Rebounding from a three-race losing streak, Remember Sheikh wins the El Camino Real Derby

When A three-year-old colt wins a Kentucky Derby (G1) prep race in impressive style, his owner usually gets an immediate case of Derby fever. That was not the case, however, for Jeff Peppard, whose Remember Sheikh won the $200,000 El Camino Real Derby (G3) at Bay Meadows on March 11.

El Camino Real Derby (G3)
Bay Meadows, March 11, $200,000, 11/16 miles, good, 1:43.47
1-REMEMBER SHEIKH, c. 3, Sheikh Albadou (GB)-Remember the Day, by Settlement Day.
2-True Confidence, c. 3, Storm Cat-Very Confidential, by Fappiano.
3-Country Coast, c. 3, Country Pine-Do Ye Well, by Coastal.

If there is a prep race that should inspire classic fever, it is the El Camino Real Derby, which, in its first 18 runnings, has produced a Kentucky Derby winner and two runners-up, five Preakness Stakes (G1) winners, and a Belmont Stakes (G1) winner.

But Peppard, a Santa Barbara, California, dentist, who owns Remember Sheikh in partnership with Steve Smith, an Oregon paint contractor, seemed immune to Derby fever immediately after the colt's 11Ú2-length victory over True Confidence. Remember Sheikh, whose $31.60 winning mutuel was the highest in the race's history, covered 11Ú16 miles over a track listed as good in 1:43.47.

"Just because of his breeding (by 1991 Breeders' Cup Sprint [G1] winner Sheik Albadou [GB] out of the Settlement Day mare Remember the Day), he'll be hard-pressed to get a mile and a quarter," said Peppard. "There are plenty of other races to look at."

Starting from the Number 12 post, Remember Sheikh broke last in the field of 14. Although forced to race wide nearly the whole race, he had a clean trip.

A $22,000 purchase at the 1998 Keeneland September yearling sale who did not meet his reserve when bidding stopped at $42,000 at the 1999 Barretts May two-year-olds in training sale, Remember Sheikh gained an advantage over True Confidence in the stretch and held it to the wire. A son of Storm Cat, True Confidence was purchased for $1.15-million by Padua Stables and trainer D. Wayne Lukas at the 1998 Keeneland July selected yearling sale.

Remember Sheikh's trainer, Lonnie Arterburn, who was celebrating the biggest victory of his career, said he had no thoughts of running the colt in the Kentucky Derby.

"I think the Derby is such a grind," Arterburn said. "We might nominate him (before the April 1 supplemental Triple Crown nomination deadline) and think of running him in the Preakness. He's not a big-bodied horse. Because of that, we want to treat him delicately.

"He ran as hard as he can run. Asking him to run in the Derby might be asking too much right now. I don't want to hurt the horse because of my fantasy. The most important thing is keeping him sound. We can pick and choose races all year long."

Remember Sheikh, who earned $110,000 to lift his career total to $193,268, scored his third victory in six lifetime starts. It was his first win since the Barretts Juvenile Stakes at Fairplex Park on September 16.

Arterburn had to leave a post-race interview after being summoned to the receiving barn after Remember Sheikh tied up badly following the El Camino Real. The colt was treated by veterinarians and seemed tired but in good shape later.

"By the time I got there, he was all right," said Arterburn, who reported that the colt seemed fine the following day but still was tired.

Pushed early

Arterburn blamed himself for the colt's three-race losing streak after his impressive Barretts Juvenile victory. However, Remember Sheikh had indicated he was on the upswing again after making a late move to finish third in the $100,000 Golden State Mile Stakes on February 12.

"He's a May foal, and we pushed hard to get him to the Barretts," said Arterburn. "We rattled him hard to run in the California Juvenile Stakes (G3) (last November), and we just overdid it.

"We brought him over (to Bay Meadows) from Golden Gate Fields for schooling, and he went berserk in the paddock. In the (California Juvenile), he stumbled out of the gate and wasn't relaxed. When other horses went by him, (jockey Rafael) Meza kind of eased him back and didn't abuse him.

"That told me he wanted to sprint so we backed off and got some weight on him. We sprinted him once (in Santa Anita's San Miguel Stakes [G3] at six furlongs on January 8). He didn't break well and finished last, but the horses that finished fourth and fifth (Fortifier and Archer City Slew) came back to win stakes."

Because of the size of the El Camino Real field, Arterburn had no real instructions for jockey Fernando Alvarado.

After Remember Sheikh broke slowly, Alvarado asked for a little run to get in position and then got the colt to relax.

With Fight for Silver cutting out a fast :22.13 opening quarter, Alvarado was not concerned that he was tenth in the early going. As the field continued down the backstretch, Alvarado took his time and gradually began to pick up horses.

He was moving well entering the far turn and swooped past Fight for Silver, True Confidence, and Globalize to grab the lead going into the stretch.

"I had confidence in the horse," said Alvarado. "I knew at about the three-eighths pole he would be tough. I asked for a little, but he gave me a lot so I could wait to really ask him at the quarter pole."

No excuses

Runner-up True Confidence, who had only a maiden win from six starts coming into the race, gave Lukas his second straight second-place finish in the El Camino Real. Last year, Lukas ran second with Charismatic, who went on to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness and who was named 1999 champion three-year-old male and Horse of the Year.

True Confidence's rider David Flores was not predicting the same outcome for his colt but he was impressed with his performance.

"He's improving a lot," Flores said. "He's learning and getting better with every start, and that's a good sign. That other horse went by him so quick it surprised him. My horse doesn't accelerate quickly, but after that he kept coming after that horse."

Third-place finisher Country Coast, who beat Globalize, the second betting choice, by a nose while finishing 31Ú2 lengths behind True Confidence, was "much the best," according to his jockey Ron Warren Jr.

"He wouldn't run into the dirt and wouldn't go inside," said Warren, who noted his colt grabbed a quarter heading into the first turn when he ducked after being hit by a dirt clod.

"It's frustrating," said Warren. "He's just real green still. He didn't do any running till I got him wide. He can really run, though. Going farther ... wow."

Globalize, a Summer Squall colt who had won 4-of-5 starts at Bay Meadows including the Golden State Mile and California Juvenile, was in a good stalking position until Remember Sheikh flew past him on the turn.

"It took some wind out of my sails when he went by so fast," said Globalize's jockey, Russell Baze. "My horse didn't have much kick. He moved on the turn on his own, but he didn't kick on."

Baze, who is Arterburn's brother-in-law, rode Remember Sheikh in his first two races and was scheduled to ride him in the California Juvenile before injuring his back in a spill on October 31. He said Arterburn has always liked the colt.

"Lonnie was initially higher on him than I was, but after he won that (Barretts) stakes down south (by 31Ú2 lengths over Joopy Doopy), I did get pretty high on him, too."

Jokerman, the 2.40-to-1 favorite who was making his main track debut for trainer Neil Drysdale after winning 4-of-5 turf starts in Europe and the United States, was never a factor and finished eighth.

"He tried, but he didn't like getting hit by the dirt," said jockey Brice Blanc. "He's probably a better horse on the turf."