Derby News

Street Sense, the 9-2 favorite, rallied from 19^th under jockey Calvin Borel to pass the pacesetting Hard Spun in the stretch and draw away to a 2 ¼-length victory in the 133^rd running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

The homebred son of Street Cry, trained by Carl Nafzger, covered 1 ¼ miles over a "fast" track at Churchill Downs in 2:02.17 and paid $11.80, $6.40 and $4.60. Hard Spun, ridden by Mario Pino, easily held the runner-up spot under jockey Mario Pino and paid $9.80 and $7. Previously unbeaten Curlin, the morning line Kentucky Derby favorite and eventually the second betting choice, started a bit slowly then held off 28-1 longshot Imawildandcrazyguy for third and paid $5.60.

The victory by Street Sense was witnessed by a crowd of 156,635 - the third largest in the history of the race - that included Britain's Queen Elizabeth, who attended America's greatest race for the first time. The attendance figure ranked behind the 163,628 fans who witnessed the 100^th Derby in 1974 and the 157,536 that gathered at Churchill Downs for the 2006 Derby.

The victory by Street Sense ended two much-discussed Kentucky Derby "jinxes."

The colt became the America's first 2-year-old champion to win the Kentucky Derby since Spectacular Bid in 1979. The colt earned that championship last fall with a record 10-length win in the $2 million Grade I Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs, and he also became the first winner of that Breeders'Cup race to also win the Kentucky Derby. That string had stretched to the first Breeders' Cup in 1984.

The Kentucky Derby victory was the second for Nafzger, who won the 1990 Kentucky Derby with Mrs. Frances Genter's Unbridled. It was the first victory by Borel, who won the "Run for the Roses" in his fifth attempt, and the first for owner-breeder Tafel, who had finished 19^th with Vicar in his only previous bid for the Kentucky Derby.

"He's the best 3‑year‑old I've ever been on in my life," said Borel. "He'll do anything for you. He's very push‑button. He'll put you in a spot where you want to be at any time and then relax, you know, so I really don't know how good he is."

"This horse has never ran a bad race," said Nafzger. "He's done everything he's supposed to. Like I said earlier, and I mean seriously, this horse took us here. Not only did he take us here, he took us here today. I've got all the faith in the world in this horse and I can't say enough about him."

"The epitome of anybody in the horse business or [who has a] racing career is to have a horse that's won a Kentucky Derby," said Tafel. "It's a real thrill, which is probably a trite term, but it's hard to describe."

Hard Spun took the lead out the starting gate and carried the field through quick early fractions of :22.96 for the quarter-mile and :46.26 for the half while Street Sense dropped back along the rail and settled in 19^th on the first turn. As the field was midway down the backstretch, Borel began to move Street Sense along the inside while Hard Spun began to edge away from Sedgefield and Teufelsberg, who had tracked the leader in second and third.

Hard Spun spurted to a three-length lead as the field turned into the stretch, but Borel angled Street Sense off the rail, collared Hard Spun near the three-sixteenths pole and slowly pulled away from the pacesetter. Curlin, who dropped back to 14^th in the early going, rallied late to take the third spot, 5 ¾-lengths behind Hard Spun. Imawildandcrazyguy, a 28-1 longshot who was last in the field of 20 in the early going, rallied 10-wide in the stretch to grab the fourth spot.

"We couldn't be any happier," said J. Larry Jones, trainer of runner-up Hard Spun. "We just got beat by a better horse. Carl is awesome at pointing a horse towards a race."

Trainer Todd Pletcher, the winner of the Eclipse Award as America's top trainer in each of the past three years, started five horses in the Kentucky Derby but fell short again in his bid to collect his first victory in the race. Circular Quay finished sixth, the best effort by the Pletcher trainees. His other Derby also-rans included Any Given Saturday (8^th), Sam P. (9^th), Scat Daddy (18^th) and Coaltown Cat (20^th).

"I'm not going to tell you I'm not disappointed - I am," said Pletcher, who has now started 19 horses in the Kentucky Derby. "I am disappointed that the horses didn't run better. But I said this before and I'll say it again: it isn't the end of the world if you don't win the Kentucky Derby. I still have a job to do and I'll be out in the morning doing it. I'm not going to go home tonight and cry. That's just not the way."

Following the top four horses, the order of finish in Kentucky Derby 133 was completed by Sedgefield, Circular Quay, Tiago, Any Given Saturday, Sam P., Nobiz Like Shobiz, Dominican, Zanjero, Great Hunter, Liquidity, Bwana Bull, Storm In May, Teuflesberg, Scat Daddy, Stormello and Cowtown Cat.

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