Long Behind the Scenes, Trainer Has Shot to Shine

Baffert Protege Harty Prepped Well-Respected Colonel John

LOUISVILLE, May 2 -- Compared with the hustle and bustle around the barn of Big Brown this past week, the temporary home of Colonel John was an oasis of calm. On Friday morning, the Santa Anita Derby winner's trainer, Eoin Harty, hung out and chatted with old friend Mike Pegram, whose Real Quiet won the 1998 Kentucky Derby.

What passed for a big throng of well-wishers and reporters, no more than a couple dozen, dropped by Thursday to find Harty exceedingly low-key and serene.

Real Quiet raced for Bob Baffert, one of the most famous trainers in the country. Harty, 45, worked as Baffert's top assistant in the late 1990s and also helped with the development of 1997 Derby winner Silver Charm.

This year, Baffert didn't have a 3-year-old talented enough to get to the Derby, and for Harty, who has been on his own since 1999, this may be his big coming-out party.

"He was like my goat," Baffert said this week, referring to the favored barn company of many trainers to keep horses happy. "He kept me relaxed. Not many employees are like my brothers. He knows what it's like to be on that big stage. He knows you get one big shot at it, and this is his big shot."

Harty's racing bloodlines trace back four generations, to a great-grandfather who rode and trained in the 1880s.

After gaining a reputation for being good with precocious horses, Harty was offered an invitation to go to Dubai and meet with Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktum, who gave him the opportunity to develop a string of 2-year-olds in California.

"It was very intimidating," Harty said. "I'm usually not short for words, but I just shut up. I called him 'sir.' "

One of those 2-year-olds turned out to be Street Cry, who went on to win the $6 million Dubai World Cup and sired 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense.

"I owe a lot to Sheikh Mohammed," Harty said. "He plucked me from obscurity. If it wasn't for him, I'd still be training for Bob."

Colonel John came to Harty because California mandated that its main thoroughbred tracks install artificial racing surfaces for safety. Bill Casner, chairman and co-owner of WinStar Farms in Versailles, Ky., would like to see all tracks go that way.

"He had horses in training in California and the tracks were very hard out there," Harty said of Casner. "The attrition rate was unacceptable. He pulled all his horses out."

The two men had known each other since Harty's days with Baffert, and every Christmas their families would ski together in Colorado.

"During these trips, you talk philosophy and horses," Casner said, "and the thing about Eoin is his mind is like a sponge. He's so curious. There's not that arrogance that there is with so many of them.

"I would never have sent horses to Eoin, even though he was one of my best friends because the California tracks were so hard. When California switched to synthetic surfaces we said we're going to send some of our best out there."

The plan has led to Saturday afternoon and the Kentucky Derby. Harty had Colonel John ready to win in his second start, and the only time the stout bay colt has lost since December came when he found trouble in the CashCall Futurity. His late rally fell short and he finished second.

In the Santa Anita Derby on April 5, Colonel John stamped himself as one of the best 3-year-olds in the country, furiously charging through the lane to run down Bob Black Jack and win by a half-length.

Throughout the past week, the backstretch has been divided between traditionalists who prefer dirt-track racing and those who support synthetic courses. Much has been made of whether Colonel John could transfer his obvious ability from Santa Anita to the dirt at Churchill Downs.

In a five-furlong workout on April 27, Colonel John dispelled all doubts, running the track in 57 4/5 seconds, the fastest of 62 works that day.

"Colonel John is coming up to this magnificently," Casner said.

Racing Notes: The impasse involving Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association over the share of handle taken through advanced-deposit wagering sites has extended into the biggest weekend of the year at the track.

Except for the Kentucky Oaks, Kentucky Derby and Woodford Reserve Turf Classic, the races this weekend at Churchill Downs are not available to account holders at TwinSpires.com and Xpressbet.com, the two primary Internet betting outlets of TrackNet Media, a partnership between Churchill and Magna Entertainment.

The horsemen's groups, which are seeking a greater share of the revenue from wagering at the advanced-deposit sites, have the legal authority to withhold the signal.

The Churchill race cards this weekend will continue to be available for wagering at all off-track betting sites, including those in Maryland.