Delgado: ‘I am an optimist’ about O Captain in Florida Derby
Hallandale Beach, Fla.
Gustavo Delgado, a pre-eminent trainer in his native Venezuela, arrived in South Florida seven years ago with 10 horses he owned, no clients and great ambition.
Delgado generally struggles to speak English and relies on Delgado Jr., his assistant, to translate. He needed no help, however, when asked if he dreams of winning the Kentucky Derby.
“All the time. Every day,” he said. “I am an optimist.”
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Quite the trainer, too. If former $17,000 yearling O Captain can finish in the top two or perhaps just hit the board in the Grade 1, $1 million Florida Derby on Saturday afternoon at Gulfstream Park, he would follow Majesto (2016) and Bodexpress (2019) in giving the now 30-horse barn its third Kentucky Derby starter in seven years.
Dismiss O Captain at your own risk. In only his third career start, he rallied from 10th to nab third in the March 5 Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream despite going off as the longest shot on the board at 87-1.
Delgado, 63, has worked his magic in the Florida Derby before. Majesto and Bodexpress, a maiden, each finished second in Gulfstream’s premier prep race. That did not translate into success of the first Saturday in May, with Majesto finishing 18th and Bodexpress 13th at Churchill Downs. Mercurial Bodexpress is largely remembered for rearing and unseating John Velázquez at the start of the Preakness and then participating in the race as a loose horse.
There is accomplishment in merely reaching the Kentucky Derby and gaining invaluable experience each time. “My dad is a dreamer, and I like that,” his son said. “We definitely came here to be there for the big races.”
Delgado is a well-known, risk taker. Bodexpress was dismissed at 71-1 when he applied unexpected relentless pressure to front-running winner Maximum Security in the Florida Derby three years ago. Caracaro rewarded those who included him in their exotics when, at 11-1, he took second to Tiz the Law in the 2020 Travers.
Delgado’s history should, at least, encourage a second look at O Captain. That is what the Delgados gave him at Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale while others neglected the son of Carpe Diem, not viewed as a fashionable sire.
“The horse always looked like a really nice horse,” Delgado Jr. said. “He always had the look. He was ‘A’-plus all the way.”
The Delgados were bargain-hunting of necessity. Their business was severely impacted by the pandemic as were so many others.
“Sometimes we buy horses, and we expect people to join us,” Delgado Jr. said. “Back then no one was willing to do that.”
That changed after O Captain broke his maiden by a whopping 9 1/4 lengths last Aug. 14 at Gulfstream in his lone start as a juvenile due to shin issues. Michael Iavarone, who owned 2008 Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown, adding his name to a list of partners by taking a minority stake after the Fountain of Youth. Eclipse Award-winning jockey Joel Rosario will wear Iavarone’s colors in the Florida Derby.
O Captain took third in the six-furlong Limehouse Stakes to launch his 3-year-old season on Jan. 3. The result suggested the colt is crying out for more ground. “The opportunity he has is longer distance,” Delgado said. It should help, too, that he should have a stronger pace to run into in the 1 1/8-mile Florida Derby than he did in the 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth.
Given recent history, a strong effort by O Captain would not be shocking. It is a sign of how far Delgado has come since arriving in what has always been a land of dreams for immigrants.
“I think people are starting to see how good a trainer he is,” Delgado Jr. said proudly.