Each day leading up to the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby, “The Pressbox’s” Publisher and Editor, Gene McLean, will be on the backside of Churchill Downs. We will be talking to some of the major players in the game’s best-ever “Daily Double,” (KY Oaks — KY Derby), and we will be posting some audio interviews on the site. Take a listen to today’s interviews with both W. Bret Calhoun, the trainer of By My Standards, and Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey. They fill us in on their respective Derby hopefuls. We also got a few minutes with the entertaining Bob Baffert, and the personable Michael Trombetta. Got a few more photos. And, we will be making some observations, along the way. Here’s a look at our daily diary on Sunday, April 28:

Shug McGaughey:

(Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey at his barn on the Churchill Downs backside. He will saddle Code of Honor in Saturday’s 145th edition of the Kentucky Derby / Photo by Gene McLean)

Sunday was no day of rest at Churchill Downs.

Not for some of the key contenders for this year’s Kentucky Derby. They still had work to do. They still had a time card to punch. They still had a breeze over the track scheduled. A breeze that was to be no easy breeze.

Not for some of the trainers, either. The bird may be the one to get the worm, but with the biggest race in the world just six days away now, it is the trainer; the primary caregiver; the person in charge that was worrying and worming about. After all, there is nothing routine when it comes to the Kentucky Derby, or in the final preparations. Absolutely nothing.

And, certainly not for the exercise riders, either. Before they get the leg up, they get a full set of instructions. They are told what exercise time to shoot for; where on the track to break from a strong gallop into a full run; where to pick up their company and work mate; where to leave their company and work mate; where to pick up the laundry for Saturday; where to drop off the keys to the car. And, if that isn’t confusing enough, they are fitted with a walkie-talkie and an ear piece. Just in case all of those instructions and details were to change. On the fly.

In fact, Sunday was a day for the young, middle-aged, and elderly. And, surely a day of the restless.

“I think you always lay awake and worry a bit until you can get that last major work in and completed,” said Shug McGaughey on Sunday morning, a couple of hours after his Code of Honor punched his last ticket for this Saturday’s 145th Kentucky Derby. “These are the days that your nerves kick it into overdrive just a bit.”

By the way, Code of Honor kicked it into overdrive just a little bit on Sunday, too.

The Fountain of Youth winner was truly nothing short of magnificent in his early morning move, covering a half mile in a very brisk :46.80 over the fast dirt track. That was the second fastest time out of 76 horses to breeze that distance on Sunday.

And, that was enough to please his trainer. Make him smile, a bit. And, breathe just a bit easier.

“I think the track was pretty quick. It was right after they harrowed, and we got a little rain storm last night. So, I think the track was a little quick. But he did it the right way. So, I’m not disappointed by any means.

“I wanted to get a work into him over this track. We came over (from Keeneland) on Wednesday. He had three days of galloping over it. Then we worked today. It’s far enough out, where we just try to keep him happy between now and Saturday and just go from there. Kind of get his mind on what he’s doing. In his races, he’s very laid back. He’s kind of a mid-pack, one-run kind of a horse. We’re pretty much right on target.”

You can listen to the full interview on our site later this afternoon. It is entertaining. It is enlightening. It is informative. It it typical Shug McGaughey.

Shug, you see, never dodges a question. Even some that are posed by interviewers who are a little less familiar with the industry and the sport. Even when some of the questions are a little, let’s say, “interesting,” to say the least.

Shug just shrugs it off and goes on. Polite. Courteous. Professional. Gentlemanly.

That is just the way the man was raised just down the road in Lexington, Ky. And, that is just the way the man developed and still is today. Polite. Courteous. Professional. Gentlemanly. And, a damn good horse trainer, on top of it.

He was born to the name of Claude R. McGaughey III on Jan. 6, 1951. It didn’t take long, though, before he was known as “Shug.” Often his nickname is mispronounced. Some call him “Shug” — as it rhymes with “Rug.”

Wrong.

Instead, it should be pronounced “Shoog.” That’s because “Shug” was the nickname bestowed on the young boy by his mother. And, it was short for “Shugums.”

But if you think that Shug McGaughey is going to correct you and tell you the right way to pronounce his name?

Wrong.

He just keeps keeping on.

I met Shug McGaughey back in the late 1980s. He ran a public stable back then, and he was often one of the quite leaders on a backside of malcontents. One of his biggest clients and customers was John Ed Anthony, and Loblolly Stables, from Arkansas. Not an easy guy to train for, and not an easy guy to love.

Yet, Shug McGaughey made the most of it. In his own way. In his own style and grace. Got the man and the stable — who had really good horses like Cox’s Ridge, Temperance Hill, Prairie Bayou, and many others — into the Kentucky Derby in 1984. And, Shug nearly got them to the top of the top.

In 1984, Shug made it to the KY Derby with his first two Derby contenders for Loblolly and Anthony.

There was the tender-footed Vanlandingham — who had set the track record in winning the Rebel Handicap. In the Derby, though, the son of Cox’s Ridge fractured a pastern in his right fore, and finished 16th.

There was the strong-minded, deep-closing Pine Circle — who ran 6th in the Derby, 5th in the Preakness, and then second to KY Derby winner Swale in the Belmont Stakes.

