“Oh boy, is this cool?” That’s what Kent Dorfman said in “Animal House” many years ago. And the same question could be asked right now about the dazzling and moving performance that was delivered last Saturday at Churchill Downs as Florida Derby champion Barbaro found his way to the winner’s circle in the 132nd Kentucky Derby.
His gritty, romping performance will be remembered for years to come. He just played the field at the top of the stretch and walked away with only mild encouragement from jockey Edgar Prado, who also won his first Derby.
This three-year-old son of Dynaformer, whose sons are bred kings on turf, has shown just how athletic and versatile he is by winning three races on turf and now three on dirt. He has won at distances ranging from a mile to a mile and a quarter and has never been seriously challenged with the exception of Sharp Humor in the Florida Derby.
The real question is: can he do it? Can Barbaro become America’s first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed accomplished the feat some 28 years ago? Everyone, including jockey Edgar Prado, seems to think it could very well happen.
“The whole time I had great confidence. When I let him go, he ran away,” Prado said after Barbaro smashed the Derby field. “Hopefully we can get a Triple Crown.”
I remember a poll that was put up on the Daily Racing Form website asking what could benefit horse racing the most. Some of the options were: get rid of drugs like bute and lasix, install more poly-track surfaces, or have more incentives for breeding programs. But the fourth option was “to have a Triple Crown winner.” After counting the results, it was overwhelming the number of fans, bettors and handicappers who agreed that having a Triple Crown winner is what the sport needs. It was 60% who made the claim.
So judging by Barbaro’s performance last Saturday at Louisville, can it really happen this year? Many of the pundits at TVG, the Daily Racing Form and other publications are under the impression that it could really happen. Was Michael Matz, Barbaro’s trainer, messing with everyone while giving 5 weeks from the Florida Derby to the Kentucky Derby? Was he giving him all that time because he knew that next month he was going to be a physically demanding whirlwind?
One thing is for sure, other horses and trainers don’t want to have to deal with him. Coach Todd Pletcher, winner of the Eclipse Award for best coach last year, has admitted as much. His horse, Bluegrass Cat, ran a terrific race, but was still a distant second behind Barbaro, and Pletcher will skip the Preakness because he’s afraid to face the colt again.
“Today showed what we think about all the time,” Pletcher said of Barbaro. “I knew we (Bluegrass Cat) were in a good position, but unfortunately for us, Barbaro kicked him and ran his race.”
Trainer Bob Baffert, who had three Derby horses in Sinister Minister, Point Determined and Bob and John, echoed the sentiments of others.
“We weren’t going to beat Barbaro. He was amazing!”
May 20 marks the date for the Preakness Stakes and Barbaro should be a heavy favorite. It’s still unclear who’s coming east to rival him, but we’ve heard of a few so far. Brother Derek, Attorney Ron, and Sweetnorthersaint are headed to Baltimore. The question is… can anyone get a little closer to this monster? My guess is… absolutely not!
