Horsephotos

Jose Santos, on Funny Cide, revived his career with his family's support.

Well, yes, actually. A Derby victory for Jose Santos, 42, seemed long overdue, considering that in the late 1980's he was the hottest jockey in the country. But it was a long, arduous trip for Santos to get his first Derby victory. No, not for the courageous move to leave for the United States from South America 19 years ago, knowing only how to say "Thank you" in English. This win was about persevering through injuries, loss of business, and personal anguish, and coming out on the right side of each equation at 6:15 Saturday evening.

Santos, a native of Chile, was the leading jockey in purse earnings in the U.S. for four straight years, from 1986 through 1989. He set what was a single-season record in 1988, when his mounts earned $14,877,298. But the past decade or so has been a wild ride.

With his first marriage on the rocks, Santos moved to California in 1990, then went back to New York eight months later. He was in a nasty accident at Belmont Park in 1992, when he broke his right arm and collarbone. He rode a bit in Japan in 1999. In 2000, Santos finished 41st in the nation in purse earnings, and won just 89 races. Two years ago - just as it looked as though his career was starting to rebound - Santos fractured his wrist after winning the Hawthorne Derby. He wound up that year 61st in the nation in purse earnings, with $3,852,254, and with just 67 victories.

Rita - who, like Santos's first wife, is the sister of a jockey - has been Santos's biggest supporter for the past decade. Even in the most trying times, both personally and professionally, she has stood by him. Which is why when Funny Cide was being led out of the winner's circle, Santos made sure to grab a full complement of roses.

"I promised these to my wife," he said.

Scurrying about the jockeys' room was their son, Jose Jr., who had finally pulled himself together after becoming unglued before and during the race. Father and son are quite close, their bond all the stronger because Jose Jr. is the most precocious 8-year-old racing fan you will ever find.

Jose Jr. understood the significance of what his father was trying to accomplish on Saturday. He is now old enough to appreciate what his dad does. He has read of his father's glory days in the late 1980's, and was there for his father's two biggest victories in recent years, the Breeders' Cup Classic with Volponi six months ago, and the Belmont Stakes with Lemon Drop Kid in 1999. But the Derby is a different beast all together, and little Jose knew it.

"He was so nervous in the paddock," Rita Santos said. "He was crying and trembling and balling his eyes out. I've never seen him that way."

"I almost died," Jose Jr. said.

The wives of the Derby jockeys are taken en masse to a viewing stand just behind the main winner's circle at Churchill Downs. Rita Santos was in the third row. Jose Jr. could not see that well, so he moved to the first row, where he could be next to a closed-circuit television. He sat on the lap of Sonia Desormeaux, wife of Kent.

When the race started, "I was crying. I was watching Indian Express, because he almost went down," Jose Jr. said. "Then when they came into the stretch, I went, 'Oh my God, my dad's in the lead.' I started crying again."

"He made me cry like a baby," Sonia Desormeaux said while visiting with Rita Santos in the jockeys' room lounge. "I didn't even know where Kent was. I was cheering for you."

Funny Cide was in front when he passed Rita Santos, but there was still 100 yards to go. Rita Santos said she was afraid to watch the end of the race, and only knew Funny Cide had prevailed when people next to her grabbed her and said, "You won. You won." Before going to the winner's circle, Rita Santos said, "I had to pull myself together. I was a mess."

"It's awesome," Jose Jr. said. "My daddy's dream came true."

Santos has undergone a renaissance in the past two years. His victory on Volponi was the highlight of a year that saw his horses earn $11,882,955, placing him ninth in the nation in purse earnings, and he won 176 races. This year, Santos is eighth in the nation in purse earnings. He gives much of the credit to his jockey agent, Mike Sellito, a former New York City policeman better known around the track as "Mike the Cop."

"Mike has been my agent for 14 months, and my business has turned around 180 degrees," Santos said.

