The Sun Is Far From Setting on Cauthen’s Riding Empire

LEXINGTON, Ky. —  At 18, he rode to the top of the world, a skinny Kentucky boy who captivated racing fans while capturing the Triple Crown astride a horse named Affirmed.

Steve Cauthen is nearly 30 now. He rides in England, where his legend has grown to the point that he is revered on both sides of the Atlantic. Three times in 10 years there he has been jockey of the year.

With all his phenomenal success, Cauthen still shows no sign of getting off this ride. The jockey once tagged as “The Kentucky Kid” says he has many more races to run.

“I’ll ride as long as I’m healthy, enjoying it and I’m successful,” Cauthen said. “And, I get good horses.”

And why should he retire? He was second to Pat Eddery, an English legend, for jockey of the year honors last year. He was fourth in 1988, despite a fall that put him out of action for much of that season.

He gets occasional chances to ride in the United States. He turned down a couple of rides in last year’s Breeders’ Cup because of commitments in England.

Cauthen concedes he doesn’t want to ride as long as Bill Shoemaker.

“My plan is not to ride when I’m 55 years old,” Cauthen said. “There’s other areas I’m interested in, and I’d like to try them before I get too old . . . things like breeding, television, some sort of commentating, maybe.”

Cauthen has returned to Kentucky for some tennis, golf and a general “recharging” of his mind and body during Britain’s off-season.

Cauthen had 487 victories worth more than $6 million when he was 17 years old. When he arrived in England in 1979, after riding 110 races without a win, many Britons expected a brash, cocky American. What they got was a boyish, shy, self-effacing and quiet young man.

As Cauthen adapted to his new home, he also had to change his riding style to better suit the undulating, wide-open, sometimes sharp-turned grass courses in Britain. He finally hit his stride in 1984, when he became the first American jockey in 71 years to win the English flat racing championship.

Cauthen still dreams of coming back to America to ride a winner in a big race. But with his commitments in England, it isn’t always possible to get back for a race, let alone find a good horse.

“There’s no doubt, I’d love to do it, and hopefully I will be able to do it. . . . At one time, I thought I’d like to come back and prove something here, because I felt like I had to. I’d still like to do it, but I don’t have to.”

Cauthen is best remembered for his campaign aboard Affirmed. The Belmont stands out.

“The thing that I remember about the race--most of the time, you’re going so fast, you can never hear anything--but when Alydar came up to challenge, you could hear the eruption from the crowd. I just remember turning into the straight, and the horse was getting tired, I was getting tired, but it was sort of a ‘now or never’ situation. I hit him left-handed, and he found that little bit of extra in him. He just wouldn’t let that other horse get by him. I was damned glad to get by that winning post.”