Ian Wilkes has helped train 2 Kentucky Derby winners, seeks first on his own with Burnham Square

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Ian Wilkes viewed the reporters outside his barn as a sign he must be doing something right.

The veteran trainer is thoroughly embracing the attention that Burnham Square has brought him as a Kentucky Derby starter. Even better, he is the points leader heading into Saturday’s 151st running at Churchill Downs after entering the final big qualifying weekend on the margins.

“It’s great to get to the Derby. That’s the race everyone wants to win,” Wilkes said of his gelding, who rallied from the rear to earn 100 points at Keeneland on April 8 and vault to the top of the standings. He finished with 130 to edge Sandman (129) and Journalism (122.5), two of the Derby favorites.

Wilkes added, “It’s been just a nice preparation for the horse. It gets better and better each time, just putting the building blocks together. Just keep building for the Derby.”

Whether that momentum carries over into a signature win remains to be seen, but the native Australian has his second Derby starter and first since McCraken finished eighth in 2017. Having visited the winner’s circle twice in different roles working for now—retired Hall of Fame trainer Carl Nafzger, Wilkes knows about the process and the rewards of draping that garland of roses.

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He was an exercise rider and groom for Nafzger while training Unbridled, who won the 1990 Derby and Preakness before closing the year with a Breeders’ Cup Classic victory that clinched the Eclipse Award as top 3-year-old. Wilkes was Nafzger’s assistant in 2007, when Street Sense was a back marker through 3/4 mile before quickly surging into contention and beating Hard Spun by 2 1/4 lengths.

Everybody contributed, but something about Wilkes’ effort told Nafzger he’d be successful in his own right.

“We had some good horses, but Ian just had a special way with them, good hands and a good eye for talent,” Nafzger, 83, recalled about a relationship that began in the late 1980s.

Wilkes had a bunch of graded stakes wins of his own by the time Nafzger turned the operation over to him in 2008. More victories have followed, highlighted by Breeders’ Cup Classic breakthrough in 2012 with Fort Larned.

As Nafzger recalled watching Burnham Square work out last weekend beneath the Twin Spires, he also marveled at how personnel has remained stable under Wilkes. Consistency is key to success and Wilkes’ even-keeled skills in handling people and the rollercoaster nature of horse racing was cited among his many skills by Nafzger and colleagues.

“We all have good runs and we all have droughts,” Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen said. “His demeanor and his attitude and his temperament towards people is steady. I can’t say that about myself.”

Right now, Wilkes is basking in a roll with Burnham Square that he hopes will continue in racing’s marquee event.

“I’m going to enjoy every day and just have some fun, and hopefully it’s my turn,” he said.

Burnham Square has won two of three starts as a 3-year-old, sandwiching Blue Grass and Holy Bull stakes wins around a fourth in the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream. Despite topping the Derby standings, he will start the $5 million, 1 1/4-mile Triple Crown opener facing 12-1 odds from the No. 9 post beside red-hot 3-1 favorite Journalism, aiming to become just the fifth winner from that spot and first since Riva Ridge in 1972.

And unlike the Blue Grass — where he trailed the field through two turns before moving forward and eventually running down pacesetter East Avenue in the stretch — there are 19 other competitors to navigate. Burnham Square will be ridden by jockey Brian Hernandez Jr., who guided the stunning comeback at Keeneland and swept last year’s Derby and Kentucky Oaks aboard Mystik Dan and filly Thorpedo Anna, respectively.

Even with a chance to become the first jockey to win back-to-back Derbys since Victor Espinoza 10 years ago, Hernandez looks forward to rewarding Wilkes and owner Janis Whitham with a seminal achievement.

“They put me on my first Grade 1 winner with Fort Larned, and I’m fortunate enough to win a Breeders’ Classic,” he said. “But to come back and win a Kentucky Derby for him, that would be the ultimate for the Whitham family and Ian as well.”

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AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing