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Closer Look Solis finds himself in a familiar place ... place
Posted: Sunday May 07, 2000 06:10 PM
By Mitch Gelman, CNNSI.com LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Wearing diamond earrings and a white hat with a thick black ribbon, Sheila Solis came dressed for the winner's circle. And when she saw her husband, Alex, flying around the top of the stretch aboard an 11-1 shot, Aptitude, she thought she was heading there. It looked as if this would be the time Solis would win the Kentucky Derby and put the two maddening seconds he ran in 1997 and 1998 behind him. Sheila Solis saw her husband's green and pink silks as the crush of horses rounded for home. "His silks stood out pretty well today, so I was very aware of where he was," she said. He was right where he wanted to be -- just outside of the favorite, Fusaichi Pegasus -- riding a horse that was running strong. "I thought Alex was going to win this time," Sheila Solis said. So did her husband. "My main concern was from the half-mile pole to the quarter pole," Solis said in the jockey room after the race. "That's the critical part. Most of the horses are backing up really fast and getting tired and going in and out. I was fortunate to never get stopped. I got through all the way." Solis came smoothly between horses. "My horse was moving very quickly," he said. "I thought I was the winner." Then, Kent Desormeaux, who guided Real Quiet to victory in 1998 ahead of Solis and Victory Gallop, moved the favorite from the inside looking for room. Solis caught a red flash from the sleeves of Desormeaux's silks out of the corner of his left eye. "I looked up and saw Kent a length-and-a-half ahead of us, and Fusaichi Pegasus was just galloping," said Solis. "I hit my horse a couple of times with the whip, left- and right- handed, to try to keep him going. He gave me everything he had." It would not be enough. "It's aggravating," Solis said. "But each time, I'm getting close." This loss was not as painful as the one in 1997, he said, when Captain Bodgit actually had the lead heading for the wire before being edged out by Silver Charm. While she waited for her husband to get dressed, Sheila Solis watched a replay of the race. She shook her head. She grimaced. At her side, the Solis' 7- and 15-year-old sons -- both wearing black suits and dark blue shirts with ties -- also were disappointed. The couple's 13-year-old daughter and 12-year-old boy had stayed home in California. Sheila Solis said her husband would take the loss pretty well, and that she had figured out what she could do to help make up the extra few lengths it will take to win. "Usually, I bring two of the four kids. It's just easier that way," she said. "Next time, I'll bring them all."
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