Barbaro Tries the Fast Lane

Barbaro is proven on the turf. The 3-year-old son of Dynaformer has won all three of his races on the grass and, right from the start, showed he could handle a sloppy dirt surface when he won the Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 4.

Perfect in four outings for Roy and Gretchen Jackson’s Lael Stables and trainer Michael Matz, Barbaro now will see whether he can handle a fast main track when he faces 10 opponents in the $1-million Florida Derby today at Gulfstream. In what will be his final start before the Kentucky Derby on May 6, Barbaro is the 8-5 morning line favorite, but he did not get any favors when post positions were drawn on Wednesday for the Grade I.

Barbaro, with Edgar Prado aboard, will leave from post 10, hardly the place to be when going 1 1/8 miles at Gulfstream.

There also has been concern about Barbaro’s schedule, with some observers wondering whether it was wise for the colt to skip the Fountain Of Youth last month. Barbaro, however, did win the Laurel Futurity in Maryland and the Tropical Park Derby in Florida.

Matz is not worried.

“If he runs in the Florida Derby, he will have had three races in Florida and I think that is enough for any horse to have,” Matz said. “If he runs well [today], he goes to the Kentucky Derby off of five weeks and that should suit him perfectly.

“I have no reason to think he won’t run well on a dry track because he trains really well on the dirt. Right now, it’s quite exciting for me because I’ve never had a horse of this quality before.”

Although the Florida Derby has a large field, it is not laced with quality. None of the other entrants would be considered strong Kentucky Derby threats at this point.

The 4-1 second choice is Flashy Bull, who was fourth in the Holy Bull and third in the Fountain of Youth before being placed second after original winner Corinthian was disqualified from first and placed third.

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Trainer Bob Baffert, who will be represented by Point Determined in the Santa Anita Derby a week from today, will have two 3-year-olds in the $600,000 WinStar Derby today at Sunland Park.

Victor Espinoza will be at Sunland to ride Wanna Runner, a 3-year-old El Corredor gelding, for owner Mike Pegram, and Julio Garcia will be aboard Sky Diving for owner B. Wayne Hughes.