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Street Sense puts on a show fit for a Queen Jockey Calvin Borel and STREET SENSE (Street Cry [Ire]) skimmed the rail in November to take the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) by 10 dominating lengths. On Saturday in the $2.21 million Kentucky Derby (G1), the pair utilized the same trip to take the 133rd Run for the Roses by 2 1/4 lengths, becoming the first Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner to go on and win the Derby. A homebred campaigned by James Tafel, Street Sense finished the 1 1/4-mile classic in 2:02 over Churchill Downs' fast dirt in front of a 156,635-strong crowd that included Queen Elizabeth II of England and her husband, Prince Philip. "What do y'all think of that jinx now?," trainer Carl Nafzger joked, referring to the so-called jinx that had hitherto prevented Juvenile winners from adding the Derby trophy. Nafzger was earning his second Derby victory, following champion Unbridled's memorable score in 1990, while Borel was savoring his first taste of Derby glory. "He's the best three-year-old I've ever been on in my life," said Borel, who was showered with congratulations from his fellow jockeys as well as the outriders, fans and everyone else on track in the gallop back to the winner's circle. "He'll do anything for you. He's very push-button. He'll put you in a spot where you want to be at any time and then relax, you know, so I really don't know how good he is." "This horse has never ran a bad race," Nafzger agreed. "He's done everything he's supposed to. Like I said earlier, and I mean seriously, this horse took us here. I've got all the faith in the world in this horse and I can't say enough about him." Street Sense's score was also a feather in the cap of his young sire Street Cry (Ire). Denied the chance to pursue Derby glory because of injury in the spring of 2001, Street Cry is now responsible for a classic winner in his very first crop. As Hard Spun (Danzig) quickly moved to the lead, Borel patiently guided Street Sense onto his favored position along the rail and dropped near the tail of the field. The leader set splits of :22 4/5 and :46 while tracked by Cowtown Cat (Distorted Humor) early. That one began to back up, but Sedgefield (Smart Strike) and Teuflesberg (Johannesburg) were more than willing to take up the slack as Hard Spun passed six furlongs in 1:11.All the while, Street Sense had just one horse beaten in the early going, coming off the rail only once to circle Storm in May (Tiger Ridge) on the backstretch. Entering the turn, Hard Spun was maintaining his lead and appeared ready to take the field all the way home. Borel had other plans. Keeping Street Sense on the same inside path rounding the turn, the 40-year-old Louisiana native began pushing his mount. Slipping off the rail to pass Sedgefield, Street Sense took after Hard Spun, circling that rival before moving back to the inside and going on to claim his historic victory. "We couldn't be any happier," trainer Larry Jones said of runner-up Hard Spun's race. "We just got beat by a better horse. Carl is awesome at pointing a horse towards a race. (He) beats me all the time." Sent off the near 5-1 favorite in the 20-horse field, Street Sense paid $11.80, $6.40 and $4.60 while starting the $101.80 exacta and $440 trifecta. Hard Spun was easily best of the rest, giving back $9.80 and $7 at 10-1 for holding Curlin (Smart Strike) to third. Show returned $5.60 at 5-1 while Imawildandcrazyguy (Wild Event), sent off at 28-1, finished out the very nice $29,046.40 superfecta (7-8-2-5). Completing the order under the wire were Sedgefield, Circular Quay (Thunder Gulch), Tiago (Pleasant Tap), Any Given Saturday (Distorted Humor), Sam P. (Cat Thief), Nobiz Like Shobiz (Albert the Great), Dominican (El Corredor), Zanjero (Cherokee Run), Great Hunter (Aptitude), Liquidity (Tiznow), Bwana Bull (Holy Bull), Storm in May, Teuflesberg, Scat Daddy (Johannesburg), Stormello (Stormy Atlantic) and Cowtown Cat. Street Sense was named champion two-year-old colt after his Breeders' Cup Juvenile victory, and became the first juvenile champion to take the Derby since Spectacular Bid in 1979. The dark bay colt earned his first stakes win in the Breeders' Cup, breaking his maiden by 1 1/4 lengths at Arlington Park before finishing third in the Arlington-Washington Breeders' Cup Futurity (G3) on Arlington's sloppy track. Nafzger moved his charge to Keeneland's Polytrack for the Breeders' Futurity (G1), and Street Sense ran third once again. After easily proving best with Borel's patented rail ride in the Breeders' Cup at Churchill, Street Sense was given four months off, returning in mid-March to earn a gutsy nose victory in the Tampa Bay Derby (G3). Nafzger followed the same path to the Derby as he did to the Breeders' Cup, sending Street Sense to Keeneland's Polytrack, where he just missed by a nose to Dominican in the Blue Grass S. (G1). With Saturday's scintillating score, the sophomore moved his career mark to 8-4-2-2 and now boasts lifetime earnings of $2,958,200. The Kentucky-bred Street Sense is the first registered foal out of the winning Bedazzle (Dixieland Band), who has since produced an unraced juvenile filly named Elusive Sparkle (Elusive Quality) and an unnamed yearling filly by Distorted Humor. This is the family of multiple Grade 3 victor, 1995 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) runner-up and successful sire Mr. Greeley.
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