Kentucky Derby, day after: an 'absolute miracle' Rich Strike trainer Eric Reed says
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — If veteran trainer Eric Reed had not been saddling his first Kentucky Derby starter on Saturday, “I promise you I would have been on the lake fishing.”
Instead, Reed landed the big one on Saturday at Churchill Downs, as Rich Strike went from the Derby also-eligible list to the winner’s circle draped in roses as the second-biggest upset winner in race history.
The morning after the improbable victory that Reed called “an absolute miracle,” the trainer was affably adjusting to the intense attention now centering on his barn.
“I don’t know how to do this,” he said as he adjusted his position in front of a group of about two dozen media and onlookers. “How close do I get?”
A gleaming Rich Strike stood in the background for the media moment, with groom Jerry Dixon Jr. on the shank. Rich Strike eyeballed the new crowd with some uncertainty, his eyes softening and relaxing as Dixon rubbed his face.
“It’s starting to sink in,” Dixon said softly after reverently touching the petals on Rich Strike’s rose garland as it was loaded up to leave the track with the horse later in the morning. “This is why we get up in the morning.”
For his part, Reed was up and at the barn in the morning while still running on happiness and disbelief.
"I haven’t slept yet,” Reed said. “I thought I would, but I couldn’t. It’s starting to sink in now. I’m just so proud of this horse, and all of my guys, and my jockey [Sonny Leon]. It was a team effort from a long time ago. We were just trying to get here, and it went a step further than we could ever have dreamed.”
Reed bantered with press and onlookers, completely candid in his happiness, even going so far as to pull his shoe off to display the gold pedicure his daughter Martha, one of his four children with wife and key team member Kay, gave him for Rich Strike’s big day. It is a family tradition that Martha began for good luck when Reed ran his mare Rinterval against the great Zenyatta. Rinterval set the pace in the Grade 1 Clement Hirsch in 2010 at Del Mar, and she was caught near the line by the champion to finish second by just a neck.
“She said ‘Daddy, I’m gonna help you win this race’ … And after that race, I said ‘Martha, you’re gonna have to do that every time now,’ ” Reed said.
Rich Strike emerged from his monumental effort in golden order, the trainer reported.
“He looks great right now,” Reed said. “He ate all his dinner, he seems really good this morning. Every time we’ve ran him, he’s gained weight after a race, so I think we haven’t gotten to the bottom of him yet.”
Rich Strike boarded a van at Churchill Downs at 9:15 a.m. to return to Reed’s base at the Mercury Training Center in Lexington. He will remain there until shipping to Pimlico for the May 21 Preakness closer to the deadline to be on the grounds for the race. Reed said he will not breeze the Derby winner between the two races, and his goal will just be to give the colt a few days at Pimlico to adjust to the track.
“He’s a real good shipper,” Reed said. “He takes everything in stride. Won’t do too much with him.”
The Reed crew will keep learning to take the attention in stride, too.