Santos had a whirlwind schedule after the Derby. He flew back to New York on Sunday morning - "I was flying higher than the airplane," he said - to ride at Aqueduct that afternoon. Monday morning, he worked Volponi, then hopped on a plane to his home in Hollywood, Fla., to surprise the four children - Nadia, 15, Jose Jr., Selena, 7, and Savannah, 5 - who live there with Rita.

"Little Savannah leaped into his arms. They're all so excited," Rita Santos said Tuesday from their home. "Jose went to Nadia's high school today. All the kids were cheering for him. He had tears in his eyes."

There have been other trappings for the Santos family. On Monday, Jose will be presented with the keys to the city of Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Next Thursday, the family will head to Baltimore for the May 17 Preakness. The Santoses are being dressed for the Preakness by the Saks Fifth Avenue store in Garden City, N.Y. They met television personality Carson Daly at the Derby, and he said he wants to sit with the Santoses at the Preakness.

"I'm really enjoying this," Rita Santos said. "It's like being with a movie star."

There is, however, one thing left on Jose's wish list. The Triple Crown is obvious, yes. But he would really like to take aim at something else.

"I want to throw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium," he said.

Preakness contenders

The following horses are being considered for the 128th Preakness Stakes on May 17 at Pimlico Race Course:

	HORSE		JOCKEY		TRAINER		LAST START
	Champali		P. Day		G. Foley		2nd, Derby Trial
	Empire Maker		J. Bailey		R. Frankel		2nd, Ky. Derby
	Eye of the Tiger		E. Coa		J. Hollendorfer		5th, Ky. Derby
	Funny Cide		J. Santos		B. Tagg		1st, Ky. Derby
	Indian Express		P. Valenzuela		B. Baffert		14th, Ky. Derby
	Peace Rules		E. Prado		R. Frankel		3rd, Ky. Derby
	Scrimshaw		C. Velasquez		D.W. Lukas		11th, Ky. Derby

* Possible: Domestic Dispute, Senor Swinger.

Horsephotos

Jose Santos rises from the saddle as Funny Cide beats Empire Maker (left) and Peace Rules (right).

Funny Cide, who became the first New York-bred to win the Derby, left Churchill Downs on Sunday morning only 14 hours after his Derby triumph and returned to Belmont Park, where trainer Barclay Tagg is based.

Tagg was thrilled with the way Funny Cide came out of the Derby.

"He's been perfect, just super," Tagg said Monday at Belmont Park. "He just came out of it like he'd done nothing."

Funny Cide got a Beyer Speed Figure of 108 for his Derby victory under jockey Jose Santos. He got a 110 when he finished a half-length behind Empire Maker in the Wood Memorial three weeks earlier.

Funny Cide did not arrive at Churchill Downs until Wednesday. He did his serious training after the Wood Memorial at Belmont Park. Tagg said he would employ a similar schedule leading up to the Preakness. He said Funny Cide would have a workout next Monday or Tuesday, most likely Tuesday, and then would go "as late as possible" to Pimlico.

The only hiccup Funny Cide had on Derby Day was acting up while walking over from the stable area to the paddock. Because of that, Tagg might send Funny Cide to Pimlico on Thursday in order to school Funny Cide for one day. But Tagg said Funny Cide might come as late as the morning of the race. Regardless, he will travel by van from Belmont Park.

The gelding is normally much better mannered than he was on the walk over, and his behavior concerned Jackson Knowlton, the head of the Sackatoga Stable partnership, which owns Funny Cide.

"He's leaving his race out here on the track," Knowlton said Saturday as he walked well behind Funny Cide.

Empire Maker, who was second as the favorite under Jerry Bailey, and Peace Rules, who was third with Edgar Prado, both are headed for the Preakness, trainer Bobby Frankel said on Monday from Hollywood Park, where he returned on Sunday.

"They're both probable," Frankel said. "Same riders for both. They came out of it good. They're just going to walk for a few days. I'll make a final decision after I go back to New York on Saturday night."

Empire Maker and Peace Rules were scheduled to travel to Belmont Park from Kentucky on Tuesday. Frankel said they will be part of a 40-horse contingent he will have in New York this summer.

