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Kentucky Derby The busiest barn at Churchill Downs
Posted: Friday May 05, 2000 06:27 PM
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Jenine Sahadi is presiding over the busiest barn at Churchill Downs this week. She and her colt, The Deputy, are being showered with gifts, guests and good-luck wishes as she attempts to become the first woman to saddle a Kentucky Derby winner. "To see this many people in the community get behind a sporting event is really something," she said. Miss America Heather French, a native of Maysville, Ky., stopped by to pose for pictures with The Deputy. "I'm really taken aback by the fact that a woman trainer is here at the Derby," she said. Sahadi's husband, trainer Ben Cecil, planned on picking up extra copies of Friday's USA Today. Sahadi was featured on the paper's front page. "There's a lot more stress involved in this," Cecil said. "I think she's going to be exhausted by the end of the week, but she's been handling it really well." Among the gifts Sahadi received was a home-cooked Lebanese meal and wine. She mixes red wine into The Deputy's feed. "It's the cheap stuff, $5.99 a gallon," she said. Bringing up the rearRonton was the last Derby horse to arrive at Churchill Downs. He'll also be the last to load in the gate Saturday. He didn't arrive from California until Wednesday. Ronton, part of the 30-1 pari-mutuel field, will go into post No. 19. He'll enter on his own, while the other 18 horses will go in pairs. Ronton's name is a combination of the first names of co-owners Ron Waranch and Tony Novelly. The horse was purchased as a yearling for $425,000. Ronton is the first horse Novelly has owned, and he has yet to see the colt run in person. The St. Louis resident is chartering a plane to fly him and 80 friends to Louisville on Saturday. Ronton's trainer, Vladimir Cerin, got into the business at the urging of the father of former NBA player Kiki Vandeweghe. Cerin, who left his native Yugoslavia at 14, was a kinesiologist in Southern California working with such pro athletes as Tracy Austin, Bill Walton, Jamaal Wilkes and the younger Vandeweghe when Vandeweghe's father suggested Cerin try his specialty on horses. Cerin bought a horse in a partnership with some pro athletes. He began working with Rafael Martinez, who was training the horse, to learn the business. He took out his trainer's license in 1981, and he has saddled 15 stakes winners in Southern California. Dubai giveawayAnyone lucky enough to be standing around Godolphin Racing's barn early Friday morning came away with a haul. The Dubai branch of Sheik Maktoum al Maktoum and Sheik Mohammed al Maktoum's racing empire handed out bright blue jackets, pants, hats and pens with the stable's name in white letters. Passersby crowded around, grabbing as many freebies as they could carry. Jockey Chris McCarron, who'll ride The Deputy for trainer Jenine Sahadi on Saturday, couldn't resist. He donned a hat and Sheik Mohammed put his arm around McCarron to pose for a photo. Upon returning to Sahadi's barn, McCarron asked her if she'd go tten a free jacket. "I'm not part of the harem," Sahadi replied. The Maktoums have won some of the world's biggest races, including the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Breeders' Cup Turf and Dubai World Cup. But they're still chasing victory in the Derby, where they finished seventh last year with Worldly Manner. "The Kentucky Derby is a target for us. We need to win this," said Saeed bin Suroor, who trains the 50-1 morning-line entry of China Visit and Curule. "This is very important for us. It's like a challenge for us." Tricky prounouncerAny way you say it, the name of Derby favorite Fusaichi Pegasus is a mouthful. The most common pronunciation is foo-sah-EE-chee, but sometimes it's said foo-saw-EE-chee. Even trainer Neil Drysdale goofs it up. "I've probably said it a few different ways," he said. "Sometimes I just call him the colt." If Fusaichi Pegasus crosses the finish line first Saturday, just call him winner.
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