BAFFERT OUT TO MAKE A POINT TRAINER SEEKING HALLMARK THIRD DERBY VICTORY.Byline: Kevin Modesti Staff Writer LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Before 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. sent Point Given and Congaree to the racetrack for their final pre-Kentucky Derby workouts Monday, the trainer made a little move that said a lot about the mind beneath that mop of white hair. He purposely left off Point Given's yellow saddle cloth and name tag, issued to each Derby horse to identify him to morning visitors. He had remembered that when 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 worked out in 1997 before Baffert's first Derby victory, fans recognized the gray-coated colt and burst into applause, spooking another horse nearby. ``There was almost an accident,'' Baffert said. So he did his best to conceal the identity of the huge Point Given, the Derby favorite and star attraction star attraction n → atracción f principal star attraction n → grande attraction star attraction star n → . ``They (fans) thought it was Point Given, but they couldn't be sure, and they didn't do any applauding,'' Baffert said. Although his light demeanor gives a different impression, Baffert thinks of everything as he prepares for a race, and that's one big reason the 48-year-old Arizona native and Arcadia resident sits 1 1/4 miles from racing history. If Point Given or Congaree matches expectations in today's 127th Derby, Baffert will be the sixth trainer to capture the world's most famous thoroughbred race three times, joining Ben Jones (6), Derby Dick Thompson (4), 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. (4), Sunny Jim "Sunny Jim" was a cartoon character created in 1902 in the United States by writer Minnie Maud Hanff and artist Dorothy Ficken for an advertising campaign designed to promote Force cereal, the first commercially successful wheat flake. Fitzsimmons (3) and Max Hirsch
Maximilian J. "Max" Hirsch (July 12, 1880 - April 3, 1969) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. (3). And he'll be the fastest to reach that elite level, doing it just five years after Baffert saddled his first Derby starters, finishing an excruciating second with Cavonnier and 14th with Semoran. When Baffert broke through with Silver Charm, he was a novelty, considered a California flash because of his sun glasses, quick wit and high-living friends. When he won the Derby again in 1998 with Real Quiet, he was a phenomenon. After failing with a strong, three-horse hand in 1999 and with Captain Steve Captain Steve (foaled 1997 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was bred by Roger Laubach, owned by Michael E. Pegram, and trained by Bob Baffert. A bay foal by Fly So Free out of Sparkling Delite (by Vice Regent), he started 25 times, and earned the exceptional in 2000, Baffert is at Churchill Downs Churchill Downs, Ky.: see Louisville. with a chance at the first 1-2 finish by a trainer since Jones' Citation got past Coaltown in 1949. The consistent Point Given, the Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California and carries a purse of $750,000. winner owned by Saudi Prince Ahmed Salman's Thoroughbred Corp., is the 9-5 morning-line favorite. The less seasoned Congaree, the Wood Memorial winner owned by Bob McNair, owner of pro football's Houston Texans
From novelty to phenomenon to ...? ``When we look at what he has done in a few years, it's going to stand out as one of the greatest accomplishments in racing history,'' said newly elected Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella Richard Mandella (born November 5, 1950 in Beaumont, California) is a Thoroughbred horse trainer and a member of the Racing Hall of Fame. Mandella's father, a blacksmith, introduced him to horses at an early age and while still in high school he began breaking and training , who competes against Baffert on the Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, circuit. ``I think at this point he's got to be put up there with the very best.'' Another Southern California trainer, David Hofmans David Hofmans (born January 27, 1943, in Los Angeles, California) is an American trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses. Born and raised in Los Angeles, as a boy his father brought him to watch horse racing at area tracks. , who has 6-1 shot Millennium Wind in the Derby, added: ``He's always thinking. You look at his barn and his horses. He's very detail-oriented.'' Mandella is one who hasn't always appreciated Baffert's wise-cracking. ``I hope he realizes how famous he is, how much of a focal point focal point n. See focus. he is, and how important it is to demand respect for the (racing) industry,'' Mandella said. But three-time Derby winner Gary Stevens
