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Posted: Friday April 30, 1999 09:41 PM

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Ticker) - Facts and figures on the horses entered in the 125th Kentucky Derby:

Wood Memorial winner Adonis has the rail thanks to Zito, who cited that the one hole has produced the most Derby winners with 12. That may be true, but the route from the first post to the winner's circle has been traveled just twice since 1963. A Wood Memorial victor has gone on to wear the roses 17 times. Zito is seeking his third Derby, having won in 1991 with Strike The Gold and three years later with Go For Gin.

One of two fillies in the race, along with Excellent Meeting. The chestnut daughter of Notebook is coming off wins in the Bonnie Miss and Davona Dale Stakes since opening her 3-year-old campaign with a second-place finish in the Forward Gal Stakes. Velazquez is very familiar with this filly, having been aboard since her second lifetime start. Three Ring has been in the money in all eight career outings with five wins and a pair of second-place finishes.

Walden got a taste of the mystique that is the Triple Crown for the first time last year and is back this time for a double dose with Ecton Park and Menifee. Ecton Park is coming off a lackluster fourth-place finish in the Arkansas Derby on April 10 and the Forty Niner colt has posted just one win in four starts this season. Overall, Ecton Park has hit the board in 5-of-6 career starts. Davis will be aboard for the first time. Ecton Park is one of five field horses.

Zito, along with Baffert and Lukas have all won two Derby's this decade and the least heralded of the trio, Zito, would love to vault to the top of that pack. He has a very good chance with Stephen Got Even, who is 3-for-3 in 1999 and is coming off a win in the Gallery Furniture.com Stakes. The son of 1992 Belmont Stakes winner A.P. Indy should have no trouble with the distance as all three of his starts this year have come around two turns. McCarron rides Stephen Got Even for the first time and jockeys whose first assignment on a horse is the Kentucky Derby have not fared well. But McCarron did fly in earlier in the week from California to put his mount through a few workouts. He is a two-time Derby winner including scoring for Zito in 1994 with Go For Gin.

One of the prizes of the mighty Godolphin Racing Stables, Aljabr finished second to Worldly Manner in the first of two special trial races that were held by Godolphin in Dubai. After his second-place finish on March 21, Aljabr came back to win the second trail on April 8 prompting his entry into the Derby. The Storm Cat colt won all three races as a 2-year-old but still does not have an official race under his belt this season. The last time a horse with four or fewer starts won the Derby was 1915, when Regret took the trip to the winner's circle.

The jockey-trainer duo that teamed up to provide us with last year's Triple Crown excitement are back for an encore. This time however they brought a date. Last year's Breeders' Cup juvenile fillies winner will try to become just the fourth female to wear the roses. Winning Colors was the last to do so in 1988. Baffert will be trying to make history with his third straight Derby winner. Excellent Meeting will be making her 12th career start and seeking her eighth win. She is the only entrant with over $1 million in purse money and paired with General Challenge in the betting.

Unraced as a 2-year-old, the odds seemed to be stacked against the Sea Hero colt. It has been 117 years since Apollo became the last horse to win the Derby without a sophomore start in 1882. The lightly-raced Desert Hero will be making his fourth career start but owns a win in the San Rafael Stakes over Prime Timber and a third-place effort in the Santa Anita Derby. Mandella had the first pick and chose the seventh post for luck.

Trainer Bobby Barnett will have his work cut out for him as he prepares Answer Lively to become the first Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner to capture the Derby. The son of Lively One capped off his sophomore season with an Eclipse Award as Champion 2-year-old. His 3-year-old season is a different story, having just two second-place finishes in four starts this year. Perret won the 1990 Derby with Unbridled.

Valhol's 'shocking' win in the Arkansas Derby stirred up a lot of controversy but the courts intervened and Valhol will get to make an appearance in the Derby. The buck should stop there. The gelded son of Diazo has just three starts under his belt with only the tainted Arkansas Derby 'win' to his credit. Martinez takes the reins from the besmirched Billy Patin. Valhol is one of five field horses.

The son of Apalachee has been first or second in seven lifetime outings, including placing second to Stephen Got Even in the Gallery Furniture.com Stakes in his last start, but appears to be in over his head here. The John Battaglia Memorial winner had won three straight before his last start. Solis will be aboard K One King for the first time. K One King will be in the mutuel field. Solis has been the bridesmaid in this event the last two years with Captain Bodgit and Victory Gallop.

