Miscellanious Articles

Campaign Trail Starts Saturday
Plotted: Point Given's road to Derby
Stevens likes Point Given's work
Prepping for the Derby
Opposing Trainers Taken By Point Given
Trainers Not So Eager to Face Point Given
Point Given has Look of Triple Crown Winner
Point Given's Performance Raises the Bar
Dual Personality
Point Given's workout a virtuoso
Point Given Arrives at Churchill Downs; Next Work Tuesday
Baffert has a Double-Barreled Derby Threat
Derby Favorite Gets Royal Treatment
Point Given, Act II: New goal is Horse of the Year

Campaign Trail Starts Saturday

By Jay Privman
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - A little more than three months after the Presidential election was decided in this state, the primary season begins for the Kentucky Derby class of 2001 with the first Grade 1 event of the year for 3-year-olds, Saturday's Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

And for at least the fifth straight year, it is trainer Bob Baffert around whom the campaign will focus. Baffert won the Kentucky Derby in 1997 and 1998, and though he fared poorly the past two years, he has become a perennial player in the run to the spring classics, this year being no exception.

Baffert has the early Derby favorite in Point Given, who is ranked first in the inaugural top 25 of Daily Racing Form's Derby Watch for 2001. But while Point Given remains at Santa Anita, preparing for next month's San Felipe Stakes, Baffert has brought his mystery horse, Global Gait, to Florida for the wide-open Fountain of Youth.
Global Gait was purchased privately by Bob and Beverly Lewis on advice of Baffert, for a price upward of $600,000. That's big money for a gelding whose only previous races were in Delaware and Maryland.

"I know it's a lot of moneyfor a gelding, but it's only a lot of money if a horse can't run," Baffert said. "He can run. I told Bob [Lewis] I felt strongly about the horse, and that barring any bad luck we could get out on him." Global Gait, along with the D. Wayne Lukas-trained High Cascade, were expected to arrive here late Wednesday afternoon following a flight from California.

This weekend brings a crucial early primary for the 3-year-olds at Gulfstream Park. Global Gait is one of at least six horses residing in the top 25 of Derby Watch who are expected to run in the Fountain of Youth. The others are City Zip, Holiday Thunder, Meetyouathebrig, Outofthebox, and Talk is Money. The highly regarded A P Valentine and Hero's Tribute are being pointed for an allowance race this weekend. And on Friday, Mongoose makes his first start of the year in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race.

At Fair Grounds on Sunday, Dollar Bill is expected to make his 2001 debut in the Risen Star Stakes. His rivals might include Strike It Smart, a powerful maiden winner Jan. 29 at Fair Grounds.

"He's a big kid. It's like he's in the eighth grade," said Al Stall Jr., the trainer of Strike It Smart.

Point Given has been marking time at Santa Anita, waiting for the rain to stop. "When it rains like this, I won't take him to the track," Baffert said.

Millennium Wind, who was second to Point Given in the Hollywood Futurity, also has been hampered by the rain. His trainer, David Hofmans, originally had planned on facing Point Given in the San Felipe, and while that still could happen, Hofmans said he is keeping his options with Millenium Wind wide open. "He could run in the El Camino Real Derby, the Louisiana Derby, the Spiral Stakes, even the Gotham," Hofmans said. "It depends on the weather, and the competition."

Startac, a powerful winner in his dirt debut in the Turf Paradise Derby, will try to duck Millennium Wind and Point Given. "I want to find the easiest spots possible," said Simon Bray, Startac's trainer.

Burning Roma is at Tampa Bay Downs, where he is being trained by his owner, Hal Queen, a former trainer. Queen said Burning Roma will return to trainer Tony Dutrow after a pair of starts in Florida this winter. Queen does not have a trainer's license, and since Dutrow is not training the horse at present, Queen said he has yet to decide which trainer will saddle Burning Roma when he runs in Florida. That trainer, whoever it is, will be listed as Burning Roma's trainer in the program.

Because of his colt's physique and pedigree, which lean toward sprinting, Queen said "our intent is not to run in the Derby at all."

"I nominated him to the Triple Crown because we might want to run in the Preakness," Queen said. "He's a very nice horse. I want to have a horse at year's end. Winning a 1 1/4-mile race like the Breeders' Cup Classic would be a lot more important to me than the Derby."

Dutrow is anxious to get Burning Roma back, since he already lost another top prospect when Global Gait was sold to Baffert and the Lewises. "It's been a little heartbreaking up here," Dutrow said from Maryland.

As with Burning Roma, the connections of D'wildcat are realistic about their colt's Derby chances. Rather than force him around two turns, they will play to his strength and run D'wildcat in the seven-furlong Swale Stakes next month at Gulfstream.

Express Tour and Street Cry, owned by Godolphin Racing, are in Dubai, where they are scheduled to have two prep races in March before heading back to the United States.

Early Flyer and Palmeiro are awaiting next month's San Rafael Stakes at Santa Anita, which also could mark the stakes debut of highly regarded speedster Crafty C.T. Denied also might run there, but he must first overcome a throat infection, according to Baffert, his trainer.

Gold Trader, who won last week's Golden State Mile, could wind up at next month's Louisiana Derby, and might meet Invisible Ink, who has won his last three starts for trainer Todd Pletcher. "The competition could sway our decision," said Pletcher, who said Gulfstream's Florida Derby is the other primary option for Invisible Ink.

Ommadon will run in next month's Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct if trainer Tommy Walsh cannot find a prior allowance race.

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Plotted: Point Given's road to Derby

By Steve Andersen
ARCADIA, Calif. - Point Given, one of the top contenders for the Kentucky Derby, will have two preps at Santa Anita before the Triple Crown.

