Horse Racing : This Colt Is Never Short on Drama

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Trainer Bob Baffert could laugh it off later, but there was a serious scare at Churchill Downs on Tuesday as Silver Charm, winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, went through his last workout for Saturday’s Belmont Stakes in New York.

Before the five-furlong workout, Silver Charm was galloping toward the clubhouse turn when another horse, galloping the opposite way on the outside, ducked to the right in front of Baffert’s colt. Joe Steiner, aboard Silver Charm, said there was contact between his horse and Firecrust, a 5-year-old gelding from trainer Paul McGee’s barn.

“We grazed,” Steiner said. “We barely touched, but it could have been a lot worse. I was able to steer my horse out of the way. I’m happy that it turned out to be nothing. It was nobody’s fault.”

Churchill Downs had invited the public to watch the workout, and a crowd of about 2,500, standing and seated at track level on the clubhouse turn, applauded and cheered when Silver Charm approached. Firecrust, ridden by Filamon Garcia, hasn’t raced in a year and apparently was spooked by the noise.

Baffert, his two-way radio connected, watched anxiously from the second-tier stands.

“That was close,” Baffert said. “That was the play of the day.”

On a drying track that was considered fast, Silver Charm circled the turn, began his workout on the backstretch and completed five-eighths of a mile in a workmanlike 1:01, with no urging from Steiner. The colt’s fractions were :24 and :48 4/5, and the Daily Racing Form had him galloping out six furlongs in 1:15.

“Was that Paco Gonzalez riding that other horse?” Baffert joked.

Gonzalez trains Free House, who will be the chief threat in the Belmont when Silver Charm goes after a sweep of the Triple Crown, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since Affirmed won the Derby, Preakness and Belmont in 1978.

Minutes after the workout, Baffert was on his cellular phone to Newport Beach, where Bob Lewis, at 5:45 a.m., was awaiting his call. Lewis and his wife, Beverly, own Silver Charm.

“You should have seen the way he went, Bob,” Baffert said. “But we were scared when another horse ducked in on us. It could have been disastrous, but everything’s all right. Fuel the plane up, this horse is ready.”

Silver Charm will be flown out of Louisville early today and is expected to be at his barn at Belmont Park by 9 a.m.

“The horse lost his rider before the Preakness,” Baffert said after finishing with Lewis. “So maybe this is a good sign. Nothing like a little drama. Just like a bullfight.

“But it could have been bad. The other horse could have stepped on my horse’s heel. If anything had happened, there would have been only one person to blame. I would have blamed myself, because I was the guy who told the track they could bring the crowd out.”

About 10 days before the Preakness, during a morning gallop at Pimlico, Silver Charm was distracted by an overhead wire and dumped his exercise rider, Larry Damore. The colt was caught by an outrider before he had a chance to run off.

“I was looking for a minute,” Baffert said of Tuesday’s workout. “So this sets him up good. It was a tiring track.”

After the first eighth of a mile, Baffert looked at his stopwatch, saw :12 1/5 and said into the radio to Steiner: “Beautiful, like that.”

After another eighth, Baffert said again: “Like that.”

Then he said, “Pick it up now.”

When Silver Charm hit the wire, Baffert’s watch showed 1:00 4/5, a fifth of a second faster than the Racing Form’s clocker.

“Beautiful,” he said to Steiner on the radio. “Don’t fall off.”

Gary Stevens will ride Silver Charm in the Belmont, as he has in the Derby and Preakness.

“Now it’s up to Gary, and a little bit of luck,” Steiner said. “When you get a horse to these races, every day is critical. It wasn’t a real strong work, but it was nice and solid. I didn’t have to tap him [with the whip]. He was very willing.”

A television cameraman was filming Baffert during the workout. After Silver Charm had finished, Baffert shoved his face into the camera’s lens and said, “Show me the money!”

Besides Saturday’s winning purse, which will be more than $400,000, Silver Charm can earn a $5-million bonus if he becomes the 12th horse to sweep the Triple Crown.