BARBARO COASTS TO DERBY VICTORY FINAL BURST BEGETS 6 1/2-LENGTH VICTORY.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI Staff Writer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- It all changed dramatically at the instant Barbaro seized the Kentucky Derby lead from an exhausted front-runner Saturday, just as the horses were straightening into the long Churchill Downs homestretch, cheered on by one of the biggest crowds in the history of this spectacle.

Until that moment, the question had been how to pick a winner from among the outstanding 3-year-olds in the Derby with the strongest field in years.

Then, all of a sudden, the question became whether any of the 19 others will be able to touch this 3-year-old in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.

``I think you just saw a future legend,'' said Kent Desormeaux, whose mount Sweetnorthernsaint finished seventh after becoming a 5-1 favorite in the frenzied final minutes of betting. ``The best horse won today.''

And how.

No sooner had undefeated Barbaro and jockey Edgar Prado taken the lead than they burst away from the pack, leaving no doubt in the final quarter-mile, winning the 132nd Derby by 6 1/2 lengths.

It was the widest victory in a Derby since the 1940s, when Whirlaway (1941) and Assault (1946) each won by eight lengths.

Whirlaway and Assault went on to sweep the Triple Crown.

Saturday, in front of 157,336 fans, the second-largest Derby crowd ever, Bluegrass Cat finished second, Steppenwolfer rallied from near the back to finish third, and a hard-luck Brother Derek ended up in a dead heat with Jazil for fourth.

``It was just a nightmare trip,'' said Alex Solis, rider of Santa Anita Derby winner Brother Derek, who raced wide in the first turn after starting from post position 18 and ran into traffic on the second turn.

But whatever the valid excuses for many horses' disappointing performances, the fact is that none of them was going to beat Barbaro this time.

Barbaro, a winner in all six of his starts, became the seventh unbeaten horse to capture the Derby. Among the others, Seattle Slew (1977) went on to sweep the Triple Crown and Smarty Jones (2004) and Majestic Prince (1969) went on to win the Preakness but finish second in the Belmont.

Although trainer Michael Matz cautioned that Barbaro would have to take things one step at a time, Prado clearly was thinking about the potential for the colt bred and owned by Roy and Gretchen Jackson of Pennsylvania to become the 12th American Triple Crown winner.

Prado egged on the crowd as he rode the son of Dynaformer back to the winner's circle in a display that was atypical for the Peruvian jockey.

``A lot of people know I don't get too excited when I win -- I get very thankful,'' Prado said after dedicating his first Derby victory to his mother, who died in January. ``I was excited because I'm riding a great horse, and I think we have a chance to have a Triple Crown winner.''

Prado won his first Derby on the seventh try. Matz and the Jacksons won their first as rookies in the event. Matz is the fourth consecutive first- time Derby trainer to win the race.

It might be Matz who comes out of this as the star.

Though he called the victory ``a great thrill,'' he talked around the question of where it ranks among his life's headline events. In 1989, Matz was hailed as a hero after he survived a United Airlines crash in which 110 people died and 185lived, and helped two children to escape from the plane. In 1996, he won a silver medal at the Summer Olympics in the equestrian competition, and carried the Stars and Stripes at the closing ceremony in Atlanta.

On another front, Matz declined to serve up an I-told-you-so Saturday.

The 55-year-old Pennsylvania resident grew impatient long ago with questions about whether Barbaro had been under-trained, having been off for five weeks since winning the Florida Derby and having raced only once since Feb. 4.

Barbaro became the first horse since Needles in 1956 to win the Kentucky Derby after a similar layoff.

``I'm not going to say a word,'' Matz said with a grin.

Now Barbaro will have to run three times in five weeks to add the May 20 Preakness and June10 Belmont to his win streak.

But based on Saturday's display, Barbaro might just be a lot better than the rest of this spring's 3-year-olds.

He had a less-than-perfect trip around the Churchill Downs oval. He stumbled out of post 8, bumped with Bob and John, and raced wide in the clubhouse turn. By the backstretch, though, Prado had him in ideal striking position in fourth on the outside of stablemate Showing Up.

Keyed Entry was the first pace-setter to crack, leaving Sinister Minister in front, before Barbaro pounced on the grandstand side on his way to paying $14.20 as the 6-1 second choice.

Despite predictions of a destructive pace, the quarter-mile splits were a moderate 22.63, 46.07, 1:10.88 and 1:37.02. To finish the 1 1/4 miles in 2:01.36, Barbaro covered the final quarter in 24.34, the Derby's fastest stretch run since Secretariat's 231/5 in 1973.

You might remember that Secretariat went on to sweep the Triple Crown, too.

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) Barbaro, ridden by Edgar Prado, races across the finish line to win the 132nd Kentucky Derby before a crowd of 157,336.

Al Behrman/Associated Press

(2) Barbaro, ridden by Edgar Prado, pulls away from the pack on his way to winning the 132nd Kentucky Derby on Saturday.

Timothy D. Easley/Associated Press

Box:

(1) WINNING BIG

(2) KENTUCKY DERBY EXPANDED CHART