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McGaughey contemplates first Kentucky Derby victory
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| McGaughey was already enshrined into Racing's Hall of Fame prior to Saturday's initial Derby victory
(Wendy Wooley/EquiSport Photos) |
Trainer Shug McGaughey reflected on his Hall of Fame career
Sunday morning at Churchill Downs after checking on Kentucky Derby winner Orb at
Barn 43.
Pleased with the energy level displayed by the 2 1/2-length victor of
Saturday's classic, the Kentucky native thought of all the people along the way
who had helped him find his way to the Churchill Downs winner's circle.
"Sometimes I pinch myself and say, 'Why does this happen to
me?'" said McGaughey, noting how many talented horsemen never had the same
opportunities that he has had. "When I got to really rolling, I remember many a
day after we'd won a big race in New York, I'd be leaving and I'd think, 'How
lucky am I? Why is this happening to me?'"
McGaughey, who had started only one horse (Saarland, 10th
in 2002) for the Derby since he saddled heavily favored Easy Goer for a
disheartening second-place finish behind Sunday Silence in 1989, was still
pinching himself Sunday morning in the aftermath of Orb's Derby success.
"I said last week that I wished it had happened to me
earlier so I didn't have to worry about it anymore, but I'm not sure I believe
that now," McGaughey said. "Yesterday was quite a day and today's been quite a
day so far. It's been quite, quite a thrill."
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Saddling a horse bred and owned by longtime clients Stuart
Janney III and the Phipps Stable was particularly thrilling. The Kentucky Derby
victory by Orb was the first success in the race for the team of owners made up
of members of two of Thoroughbred racing's most respected families.
"The Janneys and the Phippses have been around this for
years. I think that they understand that we've got to be patient with these
horses and try to make them last," McGaughey said. "They don't get in the
way and that makes it easy for me to be patient and do what I've got to do to
get the best of out of them that I possibly can.
"The last 10-12 days (leading up to the race) had been absolutely perfect.
Everything went right for us. I had a quiet confidence about me -- I didn't get
nervous like I thought I would.
"To see the race unfold the way I thought it would unfold -- they kept saying
there wasn't going to be a lot of pace, but I thought there would be a lot of
pace, and there was a thought at one time, 'Are we too far back?' -- but when he
punched the button, I knew we were going to have something to say about it. To
see that horse run the way he did was an absolute thrill for me."
Orb -- who won his fifth straight race while taking on Churchill's sloppy,
sealed, track
-- raced as far back as 17th on the backstretch before making a
sweeping move on the turn into the homestretch and surging through the stretch
to win under jockey Joel Rosario.
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| Orb enjoys a sip of water upon his arrival at Belmont Sunday afternoon
(NYRA/Adam Coglianese) |
"He got away good. I might have been a little surprised
that he was back where he was. Then, they threw the 22-and-change up there and I
knew why he was where he was. He (Rosario) got him over where he didn't lose a
lot of ground around the first turn and then he had him in a great position
going down the backside to where anything foreseeable won't get in my way," McGaughey said.
"The only other thing I said (to Rosario) was: 'When the time comes try to be
in position to give him someplace to go,' and he did that. When he started
making that move, you always wonder, 'Is he too far back.' When he got to the
quarter-pole I knew he was going to finish and he was going to be running at the
end. At that time I was feeling pretty confident that we were in a good spot and
had a good chance."
Rosario picked up the mount aboard Orb when John Velazquez,
who had ridden the son of Malibu Moon for victories in the Fountain of Youth and
Florida Derby, opted to pilot Verrazano in the Derby.
"Joel was the one I wanted and then he gets off to that
amazing start at Keeneland and comes over here on opening night he wins five
races. We were in pretty good shape. After winning five, I knew he wasn't
intimidated by Churchill Downs," McGaughey said.
"The more I'm around him the
more I'm amazed at what kind of kid he is. He's just happy with what he does.
He's got so much energy and he has so much ambition that we were tickled to
death to have him. He's got so much confidence with what he's doing. Like I told
him in the paddock, 'Just ride him with confidence.'"
