Baffert's seventh Derby win as thrilling as first
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Expectations were lower this year, but the exhilaration was just as high as in previous years for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who captured his record-setting seventh Kentucky Derby victory Saturday with 12-1 shot Medina Spirit.
Baffert's win broke a tie with Ben Jones for most Derby victories, but - unlike many past ones, including 2018 with Justify and 2015 with American Pharoah - this one was more unexpected, Baffert said.
“I sort of came in this week and enjoyed myself, it was nice to be under the radar,” Baffert said Sunday morning. “If he’s good enough, he might hit the board. I didn’t want to come in here and start bragging about my horse, I wanted to come in here, have a good time, let the horse do the bragging, let him run the race.
“Usually, when we come here, we come in with the heavy hitter or favorite, there’s a lot of pressure,” Baffert added. “This wasn’t pressure. It was fun.”
The pressure could start ratcheting up over the next two weeks as Medina Spirit won’t be under the radar for the Preakness at Pimlico on May 15. Five of Baffert’s previous Kentucky Derby winners also won the Preakness, with Authentic last September being the first who didn’t when he finished second behind the filly Swiss Skydiver. Baffert has won the Preakness seven times.
The composition of the field will determine if Medina Spirit even goes favored in the Preakness. He may not even be the shortest-priced Baffert trainee in the race.
Concert Tour, who won the Grade 2 Rebel and was third as the favorite in the Arkansas Derby, is under consideration for the race. He worked five furlongs in 1:00.60 at Churchill on Sunday. Baffert said he would talk to owner Gary West about where to run him next. That he has a similar front-running style as Medina Spirit could complicate things.
“Their styles could be similar, we want to look at them and see how they’re training,” Baffert said. “They have to be doing really well.”
Baffert said Medina Spirit, who earned a 102 Beyer Speed Figure for his half-length victory over Mandaloun in the Derby, seemed fine Sunday morning.
“He wasn’t as tired as I thought he would be,” Baffert said. “After a big race like that they’re pretty tired, but he handled it really well.”
While Baffert will return to Southern California, Medina Spirit will stay in Kentucky to train for the Preakness. Baffert will return over the weekend to look him over.
Typically, horses based in Kentucky for the Preakness and other races at Pimlico are flown to Baltimore on Wednesday, three days before the race. However, there is an issue with Tex Sutton, the company that operates equine charters, that is likely to make flights unavailable after May 8, so these horses will have to van.
Horses coming out of the Derby who are under consideration for the Preakness are Mandaloun (2nd), Essential Quality (4th) and Midnight Bourbon (6th).
In addition to Concert Tour, non-Derby starters who are under Preakness consideration are Caddo River, Crowded Trade, King Fury, and Rombauer. The Kentucky-bred, Japanese-based France Go de Ina, who finished sixth in the UAE Derby, is shipping in later this week to contest both the Preakness and Belmont.
Entries for the Preakness are taken and post positions will be drawn on May 10.
Brad Cox, who trained Derby runner-up Mandaloun and fourth-place finisher Essential Quality, on Sunday sounded like a trainer who would like another shot at Medina Spirit, though he was far from ready to commit either horse to the Preakness.
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“I have a desire [to run] if I feel like my horses are doing really well,” Cox said. “I have to base it off them, that’s just the honest truth.”
According to the Trakus chart, Essential Quality traveled 68 feet farther than Medina Spirit, translating to an 8 1/2-length difference. Essential Quality was beaten one length.
“Not taking anything away from the top three horses, but he was the best horse yesterday,” said Cox, noting Essential Quality was bumped at break and wide on both turns. “Listen, some people may not agree with that, but I think he was the best horse yesterday, he ran a huge race, very proud of his effort.”
Cox also felt Mandaloun ran a huge race in finishing second, beaten a half-length. It was quite the turnaround from his sixth-place finish in the Louisiana Derby on March 20.
“It was good to get him back on track,” Cox said. “We knew the race in Louisiana wasn’t him. Hopefully, we won’t have to draw a line through any more of his races.”
Caddo River, the runner-up in the Arkansas Derby who was held out of the Kentucky Derby, is scheduled to breeze Monday morning at Churchill.
“We’ll get a little bit of a line tomorrow morning if [the Preakness] is something we’re going to do or not,” Cox said.
Cox won Saturday’s Oaklawn Invitational with Fulsome. While that race was designated a “Win and You’re In” race for the Preakness, Fulsome is not Triple Crown nominated and will not be pointed to the Preakness.
Hot Rod Charlie, the Kentucky Derby third-place finisher, is expected to ship to Southern California on Tuesday and trainer Doug O’Neill said he would be pointed to the Belmont Stakes on June 5.
Mark Casse, via Twitter, said Soup and Sandwich, who was eased across the finish line in the Derby, displaced his palate causing a partial obstruction of his airway.