Trainer Mark Glatt is a sentimental Kentucky Derby favorite
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Every Kentucky Derby evokes emotion in the winning horse’s team, but the 1990 race took it to a level even higher than a Hallmark movie.
Trainer Carl Nafzger described Unbridled’s stretch run to 92-year-old owner Frances Genter, whose eyesight was failing.
“He’s taking the lead. He’s in the lead, Mrs. Genter. He’s in the lead. He’s going to win. He’s going to win. … He’s the winner. He’s the winner, Mrs. Genter. … You’ve won it. You’ve won the Kentucky Derby. Oh, Mrs. Genter, I love you.”
As Al Michaels said on ABC: “You couldn’t get that look in a movie if you did 50 takes.”
Kentucky Derby entrant So Happy practices at Churchill Downs Monday in Louisville, Ky.
(Charlie Riedel/Associated Press)
Some 36 years later, Ms. Genter could have company on Saturday if So Happy wins the 152nd Derby at Churchill Downs.
The Santa Anita Derby champion is trained by Mark Glatt, a genial but quiet Washington state native who endured tragedy in February: the heart failure and sudden death of his wife of 25 years, Dena. She was 57 years old, four years older than her husband, with whom she had three children.
Glatt, who wears a bracelet containing some of Dena’s ashes “so she will always be with me,” was unsurprisingly emotional after the Santa Anita Derby last month. It was the colt’s first victory since the death of his wife, and it also meant the Monrovia resident would have a horse in the Kentucky Derby for the first time.
“It’s quite difficult to describe,” he said then. “We’ve had tremendous support and it’s helped us get through this very, very difficult time. She brought that horse there today.”
Most times since, including during an interview Thursday morning at his barn at Churchill Downs, he has politely declined to talk about his wife, saying he just doesn’t feel comfortable. But he opened up a little on rare occasions.
“I absolutely think she’s on top of it and pushing us through this and hopefully enjoying the ride with us,” Glatt told reporters this week. “She would be happy for me and for all of this hard work. She would be happy for all of these relationships. I think she would be very proud of an accomplishment like this.
“We are always together, even if it is only spiritually.”
Hans Maron, one of the co-owners of So Happy with his wife Ana and Robbie Norman, paused to compose himself Thursday when asked how much Dena Glatt would have liked to be at the Derby for the first time.
So Happy runs on the track during practice for the Kentucky Derby Thursday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
(Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
“She East here,” Maron said.
When asked if he allowed himself to daydream about what it would be like if So Happy won, Maron replied, “I’m not arrogant, but I imagine it. I mean, I believe. I’m not a homer but I’m a believer. I definitely think he’s going to take us there. I think he’s the right horse at the right time.”
Early stakes seem to indicate that the public considers So Happy to be a major contender. He was the co-sixth pick on the morning line at 15-1 – a surprising number, given that his speed numbers for the Santa Anita win were on par with almost anything his competitors have posted this spring – but as of Friday night he was the 6-1 co-second pick with Commandment and Further Ado, just behind Renegade at 5-1.
It’s hard to find a trainer who isn’t happy with his horse at this stage, and Glatt is no different: “Nothing told me he wasn’t on a really good ride,” the trainer said.
Those who doubt So Happy point to his breeding: His father, Runhappy, was a champion sprinter not known for producing horses capable of running more than a mile. But Runhappy’s sire, Super Saver, won the 2010 Derby, and So Happy’s grandfather on her mother’s side is Blame, who won the Breeders’ Cup Classic later that year at Churchill Downs.
“If you watch him train,” Maron said, “he’s long and he covers a lot of ground. He’s actually just a very smart horse. That’s the most important thing. He uses his energy when it’s necessary.”
Maron, co-founder of Fairlife Milk (which was sold to Coca-Cola), said he had been a racing fan since he was 14, but never dreamed of owning a horse, let alone competing in the Derby. The Marons, who live in Arizona, have been with Glatt for about five years and were close friends with the coach and his wife. Glatt credited the couple with supporting him emotionally over the past few months.
They will all come together on Saturday for a race that arouses emotion like no other. Even So Happy jockey Mike Smith, 60, who has more Derby experience than any other rider, including two victories, struggled to explain what a victory would mean.
“I wish I had a few words to tell you what that would mean, but it’s just things that you just have to feel and see to really understand it,” said Smith, who would be the oldest jockey to win the Derby (Bill Shoemaker was 54 in 1986).
Glatt took a long pause before saying he didn’t allow himself to think about what it would be like to win.
“All of this will happen if… you know, I don’t want to get ahead of myself,” Glatt said. “I’m sure all this would hit me if we were so lucky.”
Another scratch
The right to party was revoked Friday morning due to what state veterinarians said was a lameness in his right front leg, moving Robusta around the field and giving trainer Doug O’Neill two chances (from a distance) at his third Derby victory. O’Neill, who also counts Pavlovian as a starter, named Cristian Torres to ride Robusta because Emisael Jaramillo had commitments at Santa Anita.
Weather outlook
The last precipitation here was on Wednesday and there is none in the forecast for Saturday. It’s not hot, however: the high temperature of the last few days has barely touched 60 degrees, and the post-hour forecast calls for 55 degrees with fairly light winds.
