ALWAYS DREAMING MAKES BIG SPLASH
Horse, trainer, jockeymake big, muddy splash in first race together
louisville, ky. » Atrainer and jockey accustomed to success. Aheadstrong horse with a mind of its own. Together, they harnessed their collective talents to win theKentucky Derby.
Always Dreaming splashed through the slop for a 2¾-length victory on Saturday, giving Todd Pletcher and rider John Velazquez their second victories in the race but their first together.
TheNewYork-based duo, which has teamed up often over the years, is the sport’s leading moneywinners. On their own, however, they were a combined 2-of-63 coming into America’s greatest race.
Joining forces, they were unbeatable on a cool and rainy day at Churchill Downs.
“This is so special to win this race with Johnny,” Pletcher said. “We’ve been together for all these years and this is sweet.”
Sent off at 9-2 odds, Always Dreaming made it the fifth straight year that a Derby favorite haswon, the longest such stretch since the 1970s.
He was followed across the finish line by a pair of longshots: 33-1 Lookin At Lee and 40-1 Battle of Midway. Always Dreaming ran 1¼ miles in 2:03.59 and paid $11.40, $7.20 and $5.80.
“This is the best horse Todd and I have ever come to the Kentucky Derby with,” Velazquez said.
Lookin At Lee returned $26.60 and $15.20, while Battle of Midway was another five lengths back in third and paid $20.80 to show.
Pletcher won his first Derby in 2010 with Super Saver; Velazquez won the following year with Animal Kingdom.
Rarely one to show his emotions, Pletcher admitted being teary-eyed behind his sunglasses.
Going into his 17th Derby, Pletcher saddled the posttime favorite for the first time. Much had been made of his 1-for-45 Derby record.
“It’s becoming a little more respectable now,” said Pletcher, whose 48 starters tiedD. Wayne Lukas for the most in Derby history.
Velazquez used his colt’s speed out of the gate to get good position early in a chaotic start that saw several horses, including McCraken and Classic Empire, banged around. He steered Always Dreaming into an ideal trip behind pacesetter State of Honor, with mud flying in all directions on a surface that resembled creamy peanut butter.
“The track is impossible,” said MarkCasse, who trains Classic Empire.
On the final turn, Always Dreaming took command as State ofHonor faded. Despite chasing a quick early pace, AlwaysDreamingwas still full of run. No other horses threatened him down the stretch, and Velazquez furiously pumped his right arm as they crossed the finish line.
“I got a good position with him early, and then he relaxed,” Velazquez said. “When we hit the quarter pole, I asked him and he responded. He did it himself from there.”
Pletcher had his hands full in the days leading up to the Derby when the colt’s behavior was less than a dream.
He was fractious in the morning, refusing to relax.
“I was nervous watching him gallop,” he said.
Turns out the dark-brown colt knew best.
He channeled his aggres- sion into a determined effort on a track turned into goo by intermittent rain before the race.
“I think he really came in here and knew it was game time, and he was ready to go,” Pletcher said. “The most important thing to do is bring the best horse to the Derby, and that’s what we were able to do.”
Always Dreaming earned his fourth straight victory, proving that his five-length win in the Florida Derby was no fluke.
By winning the Derby, he accomplished something his sire, Bodemeister, couldn’t do. Bodemeister finished second in the 2012 race.
The victory was worth $1,635,800.
Always Dreaming’s primary ownership consists of Brooklyn Boyz Stables and Teresa Viola, whose Brooklyn-born husband, Vincent, owns the NHL’s Florida Panthers.
“There’s no feeling like this,” Vincent Viola said.
Thunder Snow, the Dubai-based entry, didn’t finish. He broke poorly out of the starting gate and began bucking. Hewas caught by the outrider and walked back to the barn on his own.