NEWS
Barbaro makes statement with easy Tropical Park Derby victory
Posted: Sunday, January 01, 2006
Roy and Gretchen Jackson's Barbaro remained unbeaten in impressive fashion on Sunday, powering past pacesetter Mr. Silver in the stretch en route to a 3 3/4-length victory in the Tropical Park Derby (G3) at Calder Race Course.
The newly turned three-year-old son of Dynaformer won by open lengths for the third time in as many starts on the turf, but trainer Michael Matz will consider switching the precocious bay colt to the dirt to test his affinity for that surface.
"He's obviously a very talented horse," Matz said. "Whether he carries the class he shows on turf over to the dirt, we just don't know yet.
"But his mother (La Ville Rouge) and half brother (Holy Ground) ran well on the dirt. So, we'll talk it over with the Jacksons to see whether we try him on dirt next. They have pretty much gone along with what we've thought was best so far."
Sent off as the 2-to-5 favorite, Barbaro did not disappoint as jockey Edgar Prado parked him in second, no more than three lengths behind Mr. Silver, through a half-mile before urging him to make a move.
Barbaro responded with authority, taking over at the eighth-pole and drawing away with ease to cover 1 1/8 miles in 1:46.45 on firm turf.
"We got a perfect trip, but regardless of that, I could have been anywhere in the race I wanted to be and still would have won," Prado said. "That's how good this horse is.
"I watched his first two races and I was impressed. Now, after riding him, I'm even more impressed. He was much the best and he can be any kind of horse."
Wise River drove with determination in the stretch to claim second, three-quarters of a length in front of stakes winner Lewis Michael.
Earlier in the day, Lawrence Goichman's homebred filly J'ray and jockey John Velazquez scored a one-length victory for red-hot trainer Todd Pletcher over front-running Stolen Prayer in the $100,000 Tropical Park Oaks.
The daughter of Distant View covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:40.88 as she won for the fourth time in five starts. J'ray finished off the board in her debut on the main track at Belmont Park, before reeling off four straight turf triumphs.
Please see chart courtesy of Equibase at
http://www.equibase.com
