Top-three finish at Kentucky Derby a huge feat for two horses

LOUISVILLE, Ky. —  While you could certainly make a case for the Todd Pletcher-trained Always Dreaming winning the Kentucky Derby, it would have been quite the handicapping feat to get the second- and third-place horses.

Lookin At Lee went off at 33-1 and Battle of Midway at 40-1. It made for a $2 trifecta that paid $16,594.40.

Steve Asmussen, trainer of Lookin At Lee, was certainly pleased with the effort.

“I’m definitely proud of Lee,” Asmussen said. “He just keeps coming. Drawing the one was tough. He’s the first horse in 20 years to run in the top three from the one hole.

“To me, the Kentucky Derby, everything about it is a thrill. … Hats off to the winner. He ran an incredible race.”

Jerry Holldorfer, the trainer of Battle Of Midway and a man of few or no words, had this to say about his horse: “I thought our horse gave a nice effort,” he said. “We had a good position coming into the lane but Todd’s horse was too good.”

Big Money Mike

Mike Smith won Friday’s Kentucky Oaks aboard Abel Talsman but could only manage a 13th-place finish for Girvin in the Derby.

“He felt OK but he was struggling with the racetrack early on,” Smith said. “He was getting knocked around so many times the poor guy just never had a shot I inside. I felt like I was in the one hole. I finally get him running at the 3/8ths pole and someone wiped out four of us again. The shot was over then.”

Trainer Joe Sharp said Smith told him he should run him back in the Preakness in two weeks or the Belmont in five weeks.

Returning texts

Always Dreaming co-owner Anthony Bonomo was sitting on the dais answering questions when he looked down at his phone.

“I was looking because I didn’t know your phone could store 267 messages,” Bonomo said.

“I’m trying to figure out how the hell I’m going to return all these? But I begged [co-owner] Vinny [Viola] on the way over to have a party at the restaurant that he’s paying for. So all these messages, maybe we can return them in person, because that’s what our neighborhood is about.”

Thunder Snow likely OK

Thunder Snow broke from the two hole and a few yards later he started acting unruly and even bucked. Jockey Christophe Soumillon immediately pulled him up in case he was injured.

Dr. Keith Latson, the veterinarian on call, said they could find nothing wrong with the horse.

“Thunder Snow galloped back to the paddock comfortably under his own power,” Latson said. “He was examined by Dr. Jennifer Kaak and was found to have no injuries and walked back to his barn under his own power.”

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A woman enters Churchill Downs for the 143rd Kentucky Derby.

  (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

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A woman at the 143rd Kentucky Derby sports a hat that includes a traditional mint julep cup.

  (Patrick Smith / Getty Images)

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Two women look toward the track from the Chuchill Downs grandstands.

  (Charlie Riedel / Associated Press)

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A woman checks her phone after arriving at Churchill Downs for the 143rd running of the Kentucky Derby.

  (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

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A man arrives for the 143rd running of the Kentucky Derby adorned in colorful hat and beard.

  (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

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A race fan wears a twin spires hat in the grandstand area before the 143rd running of the Kentucky Derby.

  (Patrick Smith / Getty Images)

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A woman strolls down a walkway toward the grandstands at Churchill Downs before the 143rd Kentucky Derby.

  (Matt Slocum / Associated Press)

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A woman navigates a thoroughfare after arriving for the 143rd Run for the Roses.

  (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

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A woman wearing a festive hat poses for a photo against a backdrop of roses before the Kentucky Derby.

  (Patrick Smith / Getty Images)

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Evan Fossmeyer and Yeah Helderman use a tarp and ponchos to stay dry before the 143rd Kentucky Derby.

  (Michael Noble Jr. / Getty Images)

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Two women stop to pose for a photo at Churchill Downs before the 143rd Kentucky Derby.

  (Andy Lyons / Getty Images)

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Light at the end of a grandstand hallway illuminates the face of a woman arriving at the 143rd Kentucky Derby.

  (Matt Slocum / Associated Press)

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Among all the colorful hats at the 143rd Kentucky Derby, a stately black-and-white ensemble stands out.

  (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

Thunder Snow qualified by winning the UAE Derby in Dubai. This was his first race in the United States and certainly his first before such a large and loud crowd.

Baffert’s presence

Trainer Bob Baffert didn’t have a horse in this year’s Kentucky Derby after his best 3-year-old, Mastery, was injured after the San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita. But his presence was felt as the first and second horses were the progeny of Baffert runners.

Always Dreaming’s sire was Bodemeister, the horse named after Baffert’s son. Lookin at Lee was sired by Lookin at Lucky, who won the 2010 Preakness Stakes.