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Lukas enjoys "quiet" week at barn 10
By Marc Connolly
ABC Sports Online
ELMONT, N.Y. -- There goes D. Wayne Lukas again. You can't miss him, with that ever-present cowboy hat and his odd penchant for wearing stiff-collared business shirts with Wrangler jeans. He is missing something this week, though: the pseudo-entourage that normally swims in his wake in the days leading up to a Triple Crown race.
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D. Wayne Lukas has avoided his usual media blitz at the Belmont this week because Commendable is a 20-1 longshot. |
Kind of quiet this week, huh Wayne?
"Yep, but this part is pleasant," says the venerable one. "I guess with a 20-1 [Commendable], there's not a lot of interest. It's OK, I've been on both sides. Given the choice, I'll take peace and quiet."
That doesn't mean he doesn't have a lot to say. Actually, the Hall of Fame trainer was as affable as you'll ever see him on a Friday morning. Standing stoically outside of Barn 10 in between Secretariat and Man O' War Avenues, he spouted on a variety of topics the day before he goes for his fourth Belmont victory and 13th overall Triple Crown triumph.
The first is the subject of Fusaichi Pegasus' and Red Bullet's absences from the third jewel. Unlike most in the industry, Lukas doesn't believe the Derby and Preakness winners would have been his top two choices in the field.
"I would not have felt that way," says the 64-year-old. "There are no locks. The media made Fusaichi Pegasus a lock in the Preakness, and that didn't happen. If you asked me before that race, I would have said that Pegasus was going in his third hard race in a row. The Derby is always a tough race, and the Wood was tough for everyone with the bad track."
As for Red Bullet's upset, Lukas can't fathom why a sound horse would skip the Derby for the Preakness.
"I never bought into that," he says. "It's like stepping over a $20 bill for a $5."
While his rival trainers are the first ones to admit that Lukas is the hardest working trainer in the business, many quietly have been known to question his philosophy when it comes to the high-profile events.
"Wayne Lukas doesn't think a Triple Crown race is supposed to go off without his presence," says one trainer.
Lukas doesn't feel the need to explain his decision-making. Not with the success he's had, and the never-ending supply of top 3-year-olds his gigantic operation produces year after year. He's not afraid of failure, either.
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I've seen so many riders come completely out of character here. I saw it happen to [Chris] McCarron with Alysheba [in 1987], and I thought Antley was out of character on my horse last year. ” |
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— D. Wayne Lukas |
"Unless there's some underlying reason, I can't see skipping any of these races if the horse is OK," says the former high school basketball coach.
That's why he's here with Commendable, even after a very disappointing 17th-place finish at the Derby in a race Lukas says his horse got "smothered" and "didn't know where he was."
He says he's trying to be objective on his horse's chances, and knows that Commendable's better days may come this fall when he matures, but he also doesn't lack confidence in the Bob and Beverly Lewis-owned chestnut colt.
"If the horse we see in the early morning before y'all get here shows up, we'll be OK," says Lukas. "He needs his career best. You don't get to practice the mile-and-a-half, but we've won three [Belmont Stakes races] so that's what we have to lean on."
Hall of Fame jockey Angel Cordero agrees that Lukas' experience pays big dividends in races of such magnitude.
"The art to keep good horses going and outperforming themselves each time comes down to whether the trainer is good enough," says Cordero, who won the Belmont aboard Bold Forbes in 1976. "And no one is smarter than Wayne. Commendable is a very talented horse that is starting to develop, and he'll do very well in the fall. But with this distance and Wayne's experience, he could do it on Saturday."
Of course, Lukas was in a much different position last year with Charismatic. After upsetting the field in both the Derby and Preakness, he traveled to New York looking to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed pulled the trick in 1978. Though his horse arguably would have succeeded if not for an injury to his left foreleg near the wire that forced him to settle for a third-place finish, Lukas blames the atmosphere of the Belmont for taking a toll on jockey Chris Antley that led to Charismatic's failure to win.
"I've seen so many riders come completely out of character here," says the Antigo, Wis., native. "I saw it happen to [Chris] McCarron with Alysheba [in 1987], and I thought Antley was out of character on my horse last year.
"Hell, we didn't even discuss that strategy he took before the race."
He says it has to do with the added element to winning the Triple Crown -- cold-hard cash.
"That $5 million on top really works their heads," says Lukas. "All the bells and whistles seem to go off."
He doesn't have to worry about that this year, not only because Commendable is a longshot, but also because he's got a living legend on the mount in Pat Day. Lukas says the two-time Belmont winner (including his ride aboard Lukas' Tabasco Cat in 1994) has been thrilled by Commendable's progression this spring.
"Pat said to me, 'I won't jump off this boy now. As soon as I do, something good is gonna happen. I can feel it,'" reveals Lukas, who gives Postponed and Unshaded good shots of winning after impressive performances in the Peter Pan on May 27.
If it happens on Saturday, Lukas' stable will go from being a mere ghost town to once again transforming into the hippest barn in the land, complete with entourage, hangers-on and all the usual staples the sport's most recognizable figure has come accustomed to living with.
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