Columnist Ralph Siraco: Baffert again finds success at the Derby

Ralph Siraco

Monday, May 6, 2002 | 9:48 a.m.

Ralph Siraco's horse racing column appears Monday and his Southern California selections run Tuesday-Sunday.

Trainer Bob Baffert took that famous walk at Churchill Downs on Saturday. The one that starts from the backside barn area and stretches through the first turn and into the grandstand that leads to the paddock. That walk, in view of a good portion of the mass of humanity that attends the Kentucky Derby, is the walk every trainer in America wants to take on the first Saturday in May each year.

Baffert walked with his entrant, a striking colt that had won his Derby prep race impressively, saddled him in the paddock and hoisted his rider aboard. Baffert had been here before, having won back-to-back Derbies in 1997-98. This time his Derby horse would carry the green and white silks of Saudi Prince Ahmed Salman's Thoroughbred Corporation racing stable. The name alone, and its royal proprietor, meant that the trainer was intent on delivering a Derby trophy to his well-heeled client. Baffert watched intently, as almost all of America, as his horse floundered as the favorite, a well-beaten fifth.

That horse was Point Given. That Derby was last year's. And, that would be the last race Point Given would lose, on the way to 2001 Horse of the Year honors.

After that Derby, Baffert told his Prince, "I owe you a Derby."

He delivered on that promise as quickly as possible. On Saturday, Baffert joined the Prince in the Churchill Downs winners circle, just one year after Point Given's mystery Derby trip, to accept the hardware for the 128th Kentucky Derby with War Emblem.

Baffert has had a love-hate relationship with America's most famous horse race since his first taste of defeat in 1996. Beaten by just a nose by Grindstone with Cavonnier, the silver-haired trainer returned to capture the Derby with Silver Charm in 1997 for owners Bob and Beverly Lewis and the following year for Mike Pegram with Real Quiet.

The disappointment with Point Given haunted Baffert throughout last year, largely because he was supposed to win. It was supposed to be easy.

The Derby tale for Prince Ahmed Salman has gone full circle. Through last summer and as late as the fall championships at Breeders' Cup, the Thoroughbred Corporation's Derby hopes were squarely on the juvenile sensation Officer. Many had prematurely compared the young runner to other Derby champions.

Officer didn't even make the starting gate on Saturday.

And up until a month ago, neither had Baffert or the Prince.

Although Baffert had an abundance of young prospects, a Derby return seemed to be sitting on a horse named Danthebluegrassman.

Then came the April 6 Illinois Derby. War Emblem romped to victory in the Grade II Chicago race, extending his record to four wins from seven lifetime starts. After Baffert learned that the owners were not interested in pursuing the Derby, to instead point to the Preakness Stakes, he quickly picked up the phone and suggested the Prince drop a dime on War Emblem's owner Russell Reineman. Following a seven-figure transaction, War Emblem left the shedrow of trainer Frank Springer and entered the Baffert barn with a month to prepare for the Derby.

The rest is history -- Derby history.

Racing in those green and white silks for the first time, War Emblem turned the wide open, topsy-turvy Kentucky Derby into a Louisville procession for a Prince.

With jockey Victor Espinoza aboard, War Emblem led every step of the way and took a mediocre field of sophomore classmates through bland fractions that produced a no-passing zone for the winner. Proving the follow-the-leader Run for the Roses this year, runner-up Proud Citizen and third-place finisher Perfect Drift held those positions for more than a mile of the 1 1/4-mile Derby, with only Medaglia d'Oro rallying past horses to gain fourth. The final time was 2:01 and War Emblem returned $43 to win for the faithful Baffert backers.

The Prince called Baffert a "genius" and said, "I love you guys in America." In his usual character, Baffert lent his brand of analogy to the moment. He said, "We sort of came here through the back door, but we are leaving through the front door."

Winning his first Derby, Espinoza, who rode War Emblem for the first time Saturday, said he remembered Baffert's instructions for the race. "He told me to come from the gate clean. ... I think he told me that a thousand times," the jubilant rider recalled.

And, of course, the obvious question was posed to the Prince: What about a deep-pocket owner buying a ready-made Derby contender? Salman responded, "Everybody buys the Derby, because you have to buy a horse or raise one. If you tell me who's going to win (the Derby next year), I'll buy it again."

Considering the $875,000 winner's share of the Grade I purse, and an addition $1 million bonus that Sportsman's Park must pay for the Illinois Derby winner capturing any Triple Crown race, Salman is already "out" on the purchase.

This Derby will certainly go down as another memorable edition thanks to the records it produced on a beautiful day at Churchill Downs. Under heavy security, the fifth-largest Derby crowd of 145,033, helped establish an all-time Derby handle record of $79,094,806. That, of course, was based on the most wide open field in recent memory that sent off the highest post time favorite in the history of the Derby. The favorite, Harlan's Holiday at 6-1 odds, checked in seventh.