Roughly three decades ago, Alexis Barba walked onto the track at Golden Gate Fields. Having spent a lifetime around saddle and show horses, she experienced a defining moment. “I knew immediately that I could never lose interest in a racehorse.”
In the years that followed, Barba walked, galloped, and groomed thoroughbred racehorses. She worked as an assistant to the late trainer, Eddie Gregson, who won the 1982 Kentucky Derby with the horse, Gato Del Sol. When Gregson died in 2000, Barba began training on her own.
Barba currently has a six-horse barn at Hollywood Park. However, this is no small operation. Of the six horses in the barn, two of the horses are currently on the trail to the Kentucky Derby.
Make Music for Me was the first horse to qualify in Barba’s barn for the Derby. In his two-year-old career, Make Music for Me placed in three of four graded stakes races – ranking him twelfth in earnings at $215,000.
Despite the excitement of having Making Music for Me on the Derby trail, Barba remained dedicated to her remaining horses. Alphie’s Bet, the stablemate of Make Music for Me, was entering his three-year old season. At the time he made his 2010 debut, Alphie’s Bet had one second-place finish as a two-year-old to the highly-regarded Derby hopeful, Caracortado.
After Alphie’s Bet finished second in December, Rider Alex Solis reportedly told Barba, “I think he can run all day… He’s big, strong, and he’ll run any distance.”
In his 2010 debut as a three-year-old, Alphie’s Bet demonstrated his capacity to win. On January 15, he broke his maiden at Santa Anita in an electrifying performance. After running last throughout the majority of the race, he went wide on the final turn and rallied in the stretch to capture breathtaking victory.
On March 6, Barba raced both horses at Santa Anita. In the sixth race, Make Music for Me clinched his first career victory in the Pasadena Stakes. Roughly forty minutes later, Alphie’s Bet won the Sham Stakes in a 2-1/4 length victory.
By winning the Sham Stakes, Alphie’s Bet had just captured enough graded earnings to qualify for the Kentucky Derby. As she held a bouquet of red-and-white flowers in the winner’s circle, Barba remarked, “Isn’t it amazing?”
It certainly is.
Recently, Barba graciously agreed to provide an interview about her experiences as a trainer and her Kentucky Derby prospects. I remain grateful for her kindness in taking the time to answer my questions.
JW: What initially attracted you to the sport of horse racing?
AB: I acquired a Thoroughbred Stallion that I was going to make into a show horse. I was so curious about his pedigree, I began exploring Thoroughbred lines.
As fate will have it, I acquired a Thoroughbred yearling filly shortly after that. I wanted to try to race her, but I didn’t have the means, so I thought I could work at the track. I went to Golden Gate Fields in Albany, CA, which was close to my childhood home, in the Oakland Hills.
Being anxious and curious, I now had a stallion and a filly. So guess what I did? Yes, I bred them.
The product of that mating was a filly named Lepta (Greek for Money). Since her mom didn’t make it to the track, I was going to be sure the daughter did. To make a long story short, Lepta won her first start at Caliente Race Track in Mexico. Her mother, French Dish, I believe went on to have 16 or 17 foals, three of which were winners at Santa Anita and one a stakes horse named Ondarty.
JW: How did you learn how to train racehorses?
AB: As you can see by my breeding program, I had a lot of practice with my own horses. I also had a lot of help along the way with some of the trainers, such as Tommy Doyle and Eddie Gregson, as well as anyone else who would give me information.
JW: What are some valuable lessons that you have learned about training racehorses during your career?
AB: Be patient, it all goes at a snail’s pace.
JW: What does your average weekly schedule look like as a trainer?
AB: Mostly just going to the track every morning. Then, to keep some kind of normalcy, I try to meet with friends at least once a week to gossip and tell horse stories.
JW: Has it been a dream of yours to race a horse in the Kentucky Derby?
AB: I wouldn’t say a dream, because most of the time you are just trying to get a productive horse. Of course, everyone wants stake horses, so when you are buying, you are always looking for good quality that meets that criteria.
JW: In the history of the Kentucky Derby, a female trainer has never won the race. How do you feel about your potential to make history?
AB: I’m not thinking about that. Let’s just run in the race first.
JW: What do you think are the strengths and unique qualities of Make Music for Me?
AB: He is a smallish horse with a huge stride and good appetite.
JW: What is the next race for Make Music for Me?
AB: The Toyota Blue Grass Stakes.
JW: Was it a surprise to you when Alphie’s Bet qualified for the Kentucky Derby after winning the Sham Stakes?
AB: No. I always told the owners that we had a really nice horse on our hands.
JW: What do you think are the strengths and unique qualities of Alphie’s Bet?
AB: He has a great turn of foot. To look at him, you wouldn’t think that he would have that.
JW: What is the next race for Alphie’s Bet?
AB: The Santa Anita Derby.
JW: Rider Alex Solis has been quoted as saying in the press that Alphie’s Bet reminds him of Candi’s Gold, the grandfather of Alphie’s Bet. Having worked with Candi’s Gold under your former boss, Eddie Gregson, do you see any similarities between the two horses?
AB: Yes. He looks like him and he has some of the same ‘Lookey-Loo’ quirks.
JW: What do you love about the sport of horse racing?
AB: Everything. Lots of characters around the track - Human and Equine. But at times it can be grueling. Actually, a lot of the time. You would have to live it to understand it.
When they are in the gate, anything can happen!
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