MIAMI (AP):
RALPH ZIADIE sighed as he leaned back on the black leather chair in a small office tucked inside his barn at Calder Race Course.
Just the thought of having a Kentucky Derby horse in the stall around the corner seems overwhelming to one of the most easygoing trainers in the business.
"So many people spend so many millions of dollars trying to get their horse to the Derby," Ziadie said. "And here I am: A humble little Jamaican is going to the Kentucky Derby."
As racing fans are beginning to learn, the 64-year-old Ziadie trains Trust N Luck, runaway winner of last month's Fountain of Youth Stakes and one of the favourites in tomorrow's $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.
Next stop is Churchill Downs for the May 3 Derby -- a first not only for Ziadie, but for owner Paul Robsham and jockey Cornelio Velasquez, Trust N Luck's regular rider.
"Win, draw or lose, the owner wants to go," Ziadie said Thursday morning. "As long as he comes out of this race healthy, that's where we're going next. But it makes me very nervous ... goosebumps .... I'm taking it one step at a time."
Trust N Luck won four of his first eight starts -- all at Calder -- and made a successful 3-year-old debut with a gate-to-wire 5 -length win over Supah Blitz in the Fountain of Youth on February 15. After his final 2-year-old race, an 11-length romp in the What A Pleasure Stakes, offers of 'well over $1 million' were made to buy the colt.
"No money in the world can buy this horse," the 74-year-old Robsham told would-be buyers. "He's not for sale."
Trust N Luck is the 2-1 second choice behind 9-5 favourite Empire Maker in the 1 1/8-mile Florida Derby, which drew a small field of seven. Also running are Indy Dancer, Midway Cat, Senor Swinger, Supah Blitz and Formal Attire.
Ziadie, who bought Trust N Luck last March 20 for $200,000 at the Ocala Breeders Sale, knows a win tomorrow is unnecessary but says his colt is in better shape then last month.
"I thought he was 95 percent in the Fountain of Youth," Ziadie said. "He's coming into this one at 110 percent. I'm not saying he can't be beat, but they are going to have to run their shoes off to do it."
Arriving in South Florida from Jamaica 25 years ago, Ziadie is a third-generation trainer. His grandfather was a breeder, owner and trainer and four of his uncles have been trainers, including Millard Ziadie. "He's the most well known," Ziadie said. "He left Jamaica in 1951 to train for the president of Venezuela. They called him 'El Maestro.""
Ziadie, and his son Kirk, currently train 40 horses at Calder, about 10 miles from Gulfstream. Until now, the trainer was best known for his work with Sir Bear, a multiple stakes winner who was retired earlier this year at age 10.
Trust N Luck seems to have come along at just the right time, and Ziadie can thank a trusting owner and a dead phone line.
Robsham told Ziadie he could spend $200,000 at the Ocala sale for several horses. But the trainer had eyes for only Trust N Luck. When Ziadie raised the bidding to $200,000, there were a few anxious moments before the auctioneer slammed his hammer down on the sale. The trainer thought the auctioneer was stalling, but he didn't know why.
"There was another bidder on the phone -- and the phone went dead," Ziadie said he found out later. "It tells me that Trust N Luck and I were meant to be together."
And what was Robsham's reaction to the one-horse purchase? "Just go and prove it to me," he said.
