Speedy Orb shifts into overdrive, surges late
LOUISVILLE, KY.— Orb was so far behind a wall of horses at the Kentucky Derby that even his jockey wasn’t sure he could master the muddy track and make a run for the roses.
“I was really far back,” Joel Rosario said. “I said hopefully he can go faster than that. I was saying maybe I was too far back, but it was so easy.”
The bay colt made it look that way Saturday, splashing through the slop to win the 139th Derby by 2 1⁄2 lengths and giving Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey his first victory in the 3-year-old classic.
Long shot Golden Soul, owned by Edmonton native Charles Fipke, was second with Revolutionary third. Normandy Invasion faded to fourth.
Orb, the 5-1 favourite, broke from the No. 16 post and bided his time near the back of the pack early while Palace Malice set a blistering pace in the muck.
Orb was still idling in 16th place a half-mile into the race. On the turn for home, Rosario moved him past 11 horses into striking position in the middle of the track. With a quarter-mile to go, Orb began picking off the leaders. The only question was whether he could sustain his momentum on a surface that resembled creamy peanut butter.
“He was very relaxed, it’s exactly what I wanted,” Rosario said.
When the field turned for home on a cool, overcast afternoon at Churchill Downs, Normandy Invasion had the lead. But Orb was gearing up and prevailed in the deep stretch, carrying Rosario to his first Derby win.
“Perfect trip. I stayed on the outside I don’t want to be too wide on the first turn. I was hoping somebody in the middle (of the race) didn’t push me wide,” he said. Orb ran the 1 1⁄4 miles in 2:02.89 Orb paid $12.80, $7.40 and $5.40. Golden Soul, a 34-1 shot, returned $38.60 and $19.40 while Revolutionary paid $5.40 to show. Meanwhile, the 62-year-old McGaughey said the victory meant everything to him. “I’m thrilled to death for (the owners), thrilled to death for the people who put so much time into this horse, and, of course, I’m thrilled to death for me,” he said. Winning co-owners Stuart Janney and Ogden Mills (Dinny) Phipps scored their first Derby victory. The first cousins are among the sport’s blue bloods that include the old-money Whitney and Vanderbilt families.