More to Mor Spirit

Mor Spirit Than Meets The Eye

Trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Gary Stevens have proven to be an effective Kentucky Derby duo, winning with Silver Charm back in 1997. This year, the Hall of Fame team will run for the roses with Mor Spirit, a handsome dark bay colt who most recently finished a well-beaten second in a sloppy running of the Santa Anita Derby.

While most have deemed the undefeated Nyquist as the horse to beat, Mor Spirit still poses a very real threat. Going a mile and a quarter at Churchill Downs should be no problem for the long-striding son of Eskendereya, in fact it will play in his favor. Mor Spirit tends to close late, which cost him in the San Felipe Stakes. Even in his last victory, the Robert B. Lewis Stakes, Mor Spirit won by a length and half; however, he got rolling about 10 strides from the wire. Going further in the Kentucky Derby should be right in Mor Spirit’s wheelhouse.

A noted lazy and distracted worker in the morning, Mor Spirit changed the conversation on April 26 when he recorded a 59.80 five furlong breeze – the second fasted of the 18 workouts that morning. The difference? Bob Baffert added larger cups to his blinkers, which Stevens said improved the colt’s focus.

Present for Mor Spirit’s first Derby work was his owner Michael Lund Petersen. He purchased Mor Spirit for $650,000 at the Fasig-Tipton March 2-year-old auction, an amount already earned back by the good looking colt. Last year dealt Petersen some bad luck when his horse One Lucky Dane suffered a career ending injury in a Kentucky Derby morning workout. Mor Spirit is named as a nod to his feisty 90-year-old mother. In Petersen’s native Danish tongue, mor means mom.

Perhaps Mor Spirit’s greatest asset is Stevens, who has won the Derby three times. I would argue there is no one better at managing and timing a race than him – which is exactly what Mor Spirit will need if he wants to wear the roses. Stevens has been his regular jockey since his first race as a 2-year-old (excluding the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes) and routinely works the colt in the mornings. So when the gates open and the chaos takes over Churchill’s main track, the relationship between horse and rider can be pivotal.

I believe we have yet to see the best of Mor Spirit, who stands a strong chance to win this year’s Kentucky Derby. A top 5 finish is not out of the question. Looking beyond the Triple Crown races, it will be exciting to watch him continue to develop.

Following Wednesday’s post position draw, connections of the colt are content with the 17 hole, stating it is a great spot for him.

Following the post position draw, exercise rider Georgie Alvarez told EverythingEQ, “The track at Santa Anita is too fast for Mor Spirit. Churchill’s track is slower. I think he will like it a lot on Saturday.”