Frankel said both Empire Maker and Peace Rules would travel to Baltimore on Wednesday of Preakness week.

On Sunday at Churchill Downs, Frankel said he was "leaning toward" running Peace Rules in the Preakness, but not Empire Maker. But he cautioned he would not make a final decision until he saw how both were acting after one week.

Frankel said he was disappointed he lost the Derby, but said he was happy at how well he held up through the demands of having the Derby favorite.

"I'm surprised how well I handled the whole day. I think I did a good job," he said. "It is a letdown, but I came in trying to treat the Derby like just another race, and I'm going out trying to treat it like just another race."

Frankel said he thought the missed training time Empire Maker had at mid-week because of a foot bruise could have contributed to the loss.

"Things with Empire Maker didn't go 100 percent," he said. "But I don't think the foot bothered him during the race. He missed a good gallop when he had to walk. But it might have meant nothing. He got beat by a better horse. Funny Cide had a great trip. Santos rode him well."

Empire Maker ran with a three-quarter shoe on his right front hoof. Frankel said he has run numerous horses in that type of shoe, and that it makes no difference in their performance.

"Put it this way, Aldebaran" - who won Saturday's Churchill Downs Handicap - "wore one on Saturday, and he got a lot of traction."

Frankel called Peace Rules a "courageous little horse."

"Now I know I can take him where I want to run him and not be scared of anybody," Frankel said. "I think he's on a par with Medaglia d'Oro at this stage of his career."

Three other Derby runners - Eye of the Tiger (who was fifth), Scrimshaw (11th), and Indian Express (14th) - are confirmed for the Preakness. Bob Baffert, who trains Indian Express, said Patrick Valenzuela most likely would get the riding assignment in the Preakness, replacing Tyler Baze.

Domestic Dispute (10th in the Derby) is possible, but most likely will skip the Preakness. Dynever, who most recently won the Aventura Stakes, is scheduled to run in Saturday's Lone Star Derby, but trainer Christophe Clement left open the slight possibility Dynever could be moved to the Preakness.

"Of course I'll take a look at the Preakness today and tomorrow," Clement said Monday at Belmont Park. Clement said he preferred the Lone Star Derby, however, because it "gives us an extra week to the Belmont Stakes." The Belmont, the final leg of the Triple Crown, is June 7.

Champali, the runner-up in the Derby Trial, is likely for the Preakness. Senor Swinger most likely will remain on turf after his victory in Friday's Crown Royal American Turf, but is still an outside possibility for the Preakness.

Buddy Gil, who finished sixth in the Derby, has a chip in his left front ankle that will be removed via arthroscopic surgery later this week by Dr. Larry Bramlage at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky., trainer Jeff Mullins said Monday.

Mullins said he was going to freshen Buddy Gil as well. "We're thinking long-term with him," Mullins said of Buddy Gil, who, like Funny Cide, is a gelding. "We want him around when he's a 5- and a 6-year-old."

The only other Derby casualty was Brancusi, who finished last of 16 after setting the pace. He has a quarter crack in his right front hoof, trainer Patrick Biancone said. "The ground was hard," Biancone said Monday.

Atswhatimtalknbout, who was fourth in the Derby, Ten Cents a Shine (eighth), and Ten Most Wanted (ninth) all will skip the Preakness and await the Belmont, their trainers said. Atswhatimtalknbout and Ten Cents a Shine will train at Churchill Downs. Ten Most Wanted returned Monday to Hollywood Park.

Ten Most Wanted has "a little bit of a back problem," trainer Wally Dollase said.

"He's petered out, just like I am," Dollase said.

Outta Here (seventh) will make his next start in either the Belmont or await the Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park on July 13.

Plans for Offlee Wild (12th) and Lone Star Sky (15th) are uncertain. The trainers of both colts said they would like to shop for spots where the competition is less fierce. Supah Blitz (13th) has returned to Florida and will be freshened for 30 days before resuming training.

- additional reporting by Steve Andersen, Glenye Cain, David Grening, Marty McGee, and Mike Welsch.

