Although five of the last seven Kentucky Derby winners have started from the auxiliary gate, horsemen with the luxury of early picks still opted for the middle of the maximum 20-horse pack following Wednesday’s draw.
Buddha’s trainer, H. James Bond, chose first and cut the deck, hanging the stable’s colors in the 10-slot during the made-for-television draw show. The next few horses quickly filled in the blanks from 11 to 7.
The morning-line favorite, Ohio-bred Harlan’s Holiday, drew seventh and will start from the 14th position. Came Home had the eighth pick and wound up in the 15th slot.
Johannesburg, the breakout 2-year old of 2001 who jetted over from Ireland on Tuesday, had the worst draw of the top horses: 17th. Jockey Gary Stevens, named to ride the horse Wednesday, prompted a buzz when he announced the selection of the inside post position.
The far outside slot was still open when Johannesburg’s number came up, but Stevens said he believes he can better settle his mount if he’s loaded first and thus has more–not less–time in the gate, a departure from conventional wisdom. The horses will be double-loaded, meaning Johannesburg will be led in at the same time as the 11th horse, No. 2 with No. 12, and so forth.
“There’s a certain way [trainer] Aidan [O’Brien] wants him ridden, and a particular strategy I’m not going to let loose for a while,” Stevens said.
Hoofbeats: Johannesburg and the other O’Brien-trained horse, Castle Gandolfo, are still clearing quarantine and will train an hour away at Keeneland until the morning of the race, O’Brien said Wednesday. … Trainer Bob Baffert made a last-minute decision to run long shot Danthebluegrassman despite his last-place finish in the April 6 Santa Anita Derby. “He was a different horse when he got on the surface,” said Baffert, who also has Illinois Derby winner War Emblem running Saturday. “He was getting stronger and stronger.” Windward Passage was bumped as a result, disappointing trainer Steve Asmussen, who said he found out just 15 minutes before the draw. Asmussen also has Private Emblem entered. … Saarland trainer Shug McGaughey on doubters of Came Home’s ability to go 1 1/4 miles: “He’s some kind of an athletic horse. His athletic ability might carry him.”
