BAFFERT IS BACK AFTER BAD MONTH.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI

By saddling the first- and second-place finishers in the Santa Anita Derby, Bob Baffert put a month of headaches behind him - and condemned himself to another.

March was not the trainer's best month. An injury forced the abrupt retirement of once top-ranked 3-year-old Exploit. Two other Kentucky Derby hopefuls, General Challenge and Straight Man, suffered their first losses. Silver Charm, the 1997 Derby winner, ran up the track in Dubai, and Real Quiet, the '98 Derby winner, was withdrawn from a major race in Arkansas. A shouting match with a jockey agent over riding assignments led to Baffert shoving the man - and left the impression he was cracking under all that bad news.

``The only person I know of who had a worse week than I had was Coach K,'' Baffert said more than once in recent days, referring to Mike Krzyzewski, coach of NCAA final loser Duke.

Then, at about noon Friday, Baffert discovered that new top-ranked 3-year-old Prime Timber had a tender hind foot and might have to be scratched from the Santa Anita Derby.

No wonder that after the big performances by General Challenge and Prime Timber in the West's major Kentucky Derby prep race Saturday, Baffert pleaded for a few hours to savor the victory before being forced to think about what's next.

Suddenly, Baffert's chances of winning a record third straight Run for the Roses on May 1 look outstanding again.

A day before the Santa Anita Derby, his 3-year-old filly Excellent Meeting trounced a weak field in the Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas. An hour before the Santa Anita Derby, his other 3-year-old filly Silverbulletday ran away with the Ashland Stakes at Keeneland in Kentucky.

And in the Santa Anita race right before the Derby, Baffert's colt Finder's Gold dominated an allowance race to put himself back on the road to Churchill Downs - or at least the sidewalk.

Now the challenge for Baffert is to pick his team for the Kentucky Derby, a team that will include at least two horses or as many as . . .?

``Twenty!'' Baffert said with aplomb when he was asked how many horses he could conceive of entering in a Kentucky Derby. Twenty is the Derby limit.

Actually, Baffert can choose from among six 3-year-olds, assuming they all stay healthy and train well.

General Challenge: He's confirmed on an April 13 flight to Louisville after Saturday's 3-1/2-length victory, the California-bred gelding's first race since he was fitted with blinkers to improve his concentration.

``Today he focused all of his energy in the right direction when he got to the starting gate,'' jockey Gary Stevens said of the high-spirited horse.

Of course, composure comes easier with 35,023 fans behind the rail. Let's see how he handles the Churchill Downs crowd of 140,000-plus.

Prime Timber: He'll be on that flight too, and his fans shouldn't be discouraged by Saturday's defeat.

With a slow early pace working against them, Prime Timber and David Flores were able to rally from fifth to second in the last three-eighths of a mile. The effort looked even stronger half an hour later, when Baffert revealed he feared he'd have to scratch the colt because of the sore foot.

``He must have stepped on something. He was noticeably off in the back (left) leg,'' Baffert said. But the trainer's staff removed the shoe and treated the foot overnight. Whatever they did worked.

``This is really going to set him up (for the Kentucky Derby). He ran the same race Real Quiet did last year,'' Baffert said. As Real Quiet did, Prime Timber and General Challenge covered the final eighth of a mile in about 12 3/5 seconds, which says good things about their chances at 1-1/4 miles.

Straight Man: Already in Kentucky, Bob and Beverly Lewis' talented but underseasoned colt might run April 18 in Keeneland's Lexington Stakes, a back door to the Derby. Baffert wishes he had another month to prepare him.

Straight Man seems unlikely to be pushed into the Derby if Baffert has other horses. Which he will.

Finder's Gold: Saturday's win probably was too little, too late, to get him to Louisville. His breeders and owners, John and Betty Mabee of San Diego, also have General Challenge and Excellent Meeting.

Silverbulletday: Now the hard part: The champion 2-year-old filly of 1998 has done enough to merit a Derby try in an average year. But owner Mike Pegram has already won a Derby with Real Quiet and would settle for the Kentucky Oaks - the fillies' Derby - the day before.

Excellent Meeting: Now the harder part: Would the Mabees rather have two shots at the Derby - with General Challenge and Excellent Meeting - or one shot at the Derby and one at the Oaks?

Mabee indicated that unless something goes wrong with General Challenge, the filly is bound for the Oaks.

This is the remarkable statistic on Baffert's Santa Anita Derby success: In the past four years, he has won the race three times, and finished first or second with six different horses, who competed in the colors of six different owners.

Now, if Baffert can keep all of his 3-year-olds healthy and pick the right race for each, he'll keep all of his owners happy.

Baffert said he won't finalize any decisions until the week of the Derby.

``I think,'' he said, ``the few dark hairs I have on the back of my neck are going to be white after the next few weeks.''

HO HUM, IT'S BAFFERT AGAIN

On his way to winning the past two Kentucky Derbies with Silver Charm and Real Quiet, trainer Bob Baffert has done even better in the past four Santa Anita Derbies:

Yr Horse Finish

1996 Cavonnier Won

1997 Silver Charm 2nd

1998 Indian Charlie Won

1998 Real Quiet 2nd

1999 General Challenge Won

1999 Prime Timber 2nd

Note: The only other trainer to win three Santa Anita Derbies in a four-year span is D. Wayne Lukas, who won with Codex in 1980, Muttering in '82 and Marfa in '83.

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

PHOTO no caption (Bob Baffert)

BOX: HO HUM, IT'S BAFFERT AGAIN (see text)