Well, another Kentucky Derby has come and gone. It's amazing how so much hype and time can go into a two minute event. Hey, though...that's horse racing. This probably was one of my favorite Derbies I've seen in my short life as a horse racing fan - maybe my favorite. The sloppy track didn't dampen my excitement one bit.
The first time I ever heard of Orb was his debut, the race where Violence won. He jumped up in the air at the start and made up a tremendous amount of ground to finish third. It wasn't one of those freak, flash-in-the-pan, close into a fast pace sort of finishes, either. He really showed true potential in what he did that day. It took him a little while to get his first win, but when he did, it was promising. (He even beat future competitor Revolutionary in the process!)
After the Fountain of Youth, I said to myself, "This is the horse I want to win the Kentucky Derby." His Florida Derby win had me grinning with joy. And the way he trained up to the race, especially Derby week, was nothing short of phenomenal. He looked good. Really good.
Race day came, and my nerves intensified. I was busy all day and got home to watch Wise Dan make mincemeat of his rivals. (I had no idea that Point of Entry had scratched and was upset that their match-up wouldn't come to fruition that day.) After that, it was Derby time. A copious amount of celebrities picked Orb, as did both Bob Neumeier and Mike Battaglia, my two favorite guys on NBC. Orb looked great, as he had looked great all week. Deep down, I knew the bay colt would bring his A game, but it was the Derby. Anything can happen in the Derby. A sloppy field, 19 horses, three year-old colts going ten furlongs...
My stomach was churning as they reached the starting gate. As they broke, I inhaled sharply as I saw Java's War break last - at first I thought something had gone wrong. After that, my eye strayed to the front of the pack and the green-blinkered head of Palace Malice, a horse I thought had a chance to win. That is, before the son of Curlin started rattling off fractions a la Bodemeister.
"What are you doing, Palace Malice?!" I exclaimed, gaping at the TV screen. I hastily scanned the pack for my Derby pick, and found him racing 15th or 16th.
As they flashed to an overhead view going around the far turn, I saw the dark form of Orb powering past horses, and knew that it was his day to shine. Whooping and hollering, I stood up from my chair as if my cries could urge the colt on to victory. They straightened out; Normandy Invasion, another horse I had fancied throughout the week, had the lead.
Orb reached Normandy Invasion. Drew even with him. And without hesitation, the burly son of Malibu Moon passed him by, head crooked and running sideways as Normandy Invasion bore out a little in his drive. As Orb straightened out, he was all power coming to the wire. He was all power as he swept across the finish, two and a half lengths in front, a solid winner of the Kentucky Derby.
I must admit, I was overcome with emotion at this stretch drive. Here was a horse that I had followed for a while, a horse who had accomplished everything I thought he could accomplish in this race. This colt, clad in the historically beloved red and white silks of the Janney family and trained by the legend Shug McGaughey, was coming down the stretch a winner. And unlike other Kentucky Derbies, I didn't feel as though I was watching something in the present. Orb's victory held shades of the past...of past champions.
The roses looked great on the horse. Hell, even the mud looked great on the Kentucky Derby champion. Triple Crown talk started right away, as it always did with Derby winners. This time, though, there was a little more substance to the dreams of five weeks.
Can Orb win the Triple Crown? I love this horse too much to say "yes" or "no." I feel like he has the ability to sweep the series, but so many factors play into it. Fresh horses at Pimlico and Belmont. Injury or illness (knock on wood). Training habits. A horse hasn't won it in 35 years simply because it's a difficult task to accomplish. So while Orb winning the Crown would be the most amazing thing that's happened to this sport in quite some time, it's not a foregone conclusion that he will. I think he can, but anything can happen in five weeks.
For now, I will bask in the glow of his victory. These are the moments that make the game awesome...the feeling you get after a favorite horse wins a race. It doesn't matter whether it's a cheap claimer or an international superstar; a win is a win, and it feels so good to win. Orb's victory is the sweetest of feelings, and I mean to savor it until I have to see this colt run again at Pimlico.
Well, that wraps up this blog. This will probably be the blog I use for next year's Derby trail, and the year after that, and so on and so forth. But for now, we move on to other things - not only the Preakness and Belmont, but other races as well. The meets at Saratoga and Keeneland and Arlington and many more. The prestigious summer stakes. The Breeders' Cup. The life of a racing fan doesn't end after the first Saturday in May...it merely begins.
So to keep up with all that fun stuff, I've started a new blog called Horse Sense. Besides that blog, all my 140 character or less rants and musings are located on my Twitter feed. Keep up with my thoughts by following me at @racehorsewriter! I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you and hope that you have thoughts to share with me as well.
Thank you, to whoever kept up with this blog, for reading! I didn't post as much as I wanted to, but I'm hoping that quality ended up beating out quantity. Until next year...so long, Derby fans.
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