Zito Reflects on ‘Lifetime of Memories’ With Go for Gin

Picture the first week of May, 1994. Trainer Nick Zito is preparing for the Kentucky Derby (G1) with his 3-year-old colt Go for Gin .

The big day arrives and Go for Gin does not let Zito down. He takes the lead at the half-mile pole and pulls away from the field in mid-stretch, striding out to best Strodes Creek by two lengths.

After the race, Zito and owners William J. Condren and Joseph Cornacchia receive a special call congratulating them on the win.

"What's very unique for me is that after we won the Derby with Go for Gin ... We're in the press box upstairs being interviewed," Zito recalled a day after Go for Gin was laid to rest at the good old age of 31. "We got a call, Mr. Condren, Mr. Cornacchia, and myself, and on the line was President Bill Clinton to congratulate us. I'm very proud of that."

For Zito, this was a moment he had always envisioned. He knew from the beginning that the son of Cormorant was extraordinary. 

"I bought him as a yearling in the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale and it was great ... He had a great presence, a very good body, and a great pedigree, which always helps," the Hall of Famer said.

Pamela duPont bred Go for Gin out of the Stage Door Johnny mare Never Knock and sent him to The Saratoga Sale with Nydrie Stud, where Zito picked him out for Condren and Cornacchia to the tune of $150,000. Zito would be Go for Gin's sole trainer for the entirety of his career. He said when the colt was on the track, he was all business.

"He was a very, very, cool horse, very dominating," Zito said. "When I say dominating, I mean professional. He did all the right things; he was very consistent as a racehorse, and we knew from scratch that we had a nice horse."

Following his Derby win, Zito trained Go for Gin to nine more starts before he retired from racing in 1995. With multiple graded stakes wins under his belt, he went to work at the breeding shed—first at Claiborne Farm, and then Bonita Farm. 

He finished stud duty in 2011 and went on to his final home at the Kentucky Horse Park, where he lived in the Hall of Champions. 

BloodHorse Staff: 1994 Kentucky Derby Winner Go for Gin Dies at 31

Now as Go for Gin rests, Zito looks back in fond remembrance. 

"Anytime you have what they call a 'Derby horse,' that's a special horse," said Zito, who also trained Strike the Gold to win the Derby in 1991. "They take you to a place that not many people go to, and you get to run it. It's a lifetime of memories and a great experience … It was fantastic for me. It was amazing."

Zito was able to visit Go for Gin before he passed, and never doubted that he was treated with the utmost care.

"He was in good hands. The Horse Park is a special place, and they took such good care of him ... it was easy," Zito said. "You know when you send a kid off to college and you don't have to worry about it? That's what happened. … When you bring out a Derby winner, that's pretty special. He lived a great life, and he did a great job."