Lentenor , a full brother to ill-fated 2006 Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winner Barbaro, broke his maiden impressively on the turf Jan. 20 at Gulfstream Park (VIDEO).
Making his third start and first as a 3-year-old, Lentenor went off as the even-money favorite in the 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight contest. The son of Dynaformer—La Ville Rouge, by Carson City, stayed close to the pace set by longshot Dixie Summer’s and struck the front as they turned for home. He dueled with first-time starter Rock America in upper stretch before putting away his rival and coasting home to a 3 1/2–length win under John Velazquez.
The final time over the firm turf was 1:41.02.
Lentenor is a homebred of Roy and Gretchen Jackson, and is trained by Michael Matz—the same connections that raced Barbaro. He finished third and second, respectively, in two starts as a juvenile. The bay colt was supposed to be ridden by Jose Lezcano, but the rider was injured earlier in the day and Velazquez was named as a replacement.
“We’ve always known he was a good horse," Matz said. "He’s a big boy and still a bit immature, but he got a lot of experience today. He’d been working well. We’ll see how he comes out of it and take a little time to evaluate what might be next. It could be an ‘a other than’ or maybe even a turf stakes if we think he’s up to it.
"Naturally with a horse like this there are thoughts of a Triple Crown race, but it’s much too early to say whether he’d be far enough along to consider something like that. Naturally, I’m very pleased with how he ran today.”
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