Yakteen credits owner Zedan for Taiba's victory
In less than two minutes Saturday, Taiba (pronounced Tay-bah) went from a debut maiden sprint winner with zero Kentucky Derby qualifying points to a Grade 1 winner with 100, becoming a major player in pursuit of the Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs on May 7.
All it took was a dramatic 2 1/4-length victory over his stablemate and odds-on favorite Messier in the Santa Anita Derby (G1), a performance that earned him a lofty 101 Beyer Speed Figure.
Click here for Santa Anita entries and results.
Add this from Daily Racing Form’s National Correspondent Jay Privman’s DRF Twitter account (@DRFPrivman) Sunday morning: “Santa Anita Derby chart posted yesterday has incorrect times. Correct, updated times will be 22.75, 46.70, 1:10.97, 1:48.46. This means the opening quarter was faster (in chart a 23.23), middle of race slower (6f in chart 1:10.93), final time faster (chart 1:48.67)."
Safe to say, the fairytale was still flowering on Sunday.
“All my runners from yesterday have come out (of their races) in excellent shape,” said trainer Tim Yakteen, who also sent out long shot Armagnac to run fourth behind Taiba.
Taiba, a $1.7 million son of Gun Runner, is owned by Amr Zedan.
“Amr was just over the moon,” Yakteen said in describing the owner’s feelings after Taiba’s triumph. “All the credit obviously has to go to him (for running the horse) because, in my professional opinion, I advised him to take a different route in Taiba’s next start.
“But Amr made an educated decision, based on the information that was given him, and it resulted in a big payday ($450,000 to the winner). All the credit goes to him on this.”
The goal now is to keep Taiba and Messier healthy with the hope that one of them will become the 20th horse to run in the Santa Anita Derby and go on to win the Kentucky Derby.
“That’s the plan,” Yakteen said. “Messier is on target. He’ll move up from yesterday’s race since he had quite a bit of time between starts (two months from his 15-length win in the Robert B. Lewis (G3) on Feb. 6).
“This sets him up perfect for the Derby, and if you look back in history, there were many second-place finishers that ended up winning the Kentucky Derby (the Zedan-owned Medina Spirit, Authentic and Real Quiet come to mind).
“Messier ran huge, and he’ll be able to benefit with this race underneath him.”