The markings are the same, the white star on the forehead, but now is the time to find out if the younger brother can rise to the stars.
An ordinary allowance race on a Wednesday card at Gulfstream Park would not normally cause much of a stir beyond the front gates but one of the horses who will be breaking from the starting gates in the eighth race will be carrying a lot more than 122lbs on his back.
Lentenor is a brother to Barbaro, the colt who won the 2006 Kentucky Derby and then the hearts of a nation. Having won the Derby by six-and-a-half lengths Barbaro looked to be the totemic horse that American racing had long yearned for; a first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.
Those dreams were shattered in the cruellest way possible when Barbaro ran in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico two weeks later. The big-race tension only heightened when he broke through the starting gate and a false start was declared.
When the race was restarted, Barbaro broke cleanly but suffered a catastrophic injury as the horses passed the grandstand shortly after the start. Jockey Edgar Prado managed to pull up Barbaro, who waited patiently for the equine ambulance as the field galloped past him to a finish that was met with almost stunned silence by over 100,000 racegoers.
Barbaro had fractured three bones in and around the ankle of his off-hind leg. He was taken to the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center for surgery and now the horse of a thousand dreams literally became the horse of a million prayers.
In general the American public rarely takes much interest in horseracing beyond a few headline days but the story of Barbaro’s struggle for life in the months after his injury tapped into something deeper. The world may like a winner but it really loves a fighter and this horse fought like the best of them.
The fight finally came to an end on January 29th 2007 when both veterinary experts and the colt’s owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, realised that nothing more could be done and Barbaro was euthanized. Amazingly in his short life Barbaro achieved far more than could ever been done if he had won the Triple Crown. His unavailing battle inspired the establishment of the Barbaro Fund, which has raised millions of dollars to fund animal health research, and many others causes found that Barbaro’s story had given them a voice too. So much for dumb animals.
So when Lentenor runs in that $48,000 allowance the rest of us can be allowed the chance to look skywards and hope. Because this could be the Jacksons’ next Kentucky Derby dream. Like Barbaro, Lentenor has yet to run on dirt; but unlike Barbaro he is not unbeaten and only broke his maiden on his third outing last month. However, a win here and Michael Matz, who also trained Barbaro, has his sights set on a switch to dirt, the Florida Derby at the end of March and then the twin spires of Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May and the Kentucky Derby.
Lentenor has improved steadily since finishing third in his career debut on the Polytrack at Keeneland last October before switching to turf and finishing second at Aqueduct a few weeks later. He showed an explosive change of pace in an extremely impressive three-and-a-half-length win at Gulfstream last month but now the competition will get stiffer. “He came out of his last race well, now he has to take the next step forward,” Matz told the Daily Racing Form. “It's an exciting time of year to have a horse like him going in the right direction, and if he runs well Wednesday we'll give him one shot on the dirt in one of the big stakes leading up to the Kentucky Derby. The Florida Derby would be a possible option.”
Barbaro, who won the Florida Derby as a prelude to his victory in the Derby, raced with the speed and Lentenor forced the pace last time but Matz said that there will be no specific instructions for jockey John Velazquez . “Wherever John puts him should be fine,” Matz said. “He's still green enough where he needs to learn his right running style.”
Lentenor has been installed as the 3-1 morning-line favourite and, if he has the style of his brother, he should be the right one.
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