I’m not saying Matz isn’t great, but that line made me bristle.
Totally agree Louise…
He is super!! 
I dont think that is saying anything against the other trainers! I Like Baffert!
MM really is a class act. I’ve never heard any other trainer thank his assistant and then thank everyone who stayed at home with the other horses. In such an exciting moment most people forget to thank the people who really make winning possible. They always thank the breeders and owners, but never assistants and grooms. That was really nice.
That shows what kind of person MM is, a real class act. He is my neighbor and when his kids come to the local shows, they are like all the other parents and trainers. No big rig and grooms, they do it all themselves. The kids have really cute ponies!!!
They did not ask him to carry the American Flag for nothing in the Olympic closing ceremonies. He is a classy guy with an awesome sense of GOOD sportsmanship!
Best Derby story
OK, I, for one, vote this the best Derby story! And wahoooooo for Michael and Barbaro (who has a very great name too :))
I am SOOOOOO glad my husband was already awake to get ready for work because I just couldn’t hold my excitement. It had to look funny seeing an 8 month pregnant woman about 3 feet in front of the TV jumping up & down screaming her lungs out out of pure joy! I’m pretty glad nobody came to the door, actually.
I’m just so happy for MM to have this win!! And what a guy to thank his whole staff! Too bad I didn’t bet on this race…I thought Brother Derek would do better, but I just had a feeling Barbaro was going to win (though he surprised me with that 10th gear and distance from the other horses!!)
Congrats to MM!! Barbaro made a VERY nice finish, and I hope he will win the triple. That would be awsome! I’m just a big fan of racing, but hypothetically speaking and not getting hopes up too high, he would be the second undefeated horse to win the triple? Anyways, I agree that it was extremely nice of Micheal to thank his assistants and everyone.
hit the nail on the head!
Woo-hooo, my sentiments exactly…couldn’t have happened to a classier guy…I wish they had showed Michael show jumping…sure would have impressed a lot of the viewers who don’t really know what show jumping is…I’m so happy for him and all of the people associated with the horse…maybe it will make a lot of other trainers look at their conditioning schedules and make them ease off of these babies…
I agree, Eks…but I still have my times screwed up after the move. Funny how 2 hours will do that to you…anyway, I missed all the pre-race stuff I wanted to see because I was at the grocery store thinking I had plenty of time. I figured they’d do something on MM and just assumed videos from his showing days would be part of it. Too bad! Did they at least touch of the plane crash?
I also noted that he thanked his staff and ass’t trainer. I truly can’t remember the last Derby winning trainer that I heard do that – at least during those precious few minutes of interview time on the air.
I also noticed the horse looking lame heading back. Gave me a sick feeling in my stomach after my jubilation, and I actually logged on this BB primarily to see if anyone had heard anything about it.
This is the first Derby in years and years and years where the horse I rooted for won!
yes, they did do a segment on the plane crash and showed the kids who he saved. (They are now grown and came to watch him at the Derby…I guess there is only so much they can do with their time constraints…what a great story all around!)
This makes sense to me and hope it’s right. On the trot back to the winner’s circle, Barbaro looked great, even when leaning up against the pony horse.
MEP
Wonderful Derby - Barbaro looked fantastic (talk about switching gears!), and it’s fabulous for Michael Matz, IMO, he had the best conditioned horse in the field.
I am concerned, Barbaro really did have a distinct ‘gimp’ up front, sure hope your right it was due to the groom holding/tugging his rein. As it was so noticable, has anyone heard any news on this?
shameless plug…
My dad was the architect for Mr Matz’s new training barn in Fair Hill, MD. Now he’s a Derby winning designer… sorta?
My experience with Mr Matz…hearing him talk about his new barn, training, and horses left me thinking he was a really good guy
His “pony” horse was pretty nice. First time I’ve seen one with a happy mouth pelham a CC saddle and detachable flash.
It’s a former racehorse. I don’t know which one though.
That’s exactly what I saw too. Many of the excited horses looked just like that. I think that the handler just hand him tight for control and that was why he was kinda sidestepping and looking off.
Like I said in my prevoius posts, it could have been a positioning. He was “bent” to the left, rolling out over the right shoulder and that hollows the left side of the body, and will shorten the steps on that side. The shortness did though look to me a bit more than the position would cause. I really was not seeing a head bob, but a shortness and “lightness” of stepping on the LF.
Wow, that’s awesome. Congratulations Mike. I unfortunately had to miss it b/c it’s supposed to rain the rest of the weekend & I needed to be out working my 2 - is there a replay online anywhere?
Congrats to Micheal Matz and Barbaro! What a race. We were at the OTTB, the entire place was on their feet screaming for Barbaro and Matz. I’ve never seen people so happy to see a horse and trainer win. Hopefully, Barbaro is ok, and on to the Preakness. He did look like he was on his toes on the walk back, and the groom did have a big hold on him. I hope thats all it is.
