Lexington Stakes at Keeneland : Dispersal Ends Derby Bid by Finishing Fourth

LEXINGTON, Ky. —  Trainer Bud Delp’s return to the Kentucky Derby, the scene of his 1979 victory with Spectacular Bid, was canceled Tuesday when Dispersal lost the lead at the top of the stretch and finished fourth at Keeneland as the 3-5 favorite in the $110,250 Lexington Stakes.

Notation, who saved ground on the fence and avoided the drifting out by Dispersal through the stretch, won the 1 1/16-mile race by a nose over Bionic Prospect, with Charlie Barley third, another three-quarters of a length back. The race is not expected to produce any starters in the 115th Derby, which will be run May 6 at Churchill Downs, although the owners of Notation said that they wouldn’t definitely decide until later in the week.

Pat Day, who gave Notation an expert ride, wasn’t able to avoid the unruly Dispersal leaving the gate, but when it counted, through the stretch, Day and his colt were on the inside--which is the safe side--of the troublesome horse. Dispersal, who came out to bang the winner twice when he finished second to Western Playboy in the Blue Grass, tried to lean on Bionic Prospect Tuesday.

Chris Antley rode Dispersal Tuesday, because Delp thought that his colt’s antics in the Blue Grass were the fault of Jose Santos. Antley also had trouble controlling Dispersal, and after the race Delp indicated that the horse’s condition might be the problem, not the jockeys.

“He did that huckle-buck on us again today,” Delp said. “I think he’s having a recurrence of the shin problems that kept him from running as a 2-year-old. He’s walking sound, but we’ll X-ray the shins again to make sure. He must have chronic shin problems. We’ll take him to Maryland, work on the shins and plan for some races in a couple of months.”

Dispersal was undefeated before he came to Kentucky, winning three times at the Fair Grounds, including the Louisiana Derby. A son of Sunny’s Halo, the 1983 Kentucky Derby winner, Dispersal made his fifth start in 10 weeks in the Lexington.

Notation, a son of Well Decorated out of No Test, a Nodouble mare, went into the Lexington with only three victories in 13 starts and he was 10th, almost 17 lengths behind the victorious Western Playboy, in the Jim Beam at Turfway Park on April 1. Notation earned $71,662 for owner Joan C. Johnson while being timed in an ordinary 1:44 2/5 on a hot, humid day.

The crowd of 9,927 sent Notation off as the third betting choice in an eight-horse field and he paid $19.40, $8 and $4.60. Bionic Prospect paid $13.60 and $6.80 and Charlie Barley’s returned $6.60. After Dispersal, the rest of the order of finish was Majesty’s Imp, America’s Friend, Detonated and Foxy Reality.

Day will be riding the heavy favorite, Easy Goer, in the Kentucky Derby. In the Lexington, he and Notation settled into fourth place after they were bumped by Dispersal at the start. Dispersal held a short lead until the stretch, but Bionic Prospect moved ahead by a head at the eighth pole. It was all Antley could do to keep Dispersal off Bionic Prospect the rest of the way, and while the horses battled, there was plenty of room for Notation on the inside.

“Dispersal kind of broke into me, and it looked like Chris (Antley) had his hands full around the first turn,” Day said. “So I just kind of followed him up the backside and kept watching him, and it certainly appeared that Chris had his hands full at all times. I just sort of snuck in behind him turning for home.”

Since Spectacular Bid’s victory in the Kentucky Derby, Delp had been back to the race only once, finishing ninth with Silent King in 1984. He sounded more relieved than disappointed that he wouldn’t be returning to Churchill Downs this year.

“What with Easy Goer, I don’t think any horse in this (Lexington) field has a prayer in the Derby,” Delp said.

Horse Racing Notes

Western Playboy, the winner of the Blue Grass at Keeneland, has an infection in his left hock, a major joint in the middle of the rear leg, that prevented him being brought to the track at Keeneland Tuesday morning. Trainer Harvey Vanier said that the swelling, which began Saturday, has gone down and he expects to jog Western Playboy today. Vanier had planned to breeze Western Playboy Saturday at Churchill Downs, but now the workout may come Sunday or Monday.

Owner Gene Klein has accepted trainer Wayne Lukas’ recommendation and will run his filly, Open Mind, in the Kentucky Oaks on May 5 instead of the Kentucky Derby the next day. . . . Add Triple Buck’s name to the list of horses running in the Derby. He finished third in the Wood Memorial. . . . Houston, who runs Saturday in the Derby Trial at Churchill Downs, the last prep for the Derby, worked five furlongs there Monday in :58 3/5, which was faster than what Lukas expected. . . . Sunday Silence, the Santa Anita Derby winner and expected to be second betting choice to Easy Goer in the Derby, worked the same morning and covered seven furlongs in a more leisurely 1:28. . . . Another Lukas Derby hope, Manastash Ridge, was removed from consideration after he stumbled badly leaving the gate in last Saturday’s Arkansas Derby and cut himself.

Timely Assertion, who won the Santa Anita Oaks in 1987, broke down just a few strides before the wire in the race before the Lexington at Keeneland Tuesday and was destroyed on the track with a lethal injection. The 5-year-old mare’s jockey, Jacinto Vasquez, was thrown and suffered a bruised left thigh. Vasquez was taken to a hospital, where X-rays on a sore leg were negative. He was replaced by Gene St. Leon on Bionic Prospect, the second-place finisher in the Lexington. . . . Chris Antley, who has ridden at least one winner a day for the last 59 days he has ridden at Aqueduct, resumes riding there today. Antley rode Dynaformer to victory in the last race Tuesday at Keeneland.