1995 Florida Derby Day & Jerry Bailey's Record Setting 7 Wins

Jerry Bailey rode seven winners today at Gulfstream Park but missed the big one by a nose when Suave Prospect lost a photo finish to Thunder Gulch and Mike Smith in the 44th Florida Derby. In a driving duel between the two top horses and jockeys at the track, Thunder Gulch made it two straight in the "Florida triple" series. Only three weeks ago he had been flown from California by D. Wayne Lukas and won the Fountain of Youth Stakes by a neck over Suave Prospect, who is trained by Nick Zito. And the two colts now seem locked in a rivalry that may continue until the Kentucky Derby on May 6, when they will be joined by a delegation from the West. "Right now, Thunder Gulch is king of the hill in the East," Lukas said. "Our horse was game, his horse was game. Both horses took large steps forward. They're like Affirmed and Alydar. But we've got their horse's number. We'll break his heart eventually." To which Zito responded, "There's always Kentucky." But even though he lost the main event by a nose, no rider ever had a better afternoon at Gulfstream Park than Bailey, and few anywhere else. The 37-year-old Texan rode 10 horses and made the winner's circle seven times. Along the way, he broke the track record of six victories set in six races in 1953 by Charlie Burr, and also tied the stakes record of four set in 1988 by Randy Romero, also on Florida Derby day. But he couldn't quite reach the national record of eight, set by seven jockeys, most recently by Pat Day at Arlington Park in 1989. Or Chris Antley's feat in 1987, when he won four races at Aqueduct in New York, took a helicopter to New Jersey and won five at the Meadowlands that evening. "I had a great day," Bailey said when it was over. "But I didn't win the race I really wanted to win. I know it's going to sound a little like sour grapes, but I honestly believe that my colt is the better horse. Sometime he is going to prove that." Bailey set his record in the 12th and last race of the long afternoon with stunning impartiality: He rode Heavy Rain for Lukas, who was already headed for the airport to return to California, where Thunder Gulch will follow on Tuesday to prepare for the wars to come. http://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/12/spo...