Hello, Lady

Although he has won more races (5,100) and more money ($33,000,000) in less time (16 years) than any other jockey who ever lived, Willie Shoemaker, 33, figures his luck is mostly bad -- in the Kentucky Derby, anyhow. Remember 1957, when he had the race all but won on Gallant Man, only to misjudge the finish line, stand up in the stirrups and lose by a nose? Then there was 1958, and a colt named Silky Sullivan, who couldn't run but tried; and 1960, when he rode Tompion, who could run but wouldn't try. There was Candy Spots in 1963, and Hill Rise in 1964: both were heavy favorites and both lost. So when it came time to pick a mount for last week's Kentucky Derby, what could be more sensible for the Shoe than to choose a horse whose name was Lucky?

A Laugh. After Ada L. Rice's Lucky Debonair won March's Santa Anita Derby by four laughing lengths, oddsmakers wasted no time installing him as the early-line favorite (at 3-1) to win the 91st Run for the Roses. The strapping bay colt did nothing to diminish his stature either when he won last month's $25,000 Blue Grass Stakes in Kentucky. Still, come last week, the 100,000-odd fans who jammed ancient Churchill Downs found themselves another favorite: Wheatley Stable's Bold Lad. After all, Bold Lad had won nine out of his last eleven races, and he was being ridden by Bill Hartack, whose Derby luck was all good: a remarkable four victories and a second in six tries. At post time the odds on Bold Lad were 9-5. Lucky Debonair was practically a long shot at 4-1.

Smart horsemen knew the odds were odd. "Four white feet and white on the nose, knock them in the head and throw them to the crows," goes an old mule traders' saying. Bold Lad was white everywhere. Superstition aside, he had been laid up all winter with painful splints on his shinbones. What's more, he had never won a race longer than a mile-- and the Derby is 1 1/4 mi. Before his horse ever got out of the walking ring, Jockey Hartack had a feeling that he was in trouble. "He wasn't reacting very good," said Hartack. "Something was bothering him."

Over the Shoulder. Maybe it was Lucky Debonair. By the time the eleven-horse field rounded the clubhouse turn, Willie had Lucky Debonair in the lead. Hunched high over the withers, keeping a tight rein, he contentedly allowed Flag Raiser, a 17-1 shot, to stay close alongside. "He didn't worry me," said the Shoe later. "It was the horses behind that did."

They never really had a chance-- and Bold Lad never got a call. As the horses pounded around the last turn and headed for home, Shoemaker dropped the reins, and in one wonderful burst of speed, Lucky Debonair bolted into a three-length lead. It was not quite over yet. Midway through Churchill Downs' long (1,234 ft.) stretch, Willie glanced over his right shoulder. Horrified, he discovered Dapper Dan, a stablemate of Bold Lad and a 30-1 shot, closing fast on the outside. Whack! He hit Lucky Debonair with his whip. Whack! Whack! Whack! When Lucky Debonair crossed the finish line, a neck in front, his flank was crosshatched with welts. The horse would hurt for days, but what did Willie care? There was a slight matter of $11,200 at stake--his 10% cut of the $112,000 winner's purse. Plus, of course, the pleasure of renewing an acquaintance with Lady Luck.

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