"It's unfortunate," Matz said this week in a telephone interview.
If the Derby field were put together by a selection committee, Chelokee would be in. He's popping up in a lot of Derby Watch top-10 lists now. But that's not how it works. Graded-stakes earnings are everything. Finishing first or second in the Florida Derby would have easily given Chelokee enough earnings to qualify. Matz isn't keen on trying to get more earnings in the Coolmore Lexington Stakes, just two weeks before the Derby. Matz said he would consider running in that race, but thinks three races in five weeks would be too much, so if that scenario plays out, Matz talked about the possibility of Chelokee going to the Preakness.
The disappointment is that Chelokee and jockey Ramon Dominguez got stuck along the rail before getting up for third in the Florida Derby.
"When I talked to Ramon, he said: 'You had the best horse in the race.' I think I did. It just worked out, it didn't end up in the results," Matz said. "These things happen. Ramon was just as mad as anybody when he got off there. It does get us very excited that we have a prospect who could do something. He [Chelokee] has an unbelievable mind. He's cool as a cucumber. If he improves a little bit off the last race . . . "
Almost from the start, the path hasn't been smooth. Matz mentioned that everything went right on the road to the Derby last year with Barbaro.
"Absolutely no setbacks," Matz said of that path to the Derby, which Barbaro won by 61/2 lengths.
But this time: "It just didn't line up right," Matz said.
That began early, he said. Right after Chelokee broke his maiden by 131/4 lengths at Delaware Park, Matz pointed him toward a second race at Delaware Park, but the race didn't fill. Matz entered Chelokee in a race at Laurel.
