Asmussen reflects on his career and his Kentucky Derby quest

Louisville, Ky.

There is intention behind everything Steve Asmussen does, from the way he speaks about his horses, to the way he crafts his training regimen, to how he compartmentalizes all the enormities that have come to define him as the most prolific horseman ever to ply their trade in North America.

Though his focus is always on whatever the next task is ahead of him, the sport’s all-time winningest trainer has made it a point recently to properly pause and let his reality wash over him. He has everything professionally even his most audacious self could have wished for – a place in the Hall of Fame, a win total that likely will never be threatened in his lifetime, a litany of champions with triumphs on racing biggest stages. And the fact he has achieved it all not just surrounded by his family but with their skillset as an integral part of his operation has prompted the phrase “blessed” to become a mainstay in his vernacular.

All this and more has been dashing through Asmussen’s mind of late while fielding questions about the one major target he still needs to hit. As he is reminded each season when the calendar inches toward the first Saturday in May, the man who has about done it all in Thoroughbred racing has yet to win the Kentucky Derby. While he doesn’t for one second posture like he is blasé about his 0-for-23 mark in the sport’s most famous race, the way in which he frames his record in the 10-furlong classic speaks to how he has embraced the power of perspective.

“I’ve had the disappointment and survived it,” Asmussen said of his history in the first leg of the Triple Crown. “Since getting the (record) win total and stuff, it has made me sit back and reflect and just realize how blessed I am to have my family involved in it and how meaningful it is. It’s become a lot more emotional for me just because of the success that we’ve had and the excitement of everyone coming for the Derby and feeling like you have a good chance. It makes it extremely special.”

While Asmussen’s mindset has shifted some since breaking Dale Baird’s win record last August, what hasn’t changed is that he once again is days out from the Kentucky Derby with hopes that this is the year the racing deities come down on his side. For the first time in his storied career, he is set to lead over not just another Derby contender, but the likely race favorite as Winchell Thoroughbreds’ multiple graded stakes winner Epicenter aims to pull that classic albatross off Asmussen’s neck come the evening of May 7.

The list of legendary trainers without a Derby win could be a Mount Rushmore in itself, with names such as Hall of Famer Richard Mandella and the late Bobby Frankel and H. Allen Jerkens on that roster. Since saddling his first starter in the race in 2001, Asmussen has unwittingly added himself to that aforementioned group as he has finished second twice with Nehro (2011) and Lookin At Lee (2017) and run third with eventual Hall of Famer Curlin (2007) and 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner (2016).

With all he has accomplished, Asmussen’s resume already is guaranteed to stand out among the all-timers regardless of whether he ever holds the roses. Though he might not need a Kentucky Derby triumph to validate his place in the sport, the fact the 1 1/4-mile test has continued to elude him has added fuel to a motivation that already burns in him like wildfire.

“It’s a big hole. He wants to fill it,” said owner Ron Winchell of Winchell Thoroughbreds, one of Asmussen’s longest-running clients. “We’ve come here eight times together. He’s come here a bunch of other times. He’s won pretty much every other race, I’ve won a fair amount of races as well. So this is one you definitely want to win. If you’re in the business, this is it.”

Winchell himself knows how the Kentucky Derby chase can weigh on a person. His late father, Verne, spent five decades trying to get the golden trophy on his mantel. Since taking over the reins when the family patriarch passed away in 2002, the younger Winchell has experienced firsthand just how challenging it is for circumstances to break right for his horses as he watched the likes of Tapit finish ninth in 2004 and Gun Runner settle for show honors behind champion Nyquist.

“It was (my father’s) dream to win the Derby and I kind of adopted that dream, if you will,” Ron Winchell said.

Even some of Asmussen’s most agonizing Derby losses, however, are ones he views as experiences that ultimately helped propel his operation forward. He still can’t believe Curlin’s Hall of Fame plaque doesn’t have that triumph on it but, while the future two-time Horse of the Year wasn’t best on that day, his subsequent success in the 2007 Preakness Stakes (G1) gave Asmussen his first of what are now three wins in Triple Crown races, and his victory in that year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) was the first of eight victories his trainer has enjoyed in the World Championships.

