Adam Coglianese / New York Racing Association

Majestic Warrior, ridden to victory by Garrett Gomez in The Hopeful Stakes on Sept. 3, 2007, will race in the Louisiana Derby on Saturday. Jessica Steinbrenner says her father, New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, is ecstatic at the possibility of another shot at the Kentucky Derby.

updated 3:27 p.m. ET March 5, 2008

The excitement in her voice was unmistakable.

Jessica Steinbrenner was chatting up her 3-year-old colt Majestic Warrior, and she wanted it known that her father is caught up in more than just spring training.

“He is absolutely ecstatic he could have another shot at the Kentucky Derby,” said Jessica, the younger of George Steinbrenner’s two daughters, the other day by phone from Florida. “He had a great chance a few years ago with Bellamy, Road but that didn’t work out. He’s excited all over again.”

While the 77-year-old Steinbrenner recently turned over the day-to-day running of the New York Yankees to sons Hal and Hank, Jessica has been managing dad’s Kinsman Stable the past few years.

On Saturday, the Steinbrenners will find out whether Majestic Warrior moves forward on the road to the May 3 Derby when he runs in the $600,000 Louisiana Derby at the Fair Grounds. It will be the colt’s first race since finishing sixth in the Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park on Oct. 6, when he most likely developed an ankle injury that set back his training.

“If you love horses, these are the most exciting months of the year,” Jessica Steinbrenner said. “I can hardly think of anything else.”

It seems dad is loving it, too. Jessica says she gave her father a picture of Majestic Warrior, and it’s “hanging above the mantel in his bedroom.” And, she added, the blanket from winning the Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga last Sept. 3 hangs over the Boss’ office chair.

“He’s always said his dream is to win the Kentucky Derby, and that hasn’t changed,” Jessica said.

Steinbrenner has been in the Thoroughbred business since the 1970s. Kinsman Stable currently has about 25-30 horses in training as well as about 40 broodmares, many of them in Kentucky. The 750-acre farm in Ocala, Fla., has a private home for each of Steinbrenner’s four children.

Three years ago, Bellamy Road was Steinbrenner’s sixth and best chance to win the Derby. The colt went off as the favorite but finished seventh.

Majestic Warrior came along last year, a striking son of 1992 Horse of the Year A.P. Indy. He won his first start by 3½ lengths at Saratoga on Aug. 4, then captured the Grade I Hopeful by 2¼ lengths. The offers to buy the colt poured in, but the Steinbrenners did not want to give up total control. They sold a 50 percent interest to Coolmore Stud for an undisclosed amount.

The sale has not dampened Jessica Steinbrenner’s enthusiasm for the colt, a homebred who was turned out in the paddock next to her farmhouse.

“He was the Alpha male of the group,” she said. “Always does everything right. He naps when he’s supposed to, he’s well behaved and does whatever is asked. He’s everything you want, and he’s well bred to boot. A terrific specimen.”

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