Kaelin Springs Da Devil of an Upset in Kentucky Classic

You bump into trainer Forrest Kaelin a lot at Churchill Downs, not because he’s running a horse in the Kentucky Derby, but because his barn is adjacent to the stable of Wayne Lukas, who hasn’t missed a Derby since 1981.

At Turfway Park on Saturday, you could have bumped into Kaelin in the winner’s circle. Of all things, Kaelin’s 65-1 longshot, Da Devil, won a $500,000 race, while Lukas’ Cat Thief, the 9-5 favorite, was finishing third in the Kentucky Cup Classic.

Kaelin, 64, ran Da Devil in the 1 1/8-mile race even though his jockey, Calvin Borel, didn’t think much of the 4-year-old gelding’s six-furlong workout at Churchill Downs on Tuesday.

“He didn’t impress me,” Borel said after Saturday’s half-length win over Social Charter. “We were going into the race like we didn’t have a shot.”

Borel, riding in place of the injured Joe Judice, followed Kaelin’s only pre-race advice and kept Da Devil wide, free of trouble. Coming out of the final turn, they were six horses away from the fence, but Da Devil closed the fastest to hit the wire in a slow time of 1:50 2/5. He paid $132.80 while carrying 110 pounds, seven less than Cat Thief and 12 less than the top- weighted Classic Cat, who finished seventh at 2-1.

Da Devil had won only two of nine starts this year, both wins coming in allowance company. He had finished no better than third in four stakes races this year, and was last in a five-horse field two weeks ago in the Kentucky Cup Classic Preview.

In other Kentucky Cup day races at Turfway, Edgar Prado rode two winners for New York trainer John Kimmel--Successful Appeal in the $150,000 Sprint and Regally Appealing in the $100,000 Juvenile Fillies. Lukas and jockey Pat Day teamed up to win the $100,000 Juvenile with Millencolin, and Ruby Surprise, another longshot, was the 10-1 winner of the $250,000 Turfway Breeders’ Cup Stakes.

Ruby Surprise, ridden by Willie Martinez for trainer Bob Holthus, beat Let by one length. Countess Diana, the 1997 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner at Hollywood Park, is trying to revive her career, but she took another backward step with a seventh-place finish.

Kimmel, who remained at Belmont Park, had less luck in the $250,000 Vosburgh Stakes when his Crafty Friend, one of the best sprinters in New York, finished off the board. Artax won the seven-furlong race in a sharp 1:21 3/5, beating Stormin Fever by 3 1/2 lengths, with Mountain Top running third.

Jorge Chavez, who rode Artax, a 4-1 shot, won the Vosburgh for the fourth consecutive year. Artax, whose year started in California for trainer Randy Bradshaw, was saddled Saturday by Lou Albertrani. This was only the second 1999 win in 13 starts for the colt, whose travels have included a near-disastrous race on Preakness day at Pimlico, where a spectator ran onto the track during the stretch run and tried to punch him in the head.

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Buck’s Boy, in his last prep for the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Gulfstream Park on Nov. 6, finished second, beaten by a head, to Dawson’s Legacy in the $107,600 Sky Classic Handicap at Woodbine. Buck’s Boy won the Breeders’ Cup race last year at Churchill Downs and was voted the male turf title. Buck’s Boy was the 1-5 favorite in the 1 3/8-mile Sky Classic. He carried 124 pounds, 10 more than Dawson’s Legacy, who paid $22.50.

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Fighting Falcon, the 11-10 favorite, stumbled leaving the gate and was third at the end of the $138,750 Bay Meadows Breeders’ Cup Derby in San Mateo, where Mula Gula, ridden by Rafael Meza, beat Miss Chryss by one length.

Horse Racing Notes

At Fairplex Park today, the Los Angeles County Fair meet ends with a card highlighted by the $100,000 Ralph M. Hinds Pomona Invitational Handicap. Heading the field is Del Mar Gray, who will try to win on dirt after notching two grass wins this year. Trainer Mel Stute, who has won the last two runnings of the stake with Score Quick, is running Kona Wind, who ended a five-race losing streak with a win at Del Mar on Sept. 3. Matt Garcia, who rode Score Quick, also rides Kona Wind. . . . Isaypete, winner of the Derby Trial a week ago, returned to win the Pomona Derby, beating Lesters Boy by four lengths. The Morris Monroe, trained by Stute and ridden by Garcia, finished sixth as the slight favorite over Isaypete.