Less is more

With only three starts, Medaglia d'Oro is an unknown quantity

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel doesn't believe that the less a horse has raced, the less chance it has to win the Kentucky Derby.

"I don't overrace my horses. I never have," Frankel said. "Over the years, I've learned if you run horses all the time, they can't get physically better."

His entry in Saturday's Kentucky Derby, Medaglia d'Oro, will be making just his fifth career start. The last horse to win the Derby after four previous races was Exterminator in 1918.

But Frankel points to his 2000 Derby trainee, Aptitude, who placed second after just five previous starts.

"All he had done was break his maiden," Frankel said. "When they're good, you take your chance."

Lately, Frankel has been very good.

His horses earned nearly $15 million last year -- second only to Bob Baffert's stable nationally. Frankel guided 13 horses to 18 Grade I victories last year, 16 in the last six months alone.

Two months ago, Frankel thought his best Derby hope was Siphonic, the third-place finisher in last fall's Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

Siphonic went on to win the Hollywood Futurity, but finished second in the Santa Catalina and third in the San Felipe. A sore ankle officially knocked him off the Triple Crown trail.

Enter Medaglia d'Oro.

Frankel bought him after he won a six-furlong maiden race at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 9. His come-from-behind win in the San Felipe convinced Frankel he hadn't missed his chance to win his first Derby.

"He made a nice, easy lead but then two horses passed him, and I thought, 'Well, he's a sprinter,' " Frankel said. "Then, all of a sudden, he came back again and he won in such easy fashion, I started getting a little high on him."

Frankel was looking for one more tough race for Medaglia d'Oro before the Derby and got it in the Wood. The colt led early, then lost a gritty stretch duel to Buddha, who's also coming into the Derby off just four career starts.

"They both got what they needed out of that race. They both needed a hard race," Frankel said. "The horses who know what they're doing don't need more seasoning. They've got all the experience they need."

Frankel isn't worried about how his inexperienced colt will handle the chaotic scene on Derby Day.

"He's a very cool horse and this paddock happens to be very good for nervous horses," Frankel said. "I don't know what it is, the horses act really good here. I don't anticipate any trouble."

As for Frankel, he's matter-of-fact about the possibility of adding a Derby victory to a resume which includes three female turf champions, a Breeders' Cup victory and 27 training titles.

"When the horses are doing everything right, what's there to worry about? Now it's up to them," he said.

 

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