Richard Mulhall, the racing manager for Ahmed Salman's The Thoroughbred Corp., which owns Point Given, said on Wednesday at Santa Anita that the colt would be pointed for the $250,000 San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on March 17. He would then be pointed to the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby at 1 1/8 miles on April 7.

Mulhall and trainer Bob Baffert considered shipping Point Given to Gulfstream Park or Fair Grounds for a stakes in February, but have decided on a hometown schedule.

"We played around with the Fountain of Youth Stakes and the Risen Star Stakes, but why ship if you don't have to?" Mulhall said.

Point Given finished second to Macho Uno in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last fall. He ended the year with a victory over Millennium Wind in the Hollywood Futurity. Millennium Wind, who returned to win the Santa Catalina Stakes on Jan. 21, is being pointed for the San Felipe Stakes.

On Wednesday, Point Given worked five furlongs in 59 seconds, the fastest of 33 works recorded at the distance. Ridden by Gary Stevens, Point Given started three lengths behind a stablemate, caught the pacesetter inside the eighth pole and finished a half-length in front. Baffert timed Point Given galloping out six furlongs in 1:12.

"We just let him run the last part - that's the way we've been doing it," Baffert said. "When he makes the lead, he doesn't want to go. We've been trying to keep him happy."

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Stevens likes Point Given's work

Point Given, the leading California-based Kentucky Derby prospect, worked five furlongs Tuesday in 1:01 under regular rider Gary Stevens. "He went really good, we just let him work the last eighth," Stevens said.

Point Given worked in company with Chandlerthehandler, a well-regarded maiden colt who Baffert said may soon be gelded unless he improves off his first two starts - a fifth and a fourth, each time as the favorite.

As for Point Given, Baffert said preliminary plans call for just two starts before the Kentucky Derby - the San Felipe Stakes on March 17 and the Santa Anita Derby on April 7. "We're just going slowly with him; there's no big rush," Baffert said. The San Felipe could be another showdown between Point Given and Millennium Wind. Plans are undetermined for recently acquired Global Gait, who Baffert said could ship out of town.

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Prepping for the Derby

by Craig Harzman
They had complained long enough. Now, after battling the routine grind and stress of more than two decades in the saddle, Gary Stevens' knees were telling him they could take no more. This time, with the pain surpassed only by the throbbing ache in his soul, Stevens listened.

And so it was, that somber afternoon a Christmas ago, that Stevens, with the years of suffering now too much to bear, decided to walk away, abruptly ending one of the most prolific riding careers the sport has ever seen. But as months slowly passed, in his heart remained a constant pang, a yearning still for the competition, for the hope, for the glory.

It was a hunger for that ineffable rush he experienced on fillies like Delicate Vine, Winning Colors, and Serena's Song that kept Stevens focused. It was the hunger for that sense of invincibility he had with Silver Charm, and the confidence he felt on Thunder Gulch, that kept him believing. In the end, it was that hunger that brought him back.

"Certain horses send chills down the back of your neck when you feel certain things that they are capable of doing," Stevens said. "It takes really something special to give me that feeling."

And it was exactly what he felt the moment he ascended the stately Point Given for the very first time. Stevens instantly admired the colt's competitive nature. He practically purred after feeling the nimble yet mighty strides beneath him. When the son of Thunder Gulch closed from another time zone and nearly mowed down Macho Uno in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I), Stevens caught a glimpse of the future.

"I haven't sat on too many horses on the dirt that have the type of acceleration that he does when you call on him," the Hall of Famer confessed. "The ground he made up on Breeders' Cup Day just in the last 10 strides was devastating. With what he did in the Breeders' Cup and what he overcame on a speed-favoring kind of racetrack, I knew I was sitting on something very special."

The future is now. Though the $345,690 Hollywood Futurity (gr. I), a lucrative and unfailing proving ground for Triple Crown aspirants, could muster a mere quartet on Dec. 16, Point Given's one-length decision over newcomer Millennium Wind left many in the house with the notion both colts will be producing some major fireworks in the months ahead.

By virtue of breeding, Point Given--a son of a Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winner--and Millennium Wind, a half-brother to one, both stand to adore the incremental road to the 10 furlongs of the Derby and beyond. They've got looks that could stop a clock, each manifesting a deep well of talent the instant they hit the track (just ask anyone who watched Point Given gallop out after his 5 1/2-furlong debut at Del Mar or caught Millennium Wind's maiden romp in mid-November).

But that was all Millennium Wind had under his belt by the time he crossed paths with Point Given, who by contrast had spanned the country during the fall prior to his razor-thin loss in Louisville.

"The Breeders' Cup race took nothing out of him," trainer Bob Baffert said of The Thoroughbred Corp. homebred. "He never ran but the last quarter of a mile. He galloped behind a wall of horses the whole way and never got to run."

There would be no traffic troubles in the 1 1/16-mile Futurity, and as expected, Point Given fell out of contention early. Millennium Wind, a son of Cryptoclearance and a half to Charismatic, flashed his inherent speed and gunned to the front, where he was met by recent maiden winner Golden Ticket.

It didn't take long, however, for Point Given to jump into the mix. He rambled to the leaders on the backstretch, a move that told Stevens the race was in the bag. With Millennium Wind showing the way, they raced as a knot to the quarter pole, where Golden Ticket finally threw in the towel.

Stevens, aware of Point Given's proclivity for goofiness on the lead, tried to keep the big guy on a leash as long as possible. Millennium Wind helped the cause, putting up a good fight at the rail. The momentum, though, belonged to Point Given, who ignored the game plan altogether and took command on his own. When Stevens finally let go, he bounded away like a gazelle, crossing the line in a nonchalant 1:42.21.

"The last sixteenth of a mile he was in a high canter, and he wasn't extending himself any whatsoever," Stevens said later. "He was running, it felt like to me, 65 or 70% of what he's capable of the last sixteenth today. He wasn't running at all. He was gearing himself down and just absolutely playing with 'em."

