GOLDEN GLIMPSES #195

January 4, 2000

By ED GOLDEN

UNDERDOG LUKAS COVERED THE SPREAD IN 1999

Las Vegas should have given points with Wayne Lukas in 1999.

All year, he was an underdog.

It was a role that suited him. From Charismatic to Cat Thief, the 64-year-old trainer enjoyed perhaps his greatest campaign, if measured by the standard of doing the most with the least.

Even though he was elected to racing�s Hall of Fame in 1999 and is likely to capture his fifth Eclipse Award on Jan. 17, when Lukas wins the Kentucky Derby with a horse he had all but given up on by running twice in claiming races, and wins the Breeders� Cup Classic with a horse some wagering aficionados couldn�t have bet on after the race was over, by any term in the gambling vernacular, Lukas was a dog.

"Somebody said to me the other day, and they probably hit it on the head, you did more with less this year than you ever have," said Lukas, the nation�s leading trainer in money won in 14 of the last 17 years and whose stable once again is loaded for his Triple Crown battle with arch-rival Bob Baffert and new kid on the block John Shirreffs, et al.

"We�ve had some great years but we�ve had some great horses to support that, too," said Lukas, who seemed to mellow a tad in 1999. "If somebody would have said a year ago January that we were going to win a couple of Breeders� Cup races and a couple of Triple Crown races, most people would have rolled their eyes.

"But I think we were blessed with some horses that really turned around and our staff worked hard. We knew that we were scrambling a little bit. We think we�re going to have a better year in 2000. We think we�ve got a lot more talent. But we probably did more with less this year than we have in a long time."

He�s got that straight. In Vegas, it�s called beating the spread.

On the sudden retirement of Gary Stevens due to painfully arthritic knees, Lukas acknowledged that it does indeed leave a void in his meticulously organized game plan. Stevens won two Kentucky Derbies for Lukas--in 1988 with Winning Colors and in 1995 with Thunder Gulch--and was his go-to guy, especially in California�s major races.

"I think the jockey colony out here was getting a little bit thin anyway," Lukas said of the Southern California contingent. "Gary was such a large part of it, especially in our operation, so he�s a huge void to fill. His contract with The Thoroughbred Corp. limited some of his activity with us, but we also trained for them, so there�s a void there, too. We�ll have to pick up a rider in that capacity.

"Anytime you lose a talent as enormous as he was, especially in the upper echelon races, the better races, it is very, very difficult to fill, because there are just a small percentage of riders in any jocks� room in the country that excel at the Derbies and the Classics. And that�s where we would look to Stevens. That�s going to be a problem."

So who will Lukas engage to ride his barnful of bluebloods?

"I don�t know," he said. "We�ll just have to see who�s available and who�s riding well at the time. The problem is, Stevens rode well all the time. At this point, we�ll just have to pick out someone who�s riding well and we�ll use them."

The line forms on the right.

THE HOMESTRETCH: Trainer Alex Hassinger Jr. has Breeders� Cup Juvenile winner Anees on a strict Southern California diet en route to the Kentucky Derby. "Three or four races at Santa Anita are our goal," said Hassinger, who will use the April 8 Santa Anita Derby as his final stepping stone to Churchill Downs. "We�ll get him going, get him fit again and see where he is." No decision had been made on who will replace Stevens, who rode Anees to his upset win the Juvenile. But it is not likely to be another "contract" rider, such as Stevens, whose five-year pact gave first call to The Thoroughbred Corp. of Prince Ahmed Salman and partners. "I haven�t talked to the Prince," said The Thoroughbred Corp.�s general manager, Richard Mulhall. "But I would doubt if it will be a contract rider. I wasn�t in favor of it from the start, but in Europe, they do it all the time." Mulhall admitted to receiving one curious inquiry about the open mount. "Bill Hartack called me and said he was available," Mulhall said, smiling. "He said he was 35 pounds overweight, but his knees were OK." The long-retired Hall of Fame rider, winner of five Kentucky Derbies, rode for Mulhall years ago when he trained in Southern California . . . Stevens will have to forfeit his post as president of The Jockeys� Guild. No inactive rider can hold office . . . Agent Ron Anderson, who enjoyed a long and successful run with Stevens, expects his other rider, Chris Antley, back in a couple of weeks. "His weight�s decent and he�s very positive," Anderson said. "Chris is one of the elite of the elite. He showed that last year. I have a good personal relationship with the guy. I love him. He�s a great rider. I don�t want to sound like I�m patting myself on the back, but I�ve done really well for myself in the last 15 Triple Crown races. Between Gary and Chris, I�ve won seven of them. I�ve been lucky." . . . Kent Desormeaux won only four of 66 races during a forgettable Hollywood Park meet, but is refocused for the lengthy and prestigious Santa Anita campaign. He is riding with renewed vigor and equalled his Hollywood total with four wins in the first four days . . . Agent Vic Lipton, on his rider E.T. Baird, the son of former jockey R. L. Baird, one of the nation�s winningest riders: "That�s his name--E.T., like in extra terrestrial. When you see him in the post parade with his antenna up, go to the windows."

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