“I’ve got 23 different feelings on the Derby but like … with Curlin, I just never dreamed he could get beat,” Asmussen said. “Curlin gave you so much confidence, I never dreamed he’d lose. It felt like the walkover for Curlin’s Derby took three strides and the walk back felt like the Sahara Desert. He had enough ability, just wasn’t meant to be.

“But I think the opportunities we’ve been given since Curlin have just spoiled us to an immeasurable level. When Curlin came around, he taught us things we didn’t know – how to win classics.”

From Curlin to Rachel Alexandra to Untapable to Gun Runner, Asmussen’s barn over the last 15 years has routinely produced runners that overshadow many of their divisional brethren. While he’s not ready to mention Epicenter’s name with that group of champions just yet, the son of Not This Time is arguably the most complete talent Asmussen has brought to the Kentucky Derby table.

Where Curlin didn’t race as a juvenile and Gun Runner didn’t win his first stakes until he annexed the 2016 Risen Star (G2), Epicenter has been showing incremental improvement since he debuted at Churchill Downs last September. After breaking his maiden at second asking last November, the bay colt fittingly captured the Gun Runner Stakes going 1 1/16 miles at Fair Grounds on Dec. 26, pressing the early pace before drawing clear by 6 1/2 lengths.

After a runner-up finish when he made his seasonal bow in the Lecomte Stakes (G3) on Jan. 22, Epicenter delivered two of the more impressive victories on this year’s Road to the Kentucky Derby when he led every point of call in the Risen Star, then rated and pounced en route to a 2 1/2-length score in the Louisiana Derby (G2) going 1 3/16 miles on March 26.

“You can’t stand here and compare (Epicenter) to Curlin and Gun Runner yet – how they finished their careers made them who they were – but he is running faster right now than they were when they got here,” Asmussen said. “I think it’s the success that helped him. Success in his races and then his opportunity in the Louisiana Derby to stalk and not be overly aggressive in the middle is very good to see, considering how much pace is in this race like the Derby.

“Obviously, with 20 runners in the Derby post-position draw matters but hopefully he’s away from there cleanly. With the success he’s had in the last couple of races and showing a variable style, it’s one less thing to worry about.”

Because multi-tasking has been part of Asmussen’s DNA since growing up on his family’s farm in Laredo, Texas, it is appropriate that he has more than one top sophomore contender to worry about this Derby week. Unbeaten champion Echo Zulu, who is owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds in partnership with L and N Racing, figures to vie for favoritism in the Kentucky Oaks on May 6 as the daughter of Gun Runner comes into the test off a season-opening victory in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) on March 26.

When Echo Zulu and Epicenter swept Fair Grounds’ signature Oaks and Derby prep races, Asmussen was openly emotional in speaking of how significant the moment was for both himself and the Winchell team seeking its first classic success. That he has the chance to deliver a sweep for the ages beneath the Twin Spires this week is something that would resonate as much as any achievement that dots his illustrious resume.

“The fun thing with Ron (Winchell) and (Winchell manager) David (Fiske) for me is when it was Verne, Ron’s dad, coming down and seeing their young horses at my parents' place and stuff, Ron and I got to eat at the big people’s table, but we didn’t get an opinion,” Asmussen said.

“So, for us to be in this position now with possibly the favorite going into the Derby is very special. And then there is all Echo Zulu did for us the past year – first crop of Gun Runner, three Grade 1s in four races and a championship. There have been a lot of very good winners of the Fair Grounds Oaks, but I can’t remember any of them using it as their first and only prep for the Kentucky Oaks. Obviously extremely talented.”

The reflective mood Asmussen has been in is one that usually comes on only when a horseman is nearing the tail end of their career. While there is certainly no end in sight to his days of piling on milestone after milestone, one of the biggest hunts he has been on during his 36 years of training might finally be nearing a conclusion.

“I’m good at getting here,” Asmussen grinned. “I’ve had horses where it wasn’t meant to be. Who knows what all the reasons are, whether they didn’t run their best race that day or they were never good enough, but I do love being a part of (the Kentucky Derby). I enjoy and appreciate every opportunity we’ve been given, and I’m a horse trainer. We’re not smart enough to give up. We’re going to keep at it.”