Not to be cast aside was the performance of Millennium Wind, which threw him right in the heart of the Triple Crown action and left trainer Dave Hofmans with nothing but smiles.

"He had to run the whole race," he said. "When he matures and grows up, I think you're just going to start hearing about him."

Working in his favor is his trainer, an already proven commodity on the classic trail (see Touch Gold). Baffert, oppositely, was simply relieved, yet voluble all the same in his praise of his third Futurity winner of the last four years.

"He's as good as Real Quiet, Silver Charm, and Captain Steve at this point," said Baffert, unsure of where exactly Point Given will surface next. "When you have a horse like that, it's a matter of keeping him sound, doing the right thing for him."

The same can be said for Stevens, who views his return to the saddle as nothing short of a miracle. Kneewise, he's perfect, feeling better than he has in recent years. Consequently, he can concentrate on greater matters--like becoming the first rider in history to guide a colt, and later the prodigal son, to victory in the Kentucky Derby. Stevens feels like he's got the horse to pull it off.

"He reminds me a lot of his daddy, but he's further along now than Thunder Gulch was," Stevens said, recalling the '95 Derby champ's outlaw reputation. "Thunder Gulch didn't want to learn. He was like, 'No, we're gonna do it my way or no way at all.' This colt doesn't have any of those tendencies. He's like a Shaquille O'Neal that is just an athlete and he's bigger than the rest of 'em. And he's only gonna get better."
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Trainers Not So Eager to Face Point Given

By Brad Free
ARCADIA, Calif. - Point Given's performance in Saturday's San Felipe Stakes is causing some horsemen to rethink their plans for the Santa Anita Derby, including John Sadler, trainer of Palmeiro.

Palmerio finished second to Millennium Wind in the Santa Catalina and second to Crafty C.T. in the San Rafael. Sadler originally planned to run Palmeiro in the Santa Anita Derby. Now he is considering other options.

"Point Given is the real deal," Sadler said. "I still have other options. I could still go out of town, [although] I think staying home is best if you want to have a horse all year. To travel a lot seems to take a lot out of them."

Still, Sadler recognizes that the Santa Anita Derby, with Point Given and Crafty C.T. expected to run, may be the toughest 3-year-old race of spring.

"If Millennium Wind goes, all of a sudden I'm down to fourth choice," Sadler said. "It's too early right now to say where we're going."

Palmeiro worked five furlongs Tuesday in 1:00.60.

Millennium Wind, runner-up in the Louisiana Derby, will breeze five or six furlongs Thursday at Hollywood Park before trainer David Hofmans decides on a next start.

"We'll see how he came out of the Louisiana Derby, and see the condition of Point Given before we decide," he said. "It'll be the Santa Anita Derby, Blue Grass, or Arkansas Derby."

Plans also are undetermined for I Love Silver, runner-up to Point Given in the San Felipe. I Love Silver's owner wants to try Point Given again in the Santa Anita Derby, while trainer Dean Greenman's first choice is the Arkansas Derby. "I don't want to run against that horse [Point Given]," Greenman said. "He's too good."

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Opposing trainers are taken with Point Given

By Jennie Rees
Macho Uno finished a nose in front of Point Given to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs in November. But trainers of 3-year-olds say the horse to beat 15 weeks before the 127th Kentucky Derby clearly is Point Given.

"If I was betting, that's who I'd bet on," said trainer Dallas Stewart, who has his own Derby hopeful in Dollar Bill.

"He can really run," said David Hofmans, trainer of Hollywood Futurity runner-up Millennium Wind. "I think he's still a little green and young himself. . . . I'm not too sure about Macho Uno, how far he'll go."

A big, robust colt, Point Given has a closing style that suggests the Derby's 11/4-mile distance will be no obstacle. Indeed, his sire, Thunder Gulch, won the 1995 Derby and Belmont.

Point Given lost the Juvenile by mere inches after flying from far back and going 10-wide, then won the Grade I Hollywood Futurity. He has had no problems traveling or handling different racing surfaces, having won the Kentucky Cup Juvenile at Turfway and having finished second in the Champagne at Belmont.

He also is trained by a guy who has shown he knows how to win the Derby: Bob Baffert.

He is among those who believe he had the best 2-year-old.

"No doubt about it," Baffert said. "He's a big, long-striding horse. The mile-and-a-quarter definitely is not a problem for him. He's run well over that surface already. He has the right temperament, doesn't get hot and excited, though he's playful. But he handled the (Churchill) crowd, so we know that part's OK. And we know he can really, really run."

Macho Uno, who is expected to be crowned 2-year-old champion Jan. 30 in New Orleans, has a lot going for him as well. Although his sire, Holy Bull, flopped as the 1994 Derby favorite, his mother produced 1998 Breeders' Cup Classic winner Awesome Again. Trainer Joe Orseno never has had a Derby starter, but he'd never had a Preakness starter before Red Bullet won that classic last year.

"Nobody has seen the best of Macho Uno," Orseno said. "He was slightly green going into the Breeders' Cup, which was his fourth race. I didn't train him to peak and didn't really drill him like an older horse, because we were expecting things down the road."

No Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner has captured the Derby since the Cup's 1984 inception, and no 2-year-old champion has won the roses since Spectacular Bid in 1979.

"If any horse can overcome the so-called jinx, it would be a horse like this," Orseno said.

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Point Given has Look of Triple Crown Winner

ARCADIA, Calif. -- Point Given has made his point. At least, he has in the mind of a trainer whose colt chased the strapping chestnut home in the Santa Anita Derby.

"Regarding the winner, bet your Triple Crown money," Harold Zucker said after his Crafty C.T. was beaten by 5� lengths by Point Given on Saturday. "If this horse doesn't win the Triple Crown, there's something wrong."

