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TRIPLE CROWN

Street Sense Comes Back To Win Derby

Colt Moved From 19th Place To First At Churchill Downs

UPDATED: 4:09 pm PDT May 5, 2007

Jockey Calvin Borel started his Kentucky Derby celebration just as Street Sense crossed finish line, standing up in the saddle and raising his arm in victory.

He deserved to be excited.

Images: 133rd Kentucky Derby

In what the first-time Derby winner described as "an awesome trip," Borel rode last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner from 19th place to first in the 1 1/4 mile race at Churchilll Downs.

"This is the chance of a lifetime. I'm just happy to be here," Borel said in the winner's circle.

Known as a jockey who prefers the rail, Borel kept the 2-year-old in the inside for most the race, and opted to pull him back into next-to-last-place when he noticed the speed of the top horses was picking up.

Then he made his move.

Borel -- who was 0-4 in the Derby entering Saturday's race -- patiently moved the colt through the traffic ahead of him until he finally was able to break away on the outside and overtake Hard Spun for a 2 1/2-length victory.

"He does whatever you want him to do," Borel said of Street Sense, who is owned by James Tafel.

Hard Spun, who led for most of the race, finished second, followed by Curlin.

Street Sense is trained by Carl Nafzger. The former rodeo rider also trained Unbridled, who won the 1990 Kentucky Derby. During that race, Nafzger narrated the action on the track to the colt's elderly owner who wasn't able to see the event.

The colt's victory put an end to two losing streaks at the Derby. He snapped an 0-23 run for Juvenile winners and also became the first 2-year-old to win since Spectacular Bid in 1979.

One losing streak that did not end Saturday was that of Todd Pletcher. The trainer, who entered five horses in the race, dropped to 0-19 in the Kentucky Derby. Circular Quay, sixth, was his highest-finishing horse Saturday.

Royal Visit: While celebrities were scattered throughout Churchill Downs, the most attention was given to Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip.

Wearing a lime green coat, silk dress and a lime green hat, the queen arrived a little more than two hours before the race and was taken to a private suite.

While a royal visit to the Derby was rare, it wasn't the first. The queen's sister, Princess Margaret, attended the race in 1974.

For fans that wouldn't get the chance to meet the queen, there was an alternative. An impersonator of Queen Elizabeth II -- who posed with a look-alike of Colonel Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken -- drew crowds in the paddock area.

Barbaro Remembered: Before the start of the Kentucky Derby, fans remembered last year's winner, Barbaro, who was euthanized in January. On-lookers cheered as a replay of the colt's 6 1/2 length victory was shown at Churchill Downs, and his owners were later honored in the winner's circle.

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