DERBY THEY SAID IT
MAY 1, 2006
“I think he can do whatever he’s asked to do until he shows he can’t do it.”
Trainer
Michael Matz on undefeated Florida Derby
(G1) hero BARBARO (Dynaformer)
“All his races, he’s been right off the pace and has been able to keep
himself out of trouble. Whether he can do that in a 20-horse field, I don’t
know.”
—Matz on
Barbaro’s running style
“All the horsemen I’ve spoken to, don’t have a problem with it.”
—Matz on
Barbaro’s light campaign this year, with an eight-week layoff before the Florida
Derby and a five-week gap leading to the Kentucky Derby
“Hindsight is very great. The only thing I can say about it is, he was having
a little shin trouble early on as a two-year-old, and racing on the turf might
have helped him get through that without stopping on him. So maybe it was all
planned out.”
—Trainer Bob
Holthus on why Arkansas Derby (G2) winner LAWYER RON (Langfuhr) started his
career on the turf
“He had started improving a little bit, started to fill out and grow up a
little. Over the winter is when he really filled out. He was a big, tall, lanky
colt early on.”
—Holthus on how
Lawyer Ron has grown and developed from two to three
“I’ve thought all spring long, the further the better. I don’t know if I’m
going to base everything off of one race because he’s got to run the race of his
life probably to win. But we’re probably going to have the best set-up that
we’ve had all year, too. We have the best set-up, as far as a pace scenario, and
we’re finally at a distance that I’ve been waiting to run for three months. And
I’m sure that more than half of those horses in the race are not true
mile-and-a-quarter horses, if not even more than that. So stamina in my pedigree
ought to start carrying me a little closer to the top of the three-year-old
division.”
—Trainer Dan
Peitz on why his Arkansas Derby runner-up STEPPENWOLFER (Aptitude) will benefit
from the extra distance in the Kentucky Derby
“I never saw this in him before he raced, although he did work in :58 right
before his first start one morning. It just took so long for him to mature, I
couldn’t get a line on him.”
—Trainer Barclay
Tagg on how undefeated Lexington S. (G2) winner SHOWING UP (Strategic Mission)
has displayed more talent than first expected
“Darn right, I’d like to run him. I think he’s doing great right now and
I’d like to see him get his chance.”
—Trainer Todd
Pletcher on Florida Derby third SUNRIVER (Saint Ballado), who ranks 21st on the
graded earnings list and may not draw into the Derby field
“Track condition does not change a thing. He’ll run on anything.”
—Trainer
Dale Romans on Swale S. (G2) winner and Florida Derby runner-up SHARP HUMOR’s
(Distorted Humor) ability to handle an off track