Asmussen eyes first Kentucky Derby win
Take a look at Steve Asmussen’s resume and it’s pretty impressive. He’s trained four Horses of the Year, was inducted into the sport’s Hall of Fame in 2016 and was voted an Eclipse Award as the nation’s top trainer in 2008 and 2009. He’s North America’s all-time leading trainer in victories.
One glaring omission? He’s never won the Kentucky Derby, bringing an 0-for-23 goose egg into Saturday’s 148th running of the Run for the Roses. He’s come close, finishing second with Lookin At Lee in 2017 and Nehro in 2011 and third with Gun Runner in 2016 and Curlin in 2007.
But the big prize has always eluded the 56-year-old Asmussen, a South Dakota native who trained three consecutive Horses of the Year — Curlin in 2007-08 and Rachel Alexandra in 2009 — and then made it a four-bagger with Gun Runner in 2017.
It just shows how tough it is to win the Derby. A European horseman once told me it’s the toughest race in the world to win. Makes sense. A bad start and it’s over right off the bat, and even if the horse breaks well, there’s those 19 other horses they have to contend with in a race that oftentimes resembles a game of bumper cars at a carnival more than a horse race.
But this is the year Asmussen can break out of that drought. He’ll saddle Epicenter, the 7-2 second choice on the morning line behind 3-1 favorite Zandon. He’ll be ridden by Joel Rosario, one of the best in the game, who’ll be searching for his second Derby victory after winning with Orb in 2013.
“Honestly, I have so much confidence in Epicenter right now,” Asmussen said after the son of Not This Time turned in his final Derby work Sunday, going 5 furlongs in 1:01. “He has taken a lot of training extremely easy. I thought he took the Louisiana Derby extremely easy, how he came back from the test barn and walked into the barn, and that’s why his training and his works ever since have been faster, or stronger, than is the norm for me.”
But what is Asmussen’s mindset heading into the race? When you’re 0 for 23, there has to be a cloud of doubt and some nervousness involved.
“I’m not running,” he joked when asked if he was nervous. “I’m good. I am unbelievably excited to be doing this well with this much on the line. I had a pretty anxious drive last night with rain and thunderstorms for most of it, and if it’s meant to be then it’s meant to be, but everything seems to be working out perfectly.”
Since finishing sixth in his maiden debut at Churchill Downs on Sept. 18, he’s won four of five starts, including the Louisiana Derby by 2 ½ lengths on March 26. No Louisiana Derby winner has won the Kentucky Derby since Grindstone in 1996, but this is the kind of wide-open year when it could happen.
Rosario loves the way Epicenter has matured.
“It seems like he has no problem with anything,” said Rosario, who won his first Eclipse Award as the nation’s top jockey in 2021. “He has won on the lead, he has won coming from behind horses, so we’ll see how he handles it. He has matured it seems. In the beginning, I had to ride him a little more. But now he’s running and grabs the bridle a bit more, it’s what you want to see.”
What Asmussen didn’t want to see was the No. 3 post position that Epicenter drew on Monday. It’s not ideal, but it’s also not something Epicenter can’t overcome.
“I’m not crazy about the three hole with him,” Asmussen said. “There is a lot of pace to his immediate outside. You just want (to get) away from there fast. You don’t want to get shuffled back, covered up to a position he is not familiar with.”
Said Rosario: “Maybe we’ll just keep it (strategy) a secret.
We’ll get a good break and see what the horse wants to do. He always breaks well out of the gate, so we’ll see how he does on Saturday.”
It says here that Asmussen’s Derby drought will be extended to 0 for 24 after Taiba becomes the first horse since Leonatus in 1883 to win the Kentucky Derby with only two races under his belt. His jockey, Mike Smith, says the Gun Runner colt is as talented as 2018 Triple Crown champion Justify, and who am I to argue with a Hall of Fame rider?
Don’t give up on Messier.
His second-place effort behind Taiba in the Santa Anita Derby came off a 63-day layoff. He could improve off that race. White Abarrio, Zandon, Epicenter, Mo Donegal and Charge It also can’t be ignored.
This year’s Derby is a great betting race, and if you’re inclined to wager a buck or two, have at it. It’s a wide-open Derby.