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Orb left for New York Sunday morning, and after an uneventful flight from
Louisville, arrived at his Belmont Park barn just before 3 p.m. (EDT). Click
here
for the NYRA video.
McGaughey,
who arrived about an hour later, said that now he will have the chance to absorb
his first Derby victory.
"I don't know that I've been able to sit down and think about it yet, but I
will, now that I'm home," McGaughey noted.
In
preparation for a start in the Preakness Stakes on May 18, McGaughey said Orb
may breeze at Belmont Park before shipping to Pimlico on May 14.
McGaughey confirmed his plans to
run Orb in the middle jewel of the Triple Crown during a Sunday
morning phone call with Maryland Jockey Club president Tom Chuckas and two other
Preakness officials. Pimlico officials traditionally call the winner of the
Kentucky Derby to extend a formal invitation to come to Baltimore.
"I'm looking forward to getting this process going again
and running in the Preakness," McGaughey said.
McGaughey has had two Preakness starters: Pine Circle, fifth in 1984, and Easy Goer, who finished second to Sunday Silence after an epic
battle in 1989.
"We are tickled to death with the way he ran yesterday and he seemed to come
out of the race well," McGaughey added. "I am looking forward
to getting there. We had a great two weeks down here and I am sure our time at
Pimlico will be every bit as good. We are planning on bringing him Tuesday of
Preakness week.
While McGaughey has always been a one-race-at-a-time
trainer, he admitted that he's thought about the Triple Crown.
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| Orb as a baby at Claiborne Farm near Paris, Kentucky
(Photo courtesy Dell Hancock/Claiborne Farm) |
"Obviously, it has," he replied when asked if it had crossed his mind. "I'm
looking forward to getting the process going again and seeing what happens and
go from there.
"He's not overcooked, and I think we have time for him to get over this race
and get to the next one. I think probably the important ones that are in there
that have gone through the same thing, except for Departing, who's had a couple
extra weeks."
KENTUCKY DERBY ODDS & ENDS
Orb is the 22nd Kentucky Derby winner to emerge from the
Florida Derby and win the Run for the Roses. He is only the fourth horse to
sweep the Fountain of Youth, Florida Derby and Kentucky Derby. The others are
Tim Tam (1958), Spectacular Bid (1979) and Thunder Gulch (1995).
Orb is the sixth Kentucky Derby winner since 1929 with at least five weeks
between his last start and the Derby (and fifth in the last eight years): Orb
(35 days in 2013); Animal Kingdom (42 days in 2011); Mine That Bird (34 days in
2009); Big Brown (35 days in 2008); Barbaro (35 days in 2006) and Needles (42
days in 1956).
Orb was the fourth horse to win the Kentucky Derby from post position No. 15.
The others: Swale (1984), Grindstone (1996) and Fusaichi Pegasus (2000). He was
the 11th winner to break from the auxiliary starting gate.
Orb was the 53rd post-time favorite to win the Kentucky Derby and first since
Big Brown in 2008.
The Kentucky Derby was contested over a "sloppy" track for the seventh time.
The other years: 1925 (Flying Ebony), 1948 (Citation), 1994 (Go for Gin), 2004
(Smarty Jones), 2009 (Mine That Bird) and 2010 (Super Saver).
Orb is the 106th Kentucky Derby winner bred in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Orb is the 52nd bay horse to win the Kentucky Derby (most).
Orb is the fourth Kentucky Derby winner whose name begins
with the letter "O" and the first since Omaha in 1935. The others are Old
Rosebud in 1914 and Omar Khayyam in 1917.
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Orb became the 10th Kentucky Derby winner to be foaled/raised at Claiborne Farm
near Paris, Kentucky. The others: Thunder Gulch (1995), Ferdinand (1986),
Swale (1984), Riva Ridge (1972), Canonero II (1971), Jet Pilot (1947) and
Johnstown (1939) as well as Triple Crown winners Omaha (1935) and his sire, Gallant Fox
(1930).
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