Thousand Words 'turned it around' after an unhappy spring

For a week, Albaugh Family Stables racing manager Jason Loutsch dreaded making a phone call to Dale Romans that he knew was unavoidable.

Romans had played an integral role in helping Albaugh to consistently become a player in the grandest race of them all, the Kentucky Derby. And now it was Loutsch’s most unpleasant duty to inform the Louisville native that he would not be training a $1 million racing prospect he had strongly urged him to buy.

Loutsch started with an apology before explaining that he had agreed with partner Spendthrift Farm to send Thousand Words, a son of 2009 Kentucky Derby runner-up Pioneerof the Nile, to Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.

Loutsch will never forget Romans’ response: “I’m thankful for what you give me, and I’m not going to worry about what you don’t.”

Romans continues to stay classy even as Thousand Words joins Authentic in giving Baffert a reasonable shot at what would be a record-tying sixth Derby triumph. While Romans would have loved to oversee the Florida-bred, he takes pleasure in knowing the major role he played in giving Albaugh its fourth Derby starter in five years.

“Any part in any Derby winner would be amazing,” he said.

Albaugh typically buys eight or so horses per year and avoids big-ticket yearlings. Dennis Albaugh, 70, Loutsch’s father-in-law, agreed to pursue Thousand Words only because of Spendthrift’s willingness to join forces.

“They couldn’t have gotten him without Spendthrift,” Romans said. “I’m very glad they got him and they’re in the Derby with a good chance to win it.”

When Spendthrift’s B. Wayne Hughes told Loutsch of his desire to have Baffert oversee Thousand Words, it was impossible to argue against that.

“We were all for it. There is no secret. He is the best,” Loutsch said of Baffert, who can equal the legendary Ben Jones for the most Derby victories.

While Romans will saddle longshot Attachment Rate in a bid for his first Derby win, Thousand Words shows signs of peaking at the ideal time after souring earlier this season.

Baffert made the hard decision to give the 3-year-old more than a month off after an inexplicably poor 11th-place finish in the April 11 Oaklawn Stakes. Thousand Words had come in a disappointing fourth in the San Felipe Stakes (G2) in his start before that.

“He wasn’t happy. He wasn’t liking his job,” Loutsch said. “We knew the talent was there.”

That talent resurfaced once a heftier, happier Thousand Words returned to competition. He placed second in the July 4 Los Alamitos Derby (G2) before upsetting Honor A.P. in the Aug. 1 Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar.

He has been impressive while working four times at Del Mar since the Shared Belief. In his final tune-up for the Derby, where he will be ridden by Florent Geroux, he blazed five furlongs in 59.80, second of 53 at the distance.

“He’s really turned it around in his training,” Loutsch said. “He’s been training as good as he has his whole career.”

The Albaugh family got its first Derby taste when it paired with Donegal Racing on Paddy O’Prado, a Romans trainee that finished third in the 2010 edition of the Run for the Roses. It became intent on landing racing’s greatest prize after that with a team headed by bloodstock expert Barry Berkelhammer and Romans and a plan that focuses on spotting yearlings with the pedigree and conformation to succeed at classic distances.

“It’s no secret,” Loutsch said of the approach. “I always tell people no horse in America is bred to go a mile and a quarter. We’ve got to find horses that can go two turns and have the right conformation.”

That led Albaugh to invest $350,000 in Brody’s Cause, $485,000 in J Boys Echo and $200,000 in Free Drop Billy, all at Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale. Those three made successive Derby appearances from 2016 to 2018, with Brody’s Cause providing the best finish when he took seventh.

No matter how Thousand Words fares, Albaugh Family Stables can be counted on to continue chasing the dream. The operation draws its determination from the family patriarch. Dennis mortgaged his house to start Albaugh Inc., now a multibillion-dollar company based in Ankeny, Iowa.