Crown for a King

With horses as with humans, sons of famous fathers rarely measure up to their sires. But last week at Churchill Downs, a dark bay three-year-old son of Native Dancer, one of the great horses in the history of thoroughbred racing, did something his daddy couldn't do: he won the Kentucky Derby.

Just as the Dancer was in 1953, when he lost to Dark Star by a head (the only defeat of his career), Kauai King was the post-time favorite--at odds of 2-1. Owned by Omaha businessman Mike Ford, who bought him as a yearling for $42,000, he was clearly a stick-out in an otherwise lackluster 15-horse field: he had earned $125,647, won seven out of twelve races, including three stakes, and he had finished out of the money only twice in his career. True, he had three strikes against him:

1) he was bred in Maryland (no Maryland-bred had ever won the Derby),

2) his trainer had never handled a Derby horse before, and 3) his jockey had never ridden in the Derby. In a sport as unpredictable as horse racing, three strikes do not automatically mean an out. Trainer Henry Forrest and Jockey Don Brumfield were both native Kentuckians, and they were also old hands at Churchill Downs--whose extra-fast surface and extra-long stretch (1,2341 feet) make it one of the trickiest tracks in the U.S.

The Forrest-Brumfield strategy was simple: take the lead and stay there. "When you're in front," said Brumfield, "the other horses have to cover the ground you've already been over." Going into the first turn of the H-mile race, Kauai King had a two-length lead which he widened to as much as four lengths in the backstretch. Abe's Hope, second choice of the bettors at 3-1, was hopelessly outrun. One by one, Kauai King's other challengers made their moves. Braulio Baeza rushed Stupendous up along the rail; Earlie Fires ranged up on the outside aboard Blue Skyer; Johnny Sellers took Advocator wide, came within inches of wresting the lead away from Kauai King on the last turn. "I had him hooked," sighed Sellers afterward, "but I didn't have enough horse."

For a while, Brumfield thought he didn't either. He prayed all the way to the wire ("I turned my eyes to heaven, and I said, 'Help me now, Lord, 'cause I need you.'"). At the finish, Kauai King was one-half length ahead of Advocator and Blue Skyer. Panted Winning Jockey Brumfield: "I am the happiest hillbilly highboots you ever did see. This is one whole great blissful thing."

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