His second victory in two starts as a 3-year-old solidified Point Given's role as early favorite for the Kentucky Derby on May 5 at Churchill Downs. He is scheduled to be flown to Louisville on April 18.

"I knew he was a (Kentucky) Derby horse last year," said Bob Baffert, Point Given's trainer, who has won four Santa Anita Derbies and who won the Kentucky Derby with Silver Charm (1997) and Real Quiet (1998).

After Point Given finished second by a nose to Macho Uno in the Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 4 at Churchill Downs, Baffert decided to start him in the Hollywood Futurity on Dec. 16, then race him only twice more before the Kentucky Derby. He won the Hollywood Futurity, then won his 3-year-old debut with by 2� lengths in the San Felipe on March 17.

Point Given has five victories and three seconds in eight starts and earnings of $1,218,500.

In his first start on an off track -- it was listed as muddy -- Point Given raced the 1 1/8 miles in 1:47 3/5, and Gary Stevens then galloped him out another one-eighth mile. The Kentucky Derby is 1 1/4 miles.

"He's just a big kid," Baffert said of the son of 1995 Kentucky Derby winner Thunder Gulch, who stands 17 hands and weighs 1,260 pounds. "He's growing into a man. He's putting it all together. He has all the ingredients to be a great horse."

Crafty C.T. is not going to the Kentucky Derby, but it was not known what the plans were for the other four colts who raced Saturday. Zucker feels Point Given is the only Santa Anita Derby starter who should go to Kentucky.

Completing the order of finish were I Love Silver, Palmeiro, Cherokee Kim and Scorpion. Early Flyer and Startac were scratched.

Point Given, owned by the Thoroughbred Corp. of Prince Ahmed Salman of Saudi Arabia, paid a winning mutual of $3.40 in giving Stevens in his eighth victory, tying him with Bill Shoemaker for the Santa Anita Derby record. Baffert matched the training record of D. Wayne Lukas, who saddled Scorpion.

The last three important Kentucky Derby stepping stones will be raced next Saturday -- the Blue Grass at Keeneland, the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct and the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park.

Three other 1 1/8-mile Kentucky Derby preps were contested Saturday.

Percy Hope took the lead with about an eighth-mile left and won the Lone Star Derby by 2 lengths over Louisiana Derby winner Fifty Stars at Lone Star Park. Gift of the Eagle finished third.

"This would be my first opportunity to ride in the Kentucky Derby," said winning jockey Jon Court, hoping to get the chance.

"He's off to Churchill Downs on Monday and hopefully everything will go well in preparation for the Derby," said Steve Asmussen, trainer of Fifty Stars.

In the Flamingo at Hialeah, Thunder Blitz romped by 6� lengths over Tour of the Cat. Talk Is Money finished third, and favored Outofthebox was fifth.

"The way he finished up and as strong as he galloped out, I think he will go farther," said Edgar Prado, Thunder Blitz's jockey.

Distilled, ridden by Mike Smith, led all the way in winning the Illinois Derby by 1� lengths over Saint Damien, with Dream Run third, at Sportsman's Park.

"We want to wait for three days before we figure out what we're going to do next," said Cot Campbell, president of Dogwood Stable, Distilled's owner. "Certainly we will have Louisville on our minds, but we first want to evaluate the caliber of opposition we faced today and see what happens in other parts of the country."

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Point Given's Performance Raises the Bar

By Jay Privman LEXINGTON, Ky. - The joking, convivial mien with which Bob Baffert goes through life has hidden the roiling in his stomach this spring.

Baffert has long thought Point Given was good enough to win the 127th Kentucky Derby. His concern was making sure he did everything right to get the colt there.

Following Point Given's dazzling 5 1/2-length victory in Saturday's Santa Anita Derby, Baffert's poker face softened, and he finally smiled. Baffert has a strong hand, he has raised the stakes, and this weekend, those who want to challenge Point Given at Churchill Downs on May 5 will either have to see Baffert, or fold their cards.

There are four graded stakes for 3-year-olds on Saturday, all at 1 1/8 miles, most notably the $750,000 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes here at Keeneland, and the $750,000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. The Wood Memorial features Monarchos, whose powerful victory in last month's Florida Derby ranks him as the best 3-year-old east of Arcadia, Calif. But Baffert will try to knock Monarchos from that perch with the brilliant but lightly raced Congaree, who will make his stakes debut in the Wood.

The Wood lost one of its main contenders Monday when Ommadon was withdrawn because of a bruised right front foot.

The Blue Grass has the deepest field, with A P Valentine, Dollar Bill, Hero's Tribute, Invisible Ink, Millennium Wind, and Songandaprayer among those expected to run. A P Valentine worked five furlongs at Keeneland on Monday morning in 1:00, breezing, while in company with Inca Slew. His time was the best of 16 at the distance.

"It turned out well. I'm very, very happy," said Nick Zito, the trainer of A P Valentine, while watching his horses train Monday morning. "Knock wood, the horse is doing fabulous. This horse has a big shot Saturday. I don't know if any horse can duplicate Point Given's race, but he'll run well. I hope he does well enough so that when we go to Louisville it's not a one-horse show."

The other races of note this weekend are the $500,000 Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park, and the $200,000 California Derby at Bay Meadows.

The Arkansas Derby is the spot chosen Monday by trainer Todd Pletcher for Balto Star, who was a runaway winner of the Spiral Stakes at Turfway last month. Pletcher also had been considering the Wood, the Blue Grass, or even Keeneland's $325,000 Coolmore Lexington Stakes on April 21.

"We decided that three weeks was better than two in terms of getting ready for the Derby, so that eliminated the Lexington," Pletcher said at his Keeneland stable. "When we broke down the other three races, it seemed like the Arkansas Derby was the one in which he'd have the best chance to be the favorite, and if your horse can be the favorite, you're probably doing the right thing."

