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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Bob Baffert has won three Kentucky Derbys, one more than any other trainer with a horse entered in the 130th running, but he says watching Wimbledon cross the finish line first Saturday would feel like his first win, which came with Silver Charm in 1997.
In 1996, Baffert wasn't sure if his second-place finish with Cavonnier - in his first Derby - would be his last, best shot. Then he won consecutive Derbys with Silver Charm and Real Quiet and won in 2002 with War Emblem. "I got lucky and I got Silver Charm the next year (after Cavonnier) and then I thought maybe this is easier than I thought," he said outside his barn Thursday. "And then I brought other horses in here, and I thought I couldn't lose and they didn't run well."
Of his misses, Baffert was most disappointed with Point Given, a regally-bred favorite who had one of his worst races in finishing fifth to Monarchos in the 2001 Derby, then won the Preakness and Belmont stakes.
"I brought Point Given in here and I thought it would be a walk in the park for him and he got beat," Baffert said.
The presence of 20 horses in the Derby - barring the usual scratches - would make things tougher on favorites The Cliff's Edge and Smarty Jones, Baffert said. There hasn't been a 20-horse Derby field since 1984.
"A lot of things happen in this race, especially with 20 horses," he said. "If it was six or seven horses, then maybe the favorites don't have as much trouble with it, a bad trip or something, but with 20 horses anything can happen."
LIVING THE DREAM: Jack Knowlton wore the same Cheshire grin Thursday as he had that Saturday afternoon last May. The managing partner of the Sackatoga Stable outfit that won the Derby with New York-bred gelding Funny Cide was touring the barn area and was awash in memories.
"Being on the backstretch again and seeing a lot of the same people brings a lot back," he said. "We went down to Barn 48, where Funny Cide was last year. Read the Footnotes is in there this year and we're thinking maybe some of that luck might rub off on him."
Knowlton said Funny Cide will run in the Pimlico Special on May 14 as part of the Preakness Stakes festival.
"Hopefully, we're going to be talking about this horse for four or five more years," Knowlton said.
LATE ARRIVAL: The only Derby horse not at Churchill Downs is Lion Heart. He is training at Keeneland, where he won the Blue Grass Stakes, and will make the 11/2-hour van ride to Louisville on Saturday. The rules require all Derby horses be on the grounds by 10 a.m. race day.
"He knows his training schedule and knows that a race is coming up," trainer Patrick Biancone said. "He is very relaxed and happy." Lion Heart will be making his third start as a 3-year-old after going 3-0 as a 2-year-old.
HAPPY DAY: Pat Day will compete in his 22nd Derby aboard Minister Eric, moving past Eddie Arcaro and Laffit Pincay on the list of career mounts. Only Bill Shoemaker, with 26 appearances, has ridden in more Derbys.