Photo of Nicanor galloping by Lydia Williams, TheShedrow.com 

On the morning of the June 7 Belmont Stakes (gr. I), a race his brother didn’t get to try in 2006, Roy and Gretchen Jackson’s Nicanor recorded his first published work at Fair Hill Training Center.

Trainer Michael Matz sent the brother of late 2006 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Barbaro (Dynaformer-La Ville Rouge, by Carson City) through an easy three furlongs on the dirt track. Under assistant trainer Peter Brette, the 2-year-old colt clocked in :39 seconds flat, 16^th best of 24 at the distance.

The best time for three furlongs that morning was :35.80, set by the unraced 2-year-old Desert Warrior filly Jerboa.  

When posting a first official work, trainers seek a solid effort from their starter. A young horse will not be asked for too much run, but will be "set down" to the task by the rider and given the opportunity to display innate talent. An initial official work is generally shorter (less taxing) and slower (undemanding), but the trainer is still hoping for a time that will not prove embarrassing to the horse or his connections.

In other words, Nicanor did just fine!  

Before 2006, Edgar Prado was viewed as a reserved rider who took pride in his accomplishments, but showed little emotion. However, in his role as pilot for Barbaro, winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), he became a tangible figure with whom the colt’s fans could identify. And when Barbaro suffered a devastating breakdown in the Preakness Stakes (gr. I), the incident exposed a tender side few knew the jockey had.

Now Prado has teamed with Baltimore Sun writer John Eisenberg to produce a book that reaches even deeper into his soul, giving readers a taste of the powerful connection between horse and rider. My Guy Barbaro: A Jockey’s Journey Through Love, Triumph, and Heartbreak with America’s Favorite Horse hit stores April 1.

While Eisenberg called writing the book for Harper Collins a gratifying project, Prado said it was a labor of love. Barbaro, the big bay colt he rode for Roy and Gretchen Jackson’s Lael Stables, left a lasting impression on his heart.

“He was a special horse that a lot of people fell in love with, and they loved him even more when he struggled for survival,” said the jockey. “But there was more than that. There was potential within his story, something he could teach us—that giving up is not an option.”

“Edgar is a sharp, smart guy,” said Eisenberg, author of books such as Native Dancer: The Grey Ghost, Hero of a Golden Age and The Great Match Race: When North Met South in America’s First Sports Spectacle. “He’s pretty soulful, really, and I don’t think anyone had seen that side; he just hadn’t let it out. But 2006 was just such an emotional year for him that everything was a lot closer to the surface. I think it will surprise a lot of people.”

Prado rode Barbaro for the first time in the Tropical Park Derby (gr. IIIT) at Calder in January 2006. He was aboard for the colt’s next three races—victories in the Holy Bull Stakes (gr. III), the Florida Derby (gr. I), and the Kentucky Derby—before the Michael Matz trainee fractured his right hind leg at Pimlico. In the following eight months, during Barbaro’s stay at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center, the jockey hoped and prayed for the colt’s survival. 

“Sometimes, it’s the small gratitude that counts the most,” said Prado. “I have to be grateful for the opportunities I had. Roy and Gretchen were great to me; Michael Matz had confidence in me. It was a wonderful team that I was blessed to be involved with and I was able to get the best out of that. Writing this book is part of that gratitude, giving back to the people who loved Barbaro just like I did.”

Beginning with Prado’s first glimpse of the colt and carrying through to the horse’s death, the book presents a touching review of the events surrounding Barbaro’s 3-year-old campaign, injury, and subsequent death. 

“My goal was definitely to make this more about Edgar telling his story,” Eisenberg said. “I certainly think racing fans will be interested, but hopefully this book can go beyond to the general audience, to convey the universal story of how horse and rider interact.”

My Guy Barbaro paints an insightful picture of the high-pressure lifestyle and intense campaigns of jockeys and horses who seek victory along the road to the Triple Crown. Additionally, it presents a fitting portrait of Prado’s true nature—that of a compassionate horseman whose bond with this one mount was unshakable.

As Eisenberg said, “We haven’t yet seen the story from Edgar’s side.”

Now we can.

For those of you who have been seeking an update on Lael Stables' Showing Up, the jury is still out on whether the 5-year-old son of Strategic Mission will return to racing. He remains under the care of Barclay Tagg and, according to Roy Jackson, no decision has been made as to whether he'll come back to racing or retire. 

According to Tagg, the horse was moved to a farm in Ocala, Fla. at the beginning of this week, and will be turned out there for an unspecified amount of time.

"It's still day-to-day with him; it's too late to make him a stallion this year, but if we can't get him ready for some fall races, I'd say he'd be retired," Tagg said. "He still has some nagging problems we want to get rid of." 

Bred in Kentucky by Nellie M. Cox and Rose Retreat Farm out of the T.V. Commercial mare Miss Alethia, Showing Up made his last start in the 2007 edition of the April 13 Maker's Mark Mile Stakes (gr. IIT). In 2006, he won the Hollywood Derby (gr. IT), the Jamaica Breeders' Cup Handicap (gr. IIT), the Secretariat Stakes (gr. IT), and the Coolmore Lexington (gr. IIT) in addition to the Colonial Turf Cup Stakes.

His last recorded work was a Jan. 27 six-furlong move in 1:13.80 at Palm Meadows Training Center.