Balto Star left Keeneland Monday morning, accompanied by Pletcher's assistant, George Weaver.

The California Derby is expected to include Early Flyer and Startac, both of whom were scratched from the Santa Anita Derby. Early Flyer will be ridden by northern California riding star Russell Baze, according to Dan Landers, the assistant to trainer Ron McAnally.

Startac was scratched from the Santa Anita Derby because of the off track. "I couldn't run him on that track. The race was hard enough if the conditions were perfect," said Simon Bray, Startac's trainer. Startac returned to Hollywood Park and worked six furlongs Sunday morning in 1:12.20.

Bray was fearful of Point Given before the race, and Point Given probably scared away from the Derby everyone he faced Saturday. The wiry Crafty C.T., the second-place finisher, will get a much-needed break. Third-place finisher I Love Silver will likely run in next month's Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park, according to trainer Dean Greenman. Palmeiro, who ran fourth, has not yet been eliminated from Derby consideration, but his connections are realistic.

"It was disappointing. He came out of the race great," said Larry Benavidez, the assistant to trainer John Sadler. "But Point Given was amazing, unreal."

Point Given toyed with his five rivals. With jockey Gary Stevens riding confidently, Point Given effortlessly stalked Crafty C.T., then made the lead without being asked. Midway on the final turn Baffert was feeling great.

"I wondered what Gary was going to do," he said. "He hadn't brought a book."

Point Given got a Beyer Speed Figure of 110, the best of his career, and closed as the 2-1 favorite in Pool 3 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager. He came out of the race in excellent shape, Baffert's assistant, Jim Barnes, said Monday from Santa Anita. Baffert said Point Given would work once early next week at Santa Anita before flying on April 18 to Kentucky.

In other Kentucky Derby developments:

* Express Tour and Street Cry, the one-two finishers in last month's United Arab Emirates Derby, were in quarantine adjacent to Keeneland after arriving Sunday from Dubai. They were scheduled to go to Churchill Downs on Tuesday afternoon, according to Eric Coatrieux, the Godolphin Racing assistant who annually accompanies the 3-year-olds sent from Dubai. Coatrieux said a third 3-year-old, Dubai World, also was part of the traveling contingent. "It was an easy flight, nice and smooth, not like last year," Coatrieux said. Last year, the flight was delayed for hours during a stopover in Shannon, Ireland, because of mechanical problems.

* Thunder Blitz is headed to the Derby following his upset victory in Saturday's Flamingo Stakes at Hialeah. He got a Beyer Speed Figure of 98.

* Outofthebox severely tore the wall of his right front foot in the Flamingo and is off the Derby trail. Another Flamingo also-ran, turf specialist Proud Man, also will skip the Derby. "We'll stick to any derby that is on the grass," Proud Man's trainer, Harry Benson, said from Florida.

* Distilled is a possibility for the Derby following his front-running victory in Saturday's Illinois Derby at Sportsman's Park. He got a Beyer Speed Figure of 93. Pletcher, his trainer, said Distilled could come back in the Lexington before the Derby, head straight to the Derby, or run in the Lexington and then the May 19 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico. "We'll decide in a few more days," Pletcher said.

* Illinois Derby runner-up Saint Damien is "possible but less than 50-50" to run in the Derby, according to trainer Ken McPeek. Third-place finisher Dream Run is out of the Derby.

* Percy Hope got a Beyer Speed Figure of 90 for his victory in Saturday's Lone Star Derby. His Derby status is uncertain. His trainer, Tony Reinstedler, may instead choose to point for the Preakness. Runner-up Forty Stars heads to Kentucky this week.

* Hoovergetthekeys "pulled up a little funky" after his poor performance in the Lone Star Derby, according to his trainer, Brian Koriner. "He strained an ankle," said Koriner, who said Hoovergetthekeys will likely point for summer stakes races at Hollywood Park. "After watching Point Given, I don't think we want to run against him," Koriner said.

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Dual Personality

by Ray Paulick
Point Given first got my attention last year in the 1 1/16-mile Champagne Stakes (gr. I), when he was part of a torrid pace that hung up fractions of :45.02 for a half-mile and 1:09.55 for the opening six furlongs. Shrugging off the toll that early effort should have taken, Point Given put up a good fight when A P Valentine rallied along the inside to win by 1 3/4 lengths.

Considering that trainer Bob Baffert told jockey Kent Desormeaux to take Point Given off the lead in the Champagne, it's not surprising there was a change of riders to Gary Stevens for his next race, the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I). Point Given drew the rail, and the big colt was buried in the early going, running 10th, then was shuffled back to last going into the far turn. But when Stevens got Point Given in gear, he streaked to the wire in sensational fashion, making up nearly seven lengths in the final furlong, only to lose by a nose to Macho Uno. Those few inches were the difference in year-end voting for an Eclipse Award, which went to the now-sidelined Juvenile winner.

This year, Point Given has matured into a colt with extraordinary versatility and power. He rallied effortlessly from midpack to take the lead in the San Felipe Stakes (gr. II) in his first start of 2001, drawing off by 2 1/4 lengths. Most recently, in the Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) on April 7, Point Given turned in a performance that almost certainly will land him the role of the favorite for the 127th running of the Kentucky Derby (gr. I).

Breaking from the rail in a six-horse field, Point Given was nudged up to contend for the lead at the outset by Stevens, who is savvy enough to know that bad things can happen to betting favorites who get trapped along the rail behind horses and have every jockey in the race trying to keep them there.

It was obvious that Point Given could have gone to the lead at any time during the nine furlongs of the Santa Anita Derby, but Stevens waited until the far turn to let him go. The acceleration was impressive, and there appeared to be more than a little left in the tank when Point Given crossed the wire 5 1/2 lengths in front after being clocked in 1:47.77 on a track hit early in the day by rain.

