Bob Baffert won’t be at the 2022 Kentucky Derby, and yet he might have the favorite for the 2022 Kentucky Derby.
How can this be, you ask? After all, the Thoroughbred trainer is in the first year of a two-year private property suspension by Churchill Downs, and the second week of a 90-day suspension by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Both penalties stem from Baffert trainee Medina Spirit testing positive after winning the 2021 Kentucky Derby.
Thus Baffert’s horses have been ineligible for earning qualifying points to this year’s Derby. That didn’t keep Baffert from training prospective colts for this year’s race. And when it became clear the judicial system would not aid Baffert’s efforts to overturn the ban, his owners shipped their top Derby prospects to other trainers.
One such colt was Taiba. One such trainer was Tim Yakteen. One such owner was Zedan Racing Stables. And Saturday out at California, the connections burst upon this year’s Kentucky Derby picture in stunning fashion.
In just his second career race, the $1.7 million purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Florida Select 2-Year-Olds in Training 2021 sale roared by stablemate and former Baffert trainee Messier to win the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby and — because Yakteen is now listed as the trainer — earn more than enough points (100) to qualify for the big race on May 7.
In another twist, Zedan Racing Stables is owned by Amr F. Zedan, the Saudi Arabian businessman and philanthropist who owned the now late Medina Spirit, who passed away after a training session in California last December.
Taiba’s victory was just one of three impressive triumphs on the last day of major Kentucky Derby preps before the first Saturday in May. Mo Donegal rallied to beat Early Voting at the wire to win the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct in New York. At Keeneland, Zandon pulled off a major move, coming from last in a field of 11 to pass Smile Happy in the stretch and win the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes.
Trained by Todd Pletcher, Mo Donegal bounced back from a surprising third-place finish in the Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 5. The son of Uncle Mo had won the Remsen at Aqueduct last December.
Trained by Chad Brown, Zandon had finished second in the Remsen before running third in the Risen Star at the Fair Grounds on Feb. 19. But the son of Upstart proved his worth on Saturday, winning the now Grade 1 Blue Grass by 2 1/2 lengths on a muddy track listed as good.
With Saturday’s Lexington Stakes at Keeneland the only Derby points race remaining — the Lexington has a 20-8-4-2 points distribution — Louisiana Derby winner Epicenter tops the leaderboard with 160 points. Zandon (114) is second, followed by Florida Derby winner White Abarrio (112), Mo Donegal (112) and Jeff Ruby Steaks winner Tiz the Bomb (110). Arkansas Derby winner Cyberknife, UAE Derby winner Crown Pride and Taiba each have 100 points.
Taiba is easily the least-experienced. His first race was March 5 at Santa Anita, when the son of Gun Runner won a 6-furlong maiden special weight race by 7 1/2 lengths while posting a Beyer Speed Figure of 103. His preliminary Beyer for his Santa Anita Derby win was 101.
Compare that to 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify, a Baffert trainee and the first colt to win in the Kentucky Derby without racing as a 2-year-old since Apollo in 1882. Justify debuted Feb. 18, 2018, with a win in a maiden race. He won an allowance race on March 11, 2018, before capturing the Santa Anita Derby on April 7 and the Kentucky Derby on May 5.
In fact, Yakteen was not in favor of running Taiba in the Santa Anita Derby off just one start. The trainer was overruled by Zedan.
“He wanted to get back to the Derby,” Yakteen told Jay Privman of the Daily Racing Form.
