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 Joy ride Antley makes successful return to track
Posted: Saturday May 08, 1999 04:09 PM
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (CNN/SI) -- Chris Antley was just glad to be back in the saddle again. Only a year ago the jockey thought he might not ever race again, but he left the Kentucky Derby Saturday as a two-time winner, guiding Charismatic to a neck victory over Menifee. "This was a dream," said Antley, who won the 1991 Derby aboard Strike the Gold. "Miracles are meant to happen and it happened for me today." Antley, who overcame drug problems at the beginning of the decade, spent much of last year struggling to gain control of his weight, which ballooned to 147 at one point between Thanksgiving and Christmas. "This is the hardest thing I've ever been through," he said. "I didn't think I'd be back. My dad told me to do something else, that I didn't need to ride. He wanted me to take it easy. "I told my father I have a goal in life and that I would die trying to get there." Antley began running through the streets of Columbia, S.C., where he was living with his father -- earning him the nickname Forrest Gump. He got his weight back to a more manageable 114. In late February, with his weight under control, Antley decided the time was right for a comeback. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas asked Antley to watch Charismatic run an April race at Keeneland and soon after asked him to ride the colt in the Derby. "I spent the spring with Chris and saw an intensity in him I'd never seen before," Lukas said. "I just thought he was a great fit." "He's hungry and has a passion to get back into the upper echelon of this sport. He's also won the Derby before, he finishes well and he's very confident. I loved the way he looked right at me and said 'We'll get it done.'" Antley's first two Derbys in 1988 and 1989 produced ninth- and 10th-place finishes aboard Private Terms and Shy Tom, respectively. But Antley tested positive for marijuana and cocaine in 1988 and willingly surrendered his riding license in 1989, listing substance abuse as the reason. He won his license back in 1990 and rode Strike the Gold to victory in the '91 Derby. Following his 1991 win, he finished third aboard rap star Hammer's colt Dance Floor in 1992 before disappointing eighth and 10th place finishes in 1994 and 1995. Nothing, however, was as tough on him both physically and emotionally as the events of the last year. "This was easy," he said with a long pause. "My first one was one of those right place, right time things. This one has a lot more sentimental value than anything I've done in my career."
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | |||||||||||||||||
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