Mike Brunker Horse racing editor • Profile • E-mail

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A Herculean colt named Barbaro carried trainer Michael Matz to the summit of a new Mount Olympus on Saturday, powering to a 6 ½-length victory over Bluegrass Cat in the 132nd Kentucky Derby without ever feeling the whip of jockey Edgar Prado.

It was the widest margin of victory in a Derby since Assault won the 1946 running by eight lengths. The ease with which it was accomplished and the fact that Barbaro is still a fresh horse—with just two races in the last three months—are certain to fuel rabid interest in the Preakness Stakes two weeks hence and to inspire speculation that horse racing is on the verge of its first Triple Crown winner since 1978.

Prado, who won his first Derby in his seventh try, was among those thinking two races ahead as soon as he dismounted.

“I never had any doubt about what kind of horse he was,” the 39-year-old rider said moments after dismounting. “… Now I just hope we can win a Triple Crown.”

In winning for the sixth time in six starts and becoming just the sixth horse to emerge from the Derby with no blemishes on his record, Barbaro silenced questions about the light racing schedule engineered for him this spring by Matz, a former Olympic equestrian who helped the U.S. team win a silver medal at the 1996 games in Atlanta.

But the 55-year-old trainer declined to gloat after making Barbaro the first horse to win the Derby off a layoff of five weeks or more since Needles in 1956.

“No, I’m not going to say a word,” he said at a postrace news conference when asked if he wanted to say “I told you so.”

FREE VIDEO It's Barbaro! May 6: Watch as jockey Edgar Prado rides Michael Matz-trained horse to an easy victory in the 132nd running of the Kentucky Derby. NBC Sports

In fact, he couldn’t even bring himself to describe his horse’s performance.

“What can I say? Everybody saw it, so they know what he did,” he said.

Breeders and owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson, who race under the Lael Stables banner, were unable to characterize Barbaro’s magnificent performance for a different reason.

“We’re sort of speechless,” Roy Jackson said. “… Just getting here was special and winning it, I really don’t have words to describe it.”

The second choice of the crowd of 157,536 – second-largest in Derby history—and bettors around the world at 6-1, the powerfully built son of Dynaformer stumbled at the start of the 1 ¼-mile race for 3-year-olds but quickly recovered and staked out a perfect stalking position behind pace-setters Keyed Entry and Sinister Minister.

FREE VIDEO Winning feeling May 6: Jockey Edgar Prado and trainer Michael Matz talk about the Kentucky Derby victory by their horse Barbaro NBC Sports

Prado kept his mount about three lengths back rounding the first turn and up the backstretch, as Keyed Entry carved out fractions of :46.07 and 1:10.88, before finally letting the reins out a notch rounding the far turn.

Barbaro pounced on the tiring pace-setters as the increasingly bunched field turned for home and opened daylight on his pursuers in just a few rapidly lengthening strides.

“When I turned him loose, he took off like a rocket,” Prado said of his mount’s acceleration.

The jockey showed Barbaro the whip a couple times during the stretch run, but never had to use it as the colt finished the race off professionally, never letting up and adding to his winning margin before stopping the timer in 2:01.36.

Bluegrass Cat, a 30-1 long shot, finished two lengths in front of third-place finisher Steppenwolfer. Morning line favorite Brother Derek, who ended up as the third choice in the betting, and Jazil dead-heated for fourth.

Barbaro rewarded his supporters with a payoff of $14.20 for each $2 wagered, and keyed a $587.00 exacta.

He also banked the $1,240,000 million winner’s share of the $2 million purse for his owners, increasing his lifetime earnings to $2,089,000.

His win capped the sort of day that most breeders of thoroughbred racehorses can only dream of. Earlier in the day, the Jacksons watched as their homebred George Washington captured the 2000 Guineas, one of Britain’s most prestigious races.

Slide show   Week in Sports Pictures Pain on the skating rink, flying high on the hardwood, upsets on the football field, and more. more photos

Matz will try and keep the incredible roll going by saddling Barbaro in the Preakness Stakes on May 20, assuming he came out of the Derby in good shape.

Asked if the light campaign this spring might now backfire now as his horse is asked to run three extremely tough races – the Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes—in five weeks, Matz said he thought his charge would be up to the challenge.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a problem, but we’ll have to wait and see,” he said. “. … If we made a mistake, we’ll know it in two weeks. But that was the plan all along.”

MORE FROM HORSE RACING

Fluke wins in emotional upset at Hollywood Park

Fluke wins in emotional upset at Hollywood Park Churchill Downs doubles its night racing Perfect Zenyatta (14-0) awaits breeding career Racing's Year of the Girl Zenyatta beats the boys in Breeders’ Cup Classic   Video: Filly Rachel Alexandra wins Preakness thriller   Video: Watch replay of Mine That Bird's victory Interactive: Triple Crown winners, near misses Vote: When will we see next Triple Crown winner? Equibase: Quick results from top tracks   Add Horse racing headlines to your news reader: