They're Just a Bit Outside in Maryland

State's Horses Running Slow, but So Are Triple Crown Contenders Elsewhere

Apple Special may go off as the favorite this afternoon when 12 3-year-olds line up for the $80,000 Private Terms Stakes at Laurel Park, but trainer John Robb had no qualms about keeping his plans to vacation in Aruba and leave the saddling duties to barn foreman Brenda Brady.

Although his colt won the Maryland Juvenile Championship last fall and is one of five Triple Crown nominees in the field, Robb hasn't exactly micromanaged Apple Special's every move in hopes of pushing his way into the Kentucky Derby or Preakness.

The trainer sent Apple Special up to New York on Feb. 2 for a run in the Whirlaway Stakes at Aqueduct, finished a well-beaten fifth and decided that was enough of the Derby trail for him.

"He went to New York and had no excuse at all," said Robb, who noted that another Maryland-based horse, Cave's Valley, went off as the favorite in the Whirlaway and finished sixth. "That tells me the horses up there are a little better than ours."

But in a year when even the top Triple Crown contenders are producing modest speed figures, the Maryland contingent might not be far behind. The Grade II $500,000 Lanes End at Turfway Park is the major race for 3-year-olds today, but none of the contenders in that field has run significantly faster than the best horses in the Private Terms.

Many trainers around the country are aggressively throwing inexperienced horses into the major prep races in hopes of landing their owners a trip to the Derby. Maryland trainers, even ones with promising runners, appear far more conservative.

"The Lanes End is a little bit of a soft bunch on paper, but there are probably horses in there that are moving forward or that people like more than their numbers show," said Laurel-based trainer Ferris Allen, who hopes his sprint stakes winner Vanderkaay can stretch out and handle the one-turn mile distance of the Private Terms. "In this race, the connections are trying to do positive things with their horses rather than overmatch them. It's a sensible thing to do when you're bringing along a 3-year-old for a long season."

Trainer Michael Trombetta had high hopes for Cave's Valley after the colt won the first three starts of his career, including back-to-back defeats of Atoned, who recently finished second in the Tampa Bay Derby. Cave's Valley, however, suffered a rough trip, finishing seventh in the $1 million Delta Jackpot last December and never recovering his form. He made no impact in the Whirlaway and then set a strong pace in the $70,000 Miracle Wood on March 1 at Laurel before tiring and placing third.

"I think my horse has got some quality," said Trombetta, who got his first taste of the Triple Crown when his Sweetnorthernsaint went off as the Kentucky Derby post-time favorite two years ago, when Barbaro won. "He's run a handful of times and made $150,000. I'm not giving up on him. A lot of times, there's only a length or two that separates a group of horses. Some people want to take shots [at big prep races]. We don't know what's out there yet."

One Maryland trainer looking to find out is Tim Tullock, who will skip the Private Terms to run his promising Gattopardo in the Grade III $150,000 Bay Shore Stakes on April 5 at Aqueduct. The colt, a son of champion Johannesburg, already whipped five of the Private Terms horses, including Apple Special and Cave's Valley, in the Miracle Wood. The race got Tullock thinking seriously about the Preakness.

"My only resistance to temptation is against taking a swing at the Kentucky Derby," Tullock said. "If I do jump in, it will be at the Preakness. My personal feeling is you don't go to the Derby unless you think you can win it or run really, really well. It's a great experience for trainers and owners and everyone except the horse."