Kentucky Derby Horse Profile: Thousand Words
By Ed McNamara
Made a surprising jump back onto the Derby trail with his front-running upset of Honor A.P. in the 1 1/16-mile Shared Belief.
After Thousand Words lost three straight by a total of 44 lengths, trainer Bob Baffert said Thousand Words got his mojo back.
He was 3-for-3 lifetime before the slump. Problem: He’s 0-for-2 at 1 1/8 miles, including a four-length loss to stablemate Uncle Chuck, whom Tiz the Law blew away in the Travers.
Likely to fade after a mile or so. Don’t bet on him.
Odds: TBD
Post position: TBD
Thousand Words – Photo Courtesy of Santa Anita
Jockey: Florent Geroux
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Owner: Albaugh Family Stables LLC, Spendthrift Farm LLC
Career record: 7-4-1-0
Career earnings: $327,000
Top Equibase speed figure: 107
Kentucky Derby points: 83 (7th)
Pedigree: PioneerOf the Nile-Pomeroys by Pistol-Pomeroy
Color: Bay
Running style: Front-runner/stalker
Notes: Baffert is going for a record-equaling sixth Derby victory (he also sends out Authentic). Ben “Plain Ben” Jones won six – from 1938-1952 … Baffert has saddled 32 Derby starters previously – third on the trainer’s list behind Todd Pletcher and D. Wayne Lukas … Florent Geroux will be aboard Thousand Words for the first time; he will be riding in his fifth Derby (his best finish was aboard Gun Runner, who was third in 2014).
(US Racing’s Kentucky Derby coverage will include profiles of the horses listed as probable for the race on Saturday, Sept. 5. Each day until the post-position draw on Tuesday, Sept. 1, US Racing will publish selected profiles of the contenders.)
Ed McNamara is an award-winning journalist who has been writing about thoroughbred racing for 35 years. He has handicapped races for ESPN.com, Newsday and The Record of New Jersey. He is the author of “Cajun Racing: From the Bush Tracks to the Triple Crown” and co-author of “The Most Glorious Crown,” a chronicle of the first 12 Triple Crown champions.