When it comes to man and horse, Bob Baffert taking Mike Smith off of McKinzie doesn’t measure up to, say, Cervantes removing Don Quixote from Rocinante, but relatively speaking, it is memorable in racing.
It wasn’t personal. As they said in “The Godfather,” it’s business.
Baffert and Smith, both Hall of Fame members, have enjoyed a long and successful relationship, most significantly in 2018 when they joined forces for Justify’s Triple Crown sweep and Horse of the Year title.
But after Smith finished second aboard odds-on favorite McKinzie in last Saturday’s Awesome Again Stakes, Baffert later said he was making a change in riders on McKinzie for the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic Nov. 2 at Santa Anita.
“Mike wanted to talk to me after the race, but I told him to come to the barn,” Baffert said Thursday morning following a bullet six furlong breeze by Roadster (1:13 flat). “That’s when I told him I wanted to make a switch.
“I respect Mike and he’s my friend, but I’m entitled to change my mind. McKinzie is not a difficult horse to ride and my whole focus right now is to get him really right.”
By: Stable Notes, Ed golden: Santa Anita
