BAFFERT LOOKS TO DOMINATE BREEDERS' CUP.

Byline: Kevin Modesti Horse Racing 

Between cell-phone interruptions and sips of Diet Pepsi Thursday morning at Clockers' Corner, Bob Baffert ran through his main Breeders' Cup contenders, starting with Forestry in the Sprint.

``If I had to say there's one race I know I can win, it'd be his,'' Baffert said. ``Chilukki (in the Juvenile Fillies) would be second. Then Forest Camp (in the Juvenile).''

What about Silverbulletday in the Distaff?

``I forgot about her,'' Baffert said of the nation's No. 1 filly.

Remembering all of his horses appears to be Baffert's biggest problem going into two weekends of major preps for the Nov. 6 Breeders' Cup races at Gulfstream Park near Miami.

There's a chance that in addition to Forestry, Chilukki, Forest Camp and Silverbulletday, Baffert will have Tuzla in the Mile and General Challenge and River Keen in the Classic. If all of them make it, the Santa Anita-based trainer will be represented in six of the eight Breeders' Cup races.

Only one other trainer, D. Wayne Lukas, has run horses in that many races at a single Breeders' Cup. Lukas was involved in six in 1988, 1989 and 1991, and saddled three winners in 1988 at Churchill Downs (Gulch in the Sprint, Open Mind in the Juvenile Fillies and Is It True in the Juvenile).

But nobody has gone into a Breeders' Cup with obvious contenders in as many races as Baffert will have if his luck holds up this weekend and next at Santa Anita and New York's Belmont Park, where the major steppingstone races will be held.

In the latest rankings of Breeders' Cup hopefuls by the Daily Racing Form's Mike Watchmaker, Baffert has favorites in Silverbulletday (9-5), Chilukki (8-5) and Forestry (3-1) and second choices in General Challenge (behind Behrens) and Forest Camp (behind More Than Ready).

The only trainers who've come close to that are Lukas (three favorites or second choices in 1988) and Charlie Whittingham (four favorites in 1987, including Classic winner Ferdinand).

``It's a long way off,'' said Baffert, the former quarterhorse trainer who gained his first national attention in the thoroughbred game when Thirty Slews won the Sprint in 1992, the last time the Breeders' Cup was held in Florida. ``I've got to get past this weekend and next weekend. Then I'll worry about it. I could have a really good weekend or a really bad weekend.''

Baffert will have odds-on favorites against small fields at Santa Anita with Bob McNair's Chilukki (David Flores riding) in the Oak Leaf Stakes for 2-year-old fillies on Saturday and Aaron Jones' Forest Camp (Flores) in the Norfolk for 2-year-olds on Sunday. Both are undefeated, Chilukki in five starts and Forest Camp in two, but both will race 1 mile for the first time.

Baffert's only fear about front-running Chilukki is that she'll be tempted to run too fast early to keep up with Caesar Dominguez-trained She's Classy (Alex Solis), and Craig Dollase-trained Abby Girl (Chris McCarron) will pick up the pieces.

``Sprinters stretching out the first time, you never know,'' Baffert said.

Chilukki, a stakes winner at Churchill Downs and Del Mar, is the biggest draw the 2-year-old fillies division has produced in a long time. But one fan who won't be here to watch her Saturday is her owner.

McNair, who, with his wife Janice, races as Stonerside Stable, has had enough excitement this week, winning the next NFL expansion franchise for Houston on Wednesday.

``He's gotta rustle up $700 million (to pay for the team),'' Baffert said.

McNair, who runs power plants, got into racing in 1993 with Arthur Hancock III of Kentucky, and had a one-third interest in 1994 Kentucky Derby runner-up Strodes Creek and a one-quarter interest in 1997 Belmont Stakes winner Touch Gold.

He bought Chilukki for $875,000 at a Kentucky auction earlier this year.

``He's a really likable guy, the kind of guy you root for,'' Baffert said of McNair. ``He's a good winner and a good loser.''

Baffert ran a loser for McNair Thursday at Santa Anita. Delivery finished fifth in the second race and earned $1,120. Now McNair needs $699,998,880.

Baffert will be at Santa Anita for the two stakes this weekend and for Pacific Classic winner General Challenge (Flores) in the Goodwood Handicap on Oct. 16.

Assistants at Belmont will handle Hugo Reynolds' River Keen (Chris Antley), who'll see if his Woodward Stakes-winning form is good enough to beat top-ranked Behrens in the 1-1/4-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup, and Mike Pegram's Silverbulletday (Jerry Bailey), who goes for her 10th consecutive victory over fillies and mares in Sunday's 1-1/8-mile Beldame.