If Baffert has seemed a punchline short of his usual self this week, it might be because the past year hasn't been his easiest. His mother is ill. His public affair with a Louisville woman, and separation from his wife, has strained his family. He has been in hearings before California stewards, facing sanctions because a May 2000 allowance-race winner tested positive for a small amount of morphine. A third Derby would have to feel good. Baffert hasn't revealed which colt he thinks has the better chance, although he acknowledges Point Given has the experience edge and 1 1/4-mile pedigree as a son of 1995 Derby winner Thunder Gulch. Nor is he counting on a victory over a field being rated as one of the deepest in Derby history. ``The question will be answered (today), whether they're that good,'' Baffert said of his pair. What's certain is that Baffert will have thought of everything to get them to the starting gate safe, sound and prepared. KENTUCKY DERBY Today, coverage begins at 2 p.m. TV: Ch. 4 Our man says it's Point Given LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Today's Kentucky Derby offers an unusual number of really intriguing horses to bet on, more than you can count on a Daily Racing Form-ink-stained hand. I wish I could pick one of those horses: Dollar Bill, because his defeats might be excusable; Millennium Wind, because of the magic of 54-year-old Laffit Pincay; Jamaican Rum, because of his closing kick and a tactical genius named Eddie D.; Congaree, because the kid's exciting; Monarchos, because a step back in a prep isn't always a bad thing; Balto Star, because early speed is always dangerous, or Express Tour, because Sheikh sheikh or shaykh Among Arabic-speaking tribes, especially Bedouin, the male head of the family, as well as of each successively larger social unit making up the tribal structure. The sheikh is generally assisted by an informal tribal council of male elders. Mohammed has to win sometime. Unfortunately, none of those angles looks as promising as the known quantities of the favorite. From his consistency to his versatility to his connections, Point Given is the most solid contender I've seen in 12 years of coming to the Derby. I would bet him to win at any odds more generous than 2-1. I like Point Given (No. 17) on top in trifecta tri·fec·ta n. A system of betting in which the bettor must pick the first three winners in the correct sequence. Also called triple. [tri- + (per)fecta.] combinations using Millennium Wind (2), Dollar Bill (10), Jamaican Rum (15) and Monarchos (16), and Point Given in the second slot in trifectas with the same horses. - Kevin Modesti A VIEWER'S GUIDE A quick look at the horses, their stories and their chances in today's 127th Kentucky Derby. They're listed in order of their saddle-cloth numbers, which match their post positions. Odds are from the Churchill Downs morning line. No. Horse Jockey Odds 1 Songandaprayer Aaron Gryder 20-1 Bobby Hurley, the former Duke basketball star, heads the owner group that bought Songandaprayer for $1 million as a 2-year-old. He looked like a good buy when he won the Fountain of Youth Fountain of Youth legendary fountain of eternal youth. [World Legend: Brewer Dictionary, 432] See : Unattainability at 18-1 in February. 2 Millennium Wind Laffit Pincay 6-1 The $1.2 million purchase led from gate to wire under the 54-year-old Pincay in the Blue Grass Stakes The Blue Grass Stakes, currently sponsored by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is an American Grade 1 horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in mid April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. - defeating Songandaprayer, Dollar Bill, A P Valentine A P Valentine (foaled February 14, 1998) is a retired Grade I-winning Thoroughbred racehorse sired by A.P. Indy out of an Alydar mare, Twenty Eight Carat. Two-year-old campaign and Invisible Ink - but is expected to let others lead today. 3 Balto Star Mark Guidry 8-1 The better of trainer Todd Pletcher's pair is the speediest horse in the race, and if he and second-time Derby jockey Guidry go unchallenged early, the gelding gelding castrated male horse. could keep going as in the Spiral and the Arkansas Derby. 4 Thunder Blitz Edgar Prado 30-1 The gray-coated son of newly elected Hall of Famer Holy Bull constitutes the second string for Santa Anita chairman Frank Stronach, the breeder-owner who lost 2-year-old champion Macho Uno to an ankle injury in February. 