MAY 12, 2005
Giacomo stings Derby rivals with 50-1 upset
by Steve Moody
The second-largest Kentucky Derby (G1) crowd, 156,435, reveled under sunny
blue skies Saturday and witnessed the second-biggest upset in Derby history.
Only when Cannonade won the centennial running in 1974 have more people been in
attendance and Donerail, who paid $184.90 in 1913, is the only other winner
that’s returned more than the $102.60 that GIACOMO (Holy Bull) paid Saturday.
Given that a lot of records fell Saturday, it only seems fitting that Giacomo is
owned by Jerry Moss of A&M Records. Moss founded A&M Records along with Herb
Alpert back in 1962. A&M was sold in 1990, but Moss has stayed active in the
music business. One of A&M’s longtime clients is British musician Sting. The dam
of Giacomo is Set Them Free (Stop the Music), one of Sting’s hit songs. Giacomo
is Set Them Free’s fifth registered foal and the second by Holy Bull, the Derby
favorite back in 1994, and named for Sting’s nine-year-old son, Jack.
The win was just the second in eight starts for Giacomo, making him the first
winner since Alysheba to be eligible for “non-winners of two” races prior to the
Derby. With the Kentucky Derby victory, Giacomo collected the $1,639,600
winner’s share of the record Derby purse of nearly $2.4 million.
If a 50-1 winner wasn’t enough, 71-1 shot Closing Argument (Successful
Appeal) finishing second ensured that all records for exotic wagering
established in 2002 with War Emblem and Proud Citizen would be obliterated. The
previous record for an exacta payoff was $1,300.80, a far cry from Saturday’s
$9,814.80 bomb. The previous trifecta high was $18,373.20. Saturday’s came back
a massive $133,134.80 with Afleet Alex (Northern Afleet), the 4-1 second choice,
finishing third. Don’t Get Mad (Stephen Got Even) returned from his Derby Trial
win with a strong effort to finish fourth, igniting an $864,253.50 superfecta
($1),
more than nine times the previous high of $91,764.50. The Oaks-Derby Double,
combining Summerly (Summer Squall) with Giacomo returned the bettor’s dream of
$595.20, just under the IRS tax limit.
Trainer, Rider net first Derby wins
Jockey Mike Smith had to settle for the runner-up spot in his last two Derby
appearances and was moving up the list of riders with the most mounts without a
win. Saturday, the 12th try was the charm for Smith, a Hall of Fame jockey who
had finished second in the race three times and had ridden the favored Holy
Bull, an eventual Horse of the Year, to a 12th place finish in the 1994 Derby.
“It’s just an incredible feeling,” Smith said. “I stood up, it’s like all the
strength just left my body, it was exciting and my legs buckled and just hanging
on for dear life really. I’ve been so fortunate to have won some great races but
never have I had a win like this, this is unreal.”
The Derby victory was the first for trainer John Shirreffs, who had never
saddled a Kentucky Derby starter in his career. He caught only glimpses of
Giacomo’s winning rally as he watched his first Derby from a trackside location.
“You know I didn’t see a lot of the race,” Shirreffs said. “He just started
gobbling up the ground and I thought, ‘Wow, we have a chance to hit the board,’
then, ‘Oh no, we might even win it.’ It was awesome.”
Final Furlong
If you thought the results from Derby 131 were a bit strange, check out these
tidbits from the Truth is Stranger than Fiction Department. Winning jockey Mike
Smith was carrying, or rather sitting on, a gook luck charm. When all-time
jockey wins leader Laffit Pincay Jr. retired with 9,531 wins, Mike Smith asked
to use his saddle, telling him he wanted to get that saddle to 10,000 wins. Pincay obliged and gave the saddle to Smith. Last Saturday, 20 horses actually
started in the Derby and Smith was aboard Giacomo using Pincay’s saddle.
Several times over the last few years, 20 horses have been entered, but
invariably one or two have been scratched. Prior to Saturday, the last time 20
horses left the starting gate was 1984. The winner that year was Swale, ridden
by…you guessed it…Laffit Pincay. You want more from the weird department? In the
1984 Derby, Swale wore saddle towel number 10, same as Giacomo. Runner-up Coax
Me Chad wore number 18, same as Closing Argument this year!