Misfortune again dogs Baffert’s Lookin At Lucky; disappointment also for Lukas, Zito

Nothing lucky about Derby favorite Lookin At Lucky

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Bob Baffert may want to consider changing his colt’s name to Lookin At Unlucky.

The Kentucky Derby favorite Lookin At Lucky was plagued by misfortune once again Saturday, denying the Hall of Fame trainer a fourth victory in America’s most famous race.

Lookin At Lucky drew the dreaded No. 1 post earlier in the week, and Baffert’s worst fears were realized on a rainy evening at Churchill Downs. The horse broke sharply but was immediately pinned down along the rail, never getting clear running room until much too late before finishing a disappointing sixth.

“I lost all chance at the post position draw when I drew the 1,” Baffert said. “Since then I haven’t been able to really enjoy. Everything had been going so smooth and great and then, boom, right in the 1 hole. I had a bad feeling about it.”

The Derby result continued a pattern of tough luck races for the 3-year-old colt, including his final prep in the Santa Anita Derby where he finished third after encountering traffic along the rail. Tempers flared after that race, with Baffert blaming jockey Garrett Gomez for a “horrendous ride.”

Baffert was somewhat critical of Gomez again Saturday, but not because he didn’t win. He said the jockey probably should have given up the cause after he was pinned early.

“I quit watching him after the first bump,” Baffert said. “He was done. I wish (Gomez) would have pulled him up.”

Gomez said there were a lot of factors working against the colt.

“There are a bunch of variables: the 1 post, the mud, he’s never had this much stuff in his face, and a mile and a quarter,” Gomez said. “There were too many things going on today.”

When the colt returned to his barn, he got a bath and some ointment in his eyes to combat the sand. Baffert’s assistant Jim Barnes said the horse had a few nicks but otherwise seemed in good shape.

Baffert, who previously won the Derby with Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet (1998) and War Emblem (2002), didn’t get any more luck from his other starter in Saturday’s race. Conveyance led with a half mile left but quickly faded to a 15th-place finish.

Baffert wasn’t the only Hall of Fame trainer who experienced disappointment Saturday.

Two-time Derby winner Nick Zito got a strong closing run from second-place Ice Box, but it wasn’t enough to secure his first trip to the event’s winner’s circle since 1994 when he was there with Go for Gin.

Zito didn’t blame Ice Box’s jockey, Jose Lezcano. Instead, he credited Calvin Borel aboard Super Saver for yet another dazzling rail-hugging ride, the jockey’s third Derby victory in four years.

“Ice Box needed a break,” said Zito, who also won in 1991 with Strike the Gold. “We were saying all week we needed Moses to go like that. Calvin Borel, he is blessed too. Jose did a good job. He got him going, he just couldn’t get that break when he needed it.”

Zito’s other Derby horse, Jackson Bend, finished 12th.

A Derby drought stretched to 11 years for fellow trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who won the last of his four Derbys in 1999 with Charismatic. This time he sent one of the long shots, Dublin, who finished seventh.

“We had a shot at it,” Lukas said. “We were up third or fourth at the top of the stretch. We probably had to use him a lot more in the mud like we’d like to get there.”