"I want to thank the Lewises for letting me buy that ham sandwich for them." -- Bob Baffert, referring to the modest $85,000 purchase of Silver Charm a year ago by Bob and Beverly Lewis.
LOUISVILLE -- It was right after Silver Charm trainer Bob Baffert ticked off
the Pig Farmers of America following the 123rd Kentucky Derby that he let
slip how he thought his gray colt from California has the right stuff to win
the Triple Crown.
"I don't want you to say anything . . . but this horse, if he's as good as I think he is . . . can win the Triple Crown," said Baffert, knowing full-well that this hasn't been done since Jimmy Carter occupied the White House.
Affirmed is the last Kentucky Derby winner to go on and win the Preakness and Belmont, in 1978.
REALIZING HE HAD JUST uttered a mouthful, Baffert quickly explained that this was only Silver Charm's third time around two turns, and only his seventh race of any distance.
"We haven't seen the best of him yet," predicted Baffert. "He's just learning how to run (more than a mile)."
The 1 1/4-mile Kentucky Derby is full of tradition. One of them is to ignore the favorite, which still hasn't won since Spectacular Bid in 1979. This time, Captain Bodgit was held off and beaten by a head down the stretch.
Triple Crown? It's almost too foolish to fathom. The last time we considered a so-called Super Horse, Arazi finished eighth in the Kentucky Derby.
Off the top of his snow-white head, Baffert sees Silver Charm's Triple Crown bid being most threatened by, you guessed it, Captain Bodgit, the powerful Florida Derby and Wood Memorial winner that was sold for $550,000 three months ago.
But this week? Naw. More than anything, Baffert was afraid of "jinxing" himself by saying, or expecting, too much.
"(Silver Charm) has never trained like he trained here this week," said Baffert. "That's why I was so confident and cool all week."
IT'S BEEN AWHILE SINCE DERBY WINNER had both the lineage and looks of this Derby winner. Silver Charm, son of Silver Buck and grandson of 1966 Horse of the Year Buckpasser, is the color of pewter.
Coming in, we knew that Silver Charm's Dosage Index (to determine stamina) was the best among the entries in this 13-horse field. Saturday, he made those numbers purr.
He seemed relaxed, almost too relaxed, content for Free House, who had
beaten Silver Charm in each of his previous two starts, and Pulpit, the
once-favorite and Seattle Slew grandson, to set the early pace.
"I felt I had them any time I wanted it," said Silver Charm's jockey Gary Stevens.
Silver Charm's flaw, if there is one, is that racing comes easy to him.
The dark gray colt can turn it on and off like a light switch. That's what happened March 16 at San Felipe where Silver Charm, with Chris McCarron aboard, finished second to Free House for the first time.
"(Silver Charm) can give you a false confidence," said Stevens. "I don't want to speak for Chris, but I think (Silver Charm) turned it off in the San Felipe and suddenly was 7-8 lengths off the lead instead of only two lengths.
"So once we got the lead today, I gave him a little pop on the shoulder to let him know to stay where he was at."
It was necessary because Silver Charm would later stick it in cruise control down the stretch, and would need a push from Captain Bodgit.
"I think my colt just wanted more competition," reasoned Stevens. "I started to think maybe I made the lead a little too early ... but when Captain Bodgit got within a head, my colt stuck back his ears, flattened his head and found another gear."
After the race, Silver Charm was barely breathing hard.
"He wouldn't have blown out a match," said Stevens. "I felt like we could go around another time."
He can.
Two weeks from now, in the Preakness.
Ray Buck is CBS SportsLine's national columnist.
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