GRINDSTONE NOSE THE WAY : LEAST LIKELY LUKAS ENTRY WINS DERBY IN PHOTO FINISH.

Byline: Kevin Modesti Daily News Staff Writer

When D. Wayne Lukas showed up at Churchill Downs with a record five horses ready to run in the 122nd Kentucky Derby, he was accused of practicing overkill, and not for the first time.

A Louisville newspaper columnist took thoroughbred racing's richest trainer to task for ``excesses,'' quoting one rival trainer saying, ``Wayne is shooting buckshot,'' and another suggesting that ``he's lost all touch with reality.''

But what looked like overkill before Saturday's race was just barely enough at the finish.

Lukas extended his record winning streak in Triple Crown races when Grindstone, the least seasoned of his quintet, caught California's Cavonnier in a dramatic last stride.

And even those who thought the first five victories in Lukas' streak came easily - the result of having richer owners buying more fast young horses than other stables - were forced to admit:

The man in the $1,500 suit and the designer shades had to sweat for this one, the closest Derby finish in 37 years.

``When they hit the wire, we erupted,'' said Lukas, who watched the race from a box seat with Grindstone owner William T. Young. ``They it hit me right between the eyes: Maybe we didn't win it.''

It took six minutes before the photo-finish people flashed number 4 on top of number 3 on the Churchill Downs tote board, and Lukas could erupt in earnest, bearhugging his son and assistant Jeff on the track a few feet from where jockey Jerry Bailey raised a fist astride Grindstone.

The margin of victory, officially a nose but really a long nostril, was too close to call for the 142,668 fans, the third biggest Derby day crowd.

It was too close to call for Bailey and Cavonnier's jockey, Chris McCarron.

``He said, `What'd you think?' '' said McCarron, who just missed his third Derby victory while Bailey earned his second with a ride reminiscent of his 1993 win aboard Sea Hero. ``I said, `I don't know, we were too far apart.' ''

It was too close to call for Pat Day, who was riding Lukas-trained Prince of Thieves to third place, 3-1/2 lengths behind the top two.

It was too close to call for Mike Smith, who was riding 7-2 favorite Unbridled's Song to fifth place, a nose behind 28-1 Halo Sunshine.

Smith, whose beleaguered colt ran creditably to lead Halo Sunshine by two lengths with one-quarter mile to go in the 1-1/4-mile race, watched Grindstone and Cavonnier from a bad angle.

``It looked like Chris had it,'' said Smith, who fell behind Cavonnier with more than a furlong left. ``Then I saw Jerry go by me.''

Before a foot injury and a far-outside post-position draw, Unbridled's Song was an overwhelming choice to make 1990 Derby champion Unbridled a Derby-winning sire. Instead, while Unbridled's Song became the 17th straight Derby favorite to lose, it was Grindstone who did the stallion proud.

Sent off at nearly 6-1 odds as half of an entry with sixth-place Editor's Note, Grindstone got the kind of dream trip that a 3-year-old with just five races' experience would need to win a 19-horse scramble.

Starting from post 15, Bailey let Grindstone settle near the back of the pack and angled toward the inner rail in time for the first turn. The pack at that point was led by Lukas' Honour and Glory, California's Matty G and Unbridled's Song through sincere early fractions - :22 1/5, :46 and 1:10 en route to a 2:01 finish on a fast track.

Grindstone, a son of Unbridled and Buzz My Bell, clung to the rail while moving up to sixth at the top of the stretch. Whereupon Bailey angled him out from behind the tiring Honour and Glory - the winning move. He charged after Cavonnier from the grandstand side.

Cavonnier, the Santa Anita Derby winner who was trying to break Kentucky Derby losing streaks for geldings and California-breds, had advanced from ninth to the lead while five-wide - despite being inadvertently struck in the face by Halo Sunshine rider Craig Perret's whip at the top of the stretch.

``I didn't know that Cavonnier would have as much punch left as he did,'' Bailey said.

The Cavonnier camp's disappointment - ``Man, I thought I'd won it,'' trainer Bob Baffert said - was Lukas' joy.

``This is absolutely the happiest I have ever been,'' said Lukas, 60, who had won Derbies with Winning Colors (1988) and Thunder Gulch (1995), the latter the third jewel in the trainer's Sextuple Crown.

Grindstone's ascent was hardly easy. He missed seven months following knee surgery, and followed his Louisiana Derby romp in March with a close second to Zarb's Magic in the Arkansas Derby in April.

``I guess it was a good `promotional' job by me bringing him back to the races,'' Lukas said, biting back at the local columnist.

Lukas' other starters finished 10th (Alyrob) and 18th (Honour and Glory). Had it been overkill or just making sure?

``I've vacillated all week on who was the best horse (among his five),'' he said. ``I'm still confused. But he (Grindstone) is the best tonight.''

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos; Chart

PHOTO (1--color) Jerry Bailey aboard Grindstone l ooks back at the Derby field after the race. It was several minutes before he knew he'd won.

(2-color) Trainer D. Wayne Lukas kisses the winner's cup after his Kentucky Derby victory.

Associated Press

(3) Kentucky Derby 122 May 4, 1996 Official Photo Finish

Chart: Horse, Jockey, Odds