Arazi

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Dr Devious has already been getting his wake-up call to the Kentucky Derby for a couple of weeks.It's all part of a plan to accustom this English colt to American racing. An alarm clock has been used at the starting gate on his training grounds in England, to get him used to the sound of the starting bell that is not used in Europe.He'll also get dirt thrown back in his face by another horse's heels when he gallops the course this week at Churchill Downs. Dr Devious arrived here Sunday on a European flight with preparations already under way to help him adjust to American racing.

As the Kentucky Derby goes, the one in 1991 was just ordinary. Strike the Gold won, then never won again. Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, fresh from battle, was the highlight. The year before, Frances Genter in her polka-dot dress received as much publicity as Unbridled."Each Derby seems to have its own character," said Tom Meeker, president of Churchill Downs. "Last year, it was Schwarzkopf. It was a real coup getting him there. But the character this year, the real fabric of this year's Derby, is the horse."

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The excuses flew. Flew a lot faster than Arazi."I think he could have used another prep race before this," jockey Pat Valenzuela said.The horse with wings suddenly was just another eighth-place finisher with mud in his eyes. It was not a pretty sight."To be honest," said trainer Francois Boutin: "I was pushed a little by my [owners] to bring him here. Our preparation was always rushed."Jet-propelled excuses instead of a jet-propelled colt. Too bad.No horse in Kentucky Derby history was treated with such fanfare.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Francois Boutin spent about 10 minutes detailing instructions to rider Pat Valenzuela shortly before sending him and Kentucky Derby favorite Arazi to the racetrack at Churchill Downs for the closest thing the colt has had to exercise this week. After listening intently to Boutin's directions, the interpreter turned to Valenzuela and said: "Just like last year."Perhaps Arazi understood. Last November, when he reached the track with Valenzuela up for his brief work two days before his show-stopping performance in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile here, Arazi wheeled and deposited the rider on the ground, a prank he repeated with identical results yesterday.

What Arazi and the rich men who own him found out is that no amount of money, plus social connections, either foreign or domestic, will assure entrance into the exclusivity of the winner's circle. Certainly, not the Kentucky Derby.But hold on. The loss is not at all distressing. To the contrary, it's a momentous gain for racing. A stimulus.The Arazi pratfall at Churchill Downs underlines again that the number of dollars invested can't be correlated to buying immortality. All kinds of drum-beating and trumpet-sounding preceded the arrival of the copper-colored colt bred in Kentucky, raised and raced in France, and supposedly destined for inclusion among the elite of all-time.

The 1992 Triple Crown is two-thirds over.Here are some random observations about what has gone on in the past few weeks.*My own personal theory about why Arazi lost the Kentucky Derby: If Steve Cauthen had ridden the horse, he might have won.It's not that Pat Valenzuela isn't a good jockey. But he moved too soon on Arazi in the early stages of the race.European horses are trained to be "covered up" early, to tuck in behind horses and only run when they see daylight.When Valenzuela moved the horse to the outside on the first turn, Arazi simply took off as he was trained to do and ran his race from the three-quarter pole to the quarter pole.

One week from today, Arazi should be the odds-on favorite in the 118th Kentucky Derby.If he does win, that can only mean trouble for the Preakness.The May 16 race at Pimlico might be the big loser in a game of trans-Atlantic tug-of-war between Arazi's two owners -- one an American self-made multi-millionaire, the other a member of the ruling family of oil-rich Dubai.If Allen Paulson of Savannah, Ga., has his way, Arazi would run in the Preakness if he wins the Kentucky Derby. If Sheik Mohammed Bin Rashid al Maktoum wins out, Arazi apparently would snub the second jewel of America's Triple Crown and run in the English Derby at Epsom on June 3."

VERSAILLES, Ky. -- Allen Paulson and his super-colt Arazi have a similar trait -- speed.Paulson, whose company, Gulfstream Aerospace, is the premier manufacturer of corporate jets in the world, has flown around the globe in one his planes in 36 hours, 8 minutes."

Turf writers have hearts and emotions. And that's why some are touting Arazi as Horse of the Year: His sensational win in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile was a thrill to witness.Next year, Arazi could become the biggest name in racing in nearly 20 years. His story could have all the elements: The mystique and precedent of a European horse as a heavy Kentucky Derby favorite, the drama of a conquering hero in his return to the States, the attractiveness of a truly superior specimen. What an exciting prospect.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- "Angela, Angela, the horses are here," a little boy screamed to his sister yesterday afternoon from the front porch of their house on Rodman Avenue.About 50 gawkers, a handful of reporters and photographers, and the president of Churchill Downs were waiting to greet Arazi, racing's trans-Atlantic super-horse, when he arrived -- apparently good condition -- at the historic track about 4 p.m. after a nine-hour flight from Paris.The diminutive 3-year-old colt -- the favorite in Saturday's Kentucky Derby -- was controlled by a ring bit attached to his fleece-lined halter as he stepped out of a van onto a carpet of black foam rubber that had been rolled out especially for the equine celebrity.