did get a transfusion of contenders from the John Sherriffs barn, with seven different maiden-breakers at the Hollywood Park fall meeting. The top prospects from that stable to make the Derby are David Copperfield and Hook and Ladder.

Saturday at Gulfstream Park, More Than Ready made his sophomore debut in the 7-furlong Hutcheson Stakes. While the one-turn distance is a far cry from the 1 1/4 miles of the Derby, the Todd Pletcher trainee was the last remaining marquee 3-year-old to debut on the East Coast. With Chief Seattle off to Dubai and Greenwood Lake's bomb in the Holy Bull stakes, More Than Ready could have assumed the lead with a victory.

Brilliant in Kentucky and New York early in his 2-year-old campaign, More Than Ready needed a strong showing to climb back to the head of the class. More Than Ready had to settle for a dead-heat win, as he finished on even terms with Chicago invader Summer Note. Although he was victorious, many observers feel that the classic distance of the Derby may be beyond More Than Ready's capabilities.

Also on Saturday, at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans, the Lacomte Stakes featured the best of that region's crop. Mighty had flashed promise in a pair of outings at Churchill Downs (home of the Kentucky Derby) during its fall session. Trainer Frank Brothers, of Pulpit and Hansel fame, expected his runner might need the outing as a tightener. Mighty almost pulled off the victory but was nailed in the shadow of the finish line by a 60-1 long shot named Noble Ruler who obviously loved Saturday's sloppy surface. Mighty should be right on target for his next start.

Baffert, who has been a Derby staple for the past four years, has Captain Steve as his current top gun for the spring classics. The son of 1990 Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Fly So Free had won the Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland last fall before bombing in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, but rebounded with powerful victories in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes and the Hollywood Futurity last December.

He was reunited with jockey Jerry Bailey in Sunday's Santa Catalina stakes at Santa Anita. Bailey rode the Captain to a well-beaten sixth in his debut last summer at Hollywood Park. Bailey only improved that effort by three places, as the favored Captain finished a soundly beaten third to The Deputy and High Yield.

An Irish-bred import, The Deputy won for the first time on dirt after a turf win in his U. S. debut over the Santa Anita lawn on January 2. High Yield showed more intensity with the addition of blinkers for trainer D. Wayne Lukas -- who won last year's Derby with 1999 Horse of the Year Charismatic -- while testing the winner all the way through the 1 1/16-mile affair.

So while the eventual Derby winner may not have even started in competition this year, the sport is still looking for its future book favorite knowing full well that there may be an equine version of the St. Louis Rams looming to capture the run for the roses in May.

* CONTEST CALENDAR: The Barbary Coast race book will be the site offering the Coast Resorts' free $1,000 handicapping contest Wednesday. The final five races on the Santa Anita card are the contest events, and all you have to do is pick one horse per race to win. The highest win mutuel payoff -- based on a mythical $2 win bet per race -- gets the money.

The Texas Station race book will offer a free $1000 handicapping contest on Thursday based on the final three races at Gulfstream Park and the first three races at Santa Anita that day. The contest also credits the highest quinella payoff.

* FINALLY: Tickets for the Laffit Pincay, Jr. benefit dinner at The Orleans hotel-casino on Monday, March 13, are still available for $60 per person. The gala event to celebrate the world's winningest jockey will feature other racing personalities, including jockeys, trainers, owners and famous racing fans. Proceeds go to the McBeth Fund and the Shoemaker Foundation, two charities that help backstretch personnel and paralyzed riders.