Meanwhile, Jones' Forestry, unraced since winning the Aug. 28 King's Bishop at Saratoga, isn't scheduled for a prep. The 3-year-old colt would go into the Breeders' Cup Sprint with two weeks' more rest than Thirty Slews had before his 1992 victory.

``He's only got to go 6 furlongs,'' Baffert said of the Sprint.

Forestry showed he's healthy by working 6 furlongs in a fastest-of-the-morning 1:11 3/5 Wednesday.

Baffert must decide whether to take Tuzla to the Mile after her fifth-place finish in the longer Yellow Ribbon.

But his other Breeders' Cup hopefuls will determine their own immediate futures.

``When it goes right for you, it goes right,'' said Baffert, whose barn leads the nation with $12.6 million in purses in 1999. ``I've just never had a barn with so many good horses.''

When it comes to the Breeders' Cup, few trainers have.

A WEEK AT THE RACES 

Oak Tree leaders: Jockeys (through Wednesday): David Flores, 9 wins; Martin Pedroza, Alex Solis and Gary Stevens, 5; Chris McCarron, 4. Trainers: Bob Baffert, 5; Vladimir Cerin, 4; Ron Ellis, Ron McAnally and Bill Spawr, 3.

Handicapper helper: Santa Anita's main track is playing eminently fair to all running styles. Each day of the Oak Tree meet has produced winners leading gate to wire and rallying from the back half of the field.

On the stakes schedule: At Santa Anita: Saturday, $200,000 Oak Leaf Stakes, 2-year-old fillies, 1 mile; Sunday, $200,000 Norfolk, 2-year-olds, 1 mile, and $200,000 Lady's Secret Handicap, 1 1/16 miles; Monday, $75,000 Henry P. Russell Handicap, 3-year-olds and up, 1-1/8 miles on turf. At Bay Meadows: Saturday, $100,000 Hillsborough Handicap, fillies and mares 3 and up, 1-1/8 miles on turf. At Belmont Park: Saturday, $600,000 Turf Classic Invitational, 3-year-olds and up, 1-1/2 miles on turf, and $400,000 Champagne, 2-year-olds, 1 1/16 miles; Sunday, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup, 3-year-olds and up, 1-1/4 miles, $500,000 Beldame, fillies and mares 3 and up, 1-1/8 miles, and $400,000 Frizette, 2-year-old fillies, 1 1/16 miles. At Keeneland: Saturday, $500,000, Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, 3-year-old fillies, 1-1/8 miles on turf, and $400,000 Shadwell Keeneland Turf Mile, 3-year-olds and up, 1 mile on turf; Sunday, $400,000 Lane's End Breeders' Futurity, 2-year-olds, 1 1/16 miles. At Hawthorne: Saturday, $500,000 Hawthorne Gold Cup, 3-year-olds and up, 1-1/4 miles.

Mileposts: Santa Anita jockeys and trainers will play a softball game Sunday at 5 p.m. in Arcadia Park to raise money for the Don MacBeth Memorial Jockey Fund. Admission is $5. The MacBeth Fund was founded in 1987 by comedian Tim Conway and Chris McCarron's wife Judy to assist injured and disabled riders. Information: [phone]. . . . Kent Desormeaux, who fractured a wrist in the final week at Del Mar, is scheduled to return with one mount today at Santa Anita, favored Sharan in the optional-claiming feature. . . . Worth a Look's victory by disqualification in the PCQHRA Breeders Futurity last Friday at Los Alamitos gave D. Wayne Lukas his first stakes win at the Orange County track in 20 years. Lukas, the dominant thoroughbred trainer of the 1980s and '90s, has been revisiting his quarterhorse roots with a Los Al barn run by his wife Laura. . .. Hollywood Park's new management team from Churchill Downs announced a ``refurbishing'' of the main oval's base and top layer. The Inglewood track opens its winter meet Nov. 10. . . . Kentucky officials approved a rule change to address the rash of positive post-race tests for clenbuterol since possession of the drug in the United States became legal in 1998. Kentucky will allow clenbuterol to be given 72 hours or more hours before a race and small amounts to be in horses' systems when they compete. But fans won't be told which horses have it. California and other states prohibit the bronchialdilator at race time. . . . Super Bowl, who performed the most recent Trotting Triple Crown sweep in 1972, died at age 30 in Hanover, Pa. . .. The 11-day Fresno fair opened Wednesday.

CAPTION(S):

box

BOX: A week at the races (see text)