Kentucky Derby 2018 Daily: Baffert barn in the spotlight
Welcome to Horse Racing Nation’s Kentucky Derby Daily, which will each day leading up to the May 5 race at Churchill Downs detail all the news and notes related to contenders in one convenient space.
As crowd of reporters and other onlookers congested the path leading from Churchill Downs’ Barn 33 to the racetrack Tuesday morning, trainer Bob Baffert quipped, “Make room for the big horse. Watch out!”
Solomini, his other 2018 Kentucky Derby contender, emerged. The main attraction had already done his work, with unbeaten colt Justify taking a first spin around the Churchill strip minutes earlier.
“The track is real soft,” Baffert said. “He bounced around there pretty well — happy. Good first day, so that’s what we’re all looking for.”
Always soft spoken, Baffert said he’s feeling no pressure while seeking a fifth Kentucky Derby victory, which would move him to No. 2 on the all-time list for trainers behind only Ben Jones, who won six. After the Triple Crown journey three years ago with American Pharoah, this is easy stuff.
“The natural ability’s there, just like a great athlete,” Baffert said of a horse that has quickly advanced from maiden to allowance and then Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby winner since his debut in February.
The Hall of Fame trainer likened Justify to a “franchise player,” adding that “my job is just to keep him at that level.”
In this Derby field, is it enough?
Todd Pletcher is “really armed, and then you’ve got Good Magic,” Baffert said. “He’s coming around. All the prep races, I thought, were pretty strong. And then you’ve got your second-tier horses that come running.
It could, Baffert said, come down to “whoever makes it around the first turn in good order.” Tuesday’s post position draw may help handicappers in that regard.
Baffert has arrived to Churchill Downs with a favorite (Indian Charlie) only to score with the barn’s second horse (Real Quiet) in the past. That victory came in 1998.
Twenty years later, Solomini fits the profile of a live longshot.
“He’s a horse that’s just right there — tries hard every time,” Baffert said. “He’ll never wow you in the mornings but has made $700,000, won a Grade 1, got disqualified. He’s a nice horse, but he hasn’t hit that next level we’re always working for.”
Other happenings
Blended Citizen, the current first horse out of the Kentucky Derby, hit the track for the first time having shipped in from Keeneland. The backup option for the Doug O’Neill trainee is the Grade 3 American Turf on Saturday’s undercard.
Bolt d’Oro, who traveled on the West Coast flight to Louisville with Justify, jogged during Tuesday morning’s 15-minute training window exclusive to Derby and Kentucky Oaks winners. We’ll expect to see him gallop on Wednesday.
The potential second betting choice in Mendelssohn arrived to Churchill late Monday — about five hours after the planned time — due to a paperwork issue with a groom. His flight rerouted to Indianapolis, and a van took him the rest of the way. We should see him train Thursday.
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