BAFFERT HUMBLE IN VICTORY.Byline: KEVIN MODESTI LOUISVILLE, Ky. - He disarmed you right away. This time Bob Baffert Bob Baffert (born January 13, 1953 in Nogales, Arizona) is an American horse owner and trainer. He graduated from the University of Arizona's Racetrack Management Program with a Bachelor of Science degree. would not lead with a wisecrack wise·crack Slang n. A flippant, typically sardonic remark or retort. See Synonyms at joke. intr.v. wise·cracked, wise·crack·ing, wise·cracks To make or utter a wisecrack. or a boast. This time the biggest mouth in horse racing horse racing, trials of speed involving two or more horses. It includes races among harnessed horses with one of two particular gaits, among saddled Thoroughbreds (or, less frequently, quarterhorses) on a flat track, or among saddled horses over a turf course with would issue a humble admission. ``Here, I've been so lucky,'' Baffert said. It was Saturday at Churchill Downs Churchill Downs, Ky.: see Louisville. and the sun was setting on Baffert's third Kentucky Derby Kentucky Derby One of the classic U.S. Thoroughbred horse races. It was established in 1875 and run annually on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs track in Louisville, Ky. With the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, it makes up U.S. racing's coveted Triple Crown. victory in six years. He had just watched War Emblem War Emblem was the winner of the Kentucky Derby in 2002. This Thoroughbred's time was 2:01.13 around the 1 1/4 mile track. Victor Espinoza was his jockey for the Derby, never having seen the horse until the morning of the race. , a 20-1 shot he trained for all of three weeks, and Victor Espinoza Victor Espinoza (born May 23, 1972 in Mexico City, Mexico) is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. He began riding in his native Mexico and earned his first win there in 1992 before moving the following year to compete at racetracks in California. , a jockey he fired after the previous Kentucky Derby, make off with a race that always had been anyone's for the taking. He was dominating another dais at another postrace news conference, but this time it was different. He knew fans would think it had looked funny, the way his biggest owner had bought War Emblem for nearly a million dollars less than a month ago and turned the virtually ready-made Derby horse over to Baffert. ``I know a lot people feel, well, it's not the fair way to come into a Derby,'' Baffert said before the question was asked. ``But believe me, this is my livelihood. This is how I make a living. This is how I support my children. I have a big staff that works for me. ...'' He knew fans would look for signs that he was taking Derby victories in stride Adv. 1. in stride - without losing equilibrium; "she took all his criticism in stride" in good spirits now, that he wasn't as excited as he was when Baffert saddled Silver Charm Silver Charm (born February 22 1994) is an American Champion Thoroughbred race horse. Trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Gary Stevens, Silver Charm won the 1997 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes before falling short of the Triple Crown by placing second in the Belmont in 1997 and Real Quiet in 1998. ``It's just an incredible, incredible feeling,'' Baffert said, really selling the emotion. ``I mean, I almost started crying when he hit the wire. ... That last 100 yards, you wish it would last forever.'' He knew fans would strain to hear if he claimed credit for making the little-known speed horse into a Derby winner, when in fact it was Midwestern trainer Frank ``Bobby'' Springer who laid all the groundwork. ``Frank Springer told me all about the horse,'' Baffert said of the man who lost the horse when Saudi Arabian Prince Ahmed Salman bought War Emblem for $990,000. ``I called him and told him, `You know, you were so good about this whole thing.' '' It was so different. It was so refreshing. It was impossible not to smile when you listened to Bob Baffert on Saturday. After winning the Derby in the most unexpected fashion, he had a chance to stick it in the faces of his critics, who had been feasting on Baffert's approach to the 128th Kentucky Derby. Instead he was gracious, tender, magnanimous mag·nan·i·mous adj. 1. Courageously noble in mind and heart. 2. Generous in forgiving; eschewing resentment or revenge; unselfish. . What a strange week this was for Baffert. He came to Louisville saying he was planning to enter War Emblem in the Derby. Handicappers scoffed at the idea of running a colt whose previous handlers had planned to pass up the Derby and run in the Preakness in two weeks. Critics believed, quite plausibly, that Baffert was here because he simply loved himself and the Derby limelight too much. He came to Louisville not saying he was planning to enter Danthebluegrassman in the Derby. Yet when entries came due Thursday, he suddenly put that long shot in the race, denying another horse a place in the maximum 20-horse field and disappointing that group of owners. Cynics Cynics (sĭn`ĭks) [Gr.,=doglike, probably from their manners and their meeting place, the Cynosarges, an academy for Athenian youths], ancient school of philosophy founded c.440 B.C. by Antisthenes, a disciple of Socrates. thought Baffert might have done it for publicity or spite, a judgment that seemed to be confirmed when Danthebluegrassman was scratched on race morning amid claims of a physical problem. Fire back? Not Saturday's Baffert. ``You know what? I really enjoyed it this year,'' Baffert said. ``I had a good time. I could relax. It was like everybody figured, `Well, he doesn't have a chance.' '' He talked on and on as always. He talked about all the good fortune and all the people who helped him win his third Derby, which put him in a tie with Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons and Max Hirsch for No. 3 on the all-time list behind Ben Jones (six), Derby Dick Thompson (four) and D. Wayne Lukas Darrell Wayne Lukas (born September 2, 1935 in Antigo, Wisconsin) is a former educator who became one of the most successful horse trainers in American Thoroughbred horse racing history and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. (four). ``When it's your turn, it's your turn,'' Baffert said. He left it to others to say that when a man has won three Derbies with 12 starters, whether because of his training methods or because of his talent for spotting a prospect, he's doing something very right. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Bob Baffert, who trained War Emblem for three weeks, lifts the winner's trophy as Saudi owner Prince Ahmed Salman looks on. Ed Reinke/Associated Press |
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