CAVONNIER RETURNS IN WINNING STYLE.

Byline: Kevin Modesti Daily News Staff Writer

Cavonnier, a footnote in Kentucky Derby lore, earned a whole chapter in horse racing's veterinary history Sunday when he rallied to win at Santa Anita in his first race in 2-1/2 years.

The one-length victory in the $81,225 Ack Ack Stakes culminated an on-again, off-again comeback for the gelding who was pulled up with a right-front-tendon injury in the June 8, 1996 Belmont Stakes.

It was an emotional return to the Santa Anita winner's circle for the team of jockey Chris McCarron, trainer Bob Baffert and breeder-owners Robert and Barbara Walter, for whom Cavonnier won the '96 Santa Anita Derby.

``I reached over and felt Chris McCarron's heart and it was pounding away,'' Barbara Walter said. ``And I was going to say to him, `Here, feel mine,' but . . . I don't think Mr. Walter would have liked that.''

After his upset win in the '96 Santa Anita Derby, Cavonnier lost by a nose to the fast-finishing Grindstone in the closest Kentucky Derby finish in 38 years, and he might have won if he hadn't been struck across the face by another horse's whip.

Cavonnier finished fourth in the Preakness before getting hurt in the Belmont. The injury was expected to end his career.

But the Walters, who live with their horses on a ranch near Santa Rosa, spent money and patience on an experimental treatment for Cavonnier's bowed tendon. A drug with the abbreviated name BAPN-F, injected by UC Davis veterinarian Carol Gillis, allowed the tendon to heal with its elasticity intact.

BAPN-F has since been put on the market and then withdrawn - at least temporarily - because the first commercial batch caused undue swelling in some horses.

Sunday, Cavonnier was next to last in the five-horse field before going around and between the leaders to win ahead of Sidon and favored Tibado. The 5-year-old ran a solid 1:35.79 mile and paid $6.

McCarron said he couldn't remember winning with a horse coming off such a long layoff.

Said a relieved Baffert: ``It's very emotional for me to see a horse like that come back. Everybody was worried, `Will he hold together? What if something happens out there?' But I never would have entered him if I thought there was a slight chance he'd reinjure himself.''

Robert Walter spoke optimistically of challenging top horses in the races leading to the March 6 Santa Anita Handicap. Baffert was more cautious: ``I'm just going to play it by ear.''

Later on Day 2 of the Santa Anita season, Baffert-trained Magical Allure survived a stewards' inquiry to win the $200,000 La Brea Stakes for 3-year-old fillies.

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PHOTO Owner Barbara Walter and trainer Bob Baffert admire Cavonnier, who won the Ack Ack Stakes after returning from a 1996 injury.

Benoit Photo