The winner of the Sunland Derby, Twice The Appeal, finished 10th in the Kentucky
Derby, so why are general manager Harold Payne and other Sunland Park Racetrack
and Casino officials smiling today?
It’s because that while Twice The Appeal ran 10th in the Kentucky Derby on May
7, Plum Pretty, winner of the Sunland Park Oaks, won the $1 million Grade I
Kentucky Oaks on May 6. The Plum Pretty-Sunland connection went practically
unmentioned in the local media but oh, what a pretty feather that is in the hat
of Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino.
As race fans know, the Kentucky Oaks is to fillies what the Kentucky Derby is to
male thoroughbreds and winning that is almost as important when it comes to
grading of races by the Thoroughbred Racing Association of America.
So Plum Pretty’s victory will help Sunland keep its high standing with the
association and probably also help keep the Grade III rating of its Derby.
PLUM PRETTY, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Martin Garcia (who rode her to
victory in the Sunland Oaks), won the Kentucky Oaks by fighting off St. John’s
River by a neck.
Baffert is one of the country’s top trainers – and one of Sunland’s biggest
fans. He’s entered a horse in nearly every Sunland Derby and when he was asked
by the national media after Plum Pretty’s victory in the Kentucky Oaks why he
ran Plum Pretty in the Sunland Oaks before going to Kentucky, he was very
complimentary, saying Sunland Park is a fine track and a good place to get
horses ready for Triple Crown races.
TRIVIA question: Two horses with three words in their names won the Kentucky
Derby in the 1980s. Can you name them? Answer at end.
SOMETIMES I forget that Jack Welch is not only an outstanding golfer and teacher
of the sport but that he’s also a whale of a singer/musician.
He opened his latest musical gig last weekend at the elegant Beijing Lili
Chinese Restaurant on the West Side and packed the place. Owners had to add
tables and start making plans to hire more waiters.
Welch will be appearing there on Friday and Saturday nights. And yes, there’s a
dance floor.
THE FOLLOWING from Jose Luis Torres, manager of the public information office in
Dallas, concerning the induction of Diane Proud into the El Paso Athletic Hall
of Fame:
“The article on Diane Proud was wonderful and certainly a deserved recognition.
“Bob Proud was general manager at KAMA and 93Z when I was news director in the
late ‘80s in El Paso and I knew Diane very well. When I went to work in Houston,
Diane and Bob were there and we hooked up again. And, lastly, when I moved to
Dallas there they were again.
“I was in El Paso to help celebrate Bob and Diane’s wedding anniversary a couple
of years ago and that is when they informed me of Diane’s (ALS) condition. I saw
Diane overwhelm more and more challenges with her athletic prowess. I’m saddened
but happy that she was recognized.”
AL CARDENAS, who passed away last week, was one of the nicest persons I’ve ever
known. A former teacher, he loved sports, especially the Dallas Cowboys, and
would call me often to talk about some game or some sporting event. And always,
always, if he liked one of my columns more than usual, he would call and tell me
so.
He didn’t call as often the past several months because of illness. I missed
him. I’ll always miss him.
And I’ll treasure his memory forever.
ANSWER to trivia question: Gato del Sol and Spend A Buck.
Veteran sports journalist and author Ray Sanchez welcomes suggestions for his
column.