Point Given gives Gary Stevens first victory in Hollywood Futurity and a chance to do some Derby dreamin'

It must have seemed like a time warp for Gary Stevens.

Hollywood Futurity (G1)
Hollywood Park, December 16, $345,690, 1 1/16 miles, fast, 1:42.21
1-POINT GIVEN, c. 2, Thunder Gulch-Turko's Turn, by Turkoman.
2-Millennium Wind, c. 2, Cryptoclearance-Bali Babe, by Drone.
3-Golden Ticket, c. 2, Deposit Ticket-Tide, by Coastal.

When the Racing Hall of Fame jockey announced his retirement last December because of knee problems, the Thoroughbred Corp.'s Anees, a colt he rode to victory in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), was considered a leading contender for the 2000 Kentucky Derby (G1).

But Anees was never the same because of injuries, never winning another race, and he was finally retired this fall, around the time Stevens launched a comeback in October.

Two months after that return, Stevens again finds himself in an enviable position for the 2001 Triple Crown trail aboard Point Given, who is also owned by the Thoroughbred Corp.

Heavily favored Point Given enhanced his classic credentials on December 16 with a one-length victory over Millennium Wind in the $345,690 Hollywood Futurity (G1) in unseasonably warm 77 degrees weather under cloudless skies. Golden Ticket finished third, another seven lengths back and five lengths in front of Bank Street in the four-horse lineup, the smallest in the 20-year history of the Futurity.

Stevens won one of the few major races that had eluded him in Southern California during his long career here. "They were showing old Futurity reruns the last couple of days, and I got to thinking, 'Have I ever won this?' " said Stevens from a jockey's room couch after the race.

Stevens finished second twice, aboard Music Merci behind King Glorious in 1988 and with heavily favored Brocco behind Valiant Nature in 1993, a setback that Stevens believed cost the previously unbeaten Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner an Eclipse Award as that year's champion two-year-old.

Stevens believes that Point Given is worthy of the Eclipse this year after recording his third victory in six starts and raising his earnings to $618,500.

"He was carried ten-wide on a speed-biased track and lost by a nose in the Breeders' Cup (to Eclipse favorite Macho Uno), then he comes back to win the Futurity in a gallop," said Stevens. "It's not going to break my heart if he doesn't get it because of the old jinx (no two-year-old champion has won the Kentucky Derby [G1] since Spectacular Bid in 1979), but I think he is definitely deserving."

Point Given covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.21 as the 3-to-10 favorite, the shortest price in Futurity history. Point Given fit so well in this spot that even his green saddlecloth-representing program number five-was perfectly coordinated with the Thoroughbred Corp.'s white-and-green silks.

Richard Mulhall, the Thoroughbred Corp. general manager, called owner Ahmed bin Salman at his home in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the good news from the winner's circle, then passed his cellular phone to Stevens and trainer Bob Baffert for further comments.

Baffert won the Futurity for the third time in four years after victories with Real Quiet in 1997 and Captain Steve last year. Holding daughter Savannah in his arms, Baffert thanked the prince for turning the colt over to him at the beginning of the year, filling a void created by the transfer of Aaron Jones's horses from his barn.

"I was pretty down and needed a picker-upper, and getting five horses from the prince was huge," said Baffert.

The most resistance Point Given encountered during the day came before the race. "He got a little stirred up in the receiving barn, reared up, and nicked his eye," said Baffert of a small cut above the colt's eye. "He's a handful." Stevens rated the colt three-wide just behind pacesetters Millennium Wind and Golden Ticket down the backstretch before contending for the lead around the far turn, taking a short lead at the eighth pole, and inching away.

"From the five-eighths pole to the stretch, I was holding back," said Stevens. "He made the lead earlier than I wanted, but when Chris McCarron started riding Millennium Wind, I didn't want to teach my horse to hang. When he made the lead, he started playing around, his ears up doing helicopter action. I just flicked him once about 50 yards from the wire."

Point Given went one up on his sire, Thunder Gulch, who settled for runner-up honors in the 1994 Futurity behind Afternoon Deelites. "I won the Remsen (Stakes [G2]) that year on Thunder Gulch, then had to miss the Futurity because of knee surgery," recalled Stevens, who went on to ride Thunder Gulch to victories in the 1995 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes (G1).

"He's the same horse as Thunder Gulch in a bigger package," said Stevens of the strapping chestnut. "I'd say he goes at least 1,200 pounds. He's like (National Basketball Association star) Shaquille O'Neal as a teenager, with all that talent, and he's only going to improve. It's amazing how graceful he is for his size. He's so nimble on his feet, almost like a cat.

"About the only difference is that Thunder Gulch was not a good student; he was very rebellious. This colt has got a playful streak in him, but he's a good student and loves to run."

Only time will tell whether Point Given fulfills Salman's dream of winning the Kentucky Derby, but the jockey has to pinch himself at times to realize he is really there.

"On December 26 last year (the day he retired), I had no idea that one year later I would be riding, let alone sitting on one of the favorites for the Derby," said Stevens.

Millennium Wind, the 3.40-to-1 second choice making only the second start of his career, gave trainer David Hofmans equal encouragement for the Derby trail.

"I knew if he broke well, he would be hard to take back," said Hofmans. "He was hooked every step of the way, and Chris said he ran all the way to the wire."

A half-brother to 1999 Horse of the Year and dual-classic winner Charismatic, the son of Cryptoclearance out of the Drone mare Bali Babe cost owners David and Jill Heerensperger $1.2-million at the 1999 Keeneland September yearling sale.