5 Fifty Stars Donnie Meche 50-1 Meche, 26, has a tough assignment for his Derby debut, having to come from behind with a horse who caught Millennium Wind on a bad day in the Louisiana Derby but rates two cuts below the real stars of this field. 6 Express Tour David Flores Flores, town, Guatemala Flores (flōrəs), town (1990 est. pop. 2,200), capital of Petén department, N Guatemala. Flores was built on an island in the southern part of Lake Petén Itzá and on the site of the 15-1 Prepped in Dubai, following the so-far unsuccessful path preferred by Sheikh Mohammed, and impressed Bob Baffert and other observers by outdueling the since-injured star Street Cry in the $2 million UAE Derby. 7 Arctic Boy Calvin Borel 50-1 Even if you accept his handlers' claim he disliked the running surface when he finished last in the Arkansas Derby, the fact is the gray colt's lone victory in seven starts came in a $25,000 maiden race. 8 Congaree Victor Espinoza 5-1 Baffert's Wood Memorial winner measures up on talent and so does his Derby-debuting jockey, although horses with only four races' seasoning are winless in 16 attempts since 1918 (average finish: ninth). 9 A P Valentine Corey Nakatani 15-1 Owned by Rick Pitino, the Louisville basketball coach, and Michael Tabor, who had 1995 winner Thunder Gulch, and trained by two-time Derby winner Nick Zito, he has yet to fire his best since losing time to injury. 10 Dollar Bill Pat Day 10-1 The only Derby horse with a Web site (www.dollarbill.ws) is a contender if Kentucky favorite Day finds a clearer path than in the Louisiana Derby (clipped heels, fourth) and Blue Grass (bumped at start, third). 11 Talk is Money Jerry Bailey 50-1 The most expensive horse here ($1.8 million as a yearling yearling an animal in its second year of age, e.g. yearling cattle, yearling filly, yearling colt. yearling disease rinderpest in wildebeeste in the Serengheti. ) gets two-time Derby winner Bailey for the first time. He'll need more of the improvement he has shown since running eighth in the Florida Derby. 12 Startac Alex Solis 50-1 Solis, second in three of the past four Derbies (Captain Bodgit, Victory Gallop, Aptitude), will have a hard time breaking through with the Turf Paradise Derby The Turf Paradise Derby is a race for Thoroughbred horses held in February at Turf Paradise in Arizona. The Turf Paradise Derby is open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt. An ungraded stakes now offers a purse of $100,000. winner, whose pedigree says he'll do best in turf races. 13 Invisible Ink John Velazquez 30-1 Trainer Pletcher's other colt was so ill a year ago that he lost 400 pounds and an insurance company gave permission to euthanize euthanize see euthanatize. him. ``Inky'' recovered and ran well enough in the Florida Derby and Blue Grass to earn a shot. 14 Keats Larry Melancon 30-1 After solid beginnings as a 2-year-old on Irish turf, Keats has written an ode to inconsistency. He finished 36 lengths back in the Spiral after a stumbling start, then led all the way in the Lexington at 16-1 odds. 15 Jamaican Rum Eddie Delahoussaye 50-1 Delahoussaye, the master of the come-from-behind win, seeks his third Derby victory as veteran Southern California trainer Jim Cassidy saddles his first Derby starter. The California-bred gray could be last early in the race. 16 Monarchos Jorge Chavez 6-1 The gray colt trained by bluegrass bluegrass, any species of the large and widely distributed genus Poa, chiefly range and pasture grasses of economic importance in temperate and cool regions. In general, bluegrasses are perennial with fine-leaved foliage that is bluish green in some species. native John Ward beat Invisible Ink, Songandaprayer and Talk is Money in the Florida Derby and was a potential Kentucky Derby favorite before he lost to Congaree in the Wood Memorial. 17 Point Given Gary Stevens 9-5 The favorite has the most starts (8), wins (5), 1-2-3 finishes (8), Grade I and II wins (3) and U.S. earnings ($1.2 million), and benefits from the Derby experience of Stevens (3 wins) and trainer Baffert (2 wins). - Kevin Modesti CAPTION(S): 2 photos, 2 boxes Photo: (1 -- color) Trainer Bob Baffert checks on Congaree, one of his two entries in the 127th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. (2) Favorite Point Given, with exercise rider Pep Aragon aboard, works out Friday. Amy Sancetta/Associated Press Box: (1) Our man says it's Point Given (see text) (2) A VIEWER'S GUIDE (see text) |
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