Wednesday, May 03, 2000
Locals Derby dreaming
Deputy Warlock carries hopes of the Bachs
By George Rorrer
Enquirer contributor
Trainer Ken McPeek and Cincinnati-owned Deputy Warlock.
(Gary Landers photo)
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LOUISVILLE — It's as certain a sign of spring in Kentucky as azaleas, tulips and roses. Start with a man and his wife, add a hard-working trainer and throw in a fast-closing thoroughbred, and another Kentucky Derby dream is born.
This one features Jerry and Feye (pronounced Fee) Bach, a trainer named Kenny McPeek and a 3-year-old named Deputy Warlock, Cincinnati's horse in the 126th Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs.
Deputy Warlock is not among the favorites. He hasn't won any of his four races this year, and he's likely to be in the mutuel betting field. But he's a homestretch runner, and that has often been the key to classic victories down the long lane at Churchill.
Old-timers can close their eyes and visualize Gato Del Sol coming from 19th place to win the 1982 Derby, Pleasant Colony roaring from 16th to win in 1981, Unbridled rallying from 12th to win in 1990, and many others.
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AT A GLANCE
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• When: Saturday
• Where: Churchill Downs, Louisville
• TV: 4:30-6 p.m., ABC
• Distance: 1 1/4 miles
• Purse: $1 million guaranteed
• Starters: 20 expected
• Early favorite: Fusaichi Pegasus
• The Draw: 5-6 p.m. today , ESPN
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That's the dream that keeps McPeek and the Bachs going. In Deputy Warlock's races this year he has been fourth twice and seventh twice, but McPeek said there were extenuating circumstances.
“This year almost all of the (Derby) prep races have been won by horses on the pace or just a little bit off it,” McPeek said. “I hope it creates a good situation for our horse. In the Blue Grass Stakes (April 15) he was 131/2 lengths behind (winner High Yield) at the three-eighths pole and he got beat by 31/2. He made up 10 lengths, and that was in a 1í-mile race. In the (11/4-mile) Derby, he'll have another eighth of a mile to make it up.
“The four tracks he has run over this winter have all favored speed. This one doesn't. In the Kentucky Derby you have to have a horse that finishes well. It's hard to win on the lead.”
The Bachs, of Cincinnati, own Select Stable, a small racing operation. Two Septembers ago they took McPeek and went shopping at the Keeneland yearling sale. They bought Deputy Warlock for $220,000.
“The bidding was pretty heated,” McPeek said. “They gave me an option — did I want this horse for that much money, or did I want to take the money and buy two others. I said I wanted this one, and when we got him Jerry leaned over and gave me a noogie right on my old, bald head.”
Deputy Warlock was a winner in his first two starts, and Jerry Bach says it has been like winning a lottery on the cheap — “You've got to buy one ticket to play, but you obviously have a better chance if you've got 10 tickets in your pocket.”
Feye could've pocketed a profit if she had accepted a bid by Bob Baffert to buy the horse, she said. “(But) maybe one day we'll wish we took it, but you could sell and never get a horse to the Derby again. Or you could keep him and maybe he'll come up sharp. When you've only got one, you hate to let go.”
Deputy Warlock won his maiden race as a 2-year-old, then won River Downs' signature event, the Cradle Stakes, as a 38-to-1 shot. After he finished third in the Kentucky Cup Juvenile at Turf way, he won the Hawthorne Juvenile in Chicago.
McPeek, 38, has been to the Derby once before. His Tejano Run finished second to Thunder Gulch in 1995. Deputy Warlock, he said, is “probably physically better prepared” than was Tejano Run. But, he said, “Whether he runs as well remains to be seen.”
And even if he doesn't, the Versailles, Ky., resident said, life is good. “My wife is expecting our first child,” he said. “That puts perspective on winning and losing horse races.
“Win or lose, Select Stable and I will be back. This will not be our last Derby starter. I'm hoping we'll be having more trips.”
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