Cat Thief has just two wins in 11 lifetime starts, but last year Real Quiet came into the Derby winning just two of 12 lifetime outings. The Storm Cat colt has hit the board in 10-of-11 career races. Cat Thief was second to Menifee in his last start in the Blue Grass. Half of the Derby winners in the last 10 years came into the race off a runnerup effort. Smith returns to the Triple Crown circut this year after spending last year at home recovering from back injuries suffered in a fall. Smith won the Preakness with Prairie Bayou in 1993 but is still in search of his first Derby, having failed with a pair of favorites this decade. The omni-present Lukas is looking to wear the roses for the third time this decade, having posted back-to-back wins with Thunder Gulch and Grindstone in 1995 and 1996.

Worldly Manner won 3-of-4 sophomore starts, under the tuteledge of Baffert, before being scooped up by the Godolphin Stables and carted off to Dubai to train. He won the first of two 'Derby Trials' held by Godolphin in Dubai. However, this will be his first official start, and like his stablemate Aljabar will be looking to buck a trend. No horse making his first 3-year-old start in the Kentucky Derby has worn the roses in 76 years. Benefits from having two-time Derby champ Bailey at the reins. Will be paired with Aljabar for betting purposes.

One of five field horses, Kimberlite Pipe has four wins in 11 career outings and earnings of over $500,000. The Take Me Out colt ran fourth in the Blue Grass Stakes in his last start. He won half of his six 2-year-old races, but has just a win and a show effort in five races this season.

Currently the second favorite at 7-2 to stablemates Excellent Meeting and General Challenge, Prime Timber is probably hoping not to go off as the chalk as the Derby is not kind to betting favorites. The last favorite to reach the winner's circle on the first Saturday in May was in 1979 when Spectacular Bid rewarded his backers. David Flores was the leading rider at the recently-concluded Santa Anita meet. Last year Kent Desormeaux parlayed that title into roses at Churchill Downs. Prime Timber won the San Felipe Stakes before finishing second to General Challenge in the Santa Anita Derby. The Sultry Sog colt has been first or second in all six career starts.

A front runner whose main asset is his speed, but there had been only five gate-to-wire winners in the Derby since 1907. General Challenge captured the Santa Anita Derby by 3 1/2 lengths and 13 winners have gone on to win the Derby. Three-time Kentucky Derby winner Gary Stevens is aboard the General Meeting colt. The Hall Of Famer collaborated with Baffert to win the Derby two years ago with Silver Charm. Paired with stablemate Excellent Meeting as the 3-1 morning-line favorites.

The good news is that 93 Kentucky-bred horses have won the first 124 editions of the Kentucky Derby. The bad news is that First American won't be the 94th. The Flamingo Stakes winner will benefit by picking up Delahoussaye, who will ride the colt for the first time. Delahoussaye is accustomed to the winner's circle at Churchill Downs, having worn the roses in 1982 and 1983 with Gato Del Sol and Sunny's Halo. In his initial Derby win, Delahoussaye overcame the 19th post.

This year's two entries give trainer D. Wayne Lukas a Kentucky Derby starter for the 19th consecutive year. His 35 Derby starters are more than any trainer in history. Antley wore the roses in 1991 with Strike The Gold. Charismatic's 14 starts makes his the most seasoned of the 20 entrants. A son of Summer Squall, who was runnerup in this event in 1990, Charismatic rebounded from a fourth-palce finish in the Santa Anita Derby with a 2 1/2 length score in the Lexington Stakes in his last start. Charismatic also won the Santa Catalina Stakes this year.

The hero of the Florida route to the Triple Crown. Vicar captured the Fountain Of Youth and the Florida Derby along the way and brings some impressive credentials to Churchill Downs. Those credentials include trainer Carl Nafzger, who hopes to end the decade in the same fashion in which he began it, with a win in the Kentucky Derby. Nafzger conditioned Unbridled to victory in 1990. Vicar's last race was a third-place finish in the Blue Grass. Jockey Shane Sellers is no stranger to the Churchill Downs track, having won three riding titles at the famed twin spires.

Menifee's strong showing in winning the Blue Grass Stakes has the oddsmaker installing him as a 5-1 shot despite breaking from the unfavorable 19th post. Trainer Elliott Walden, who saddled Victory Gallop to victory in last year's Belmont Stakes hopes to start this year's Triple Crown Series off with a win and Menifee seems like a good choice as 22 Blue Grass winners have gone on to Kentucky Derby glory. Day chose Menifee over two others to get him to the Kentucky Derby winner's circle for the second time this decade. He scored with Lil E. Tee in 1992.

The last of the five field horses. Lemon Drop Kid will have the unfortunate experience of being the first horse to break from the 20th post in the Kentucky Derby in 17 years. The son of Kingmambo will be making just his third start as a 3-year-old with just an allowance race win under his belt. Jockey Jose Santos, who rode Lemon Drop Kid as a 2-year-old, will be back on the colt for the first time this season.

 

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