Something stunning was about to happen as the two colts bounded into
the deep stretch, the one in front hitting the ground with a wobble,
the one giving chase gathering strength with every stride. Either
Bodemeister was going to give the trainer Bob Baffert, fresh off a heart attack, his fourth Kentucky Derby
victory, or I’ll Have Another was going to give an anonymous jockey,
Mario Gutierrez, one of the most unlikely victories in the 138 runnings
of America’s greatest horse race.
For a mile and an eighth, Bodemeister had been breathtaking. He had
come to Churchill Downs as the undisputed king of speed after leading
every step of the way in the Arkansas Derby. It was why bettors in a
record crowd of more than 165,000 had made him the 4-1 favorite. But
the 3-year-old colt was taking on history — he had not raced as a
2-year-old, and the last time a late starter had won the Derby was a
horse named Apollo in 1882.
As soon as Mike Smith, his Hall of Fame rider, shot Bodemeister out of
the gate, it was clear the colt was dead set on running through that
history. Smith gunned him, as he had been instructed by Baffert,
through an opening quarter mile of 22.32 seconds, making the sprinter
Trinniberg and last year’s Juvenile champion, Hansen, give furious
chase.
“He was flying leaving there,” Smith said. “He’s such a free-running horse that I couldn’t take it away from him.”
By the time Bodemeister skipped into the backstretch, 19 of the most
talented 3-year-olds in recent Derby memory were strung out behind him.
In the clubhouse, Baffert tried not to get too keyed up. In March,
while in Dubai for the World Cup, he had a heart attack. His recovery
was going well, but he had heeded the warning and was working on living
healthier and reducing his stress.
When you’re a trainer, a fast horse is soothing.
“He was doing it easily,” Baffert said. “I didn’t want to change his style.”
Behind Bodemeister, many of his rivals were having a world of trouble.
Hansen, a swift white horse, had a pink hue and was laboring. Even
before the race, the colt was sweating and rank and now it was clear he
had left his energy in the paddock and post parade. Union Rags had been
made the 5-1 second choice by bettors, but was squeezed at the start of
the race between Take Charge Indy and Dullahan.
His rider, Julien Leparoux, did his best to get him relaxed and back in
the race, but then found trouble again nearing the far turn.
I’ll Have Another and Gutierrez, meanwhile, were in full flight,
weaving through the field as if they had a map of secret passageways.
Last year on the first Saturday in May, Gutierrez was in the jockeys’
room of Hastings Park, a bullring of a racetrack in Vancouver, British
Columbia. He watched Animal Kingdom run away from the field that day
and allowed himself to think that, yes, maybe someday, he might have a
mount in a Derby.
Last fall, however, he found himself in Southern California at Santa
Anita Park. Not many trainers knew who he was, and few would put him on
horses in the afternoons. Gutierrez was homesick and about ready to
head back to Canada, where he had made home since immigrating from
Mexico in 2006.
But on a rare afternoon he got a mount, I’ll Have Another’s owner, Paul Reddam, took notice.
“He looked good in the irons,” Reddam said. “I thought it was time for some new blood.”
In the barn of the trainer Doug O’Neill, Reddam had I’ll Have Another,
a colt that looked promising as a 2-year-old before coming up with a
shin injury after a dismal performance last August in the Hopeful
Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. They gave him some time off, but when
the colt returned to the racetrack, none of the more proven riders in
the Santa Anita colony was much interested in him.
In February, Gutierrez climbed aboard I’ll Have Another, and together
they went off at 44-1 in the Robert Lewis Stakes. They won. Last month,
they rolled to victory in the Santa Anita Derby at odds of 4-1. But the
bettors had not liked their chances, and they sent I’ll Have Another
off at 15-1.
Now, Gutierrez was in the deep stretch, oblivious to the full-throated
roar of the crowd, taking dead aim at Smith and Bodemeister.
“He was really stretching out,” Gutierrez said. “I was pretty sure we were going to reach him.”
They collared Bodemeister 50 yards from the wire, then motored passed
him for a length-and-a-half victory. The duo covered the mile and a
quarter in 2:01.83, earning Reddem a $1.5 million first-place check and
rewarding his backers $32.60 for a $2 bet to win.
Baffert had little choice but to be philosophical.
“That’s the only time I’ve run second where I’ve been happy because he
ran his race,” Baffert said. “He got tired. We got beat.”
In the saddle, guiding I’ll Have Another back to the winners’ circle,
Gutierrez thought about the first time he had gotten on his colt in the
morning for a workout. I’ll Have Another was so good, the jockey
thought he would never get to ride him.
“I told everybody before the first time I rode him that he was the one,” he said.
And now the rider and the colt are no longer anonymous.