Columnist Ralph Siraco: Gulfstream, Aqueduct: Harbingers of spring

Ralph Siraco

Monday, March 12, 2001 | 8:52 a.m.

Ralph Siraco's horse racing column appears Monday, and his Southern California selections runTuesday through Friday on the scoreboard page. Reach him c/o Las Vegas Sun, 2275 Corporate Circle Drive, Ste. 300, Henderson, NV 89014.

Signs of spring are in the air. And at the track, too.

With less than eight weeks before the annual spring ritual of racing known as the Kentucky Derby, activity on racetracks across America picked up over the weekend.

Spring becomes "official" in New York with the return of racing to the main track at Aqueduct Race Course on Wednesday. Moving from the inner winterized track to the normal oval may be premature considering Mother Nature may not be on the same timetable as the popular New York City racing emporium.

The second of three pari-mutuel future book betting pools for the Kentucky Derby was conducted over the weekend and one of two important Derby prep events slipped under the cutoff point with the closing deadline at 1:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

Saturday at Gulfstream Park, a field of Derby hopefuls filled the starting gate for the $1 million Florida Derby. The Grade I event hosted a baker's dozen of sophomores looking to book passage to Louisville and a Kentucky Derby start on the first Saturday in May.

With Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Eclipse Award winner Macho Uno already out of the run for the roses, and highly touted Point Given yet to make his 3-year-old debut, the media has been hard pressed to hype a horse for this year's Derby.

Until the Florida Derby, that is.

The Kentucky Derby now has a "horse to beat," and it comes from a solid trainer who is not the usual "hype-trainer" for America's most famous horse race. While D. Wayne Lukas and Nick Zito had starters in the Florida Derby -- as trainer Bob Baffert still waits for other options with his Derby hopefuls -- it was trainer John Ward who had the goods at Gulfstream in the 50th renewal of South Florida's most influential race on the road to the Derby.

Ward, who has a trio of Derby hopefuls this year, saddled the lightly raced but well-defined Monarchos for the 1 1/8-mile steppingstone. An impressive winner of both of his 2001 outings -- winning those races by a combined 10 lengths -- the son of 1995 Juvenile Champion Maria's Mon needed to step up with a Graded stakes victory to continue on the Derby trail.

What he did on Saturday was step up, over and through every horse in his path on the way to an electrifying victory and right into the Kentucky Derby spotlight.

Allowed to lag behind the early pace -- some 20 or so lengths -- by jockey Jorge Chavez, Monarchos started his powerful run as the field made its way into the far turn for home. With huge ground-gaining strides, Monarchos passed his rivals as though they had turned to stone. Sweeping six wide on the final bend, he hit the front by the time the field straightened for the run through the homestretch. Chavez judiciously drew his whip and tapped his mighty partner just twice through the stretch with more of a reminder swipe than an act of panic as they flashed under the wire posing for the victory picture.

Out Of The Box again finished in the Avis spot (he was also runner-up in the Fountain Of Youth) while jockey Jerry Bailey could only shake his head in admiration of the Monarchos performance from an up close and personal perspective.

Ward plans to start Monarchos in the Wood Memorial on April 14 at Aqueduct and then go on to Kentucky. As far as the other Florida Derby participants, they would be well served to stay away from the Big Apple in April.

Sunday at The Fair Grounds in New Orleans, the Louisiana Derby hosted nine sophomores trying to duplicate a Monarchos-like performance in Bayou country.

It didn't happen.

The Grade II event brought together a local contender, a California shipper and a Florida Derby defector looking for a little Kentucky Derby respect of their own. What they got was a little Fair Grounds traffic and a new shooter from another talented up-and-coming conditioner.

Dollar Bill, who had annexed the Risen Star Stakes -- a Louisiana Derby prep -- had a trip from hell in the 1 1/16-mile Derby. In an effort to save ground, jockey Pat Day tried skimming the rail as the field converged on the turn for home, and almost found himself eating some ground. Dollar Bill clipped heels and nearly went down, but still managed to finish fourth.

Jockey Chris McCarron vacated Dollar Bill to stay with Millennium Wind and while they finished second, the horse was also battling annoying physical problems that may have led to a lackluster performance.

Trainer John Ward was looking for a weekend sweep when he sent Hero's Tribute to Louisiana rather than take on stablemate Monarchos in Florida. The son of 1993 Kentucky Derby winner Sea Hero encountered a wall of equine traffic that had him alter course three times before he found a diamond lane in the middle of the homestretch. Jorge Chavez managed a third-place finish that at least salvaged the plane ticket.

At the end of the $750,000 Louisiana Derby pot was an unlikely winner named Fifty Stars, who returned a little less than 50 dollars ($43 to be exact) for the win mutuel. Under a crafty ride by jockey Donnie Meche, the Steve Asmussen-trained son of Quiet American rallied through traffic and along the rail to prevail by a length. He now enters the Kentucky Derby picture while the troubled trio of runner-ups will regroup and reevaluate their Louisville positions.

When the dust settled on the pari-mutuel future book wagering on Sunday, bargain hunters bet Florida Derby winner Monarchos down to the 5-1 favorite, while runner up Out Of The Box closed at 25-1. Those who purchased futures tickets on Millennium Wind (12-1), Dollar Bill (12-1) and Hero's Tribute (11-1) may have wished they could have made those wagers after the Louisiana Derby. The pool closed before the race was run on Sunday.

Those who decided to take the field bet -- that includes all other 3-year-olds not offered on the 23 individual wagering options -- locked in those odds at 6-1, which includes the Louisiana Derby winner Fifty Stars.

Although many Las Vegas race books offer fixed odds Kentucky Derby future book plays, the third and final pari-mutuel pool will be offered over the weekend of April 5-8.

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