The Kid Becomes a Man

At 18, Stevie Cauthen wins his first Kentucky Derby

Steve Cauthen finished the fairy tale.

Last Saturday the 18-year-old jockey sensation won the race he was, it seems, born to ride, booting home Affirmed to a 1 1/2-length victory in the 104th running of the Kentucky Derby. It was a classic race--from the early speed burst of the front runners to the galvanic closing rush of second-place Alydar--and the savvy young rider showed textbook mastery of horse and course.

Breaking cleanly from the gate, Cauthen guided the handsome and trim chestnut colt into a comfortable gallop off the lead through the backstretch, rating Affirmed gently for the push to the finish line. As the field streaked into the final turn, he urged Affirmed into the lead, whipping, then hand-riding, opening a generous gap that carried Affirmed to the wire an easy winner. For the blacksmith's son from Walton, Ky., the transition from toddler on the backstretch to top jock was complete.

He was born, appropriately enough, during the Derby week of 1960, the sort of coincidence that horse people would note over cigars and christening gifts. His father had been an exercise boy before settling down as a blacksmith, and his mother had trained horses. Little Steve was still in diapers when his parents took him 75 miles down the road to Louisville to be present at his first Derby.

Carry Back won in 1961 while Cauthen snoozed on a blanket. The kid was hoisted into the saddle at the age of two, a tiny figure dwarfed but by no means cowed by his mount. When Chateaugay ran away from Never Bend and Candy Spots in the 1963 Derby, the Cauthens' three-year-old was already a familiar figure at Churchill Downs.

By the time Cannonade won in 1974, Steve had been working to learn the jockey's trade for two years. He watched the race with a wise young eye, studying how the riders broke from the gate, maneuvered for position in the backstretch and then opened up for the run to the wire. At 14, he vowed to win the Derby himself some day. Some day came very soon: five days after his 18th birthday, just two years and one week after he had received his jockey's license.

Cauthen's victory at Churchill Downs on his very first try was the capstone of a career that has been as brilliant as it has been brief. Weighing only 95 Ibs. and standing just 5 ft. 1 in., he had tremendous strength in his outsized hands, an innate sense of balance and pace and, despite his years, the cool confidence that he could win. In his first full year as a jockey, he won 477 races in New York State alone, and this despite a four-week hiatus after a terrifying spill had left him with a broken rib, a smashed arm and facial lacerations. Three times he rode six winners in a nine-race program; four times he won five. In one amazing week he won 23 of the 54 races at New York's Aqueduct Race Track. In 1977 Cauthen's mounts earned more than $6 million in purses, besting Angel Cordero's single-year record by more than $1 million.

This year Steve won $1.8 million before taking the $186,900 Derby prize money.

The greatest compliment to a jockey is being offered a ride on a Derby contender, and young Master Cauthen came to Louisville to handle quite a contender.

Harbor View Farm's Affirmed was the class of the two-year-olds last season, dueling his top rival, Calumet Farm's Alydar, in half a dozen rousing battles and winning four. Cauthen was up in four of the matches, and came away the victor three times. Affirmed was a lot of horse to put in the hands of a youth who was then not yet old enough to vote, but Trainer Laz Barrera had no qualms about the boy from Kentucky. Said Barrera: "I'm not worried. As a rider, Cauthen is an old man. It seems like he's been riding 100 years."

Not quite. But the wonder boy had been riding long enough to develop that special link between man and mount. Says Cauthen: "I've got a good rapport with my horse. I know him well, and he knows me. He does everything right. He's by far the smartest horse I've ever been on. He's never burned out, and always has had something left. I knew from the start he would be a fine Derby prospect."

Competitive on track, Affirmed was sweet-tempered in the stables--a hot-running Thoroughbred with the manners of a house pet. He was the second betting choice in one of the best Derby fields in recent memory. Favorite Alydar was the kind of muscular late finisher that gives homestretch nightmares to rival trainers. Believe It had speed and was developing staying power. Sensitive Prince was a speed horse undefeated in six starts.

But Affirmed responded with intelligence and alertness to each challenge during the race. When Believe It began to challenge on the outside, Affirmed moved away on his own, sweeping into the lead with a burst of speed. Said Cauthen later: "I didn't have to make a move at all. He saw Believe It come alongside and took care of things himself."

From then on, Affirmed ran as though he knew the race was his. Cauthen was not so sure: "I was waiting for the other horse [Alydar] to come, but he never did, so I started riding my horse. His ears pricked up and he picked up. It went real smooth." After a perfect ride from his jockey and a few flicks of the whip, Affirmed eased home the winner in as relaxed and smart a race as Derby fans have seen in years.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.