Sunday, May 3, 1998

BY NEIL SCHMIDT
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Kent Desormeaux won his first Derby. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

LOUISVILLE -- He lifted the helmet clear off his head, revealing the skull once shattered in 16 places, to kiss Kentucky. "I love this state!" he screamed.

Kent Desormeaux meant both the Commonwealth and his intoxication. Drunk on the euphoria of his first Kentucky Derby victory, the 28-year-old jockey blew a kiss to Churchill Downs, then punched the sky.

"I couldn't thrust my fist high enough," he said later.

At the wire, it was Real Quiet. Then the joyous noise of 143,215 fans rattled in Desormeaux's left ear, the one not damaged in the fall which nearly took his life.

"The first feeling was one of shock, when I crossed the wire," he said. "Then I wanted to laugh a little while, and I wanted to cry awhile."

There would be time for both Saturday. Riding unsung Real Quiet, the fifth choice in a talented field, Desormeaux streaked past favorite Indian Charlie at the top of the stretch and held off Victory Gallop by a half-length.

The turf writers who knew him broke into applause at his news conference. There was no one more deserving.

"Kent had been in a rut awhile, but I always believed he'd come all the way back," said trainer Bob Baffert, who won his second consecutive Derby. "I told him his attitude was bad, and he had to get back to (grooming) his own horses.

"I gave him that speech and put him on good horses, and he's been super since. You've got to stick with good riders."

Trainer Bob Baffert calls Real Quiet 'The Fish' because of the horse's narrow width. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

Desormeaux's return was worth the wait.

He had been a prodigy, topping the national earnings list with $14.1 million in 1992, capturing his third Eclipse Award as the nation's top jockey at the age of 22. But on Dec. 11 of that year, he was involved in a collision at Hollywood Park.

With the multiple skull fractures, doctors weren't sure he would live through the night.

At the same time, his wife, Sonia, went into labor with their first child, but developed toxemia, a type of blood poisoning. After giving birth four weeks prematurely to son Joshua, she was shipped to the intensive care unit.

Meanwhile, Desormeaux's heart stopped, and he also went to ICU.

Miraculously, all survived. Desormeaux got back into riding, but hadn't regained his edge until Baffert took him under his wing last year.

Baffert preached patience. Even after Desormeaux dropped his reins and broke his whip in his last start with Real Quiet, a runner-up finish to Indian Charlie at the Santa Anita Derby, Baffert expressed his confidence in him.

"There are three men -- Bob Baffert, (owner) Mike Pegram and my dad -- who I owe my life," Desormeaux said.

His father, Harris, was a horse owner. The family business sparked Desormeaux's interest.

"I was always around horses," Desormeaux said. "I watched this race when I was 11 years old, thinking about today."

Baffert had inadvertently kept Desormeaux from winning his first Triple Crown race when Silver Charm nipped Desormeaux's Free House by a nose in the Preakness last year. And when he assigned horses this spring, Desormeaux didn't get Baffert's best -- that was Indian Charlie, which went off the 5-2 favorite.

Real Quiet had the Derby field's worst dosage, an index based on pedigree that indicates a horse's ability to handle distances. Three months ago, he finished last in the Golden Gate Derby, losing by 22 1/2 lengths.

But he stalked the field Saturday, then roared into the lead at the mile mark. He gave Desormeaux anxious moments as Victory Gallop closed down the stretch.

"When I moved him to the outside of Indian Charlie (into the lead), he back-seated me, and I was like, "Oh, baby,' " Desormeaux said. "When we turned for home, I was like, "Yes, maybe.' And at the eighth pole, I was like, "Oh, (shoot).'

"In the stretch, I asked him for his life, and he gave it to me. And then all the emotions hit me."

Pegram, who had loaned Baffert a million dollars in 1989 to help him set up a thoroughbred stable, had gotten Baffert's thanks last year in the victory speech after Silver Charm won. This time, with his first Derby horse, he got a win.

Pegram, 46, grew up in nearby Princeton, Ind., and now owns 22 McDonald's restaurants north of Seattle. Desormeaux's silks were McDonald's red and gold.

"There was nothing better than seeing the Golden Arches turning for home," he said.

Silver Charm had been a bargain purchase Baffert likened to "a ham sandwich." By comparison, Real Quiet's $17,000 purchase price was a steal.

"Pegram asked me what he cost," Baffert said, "and when I told him he said, "What's he have, cancer?' "

Nope, roses. It has been 20 years since the last Triple Crown winner, Affirmed; Real Quiet will attempt to take the next step May 16 in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.

"I don't know if he can come back and win the Preakness in two weeks," Baffert said. "That's asking a lot, after how hard he ran today."

Real Quiet earned $738,800 of the $1,038,800 total purse. Should he win the Preakness and Belmont, he would earn a $5 million bonus.

Victory Gallop, stuck in the 12th post, got boxed in early Saturday and was last (15th) after a half-mile. Jockey Alex Solis rallied him to third at the head of the stretch, but Real Quiet held him off.

Halory Hunter, owned by Boston Celtics coach Rick Pitino, finished fourth, a head behind Indian Charlie.

Favorite Trick, the reigning Horse of the Year owned by West Chester retiree Joseph LaCombe, was in contention in fifth place at the mile mark, but faded down the stretch to finish eighth.