Archarcharch connections all in the family

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - The question comes up every time Jinks Fires tells someone what he does for a living.

``People want to know if you've run in the Kentucky Derby,'' the longtime trainer said. ``When you tell 'em you haven't and they see how old you are, they're not quite sure what to say next.''

Fires does.

``I just tell 'em someday, you never know,'' the 70-year-old Fires said before pausing for just a second and adding, ``I guess someday is today.''

Finally.

The affable horseman and his trademark black hat will at last make the famed walk from the barns to the paddock for Saturday's Run for the Roses with 3-year-old colt Archarcharch.

It's a trip Fires has made countless times during his half-century as a trainer. He's been a fixture under the twin spires for years but allows that this weekend things will be different.

A normal Derby day for Fires includes a cookout for family, friends and staff. The tradition will continue this year, only Fires and son-in-law Jon Court, who will ride Archarcharch, will duck out to run in a race they spent decades chasing.

It still doesn't quite seem real. Fires has spent many springs working out of Barn 40, doing his best to quietly go about his business when the track gets caught up in Derby fever.

Now he's in the middle of it, and it's taking some getting used to.

``A lot of people used to walk by (before), but not too many people stuck a camera in my face,'' Fires said.

They're doing it now, hoping to catch a glimpse of Fires' weathered face and the sound of his slow Arkansas drawl.

``It's fun to watch him enjoy this,'' said Court, who is married to Fires' daughter Krystal. ``You know, he acts sometimes like it's not a big deal, but you really know that it is.''

It's hard to blame Fires for soaking in the moment. He's forged out a lengthy career as one of racing's most respected if not exactly well-known trainers. Fires has toiled for years just outside the spotlight. Now, he's smack dab in the middle of it.

``Jinks is living the dream now,'' said Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. ``I'm really tickled for him and for Jon. And they're legit.''

Archarcharch certainly looked like it during the Arkansas Derby as he chased down the leaders then held off Nehro to win by a neck and give Fires his first grade 1 victory.

Not bad for a horse that was nearly sold by owner Bob Yagos after winning the Southwest Stakes in February. Yagos reached a tentative agreement with an overseas buyer but decided to keep the horse after the potential buyer missed a contract deadline by 15 minutes.

Not bad, either, for a rider who has spent 25 years trying to get into the Derby. Court appeared to be in his first Derby a year ago with Line of David only to be pulled five days before the race by trainer John Sadler.

It was a bitter pill to swallow. And though Court would seem to have an airtight gig riding for his father-in-law, he'll save his ``take it all in'' moment for when the race is over.

``I don't consider myself in the Derby until the second I'm in the gate riding down that track, because anything can happen,'' Court said. ``I just don't want to take anything for granted and think I'm locked in and locked on.''

Despite the giddiness around the camp, don't think Court and Fires are simply happy to be here. They want to win. Badly.

Perhaps no one more than Court. He's ridden for his father-in-law for years. Never, however, with so much on the line.

``I do think it will be a little more nerve-wracking the fact (he's in the Derby) with my father for the first time,'' said Krystal Court. ``My father will be calm, cool and collected and Jon will seem calm, cool and collected. But they'll both have butterflies inside.''

How could they not?

Fires is doing his best to soak it all in - something younger brother Earlie Fires didn't always due during his Hall of Fame career as a jockey. Earlie Fires ran in the Derby six times, finishing second in 1968 aboard Francie's Hat.

There were no words of brotherly advice on how to handle Saturday.

``At this point, I've done it enough I'd like to think I can get the saddle on right,'' Fires said.

That may turn out to be the easy part. The more difficult proposition may be getting his horse ready to race. Archarcharch drew the dreaded rail for the Derby, meaning he'll have to deal with a traffic jam when the other 19 horses to his right bolt out of the gate.

Fires thinks he's got a cool customer in Archarcharch, but his patience will be tested during the long wait while the rest of the field is loaded.

``You get a horse on the rail and he's going to be in there awhile,'' Fires said. ``They start eyeing that starter and getting antsy.''

A dozen horses have won from the rail in the Derby, but none since Ferdinand in 1986.

``I have always wanted to be No. 1 but not in the Kentucky Derby starting gate,'' Fires said with a laugh.

So Fires will do what he always does and make the best of it. As he pointed out, the rail is the shortest way around the 1 1/4-race and at least he's ``not out next to the track kitchen.''

And even if he was, he'd have a gameplan. Fires has waited 50 years for this.

``One more obstacle, but we'll work it out,'' Fires said. ``We always do.''