Close Ties Made Orb's Derby Score Sweeter for McGaughey

For all of his fond memories of the 2013 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey doesn't have to think long about why securing his first win in the race with Orb  was special.

"I think the thing that stood out the most for me were the people who owned him," McGaughey said of the Malibu Moon  colt campaigned by breeders Stuart Janney III and Phipps Stable. "The Phipps family and the Janney family have meant so much to me and my career, so to be able to win a race of that stature was the culmination of the day. It made it a very emotional time for me because I knew it meant a lot to them, and that made it mean even more to me."

In the final half-mile of the Derby, Orb, the 5-1 favorite, rallied from 17th place and 14 1/2 lengths back under Joel Rosario to win by 2 1/2 lengths.

REPLAY: Orb Wins Kentucky Derby 139

Ogden Mills "Dinny" Phipps operated the family stable in 2013, and Janney is his first cousin. McGaughey said Dinny Phipps, who died in April 2016, wasn't much on wordy expressions of gratitude, but the trainer still knew what that Derby win meant to the longtime owner/breeder.

"He may have patted me on the back or something, but it was all just understood. I knew, and he knew I knew," McGaughey said. "The same thing with Stuart Janney, who is a little more outgoing with compliments. But I knew what it meant to Dinny when it happened, what we had done. That's the way it was. There were never any 'thank yous' or this or that, but we had the kind of relationship where we both knew that everything was OK."

The victory followed a memorable half-mile breeze April 29 at Churchill Downs by the winner of the Besilu Stables Florida Derby (G1). McGaughey recalls that Monday move as capping a perfect run-up to the race for Orb, who entered the Derby off three consecutive wins in 2013.

"Everything he did all winter was right on," McGaughey said. "The weather was always right when we wanted to work him. It all accumulated. He was just getting better, better, and better all the time."

Orb was McGaughey's first Kentucky Derby winner and seventh starter. On Derby Day and throughout that week, he remembers having  confidence in his horse.

"Even though I was really, really nervous, I was excited about the week and looking forward to Saturday," McGaughey said. "When I take them over there—I'm not like Bud Delp with Spectacular Bid saying, 'Go bet'—I'm more thinking, 'Let me watch and see what happens.' But I knew we were on the right track, and I tried to have fun with it."

Subscribe to BloodHorse Daily to view expanded photos of Orb's victory in the April 27 edition!