NEWS
Rolling out the red carpet for Nicanor
Posted: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 4:44 PM
NICANOR WITH PETER BRETTE
Bob Coglianese photo
by Mike Curry
As the two-year anniversary of the death of 2006 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner Barbaro approaches, his full brother Nicanor nears his career debut amid national attention rarely bestowed upon an unraced horse.
CBS sent a television crew to the home of owners-breeders Roy and Gretchen Jackson on Tuesday in anticipation of Nicanor’s first career start on Saturday in a one-mile maiden special weight race at Gulfstream Park on the Donn Handicap (G1) undercard.
“I can’t wait,” Gretchen Jackson said. “All of our ‘babies’ are exciting to see, but I have to say it’s probably a little more exciting because he is Barbaro’s brother, and he does really look like him.
“There is a lot of interest in Nicanor. And a lot of new people have written me notes and nice letters."
Barbaro captivated America with a 6 1/2-length romp in the 2006 Kentucky Derby and drew national attention for his fight for survival after shattering his right hind leg in the opening strides of the Preakness Stakes (G1). He was euthanized on January 29, 2007, after complications with laminitis left him without a good foot on which to stand.
Many fans of Barbaro have intensely followed the progression of his full brothers—Nicanor and Lentenor, a two-year-old who is learning the ropes in Florida with John and Jill Stephens.
Peter Brette, assistant to trainer Michael Matz and Nicanor’s exercise rider, said the anticipation leading up to Nicanor’s debut has been remarkable.
“Unbelievable; it’s been absolutely unbelievable, particularly the last couple of weeks when he is getting ready to run,” Brette said. “People are getting very, very excited about him.”
Brette said the choice for his first race came down to whether a race on dirt or turf was available first, because Nicanor is ready to run. He is stabled with a string of Matz’s horses in Florida at Palm Meadows Training Center, where he has been working steadily since December 5.
“He’s really matured a lot in the last four-to-six weeks, he’s really come around quite nicely,” Matz said. “It’s an exciting time, to have a horse like this.
“Everybody has such high expectations, and I feel everybody wants him to do well. I think he’ll try. Nobody knows until they get out onto the track and we see what his heart is really made of. We know Barbaro had quite a big heart, so I think this horse will do well also.”
Based on the way the three-year-old Dynaformer colt has progressed in recent weeks, Brette said he expects Nicanor to be worth the wait. He drilled five furlongs in 1:01.20 handily on Sunday at Palm Meadows.
“For me, personally, he’s done so much in six weeks that if he keeps improving like he’s doing at the moment, we’re all going to be very pleased with him,” Brette said.
Rapid progression has not always been the case with Nicanor. All horses develop on different schedules, and while Barbaro was ready to race and excel beginning in October of his two-year-old season, Nicanor needed more time both physically and mentally.
Matz made the decision to slow down with Nicanor in the summer and early fall, a move which Brette said has paid off handsomely.
“Just let him tell us basically when he wanted to train; he was actually pretty weak over the summer,” Brette said. “Michael just let him grow into himself and it’s really been a blessing in disguise.
“For a while there wasn’t a great deal [of similarities between him and Barbaro], he was more like Holy Ground, who we had who was a half brother. He was built along similar lines to him.”
Nicanor was in the midst of a growth spurt in the summer, but once he returned to serious training Matz and Brette found a bigger, stronger colt.
“I said to Michael the other day when I got off of him, ‘He’s actually starting to make me feel very small on him now, which is what Barbaro used to do,’ ” Brette said. “He’s just really starting to come together really nicely now, and we’re over the moon with him.
“He’s basically just starting to wake up and mature mentally as well as physically. Mentally, he was so very immature and in six weeks, mentally, he’s come along tremendously. After every breeze, he’s gotten better and better and stronger.”
Out of multiple Grade 2-placed winner La Ville Rouge, by Carson City, Nicanor’s half brother Holy Ground won a stakes race on dirt and twice placed in stakes on grass. Barbaro was unbeaten in his first six starts and won graded races on both surfaces.
Gretchen Jackson said she told Matz she would not call him regularly to check up on Nicanor because she knew there already was enough pressure on him. She found it very encouraging when Matz picked up the phone a few weeks ago to tell her that Nicanor turned in a very strong breeze.
“He’s a changed horse, maturing into a racehorse,” Gretchen Jackson said. “Michael said he stands at the stall door now with his ears pricked.”
Mike Curry is a Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor
