Trainers primed for Derby breakthrough
For more than 20 years, Barn 33 on the Churchill Downs backside was the place to be seen before the Kentucky Derby.
Bob Baffert, the silver-haired trainer from California, was always prepared with a quip for reporters. Sunny, Baffert’s popular pony, might be tied up nearby for photos with fans.
There was always a crowd. The “backside buzz” was palpable.
But as the 148th Kentucky Derby approaches Saturday, there’s a different feel. The signs recognizing Baffert’s six Derby victories are gone from Barn 33. There are no crowds gathered. The lone acknowledgement that Baffert once worked here is a bumper sticker on the office door: “I like Kentucky-bred Roadster.”
“It’s going to be flat, and definitely he’ll be missed,” trainer D. Wayne Lukas said of Baffert’s absence. “He was literally the face of the racing here this week. That will be a big void, whether you like it or don’t. He was here, and he was a part of it. He was a big part of it.”
Baffert is suspended from Churchill Downs through the spring of 2023 after a series of drug violations, capped by the betamethasone positive for Medina Spirit after he crossed the finish line first in last year’s Kentucky Derby. Medina Spirit ultimately was disqualified, making Mandaloun the official Derby winner.
The sanctions on Baffert and Medina Spirit will be argued for years to come, but there’s little doubt the trainer’s absence has opened up this year’s Kentucky Derby for others.
Zandon, Epicenter lead way
Most notable in the mix are Chad Brown and Steve Asmussen, generally regarded as the two best active trainers never to win the Run for the Roses.
Brown, a four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for top trainer, has the favorite in 3-1 shot Zandon. Brown is 0 for 6 in the Derby, his best finish coming with Good Magic (second in 2018).
“It would mean everything,” Brown said of winning the Kentucky Derby. “It’s really the pinnacle of a horse trainer’s career when you talk about the Kentucky Derby. … It would be quite an honor if we were able to pull it off.”
A son of Upstart, Zandon is 2-1-1 in
four career starts and enters off a 2 1/2length victory in the Grade 1 Blue Grass on April 9 at Keeneland.
His workout April 29 – four furlongs in 1:00.40 – had the Churchill clockers buzzing.
“He’s a good-looking horse to begin with, and he’s such an efficient mover,
tremendous reach on him,” Brown said. “A very unique horse being almost jetblack. He’s easy to stand out out there, and he trains as good as a horse can possibly train.”
Asmussen, a two-time Eclipse Award winner as top trainer, is the all-time winningest trainer in North America history but is 0 for 23 in the Derby – the most starts ever without winning.
Asmussen’s Epicenter is the 7-2 second choice in the morning line, sporting a 4-1-0 record in six career starts after capturing the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby on March 26 at Fair Grounds.
Asmussen has a pair of second-place finishes in the Derby with Nehro (2011) and Lookin At Lee (2017). Curlin (2007) and Gun Runner (2016) went on to have outstanding careers after finishing third in the Derby.
“You can’t stand here and compare (Epicenter) to Curlin and Gun Runner yet,” Asmussen said. “How they finished their careers made them who they were. But (Epicenter) is running faster right now than they were when they got here.”
Asmussen was asked why the chase for his first Derby victory means so much.
“Because it is the Kentucky Derby,” he said. “Attaining something that you haven’t, or simply being spoiled. Whatever reason you want to pick.”
Others to watch
While Baffert won’t be there, two horses previously trained by him will be. Santa Anita Derby winner Taiba (12-1 in morning line) and runner-up Messier (8-1 third choice in morning line) were transferred to trainer Tim Yakteen to give them a chance to compete in the Triple Crown races.
Yakteen hasn’t quite taken to the media spotlight like Baffert, but he likes what he sees from his two contenders.
“They’ve handled everything great,” Yakteen said. “It’s been a smooth transition.”
As the trainer of Mandaloun, Louisville native Brad Cox was the benefactor of Medina Spirit’s disqualification last year, giving him his first Kentucky Derby victory.
Cox has three long shots in this year’s Derby with Arkansas Derby winner Cyberknife (20-1 odds), Louisiana Derby runner-up Zozos (20-1) and Lexington winner Tawny Port (30-1).
What would it feel like to win this year?
“It would be like winning the first one,” Cox said. “There was really no thrill of victory (with Mandaloun). You don’t really want to find out you won the Kentucky Derby through a text message. … I think that’s the No. 1 thing: People want to win it to experience that thrill. We’ve yet to do that.”