Columnist Ralph Siraco: Silver Charm's performance not as Super as expected

Ralph Siraco's horse racing column appears on Monday and his Southern California selections run Tuesday through Friday on the scoreboard page. Write to him c/o Las Vegas Sun, 800 S. Valley View, Las Vegas, NV 89107.

He got a first-class plane ride to Florida, a presidential-like motorcade through Miami and a Super Bowl hype with his rider and trainer comparable to Mike Shanahan and John Elway. He even shared the weekend on the Super Bowl network.

But, when the dust cleared, he and his trainer, Bob Baffert, and his rider, Gary Stevens, did not enjoy the same glory as Mike and John.

At the end of his Super Bowl horse racing appearance, Silver Charm did not share the gold or even the silver but instead saved the bronze in the shadow of the finish line of the Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park on Saturday.

The Fox television network shared its inaugural Champions on Fox horse racing series with its Super Bowl coverage in hopes of exposing a larger- than-usual audience to the great Sport of Kings.

The scheduling couldn't have been more ideal. The Super Bowl in Miami and the Donn Handicap in nearby Hallendale, Fla.

An adjustment to accommodate both events and strategically placed in the hours of pre-Super Bowl coverage, Fox was set to kick off the series with as much hoopla as the kickoff of Super Bowl XXXIII the following day.

All that was left was a marquee name for the race.

In steps Bob and Beverly Lewis and their equine superstar, Silver Charm.

The Lewises have been strong supporters of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association -- the industry's new league office -- and its efforts to market racing. The Champions on Fox series is a joint effort of the network and the NTRA to bring the great handicap horses of the sport to a national audience through television.

The NTRA and Fox knew full well they needed a star to insure the series' appeal and Silver Charm was the most logical candidate for that position.

After all, he had almost won the Triple Crown in 1997 with victories in the Derby and Preakness only to finish second in the Belmont, and that sustained national coverage had people talking about the Charm.

He returned last year as a 4-year-old to stay in the spotlight with a victory halfway around the world in the $4 million Dubai World Cup and returned to compete through a second-place finish in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic at the end of the year.

So, after a powerful 1999 debut victory in the San Pasqual Handicap at Santa Anita in early January that signaled the Charm was back, the Donn Handicap got what it needed -- the marquee attraction -- and everything fit into place.

Until they ran the race.

It seemed that R.D. Hubbard, who heads Hollywood Park, Inc., a Southern California race track, is also a supporter of the NTRA. After a talk with his trainer, Richard Mandella, Dee decided to enter his Chilean champion, Puerto Madero, to insure a competitive event.

The 5-year-old runner had also won his last start in the mid-December Native Diver Handicap at his owner's track, but it was his outstanding efforts in training since the victory that convinced his owner and trainer to take the trip from California to Florida for the Donn challenge.

Local handicap runners contributed in filling the Donn entry box to an even dozen and the Charm was anything but lucky as the gray star drew the outside post position.

Overnight rains had made the Gulfstream Park racing strip anything but fast and by Saturday's race time the track was favoring somewhat cuppy going.

It was obvious that Silver Charm had to overcome more than just the bad post, but, when the gates opened for the 1 1/8-mile Grade I event, it didn't take long for observers to realize that this was not going to be Silver Charm's day.

Jockey Gary Stevens took the Charm way off the pace as he tried to save ground but was still wide as the field made its way down the Gulfstream backstretch. Puerto Madero, breaking from post six, got the dream trip stalking a four-way speed duel.

Jockey Kent Desormeaux waited patiently for the big gray favorite to roll up to his charge, but Silver Charm never came. So, when Behrens shadowed Puerto Madero as the pace-setters started to falter, Desormeaux hit the pedal and the race was over. Behrens would hold a clear second while Sliver Charm just got up for third.

The trip, the outside post position, the track condition, the humidity of south Florida or maybe a combination of all the above contirbuted to the uncharateristic dismal performace by Silver Charm, buttake nothing away from Puerto Madero's victory.

As trainer Baffert philosophically put it after the race, "It just wasn't his day."

The Lewises were disappointed that their star didn't live up to the Super-hyped billing, but were supportive of the effort.

So, maybe Puerto Madero will get to ride first class on the way back to California and Silver Charm can share a moment with the Atlanta Falcons as to what might have been.

* DERBY WATCH: The 125th Kentucky Derby is now 90 days away and three stakes run over the weekend brought different conclusions and ifs: If the Derby were 7 furlongs, then the quinella would have to be Bet Me Best and Texas Glitter based on their outstanding duel in Gulfstream's Hutcheson Stakes on Sunday. Bet Me Best remained undefeated from seven lifetime starts with a gutty victory over Texas Glitter after they battled through scorching fractions of 43:3 for the half, 1:08:1 for 6 furlongs on the way to a final clocking of 1:22:1. If the Derby were run on off going then General Challenge may be the pick. The Bob Baffert-trained, California-bred stretched his speed to two-turns while stretching his unbeaten win streak to three with a victory in the Santa Catalina Stakes at Santa Anita on Sunday. ... Gary Stevens took the red-eye from Florida Saturday nig ht to return in time to ride the promising son of General Meeting. And, if the Derby ran Saturday at the Fairgrounds, the Breeders' Cup Juvenile-Kentucky D

erby jinx would have stretched to 15 years and counting. No winner of the Juvenile has ever come back as a 3-year-old to capture the Derby. The current winner, Answer Lively, made his 1999 sophomore debut with an off-the-board no-show in the Lacomte Stakes at the historic Louisiana track, and by the way he was beaten it doesn't look like Lively will have the Answer.

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