But I just love Baffert.... Seals the deal...
I will be rooting for Indian Express.
Baffert turns to Baze to ride Indian Express
By Jim Armstrong, Denver Post Sports Writer
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Things happen in a hurry in the thoroughbred racing industry. Two months ago, trainer Bob Baffert appeared destined to have Laffit Pincay Jr. and Victor Espinoza riding for him in the Kentucky Derby. Instead, he'll have 20-year-old Tyler Baze, who will be making his first Derby start in Saturday's race.
Pincay Jr., a Hall of Famer who won the '84 Derby aboard Swale, was forced to retire this week because of a broken neck sustained in a March 1 spill at Santa Anita. He had been scheduled to ride Indian Express - a horse purchased by Baffert on Pincay's recommendation - in the Derby.
Espinoza, who won the first two legs of the 2002 Triple Crown aboard War Emblem, was fired by Baffert after riding Derby hopeful Kafwain to a second-place finish in the Louisiana Derby. He was replaced by Patrick Valenzuela, whose comeback from drug and alcohol problems was going to be capped by his first Derby appearance in 10 years.
So what happens? Kafwain came up lame during a Tuesday workout and was scratched from the Derby, leaving Baze as Baffert's only hope. Not that Valenzuela didn't try to talk his way into the race. He went so far as to tell Baffert he could bring home Senor Swinger, a one-time Derby contender Baffert has entered in Friday's Churchill Downs card.
"He was very disappointed," Baffert said. "He was trying to talk me into running Senor Swinger in the Derby. He said, 'Hey, bro, put him in there, bro.' That's the way he talks."
When that ploy didn't work, Valenzuela switched to Plan B.
"He said, 'Hey, man, that kid, take him off,"' Baffert said. "I said, 'I can't take him off, it will ruin him.' He said, 'Ruin him? (D. Wayne) Lukas took me off Codex and put (Angel) Cordero on, and he won the Preakness. It didn't ruin me.' It's too bad. He really wanted to ride. Everybody wants to ride in the Derby. And the tough thing is he had a legitimate chance."
Longshot lookout
Since this is the Derby, a longshot has to win. Or so it seems. Which brings us to Scrimshaw, a Lukas colt that merits consideration. The colt underwent throat surgery in early March to clear a flap of loose cartilage from his windpipe, then proceeded to win the Lexington Stakes on April 19.
"It's like a near drowning," Lukas said. "After a near drowning, you get thrown in the deep end and you're not sure you can handle it. He knows now that it's fine."
By the numbers
If anyone knows how to pull off a longshot, it's Lukas. The average price of his Triple Crown wins: $19.20.
Short stuff
Media magnet Baffert, on the difficulty of maintaining perspective during Derby Week: "Everything you say is printed, so you think you're smarter. That's why all these celebrities want to save the world: because they know it's going to be in print." ... Funny Cide, second in the Wood Memorial, arrived in Louisville on Wednesday after training at Belmont Park in New York. ... Empire Maker, a 6-5 favorite after Wednesday's post-position drawing, is the most prohibitive favorite since Arazi went off at .90-1 in 1992. ... Lukas, when asked by a New York Post reporter what he thought about Empire Maker's injury: "I don't think anything of it, because it's not my horse. I've had bruised feet before, but I have no idea what this is. I'm not going there. Not with a New York writer, anyway."