Converted to fifths of a second, Point Given's final time of 1:473:5 ties for the fifth-fastest in the 63 runnings of the Santa Anita Derby, behind the 1:47 recorded by Lucky Debonair in 1965, Sham in 1973, and Indian Charlie in 1998; and the 1:472:5 by Hill Rise in 1964.

Versatility may come naturally to Point Given, whose sire, Thunder Gulch, was quick enough to win going six furlongs at two and tough enough to win the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes (gr. I) during his championship 3-year-old season. Point Given's grandsire, Gulch (by Mr. Prospector), was versatility personified. He won his first five starts as a 2-year-old, including the Hopeful (gr. I) and Futurity (gr. I) Stakes, then lost the Eclipse in his final two starts, the Norfolk Stakes (gr. I) and Breeders' Cup Juvenile, after going to California. He raced in each Triple Crown race (his best finish coming with a third in the Belmont), but also beat older horses in the Metropolitan Handicap (gr. I). Gulch won the Met Mile again the next year and became champion sprinter with a victory in the 1988 Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I).

And let's not forget Eclipse Award winner Turkoman, Point Given's broodmare sire. He was versatile enough to finish second to eventual sprint champion Groovy in the seven-furlong Forego Handicap (gr. I) only one month before winning the 10-furlong Marlboro Cup Handicap (gr. I) at Belmont in 1986.

With champions at sprint and classic distances on each side of his pedigree, it's no wonder Point Given has shown a dual personality of speed and stretch-running ability.

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Point Given's workout a virtuoso

By Jay Privman
ARCADIA, Calif. - In a carefully orchestrated workout that again served notice that he is deserving of favoritism in the Kentucky Derby, Point Given flew through a half-mile drill in 46.80 seconds Tuesday morning at Santa Anita. The work was the first for Point Given since his powerful victory in the Santa Anita Derby on April 7, and was the first of three drills Point Given is likely to have between the Santa Anita Derby and the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs May 5. The final two workouts will take place in Kentucky, as Point Given was scheduled to fly to Louisville early Wednesday morning with a planeload of horses trained by Bob Baffert.

Baffert was anxious before the workout, which took place on a gorgeous, warm morning here. It is becoming increasingly obvious that Baffert believes he has a special colt in Point Given, and he literally holds his breath when Point Given is on the track. When Point Given completed his drill, Baffert let out a loud, audible sigh.

"I don't have to worry about fitness with this guy. The others, I was worried they'd get the distance," Baffert said, referring to his previous Derby winners, Silver Charm and Real Quiet.

Point Given came onto the track just after a renovation break at 9 a.m. His usual workout partner, Dana Barnes, was aboard. Point Given jogged through the stretch, then broke off for his workout just before reaching the half-mile pole.

Point Given broke off about six lengths behind Saif, who, like Point Given, is owned by Prince Ahmed Salman's The Thoroughbred Corporation. Saif, a maiden 3-year-old Gulch colt who has started twice, is trained by John Shirreffs, but Baffert was not satisfied with the workout ability of other horses he had used in company recently with Point Given. So he asked Richard Mulhall, the racing manager for The Thoroughbred Corporation, if a better work horse was available.

Saif did his job properly. He broke off quickly and moved sharply into the turn, maintaining a six-length advantage on Point Given. Baffert was communicating via walkie-talkie with both Barnes and exercise rider Jose "Pepe" Aragon, who was on Saif. "Go, go, Pepe," Baffert said into his walkie-talkie as the works began.

Point Given began to close in on Saif nearing the quarter pole. After the two turned into the stretch, Baffert told Aragon to "shut it down," and Aragon let Saif relax. Point Given, meanwhile, was just gathering momentum. He flew past Saif and was just getting warmed up when he reached the wire. Barnes sat still throughout.

Santa Anita's official clockers had Point Given going his first quarter mile in 23.80 seconds, and finishing his final quarter-mile in a brilliant 23 seconds flat. The time, 46.80, was the fastest of 26 works at the distance Tuesday. Santa Anita's clockers had Point Given galloping out five furlongs in 59.80 seconds.

Once that was over with, Baffert began fretting over the weather in Kentucky. It snowed overnight on Tuesday, but temperatures were expected to climb the rest of the week and reach 70 by Friday.

"Maybe I should stay here an extra week," Baffert said. Point Given, however, was going to leave Wednesday morning. Saif was going to accompany him.

"He's the perfect work horse," Baffert said.

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Point Given Arrives at Churchill Downs; Next Work Tuesday

by Blood-Horse Staff
Kentucky Derby favorite Point Given arrived in Louisville late Wednesday morning and was bedded down in his stall in Bob Baffert's Churchill Downs barn by 12:30 p.m., according to Baffert assistant Jim Barnes, who traveled with the son of Thunder Gulch from California. Ten other Baffert horses, plus a stable pony, accompanied Point Given on the trip.

"Everything went smooth, it was a wonderful flight," Barnes said. "Point Given has had some experience and travels very nice."

The racing press turned out in force at Churchill, following the Santa Anita Derby winner's every move, but Barnes said he was happy with the way the sometimes hard-to-handle colt acted. "He was bellowing and hollering through the stable area when he saw all the press," Barnes said. "We put him in his stall and brought him back out to clean him while the press watched, and he was a good actor the whole time."

Point Given walked at Santa Anita Wednesday morning before boarding the flight for Kentucky. He'll gallop between a mile and a mile and a quarter on Thursday, then begin a series of longer gallops each morning, Barnes said. "With this horse, you want to get out there and get your business taken care of," he added. "It's hard to take much out of him with a gallop. When he won the Santa Anita Derby he wasn't even breathing hard when he came back to the winner's circle."

