Bob Baffert : Derby History
Bob Baffert, a native of Nogales, Arizona, grew up on a chicken and cattle ranch and got and his start with horses when he was about 12 by grooming and galloping Quarter Horses owned by his father. He started training with Quarter Horses in Arizona in 1971 and saddled his first Thoroughbred winner in '79. He won the Eclipse Award for outstanding trainer in '97, '98, and '99 and has trained seven Eclipse Award champions - Chilukki, Point Given, Real Quiet ('98 Derby), Silverbulletday ('99 Oaks), Silver Charm ('97 Derby), Vindication and War Emblem ('00 Derby). 2004 saw Baffert runners finish with over $7.6 million in earnings, good for fifth nationally. He is one of only three trainers ("Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons and Max Hirsch) to have won the Derby three times. Only Wayne Lukas and Dick Thompson (4 wins) and Ben A. Jones (6) have more Derby wins than Baffert.
David Flores : Derby History
A native of Tijuana, Mexico, Flores' first win came at Caliente, Mexico in 1984. He captured his first riding title at a major track in '99 at Santa Anita; he also earned his 2,000th career win that year. Was known as "the king of the bull ring" for years for the success he had at Fairplex Park, where he won six consecutive riding titles (from 1989-'94), as well as winning titles at Santa Anita, Del Mar, and Oak Tree. He joined the Southern California jockey colony in '89 and has ridden such top horses as Chilukki, Mash One, Tuzla, Keeper Hill, Free House, Siphon, and Singletary. Flores finished in 17th place on the jockeys' earnings list, with his mounts accounting for over $8.3 million in purses, for 2004. He teamed with owner B. Wayne Hughes to finish fourth on Atswhatimtalknbout in the 2003 Derby and sixth on Action This Day last year.
Fusao Sekiguchi : Derby History
Sekiguchi, who is in his 60's, is president of a software company, Venture Safenet, that he owns with his son, and became well-known in Japan when he donated $3 million to establish a fund for children who lost parents in the Gulf War. Sekiguchi, who raced the 1996 Japanese Derby winner Fusaichi Concorde, has been a prominent figure at American horse sales since 1996, when he spent some $7.5 million. He made another big splash when he paid a world-record $4.5 million for a two-year-old in 1999, but got a good return on his investment when the colt, Fusaichi Pegasus, won the 2000 Kentucky Derby and was syndicated later that year for a reported figure of $63 million. In Japan, all Sekiguchi's horses' names start with the word "Fusaichi" a combination of his first name and "ichi, which means 'number one'.
Fusaichi Rock Star was seemingly assured of being a gray horse, as both his sire and dam, Wild Wonder and Grannies Feather, are also both grays. Wild Wonder was a very consistent race horse, hitting the board in 18 of his 20 starts, winning nine times. He won seven stakes events between 6 and 8 ½ furlongs, including the Mervyn LeRoy Handicap (GII) and the Longacres Mile (GIII), when he set a track record of 1:33.20. Wild Wonder is a son of Wild Again, a definite distance influence sire who won the initial Breeders' Cup Classic (GI) in 1984, and also can trace back to the family of the great Ruffian in his third generation. Our subject horse is Wild Wonder's only stakes winner to date, but 2005 marks just his second crop of three year olds, with only 49 runners in his first two crops.
Through his dam, Grannies Feather, Fusaichi Rock Star is heavily influenced by the Bold Ruler line. That stallion appears three times in her pedigree, all in the fourth generation, but interestingly through three different sons, including Secretariat. Fusaichi Rock Star is her first foal, and she was unraced. She does come from a family of sprinters -- all nine of her siblings to race were one-turn specialists.
Dosage Index: 4.00
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