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Thursday, November 02, 2000

By Pohla Smith, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

If owners Jeanne Vance and Laddie Dance were big bettors, they'd simply laugh and double up their wager on Lemon Drop Kid in the Breeders' Cup Classic on Saturday. It's not often that a horse with a string of four Grade I and II victories to his credit goes to post with odds as long as 5-1.

But, Vance said, "I figure you make a big bet when you buy him." Therefore, she, her husband Dance and trainer Scotty Schulhofer simply are laughing off the morning line on the $4,770,000 race.

Oddsmaker Mike Battaglia posted reigning Kentucky Derby champion Fusaichi Pegasus the 8-5 favorite after post positions were drawn yesterday for all eight Cup races. He lumped three other horses with Lemon Drop Kid next on the line at 5-1 -- late-developing 3-year-olds Albert the Great and Tiznow and Vision and Verse. Lemon Drop Kid, Battaglia said, should be considered his fourth choice.

That's a big change since early last month, when the 4-year-old Lemon Drop Kid was considered the leading candidate for Horse of the Year. Fusaichi Pegasus was thought to be the only horse with the potential to beat him.

"It's all right. That's horse racing," Schulhofer said of the big swing in public opinion.

It all can be traced to just one race, the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park Oct. 14. Fusaichi Pegasus and Lemon Drop Kid were the favorites for the Gold Cup, but Fusaichi Pegasus injured a foot a few days before and stayed in the barn. Lemon Drop Kid went off the 7-10 favorite and finished a distant fifth, behind Albert the Great, Gander and Vision and Verse.

As human athletes like to say, it's a short distance from the penthouse to the outhouse. People looked at the up-the-track finish that snapped Lemon Drop Kid's four-stake winning streak and figured it meant he'd started to tail off.

"I don't think people analyzed the race well," Dance said mildly. "He got knocked out of contention early in the race. He was not used up. So many people say they saw the race, but I ask them, 'Did you watch the race?' "

Perhaps it's just a matter of perception -- or faith. Whatever, it may be the most unusual morning line in the 17-year history of the Classics. Fusaichi Pegasus has raced just once since his second-place showing in the Preakness in May, and some people question his readiness. If Battaglia and the rest of the handicappers are right, the full field of 14 should make for a highly contentious and enjoyable race.

The entire card shapes up the same way. Battaglia posted only one odds-on favorite, streaking West Coast-based and Brazilian-bred Riboletta at 4-5 in the $2,360,000 Distaff. He had no choice, since Riboletta, a $400,000 supplement nomination to the race, has beaten every top-ranked filly or mare in the nation during a six-stake winning streak. Still, the field of nine --- the only non-full field of the card -- looks like anything but a walkover. One could make a very strong case for defending Distaff winner Beautiful Pleasure, who has raced just once against Riboletta and lost by two lengths off a layoff. She is the 5-2 second choice for the race. But the double-digit odds Battaglia posted on such accomplished fillies and mares as Heritage of Gold, Lu Ravi and Surfside will be tempting to longshot bettors and serious handicappers alike.

A capsule look at the other races:

The $1,140,000 Juvenile Fillies -- The 5-for-5 Raging Fever, trained by Mark Hennig, is the 7-2 favorite with Jerry Bailey riding. Notable Career, who has three firsts and three seconds for trainer Bob Baffert in California, is 9-2; and Cindy's Hero and Freefourracing each are 5-1.

The $1,170,000 Mile -- Neil Drysdale-trained War Chant, the late-developing 3-year-old who cracked a shoulder bone in the Kentucky Derby, is the 4-1 choice after coming back from the injury with a victory in the Oak Tree Breeders' Cup Mile. King Cugat, winner of the Jamaica Handicap for trainer Bill Mott, is 5-1.

The $1 million Sprint -- Kona Gold, who has four wins and a second in five sprint starts this year, is the 5-2 favorite. Next at 3-1 is 5-for-6 Caller One, who took the Kentucky Club Sprint last time out.

The $1,210,000 Filly & Mare Turf -- Petrushka, a European contender who looks every bit as regal as her name, is at 5-2 off three consecutive Group 1 victories in France, England and Ireland.

The $1,070,000 Juvenile -- Bob Baffert's 4-for-4 Flame Thrower is 3-1, while Nick Zito's rapidly improving A P Valentine is 7-2.

The $2,480,000 Turf -- Montjeu, the 1999 winner of the prestigious Prix de l'Arc de Triumphe is the 5-2 choice.