Trainer of top Derby contender Lawyer Ron handles it all

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Lawyer Ron was getting a sponge bath, the early morning sunlight glistening off his wet, chestnut coat. On the other side of the barn, the man he is named after was closing a deal to sell the colt, one of the Kentucky Derby favorites.\nBusiness as usual for the four-legged Lawyer Ron.\nBusiness as usual for the two-legged version, Ron Bamberger.\nAs executor for the estate of Jim Hines, which owns Lawyer Ron, Bamberger sold an interest in the colt Thursday. The sale comes two days before Lawyer Ron attempts to win the one race Hines longed to compete in.\nAsked if he thought the horse knew what was up, trainer Bob Holthus said, "He don't know anything about it." Then he added, "And I'm not going to tell him, either."\nAs if the tale of Lawyer Ron wasn't already fraught with numerous story lines, his 71-year-old trainer is fighting the flu this week, a year after being hospitalized with congestive heart failure.\nOn Saturday, Holthus will take his best shot at winning with a pupil on a six-race winning tear. The Arkansas Derby winner is the 4-1 co-second favorite in a packed field of 20 3-year-olds.\n"This is probably the best chance I have ever had or ever will have," Holthus said. "So it would be a great thrill fulfilling what has been a long career."\nHolthus' fifth and most talented Derby horse came to him courtesy of Hines, a wealthy businessman who owned hundreds of thoroughbreds when he died Feb 21 of an apparent accidental drowning in the indoor swimming pool at his home. He was 69.\nHines' death came four days before jockey John McKee guided Lawyer Ron to victory in the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park, which was followed by wins in the Rebel Stakes and the Arkansas Derby.\n"Mr. Hines dreamed all his life of breeding a horse and running it in the Kentucky Derby," McKee said. "It seems like everyone is holding on to it for Mr. Hines and cherishing the moment."\nNow there are more folks with a piece of Lawyer Ron, a son of Langfuhr who has earned $1,220,008 from seven victories in 14 starts. He's 7-for-7 on dirt tracks; 0-for-7 on turf and Polytrack.\nBamberger would not give details, but said an "interest" in Lawyer Ron had been sold to Audrey Haisfield, who owns Stonewall Stallions near Versailles, Ky.\nPart of the deal calls for Lawyer Ron to run in the Derby in the blue and white silks of Hines Farm.\n"I've trained 12-13 years for Hines and he was a really good guy," Holthus said. "He really knew what he wanted. He's finally got it and unfortunately he's not around to enjoy it."\nThe sale of a Derby-bound horse is far from unprecedented, but it's rare when one of the favorites is involved so close to the race date.\nIn 2002, War Emblem was purchased for $900,000 less than four weeks before the Derby, and then won the race at 20-1 odds for trainer Bob Baffert.\n"They're all worth more at this moment then ever," Baffert said. "Saturday at 6:10 p.m., most of these horses are going to be a lot less."\nThrough it all, Holthus has persevered. He's had plenty of practice.\nIn 1952, when Hill Gail was winning the Derby, an 18-year-old from Nebraska took out his trainer's license. Holthus, the son of a trainer, won his first race that year with a filly named Colleen, and showed up at Oaklawn Park the next winter. He hasn't left, winning 11 training titles along the way, and he's still going strong -- this will be his third straight Derby starter.\nLast year, Greater Good was 13th; the year before Pro Prado finished 13th, too.\n"The last two years I had 30-1 shots and people came by to be nice," Holthus said.\nThis week, his barn is crowded every morning with visitors, from the media to the hundreds of fans allowed to wander the Churchill Downs backstretch.\nEven O.J. Simpson made the rounds Thursday. His pick? Lawyer Ron. "I love lawyers, I know all about lawyers," he said, smiling.