WILKO NOT OVER OR OUT.

Byline: Art Wilson Staff Writer

ARCADIA - Craig Dollase is only 34, but it wouldn't be surprising to see a little gray in that dark hair after the turbulent three-plus months he has spent with 2004 Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Wilko.

Think the life of a thoroughbred trainer is all fun and games?

Many more horses like Wilko, and Dollase is liable to start dreaming of the good old days when he was a basketball star at Arcadia High School without a care in the world.

``With all the rain this winter and the problems with his feet, yeah, it's been difficult,'' Dollase said this week while preparing to saddle Wilko for today's $750,000 Santa Anita Derby.

``But we've managed it the right way. Going into that last race (the San Felipe Stakes, in which Wilko finished fourth), he might have been a work(out) short going into it. But considering the whole circumstance, I thought he ran well considering he came out of it with a quarter crack.''

Dollase might as well have hung a ``Handle With Care'' sign above Wilko's stall when he began training the son of Awesome Again after the colt's 28-1 Breeders' Cup shocker at Lone Star Park in October.

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SANTA ANITA DERBY