They still have a bond

LOUISVILLE, KY. —  It will be six months next week since a garland of roses lay draped over a wall outside Barn 42 at Churchill Downs the morning after the Kentucky Derby.

Barbaro, the dark bay colt who won the race by the largest margin in 60 years, paused as he walked by that morning and nuzzled the red buds. Two weeks later, he was fighting for his life after breaking down in the opening moments of the Preakness, his career over.

Barbaro’s trainer, Michael Matz, was back at Churchill Downs on Tuesday with Round Pond, a 4-year-old filly he’s preparing for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Saturday.

“It seems like it was a long time ago, and it seems like I never really got a chance to reflect on the accomplishments, what he really did, winning the Derby so impressively,” Matz said of Barbaro. “But he’s doing well right now, so that’s the main thing.

“You keep your fingers crossed all the time, that’s for sure.”

The days are rare that Matz doesn’t see Barbaro, who remains at the University of Pennsylvania’s George D. Widener Hospital in Kennett Square, Pa., about 10 minutes from where Matz lives.

Less than four months ago, Barbaro’s chances for survival were deemed “poor” by veterinary surgeon Dean Richardson after the horse developed a severe case of laminitis, a complication also known as “founder” that strikes an uninjured foot as the horse bears his weight unevenly because of another injured leg.

Barbaro has continued to defy the odds, although Richardson has cautioned that the road to recovery remains long, as the hoof in the left hind foot slowly regrows.

If not for that complication, Matz said, the original injury to the other leg has healed so well the cast might otherwise be off. There is even talk that Barbaro might soon be able to spend time on a farm instead of the hospital.

Still, as Matz stood outside a barn here, talking about the last six months, his eyes sometimes brimmed and his voice cracked.

“I thought for sure this horse would win the Triple Crown,” he said. “I just had it in my mind he would do that. Then, even after the accident happened, I thought, ‘Well, he wasn’t supposed to win the Triple Crown.’ Maybe he was going to be a great stallion.

“And then when he foundered, I just thought, ‘Well, they’ll put him down now. That’s it.’

“But he didn’t want any part of that.”

Day after day, either Matz or his assistant Peter Brette visits, changing Barbaro’s bandages or taking him out to graze.

“He always did like to go outside,” Matz said. “Obviously, he realizes there’s something different about him now, with that cast on his right hind leg, and he doesn’t go out and gallop anymore.

“The other day, I took him out, and it was windy. I brought him right back in because he was starting to kick at the leaves. He’s now over 17 hands and he’s over 1,100 pounds. He’s a real big horse, and he’s a strong horse also.”

Gretchen and Roy Jackson, Barbaro’s owners, are there almost daily too.

“Gretchen goes twice a day, takes him grass,” Matz said.

But there are cautionary tales.

Matz learned Tuesday that another horse with laminitis being treated alongside Barbaro -- an 18-year-old stallion named Artsplace -- had died.

“His foot fell off. Then the other one fell off,” he said. “It’s a devastating disease.”

Back at Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland, Matz goes on training horses, just as he did from the first day after Barbaro’s injury.

One of the horses in his care, a 2-year-old in training, is a brother of Barbaro. Whether he’s also a Derby winner ...

“He’s pretty backwards,” Matz said with a laugh. “He’s going to be awhile.”

On Saturday, most of his attention will be on Round Pond, who will be ridden by Barbaro’s jockey, Edgar Prado.

The Jacksons will be watching a horse they bred, George Washington, run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic after arriving from Ireland, his base as the top turf miler in Europe.

Matz will watch the Classic too, wondering what a race between Barbaro and Preakness winner Bernardini would have been like.

“You think about it, but it will never happen, so ... “ he said. “It’s sort of a shame that rivalry never took place, because I think it would have been a good one. I just think that after Bernardini got real good, there was really no one that could challenge him. Whether these older horses now can do that, we’ll see on Saturday. I think he’s a wonderful horse.”

Barbaro will be in his intensive care stall in Pennsylvania, where get-well cards still arrive.

“Carrots, apples, who knows, everything,” Matz said. “He’s brought a lot of people together, that’s for sure.”

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Bernardini, the expected Breeders’ Cup Classic favorite, is scheduled to arrive at Churchill today after a final five-furlong workout in 1:02.86 on Tuesday at Belmont Park.

“We couldn’t be happier with him at the moment,” trainer Tom Albertrani said.

Lava Man, who had been training on the synthetic track at Keeneland in nearby Lexington since shortly after winning his final prep race at Santa Anita on Oct. 6, arrived at Churchill on Saturday as trainer Doug O’Neill tries to resolve the horse’s previous trouble shipping. Lava Man galloped 1 1/2 miles Tuesday.

“He was exceptional this morning,” assistant trainer Leandro Mora said.

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Dubai Escapade, a 4-year-old filly owned by Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley Stable, will not be entered in the Sprint because of what was announced as ankle inflammation. Sheikh Mohammed’s son, Sheikh Rashid, is the owner of probable Sprint favorite Henny Hughes.

“I think if Henny Hughes wasn’t in there, then it would be a no-brainer, we’d definitely be running,” trainer Eion Harty said before the decision was announced.

The defection of Dubai Escapade opens a spot for Lewis Michael.

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An addition to the Breeders’ Cup qualification system called “Win and You’re In” will allow the winners of 24 designated prep races around the country to automatically earn berths in Breeders’ Cup races next year.

Three of those races will be at Del Mar on Aug. 19, including the Pacific Classic, and three will be at the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita on Oct. 7. Horses previously could qualify only by a points system or by being selected by a committee.

robyn.norwood@latimes.com