Barnes admits the big, strapping colt can be a handful. Point Given got away from his handlers during a gallop at Santa Anita last week. "He's always been a tough colt to handle," Barnes admitted.

Exercise rider Pepe Aragon will be up on the colt in his gallops, though Barnes' wife, Dana, will fly in from California to work Point Given next Tuesday, April 24, and on the following Monday, April 30. "You never know if Bob will change his mind," Barnes said of Baffert, "but we'll probably work him six furlongs in the first work and five furlongs the next time."

Point Given worked a half-mile under Dana Barnes at Santa Anita on Tuesday, going a half-mile in :46.80.

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Baffert has Double-Barreled Derby Threat

By ED SCHUYLER JR.
Here's a piece of Kentucky Derby wisdom from Bob Baffert:

``It's good to go hunting for bear with two bullets,'' the silver-haired trainer said after Congaree won the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct and joined Point Given in the Baffert's double-barreled bid for a third Derby victory.

The talented pair, of course, might miss the target -- Baffert lost with two Derby starters in 1996 and three in 1999 -- but they appear stronger than the trainer's pair of Real Quiet and Indian Charlie, who finished first and third, respectively, in 1998.

Baffert's other Derby winner was Silver Charm, his lone starter in 1997. Last year, he finished eighth with Captain Steve.

Congaree and Point Given are both strapping chestnut colts. Actually, Point Given is massive. He stands 17 hands, and before his impressive win in the Santa Anita Derby, his weight was 1,260 pounds.

Point Given is a son of Thunder Gulch, the 1995 Kentucky Derby winner, and Congaree is the son of Arazi, the center of attention at Churchill Downs in 1992 until he finished eighth in the Derby.

Of the two colts, Point Given is the more battle-tested.

Congaree, owned by Bob and Janice McNair, ran sixth in a maiden race in his debut Sept. 10, then needed surgery for a knee chip. This year, he won a maiden race and an allowance at Santa Anita before living up to Baffert's expectations by winning the Wood Memorial by 2 3/4 lengths over Florida Derby winner Monarchos last Saturday.

Point Given posted three wins and three seconds last year, with two of the seconds coming in the Grade 1 Champagne and Breeders' Cup Juvenile and one of the wins coming in the Grade 1 Hollywood futurity.

As a 3-year-old, the colt, owned by Prince Ahmed Salman of Saudi Arabia, has raced only twice, but he ran himself into the Kentucky Derby favorite's role by winning the San Felipe by 2 1/4 lengths, then the Santa Anita Derby by 5 1/2 lengths on April 7.

``He ran gangbusters,'' John Ward, Monarchos' trainer, said of Point Given's Santa Anita Derby performance. ``I don't think I can find any holes in his performance at all.''

``I just hope he can draft behind Point Given and finish second,'' said David Hofmans, trainer of Millennium Wind, who scored a front-running win in the Blue Grass stakes last Saturday at Keeneland.

Neither Ward nor Hofmans, or course, are about to concede the Derby to either of Baffert's colts. Neither are Todd Pletcher, trainer of Balto Star, front-running winner of the Spiral and last Saturday's Arkansas Derby, or Dallas Stewart, trainer of stretch-running Dollar Bill.

Point Given is facing a sort of jinx in that no Santa Anita Derby winner has won the Kentucky Derby since Sunday Silence in 1989.

Three Santa Anita Derby starters in the last four years, however, have won the Kentucky Derby. They were Silver Charm (second at Santa Anita), 1997; Real Quiet (second), 1998; and Charismatic (fourth), 1999.

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Derby Favorite Gets Royal Treatment

By Rick Bozich, Courier-Journal Sports Columnist
Trainer Bob Baffert is uncomfortable with the idea of his horses being uncomfortable walking around a shedrow that has become hard and unyielding during a winter of inactivity at Churchill Downs' Barn 33.

So just after noon yesterday a truck arrived from a woodworking plant in Borden, Ind. It was carrying a load of wood chips -- $494 worth of fresh wood chips that were spread like rose petals around the barn.

Yes, The Big Horse was in town.

At 2:30 a.m PDT yesterday, Kentucky Derby favorite Point Given strolled onto a van at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. Along with nine of his stablemates and four horses from another barn, he made the 35 minute ride to a nearby airport.

He was loaded onto a plane for a 4 a.m. takeoff, then traveled quietly, alone in his stall with a bale of hay that he nibbled only occasionally. Groom Roberto Luna sat on the floor next to the horse in case there was any turbulence. There was not.

''Fine,'' Luna said. ''No problems. He's a good horse.''

The plane carrying the horse who won the Santa Anita Derby by 5 1/2 lengths arrived in Louisville after a 4 1/2 hour flight. Within an hour, every animal, person and training item on the plane was moved to a pair of shipping vans.

The immense (1,255-pounds, 17 hands), reddish chestnut colt emerged from the van glowing, carrying his head erect and proudly, fairly screaming his confidence. And less than a dozen steps off the van Point Given delivered a loud, persistent whinny that echoed across the Churchill Downs barn area. Muhammad Ali would have been proud of him.

''He's a very happy horse,'' said Pepe Aragon, the colt's exercise rider. ''He doesn't get nervous. He just goes about his business.''

Now the rush was on to spread $494 of fresh wood chips around Barn 33.

That is how the human beings in a 3 year-old colt's life jump all around him when he's the favorite for the 127th Kentucky Derby. A nest of minicams and clicking cameras surrounded the van as Point Given returned to Churchill for the first time since November.

For the next 16 days the challenge for Baffert, Aragon, Luna, assistant trainer Jim Barnes and jockey Gary Stevens will be to do everything they can to ensure that there is another nest of minicams and clicking cameras when Point Given leaves Churchill Downs in mid-May. That will happen if the colt can do what only one favorite has done since 1980: win the Derby.