Horsephotos

Funny Cide, ridden by Jose Santos, becomes the first New York-bred ever to win the Kentucky Derby. He paid $27.60 to win after outlasting the favored Empire Maker (center).

Funny Cide, second to Empire Maker in the Wood Memorial three weeks earlier, turned the tables on the highly regarded favorite and struck a great blow for his home state by becoming the first New York-bred to ever win the Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

In addition to becoming the first New York-bred to win the race, Funny Cide also became the first gelding to win the Derby since Clyde Van Dusen in 1929. There had been 74 losing geldings since then.

Funny Cide gave both jockey Jose Santos and trainer Barclay Tagg their first Derby victories. Santos, 42, had ridden in six previous Derbies. His best finish was a fourth with Cryptoclearance in 1987. This was the first Derby starter for Tagg, 65, who gave considerable credit to his assistant, Robin Smullen, the exercise rider for Funny Cide.

Funny Cide, who won by 1 3/4 lengths, outlasted a tag team from trainer Bobby Frankel, with Empire Maker finishing second and Peace Rules third. Atswhatimtalknbout, who broke poorly, was finishing fastest of all in the final yards and was fourth, beaten two lengths.

"I think he was finishing best," said David Flores, who rode Atswhatimtalknbout. "I got into trouble and I couldn't get out. I was in behind a wall looking for any little spot."

Eye of the Tiger was fifth and was followed, in order, by Buddy Gil, Outta Here, Ten Cents a Shine, Ten Most Wanted, Domestic Dispute, Scrimshaw, Offlee Wild, Supah Blitz, Indian Express, Lone Star Sky, and Brancusi. Sir Cherokee was scratched Friday with a hairline fracture to his right hind leg.

Funny Cide completed 1 1/4 miles on the fast main track in 2:01.19.

A crowd of 148,530, the fifth-largest in Derby history, attended the 129th Derby, which was run on a sunny, spring-like afternoon. Funny Cide was the seventh choice in the field of 16 and paid $27.60 to win.

Empire Maker floated up to the 5-2 favorite, with the public backing off him from his 6-5 morning line in light of his highly publicized foot bruise the middle of the week, which caused his training schedule to be interrupted. Frankel conceded that the lack of activity might have caught up to Empire Maker in the final yards.

"It might be that a little missed training might have cost him the race," Frankel said.

Funny Cide, by Distorted Humor out of the Slewacide mare Belle's Good Cide, was sold as a yearling for a mere $22,000. He is owned by the Sackatoga Stable, a group of friends from Sacketts Harbor, N.Y., whose partnership is managed by Jackson Knowlton. Sackatoga purchased Funny Cide privately for $75,000 last year.

This was the fourth victory in seven starts for Funny Cide. He finished second to Empire Maker in the Wood, and third in the Louisiana Derby to Peace Rules in his two most recent starts.

Funny Cide received a perfect trip from the veteran Santos, who scored a major upset just six months ago with Volponi in the Breeders' Cup Classic. In the Derby, Santos was able to get Funny Cide to settle just behind the early pacesetters, Brancusi and Peace Rules, before moving to the lead near the top of the stretch.

"I was in perfect position," Santos said. "At the three-eighths pole, he felt very strong. Going a mile and quarter, he kept digging and digging."

The race was relatively clean, with the exception of a poor start and traffic for Atswhatimtalknbout, and some bumping near the start and again on the first turn that compromised the chances of the speed horse Indian Express.

As the field neared the far turn, Brancusi began to stop badly, leaving Peace Rules on the lead. But Funny Cide was up to engage him quickly, and he and Peace Rules passed the mile mark in 1:35.75.

Empire Maker got to the flank of Funny Cide near the top of the stretch, but Funny Cide never let him past.

"I was parked a little bit wide on the first turn," said Jerry Bailey, who rode Empire Maker. "When he went to the leaders, he didn't do it with authority."

Bailey said he did not think Empire Maker was compromised by the foot bruise that forced him to miss a day of training at mid-week, and to merely jog another day.

- additional reporting by Steve Andersen and David Grening