Storylines galore in Run for Roses
‘Whoever has the heart will win it’ in showdown likely to be affected by rain
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A trainer flooding the field with five horses. A black jockey trying to make history, and a woman rider, too. Louisville coach Rick Pitino seeking a double — champions in racing and basketball. He’s sure in the right place.
The 19-horse field for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby is balanced, with no definitive favorite.
Orb is the pre-race choice, just barely. Nearly overshadowed is his trainer, Shug McGaughey, who really, really wants this race. Doug O’Neill is trying to win back-toback. And then there’s the threat of rain, which has done in some of the best-laid plans on race day. It sure looks like a topsy-turvy Derby. “I don’t think we’ve got Secretariat in this bunch, even Seattle Slew,” four-time Derby-winning trainer D. Wayne Lukas said, “so I think it’s going to boil down to the trip and the pace and a lot of other things.”
Todd Pletcher will saddle a recordtying five horses — undefeated and early second choice Verrazano, Revolutionary, Overanalyze, Palace Malice and Charming Kitten.
“We laid out a plan to get here with them, and it’s all come down pretty much like we hoped,” said Pletcher, who has one Derby win with 31 previous starters.
Verrazano is 4-0 in his young career, not having run as a 2-year-old. He’ll be trying to disprove an old Derby jinx: no horse since Apollo in 1882 has won without racing as a juvenile.
Relative unknown Kevin Krigger will be aboard Goldencents, trying to become the first black jockey to win since Jimmy Winkfield in 1902.
“I’m going to ride us the race that should get us to the Kentucky Derby winner’s circle,” Krigger said.
The colt is partly owned by Pitino, whose Cardinals won the NCAA championship last month.
Rosie Napravnik wants to grab history for herself, too. No female jockey has ever won the Derby, although she came closest, with a ninth-place finish in 2011. Napravnik will ride 15-1 long shot Mylute.
“He feels great, he’s acting great and I’m very confident heading into the Derby,” she said.
Orb was the narrow 7-2 early favorite for the 139th Derby.
Goldencents will be trying to deliver for more than Krigger and Pitino. He’s trained by O’Neill, who put unknown Mario Gutierrez aboard I’ll Have Another last year and won. The trainer is following the same script this time, giving Krigger a big break while trying to become the first trainer to win back-to-back Derbies since Bob Baffert in 1997-98.
Don’t look for the whitehaired Baffert on Saturday. The three-time Derby winner isn’t saddling a horse this year, but like everyone, he had an opinion.
“Whoever has the heart will win it,” he said.
The forecast calls for an 80 percent chance of rain.
“It’ll make the Derby that much more wide open,” said trainer Ken McPeek, who has two starters, Frac Daddy and Java’s War.
Two jockeys with New Mexico ties also are in the field. Mike Smith of Roswell will ride Palace Malice from the No. 10 post. Garrett Gomez, who got his start riding at Santa Fe Downs 25 years ago, will be aboard Vyjack, who has the No. 20 slot.
KENTUCKY OAKS: Long-shot Princess of Sylmar rallied with a huge stretch run to win the $1 million Kentucky Oaks. One of four fillies trained by Todd Pletcher in the Grade 1 race, the 38-1 long shot upstaged 3-2 favorite Dreaming of Julia.