''He travels better than most humans,'' Aragon said. ''He doesn't cause trouble -- except for the horses he runs against.''

Churchill Downs is the track where Point Given suffered his last defeat. It's also the track where he showed what kind of horse he can be.

He came to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last Nov. 4 as one of several 2year-olds with a chance to become the Derby favorite. A son of 1995 Derby winner Thunder Gulch out of the Turkoman mare Turko's Turn, Point Given had split the first four starts of his career, winning two and finishing second twice.

After the first three-quarters of a mile in the Juvenile, Point Given wasn't beating a single horse in the field of 14. He was 10 lengths off the lead. In the final 5/16ths of a mile, he passed a dozen horses and was a nose short of overtaking the 13th, winner Macho Uno.

Point Given has not been beaten since. Not in the Hollywood Futurity. Not in the San Felipe. Not in the Santa Anita Derby.

And nobody beat him off the van at Churchill yesterday, either. Protocol demands that the Kentucky Derby favorite exit first.

''He's a very good shipper,'' Barnes said. ''Extremely professional. He's done this before. He's a big colt with a big heart.''

And a colt facing a daunting 7 1/2 week Triple Crown grind that is about to shape his legacy. Will he become racing's first Triple Crown winner in 23 years, or will he become another Derby favorite who leaves without a crowd of minicams?

Point Given will be taken to the track this morning. His next workout is scheduled for Tuesday. His final pre-Derby work will be the following Monday, April 30.

But for now he will rest in Barn 33, Stall 28. Yes, that is the same address Silver Charm had when he won the Derby in 1997, and it's the same address Real Quiet had before he won in '98.

Coincidence? Superstition? Protocol?

Barnes shrugged.

''Bob gave me a list and told me which one to put him in,'' he said, smiling.

And make sure there are nothing but fresh wood chips in Point Given's path.

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Point Given, Act II: New goal is Horse of the Year

By JAY PRIVMAN
DEL MAR, Calif. - The goal this spring for Point Given was the Triple Crown, and though he won both the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, the loss in the Kentucky Derby still smarts to those around him. Now however, they are ready to turn the page. Point Given's second season, designed to bring him the Horse of the Year title, is about to begin.

Point Given is scheduled to return to action in Sunday's Grade 1, $1.5 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park. He has not raced since his overpowering victory in the Belmont on June 9. Point Given was trained lightly in the weeks following that race, but the pace has accelerated in recent weeks, and he polished off his preparation with a five-furlong work in a snappy 58.80 seconds Tuesday morning at Del Mar.

"That'll sharpen him up," Bob Baffert, Point Given's trainer, said as the colt flashed under the finish line.

Baffert then leaned into his walkie-talkie. "Is he ready?" he asked.

"Yes," came the breathless reply from exercise rider Dana Barnes.

Just as he did in the spring with his 3-year-olds, Baffert is trying to divide and conquer in Grade 1 races this weekend. Point Given runs in the Haskell, where the purse was raised by $500,000 because of his participation. Baffert will start his other top 3-year-old, Congaree, in Saturday's Grade 1, $600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga. Gary Stevens will ride both colts.

Congaree, who won the Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park last month, was scheduled to be flown to Saratoga on Wednesday. Point Given was to fly to New Jersey on Thursday. Baffert intended to fly to Saratoga on Thursday, head down to Monmouth immediately following the Jim Dandy, then return to Saratoga Sunday night following the Haskell in order to attend next week's yearling sales.

Plans for Congaree and Point Given after this weekend are undetermined. Baffert said that Point Given is the most likely of the two to run in the $1 million, Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 25, but there is a good chance neither will run there.

"Congaree needs more time between races, and I don't know about a mile and a quarter," Baffert said, referring to the Travers distance. "It all depends on how he handles the track." Baffert wants to put Congaree on the turf sometime soon, perhaps as early as the Grade 2, $300,000 Del Mar Derby on Sept. 3.

Point Given's main goal is the $4 million Breeders' Cup Classic, highlight of the World Thoroughbred Championships at Belmont Park on Oct. 27.

"The Travers comes up a little quick," said Richard Mulhall, the racing manager for Prince Ahmed Salman's The Thoroughbred Corporation, which owns Point Given. "It would be better if it was a week later. We're not ruling it out, but it's not quite right. We're just going to go race by race. Hopefully everything will work out this weekend, and he'll win easily. But our main goal is the Breeders' Cup."

Point Given walked for approximately 10 days following the Belmont, Baffert said. The colt got some needed rest, and a fungus that resulted in cracked heels was treated and allowed to heal. Once Point Given started training seriously again, Baffert and Mulhall started discussing possible race schedules, but Monmouth's offer to raise the Haskell purse got their attention.

"We had thought about the Haskell. We were playing it by ear. When they applied the extra money to it, that didn't hurt," Mulhall said. "The purse is $1.5 million, $900,000 to the winner. You'd hate to walk away from that." Mulhall said that Prince Ahmed originally intended to attend the Haskell, but will not because of the recent, sudden death of his brother, Prince Fahd Salman.

Once Mulhall and Baffert decided on the Haskell, they had to get Point Given ready in a hurry. Baffert said the schedule has "been a little tight," and was compromised by an unintentionally slow gate work two weeks ago with Stevens. "That was just a fast gallop," Baffert said.

Point Given's two works since that, including Tuesday's, have been much sharper. Monmouth tends to favor speed, and though Point Given won the Santa Anita Derby at the Haskell's 1 1/8-mile distance, he is more effective at 1 1/4 miles and beyond.

"He needs to have some speed," Baffert said. "He's got to gear it up. "I'm just going to take it one race at a time," Baffert added. "I'm not making any plans beyond this weekend. We'll see what happens. I want to have a good horse for the Breeders' Cup."

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