"To quote the great Yogi Berra, 'his future is all in front of him,' " quipped McCarron.

Starlet believer

I Believe in You lived up to the name co-owner Samantha Siegel gave her the first time she saw her before a Maryland auction, outgaming pacesetter Jetin Excess for a neck victory in the $341,750 Hollywood Starlet Stakes (G1) for two-year-old fillies on December 17.

Hollywood Starlet S. (G1)
Hollywood Park, December 17, $341,750, 1 1/16 miles, fast, 1:43.57
1-I BELIEVE IN YOU, f. 2, Pleasant Tap-I'll Get There, by Copelan.
2-Jetin Excess, f. 2, In Excess (Ire)-Jetinwith Kennedy, by Kennedy Road.
3-Whoopddoo, f. 2, Jade Hunter-Yekaterina, by Strawberry Road (Aus).

"She was standing in a field near Timonium, with horses going crazy around her, and she just stood still," recalled Siegel of her first sight of the filly before bidding $315,000-the most she and her parents, Jan and Mace, have paid for a horse-at the 1999 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic yearling sale.

"Timonium is our favorite sale," said Siegel. "That's where we got Urbane, Forest Fealty, Latin Dancer, and Miss Pickums." Miss Pickums, also purchased last year for $55,000, won the Golden Rod Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs last month.

"We had been quiet for two years and four months," said Siegel of the vicissitudes of the game. "We hadn't won a graded stakes since I Ain't Bluffing in the Milady Breeders' Cup Handicap (G1) here in 1998. And now two in a matter of weeks."

I Believe in You, shipped west from Kentucky after breaking her maiden in her third start at Churchill Downs on November 23, gave trainer Paul McGee his first Grade 1 stakes victory.

"Ron Ellis, my brother-in-law, has had her here the last three weeks and should get the accolades," said McGee, who was first hugged by his screaming sister, Amy Ellis, as he approached the winner's circle. "This is one happy family."

I Believe in You, ridden by Alex Solis, stalked previously unbeaten Jetin Excess from second position from the outset, took a short lead at the eighth pole, and outfinished her rival in a determined duel. The two-year-old daughter of Pleasant Tap out of I'll Get There, by Copelan, covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.57 as the 5-to-1 third choice in the field of six.

Whoopddoo, the 5.10-to-1 fourth choice, rallied from last to finish third, another length back and one length in front of Cindy's Hero, the 1.30-to-1 favorite.

The road ahead

"I had confidence in my filly," said McGee, 38. "Jetin Excess had just been sprinting, and Cindy's Hero, although she is a quality filly, had just won once." McGee, whose only previous runner at this track, Bet On Sunshine, finished third in the 1997 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1), scored his first California victory.

McGee and the Siegels planned to discuss what roads to take with their stakes-winning fillies in 2001. Miss Pickums, Samantha's childhood nickname because of her picky eating habits, is already at Gulfstream Park. I Believe in You could remain with Ellis for a Santa Anita campaign.

Juan "Pico" Perdomo, trainer of Jetin Excess, was proud of the 1.80-to-1 second choice in defeat. "I wish I had one race at this distance before," said Perdomo. "But she had no excuses. She showed me a lot of class. At the end, she was coming back."

David Hofmans, trainer of Cindy's Hero, was at a loss to explain why the stretch-running filly lacked her customary closing kick. "Gary (Stevens) said he was sitting in the garden spot, and when he asked her, she just couldn't get to those horses," said Hofmans.

Baffert envisioned a bright future for Whoopddoo. "I instructed Corey (Nakatani) to take her back so she would learn to take dirt in her face," said Baffert. "I'm looking for bigger things for her down the road."

The Siegels won their first Starlet after finishing second with Urbane in 1994 and third with Garden Gal in 1990. Solis, who rode four winners on the card, won the Starlet for a third time.

I Believe in You, bred in Kentucky by Morgan's Ford Farm, earned $205,050 to raise her bankroll to $244,270.

FINISH LINES-Stevens completed a stakes double by guiding Keemoon (Fr), the 6-to-5 favorite, to a 11Ú2-length victory over Shebane in the $72,950 Waya Handicap for fillies and mares in 2:26.65 for 1 1/2 miles on firm turf. ... Baffert said that two other stakes-winning two-year-olds are recovering from injuries: Flame Thrower is expected back in about a month after having chips removed from both knees, and Arabian Light will be out about six months with a hairline fracture of a coffin bone. ... Trainer Mel Stute, 73, was released to his Glendora, California, home from a Covina hospital on December 12 after undergoing quadruple bypass surgery five days earlier. He is expected back in the barn in a couple of weeks.... Trainer James Cassidy, 55, was hospitalized in Arcadia the same day Stute was released, after suffering broken ribs and a collapsed lung after a horse flipped over backward on him in his Santa Anita barn. ... Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner Tiznow breezed five furlongs in 1:00.60 on December 15 at Santa Anita Park for his projected return in the San Fernando Breeders' Cup Stakes (G2) on January 13. But his older brother, multiple graded stakes winner Budroyale, has gone to the sidelines indefinitely with a shoulder injury. ... Trainer Alfredo Marquez reported that Lord Sterling, third-place finisher in the $2.3-million Japan Cup Dirt, suffered a cracked sesamoid in a recent workout, leaving his career in doubt. ... Two Item Limit, shipped from Florida to be supplemented to the Starlet, came down with a 103 degrees fever on the morning entries were taken and had to be withdrawn.