Lentenor Eager to Win the Kentucky Derby for Big Brother Barbaro

Call me a sap but if Barbaro's brother Lentenor advances to become one of the top contenders at the 2010 Kentucky Derby -- and wins -- I'm going to cry like I've never cried before. (AP Images)

Horse racing fans may soon have another Barbaro to cheer for this season as Barbaro's full brother, Lentenor, is starting to  show similar signs of greatness. With jockey John Velazquez's help, Lentenor put in an impressive effort to win a maiden race on Jan. 20 at Gulfstream Park and is eligible to run in this year's Kentucky Derby.

Michael Matz is Lentenour's trainer and it is by no coincidence that he was also Barbaro's trainer; so if Matz is thinking that Lentenor could have a shot at the 2010 Kentucky Derby, then maybe we'd better keep an eye on this horse.

"I do think he is good enough," Matz said earlier this week at Gulfstream Park. "I don't want to do too much with him now because I don't want to be out of horse if we do get to one of the classic races. We'll see with his next race. He'll tell us from race to race where he's going to go."

The plan right now is to run Lentenor in the next allowance race scheduled for Feb. 17 at Gulfstream. If Lentenor wins that then Matz said he'd run him in the Florida Derby, a Kentucky Derby prep race that big brother Barbaro also won en route to his Kentucky Derby win.

Lentenor's Jan. 20 win was his third race; he finished third in his first race, and then second in his second race. His progression has been steady, which is good, but all three races thus far have been on grass. And as we all know, the Kentucky Derby is run on a dirt track at Churchill Downs. The Florida Derby, however, is run on a dirt track, making it the perfect prep race for Lentenor's Run for the Roses. At any rate, Matz is confident that Lentenor will continue to improve, slowly but surely.

"That's what we're hoping for, that he'll keep improving as he has done," Matz said. "He got into a little trouble in his first two races, and he had a clear trip in his third race. He came out of the race terrific and I think he'll get a lot out of that race."

Lentenor is the third offspring of the sire Dynaformer and the dam La Ville Rouge to have made the leap onto the American thoroughbred horse racing scene.

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