How do you dismiss a filly that went all Ruffian on us last weekend?
Bob Baffert, in a bid to win his record-tying sixth Kentucky Derby, has five possible starters this year.
Authentic, Uncle Chuck, Cezanne, Thousand Words… and the sensational filly Gamine.
That’s right. Don’t count out Gamine quite yet.
How do you dismiss a filly that went all Ruffian on us last weekend, winning the prestigious Grade I Acorn Stakes at Belmont Park by a record 18 3/4 lengths in the stakes-record time of 1:32.55?
She earned a 110 Beyer Speed Figure, the highest by any 3-year-old — male or female — this year.
Yes, it’s true she has zero Derby qualifying points, and she wasn’t even nominated to the race. Her owner, Michael Lund Petersen, would have to cough up 250,000 large ones for her to enter the starting gate on Sept.5.
But still, there are ways.
Drayden Van Dyke rides Gamine at Santa Anita earlier this year. (Photo courtesy of Benoit Photo)
Could be she might not need qualifying points. And as for the money, well, Petersen coughed up $1.8 million to buy her, so if he thinks she can win America’s most famous horse race, what’s another $250,000?
“They (Churchill Downs) got a 20-horse gate and they might not get 20 horses,” Baffert said during a telephone interview this week, debunking the theory that points might keep Gamine out of the race.
While it’s been pretty much assumed Gamine is Kentucky Oaks-bound the day before the Derby (even Baffert admits that’s the current target), well, there’s wiggle room.
