A Crown of Thorns for an Embattled Trainer

The racing world screams.

A fiancee cries.

“It’s not a textbook win,” said Jill Moss. “But Bob is not a textbook guy.”

The racing world snorts.

A good buddy snorts back.

“You can’t print what I want to say,” said Mike Pegram. “But Bob can take the heat.”

The racing world can’t believe what happened here on a brilliant Saturday, when its rascal trainer took a potential masterpiece and turned it into a rose-colored finger painting.

Bob Baffert could give a rip what the racing world believes.

“We came here through the back door,” Baffert said with a grin. “But we’re leaving through the front door.”

More like, a trap door.

He stole a horse. Then he stole an entry position. Now he stole the Kentucky Derby?

Even if you don’t like Bob Baffert, you must admit one thing.

The man is good.

Good enough to win the Derby Saturday with War Emblem, a 20-1 longshot he had never touched until a month ago.

Smart enough to win it with Victor Espinoza, a jockey who had never won a Derby and never ridden this horse.

Savvy enough to beat back 17 other mostly faster horses and countless critics and bad karma that chased him all the way to the post parade at overflowing Churchill Downs.

“Bob Baffert is a genius,” said owner Prince Ahmed Bin Salman.

Of all the descriptions applied to him this week, that was a new one.

He was a vulture for arranging the purchase of War Emblem the moment he discovered the Illinois Derby winner wasn’t going to run here.

He was a charlatan for also entering Danthebluegrassman at the last minute, knocking out several other more worthy entries.

He was a snake for scratching Danthebluegrassman on Saturday morning for a muscle injury that could not be proven.

But then, Saturday afternoon, beginning with his homestretch screams and ending with his fiancee’s postrace tears, he was something else entirely.

For the third time in six years--a Derby record for trainers--he was a champion.

“When they were turning for home, and I’m starting to yell, it’s an incredible feeling,” Baffert said. “You see your horse and you know it’s going to win, and you want those last 100 yards to last forever.”

Unlike the last few days, which haunted Baffert as he was forced to constantly defend himself and his unusual practices. Nobody asked if he thought he would win. Everyone was too busy wondering why he was even here.

“I know there are a lot of people who think it’s not fair that we were even in the Derby,” Baffert said. “But this is how I make my living.”

While many think that job description mostly involves pinching noses and inflating whoopee cushions, Saturday illustrated his ability to do a little horse training.

“This day proved his greatness,” said Pegram, who owns horses that Baffert trains.

As recently as Thursday morning, Baffert couldn’t even recognize War Emblem when he summoned a reporter to the rail to watch him work.

But then Thursday night, in his hotel room, Baffert and some friends watched a tape of the Illinois Derby.

“Bob saw something in that race,” said friend George Jacobs. “We could tell. He knew the horse had a chance to win.”

After mulling over the strategy for a day, Baffert phoned Espinoza early Saturday morning and summoned him to the barn. There, together, they watched the same tape, and Baffert issued the orders.

Espinoza was supposed to rush to the lead immediately, then remain steady while all the other horses bunched up behind him.

Call it the Sit For the Roses.

“He told me, don’t move, don’t move, even at the top of the stretch,” recalled Espinoza. “It was so hard. I did not want to do it. But Bob was right.”

And, as usual, when Baffert is right, other people are angry.

“The lead horse moved so slowly, we couldn’t get through to catch up,” said Laffit Pincay Jr., who could push charging Medaglia d’Oro to no closer than fourth place. “Lots of horses who didn’t belong in this race hurt the ones who did belong.”

Jerry Bailey, whose Castle Gandolfo broke 15th and ended up 12th, agreed.

“The fast horses were stuck behind the slower horses,” he said. “We couldn’t get around the pack to make a run.”

So there sat War Emblem, only the 22nd horse in 128 years to lead the Derby from wire to wire.

And there sits Bob Baffert, having won more Derbies than all but three other trainers, smiling, handshaking, sneaky great.

Like Tiger Woods, he plays a different game than his opponents. Like Shaquille O’Neal, he’s not afraid to talk about it.

Baffert’s biggest crime is that of being a modern man in an ancient sport. All you antiques and throwbacks? Pay attention, or risk becoming cobwebs.

The hardest part for Baffert’s critics came after the race, when he was asked about the future.

“No way I was thinking about the Triple Crown for this horse,” Baffert said. “But now, I’m thinking, yeah, Triple Crown.”

Thus reminding them that, however painful, watching his horse run for two minutes will be far easier than listening to him wax for the next two weeks.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com.