River Special Getting Late Start on Road to Churchill Downs

No matter what River Special, a horse playing catch-up, does in today’s San Felipe Stakes or in the Santa Anita Derby on April 3, he is historically unlikely to win the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 1.

Since 1955, the Derby has been won by only four horses whose 3-year-old debuts came after March 13. In those 38 years, only nine Derby winners were horses who ran for the first time as 3-year-olds after March 1. The other 29 Derby winners had begun their 3-year-old seasons at least by February.

The last Derby winner to get as late a start as River Special was Spend A Buck, who underwent knee surgery after his 2-year-old season and returned in 1985 to run his first race as a 3-year-old on March 23. Spend A Buck then ran three times in less than a month, winning the last of those starts, the Garden State Stakes, two weeks before the Derby.

Genuine Risk, who was only the second filly to win the Derby, got started as a 3-year-old in 1980 with a victory at Gulfstream Park on March 19. She won another race against fillies at Aqueduct on April 5, then faced colts for the first time and finished third in the Wood Memorial on April 19, two weeks before the Derby.

Stablemates Riva Ridge and Secretariat were respective winners of the Derby in 1972 and 1973 after late starts as 3-year-olds.

Lucien Laurin, who trained both colts, ran Riva Ridge twice at Hialeah, starting on March 22, and the horse’s final Derby tuneup was a four-length victory at Keeneland in the Blue Grass Stakes, which at the time was run nine days before the Derby.

Secretariat, who became the first horse in 25 years to sweep the Triple Crown, raced exclusively in New York at the start of his 3-year-old season. He was the 2-year-old champion and horse of the year in 1972, winning seven of nine races, one of the losses resulting from a stewards’ disqualification.

Laurin started Secretariat off at Aqueduct with an easy victory in the Bay Shore Stakes on March 17. Three weeks after that, Secretariat beat some of the same horses in the Gotham. Two weeks after that, suffering from a tooth infection, Secretariat was upset at 3-10 odds in the Wood, finishing third behind his stablemate, Angle Light, and Sham.

Angle Light was not a factor in the Derby, running 10th, and Secretariat beat Sham by 2 1/2 lengths, running 1 1/4 miles in a record Derby time of 1:59 2/5.

Spend A Buck, Genuine Risk, Secretariat and Riva Ridge all crammed three starts into their pre-Derby programs. River Special will have the benefit of only two starts, today’s and the Santa Anita Derby.

“He’s not as fit as I want him for this race,” said Bob Hess Jr., who trains River Special. “But fortunately this isn’t the main objective. That’s the Santa Anita Derby, and we hope to have him where we want him by then.”

After River Special won the Hollywood Futurity on Dec. 20, closing out his 2-year-old season with three victories, two seconds and one third in six starts, the plan was for him to begin this year with the San Rafael Stakes on Feb. 27. But he was running a fever the week before the race and Hess was unable to run him.

“If you look at his workouts, it looks as though he’s only missed one through all this,” Hess said. “But from a fitness standpoint, after he had the fever, I think two more workouts would have been what we needed in order to have him sharp for this race.”

River Special’s last three starts as a 2-year-old--a victory in the Norfolk at Santa Anita, a third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Gulfstream Park and a victory in the Hollywood Futurity--all came at 1 1/16 miles, the same distance as the San Felipe.

Personal Hope, who has won three consecutive races, two of them at Santa Anita, has been installed as the 8-5 morning-line favorite. River Special is 2-1, followed by Devoted Brass at 3-1, Corby at 5-1, Denmars Dream at 10-1 and Big Way at 30-1.

John Sadler, who trains Corby, said that he expects Pat Valenzuela to ride his horse today. Valenzuela has been out of action the last two days because of a sore back.

“I haven’t talked to Pat, but I would think he’ll be here,” Sadler said. “He’s riding three other horses for me on the card. But since he’s the contract rider (for Allen Paulson, who owns Corby), I would think he’d make every effort to be here.

“If he’s not, there are other good riders available, but in such an important race you feel most comfortable with somebody who knows the horse real well.”

Valenzuela has ridden Corby in five of his seven starts and for all three of the colt’s victories.

Horse Racing Notes

Claimed out of a race for $16,000 by trainer Roger Stein at Golden Gate Fields two years ago, Southern Truce returned there Saturday to beat Apreciada by a neck in Saturday’s $97,500 Miss America Handicap. Ridden by Corey Nakatani, Southern Truce has won seven of her last eight starts.