It was McGaughey’s first taste of Derby Fever. He never got over it.

“You never know. I ran two horses for Loblolly in it and I got a little taste of it,” McGaughey said. “I found out enough to know that I wanted to do it again. I don’t think I ever really questioned whether or not I would have a chance to run in it again, but when you do run it you want to have a chance to win.”

McGaughey got those chances. With the help of a few great friends — like Churchill Downs’ former Chairman of the Board Warner Jones — McGaughey was hand-selected to become the in-house, private trainer for the powerful stable of Ogden Phipps. One of the most prestigious jobs in the entire Thoroughbred industry.

It was a big job, to be sure.

But both Jones and Phipps had the right man for it.

Shug McGaughey’s talent was big enough to handle it.

In 1988, he was back in Louisville and the KY Derby with Seeking the Gold. Ran 7th that year.

The next year, he returned with the great Easy Goer and Awe Inspiring. He ran second and third, respectively, to the great Sunday Silence.

In 2002, he was back again with Saarland. Ran 10th that year.

It took 11 years for Shug to get back. Eleven long years. But in 2013, he came to Louisville with Orb. He left with his first Kentucky Derby garland of roses.

Now, in 2019, McGaughey is back once more. And, he will try to win the “Run for the Roses” for William Stamps Farish — the former Ambassador to Great Britain and the patriarch of Lane’s End Farm in Versailles — with Code of Honor. This will be the first time that Ambassador Farish has had his own horse — 100% his — in the world’s most prestigious race.

“It would mean a lot (to win the KY Derby for Ambassador Farish),” McGaughey said. “He’s been very good to me. His mentor, Warner Jones, was awfully good to me when I was first starting trainer. He has always sent me a horse or two, Mr. Farish has. He was a big part of Churchill for 10 to 12 years. He’s excited. There was never any pressure to run in the Kentucky Derby, but deep down I knew that he would like to if we thought we had a chance. Just as it was exciting for me (to win the Derby) for the Phipps and the Janeys, it would be very exciting for him, too.”

Any resemblance to Orb?

“Not really. This horse (Code of Honor) is kinda small, efficient sort of a horse. Orb was a workman’s like horse. I really can’t compare them that much,” he said.

But getting back to his old stomping ground this year has not been an easy road. After coming to Louisville for last November’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Code of Honor got sick. On the day of the race, he was scratched. A few weeks later, before the Remsen Stakes in New York, Code of Honor was left in the barn again.

“Lot of things didn’t happen right,” said McGaughey. “It has gone the right way the last month, or five weeks or so. I am pleased with that. Got him to Florida and he threw in a clunker down there. I had to change his pattern a little bit, and that was a bit different, not knowing exactly if that was going to work or not work. It did work.

“We got to the Florida Derby and kinda came up a funny race. A nice horse got on an easy lead and that took us out of our game plan. I thought he ran pretty well to be third. Now, we have all systems go our way. Hopefully, that will be a plus.”

What is a plus is that Code of Honor has one of the best “corner men” in the biggest fight in town. Come Saturday, Code of Honor has a man that has been there. Done that. And, knows how to come out a winner. On Derby Day, Code of Honor has one of the best to walk over with him and get him ready.

One of the best. As in ever.

Yet…

Let me explain why — just a bit more. Let me tell you a bit more about the man that is Shug McGaughey.

Before I left Shug and his barn on Sunday, I had one more thing to chat with him about. The recorder turned off, I turned to him and said that I wanted to thank him so much for attending the wake for our mutual friend Dave Bunnell — who left this world way too soon at the age of 65 in April of 2013. And, just a month before his long-time, childhood friend Shug McGaughey won his first Kentucky Derby.

As soon as he heard Dave’s name spoken, Shug leaned in and said:

“Dave Bunnell is one of the greatest guys that God ever put on this Earth,” Shug said, without hesitation or a hiccup.

For the next 15 minutes we stood and chatted. About Dave Bunnell.

The first event I ever covered for “The Lexington Herald-Leader” was a wrestling tournament in 1978 at Tates Creek High School in Lexington. Dave Bunnell was the wrestling coach back then. A few months later, after I was promoted to cover golf, I got to see Dave Bunnell win the Lexington City Championship and cover his victory in the prestigious Braemar. Dave and his father were the only father-son team to ever do that. Over the years, I got to know Dave very, very well. And, we became very, very good friends.

But it was just the tip of the iceberg.

Little did Dave or I know back in the winter of 1978 — at the time of that wrestling match — that I would later have a son, Brad, and Dave would later have a daughter, Kate. They didn’t come along until 1984 and 1985.

And, little did Dave or I know that the two of them would ever meet. Much less fall in love. And, have two of the greatest grandsons that either Dave or I could imagine in both Ford and Jack.

Shug, on the other hand, grew up with Dave Bunnell. Fast friends. Golf buddies. Shug laughed when he told the story of how he lost the Lexington Country Club championship on the final day to Dave Bunnell.

“Anybody else, and I would have been steaming mad,” Shug said with a smile. “But I loved that guy. Loved him.”

Shug talked about how his sons learned to play golf under the Larry Gilbert-Dave Bunnell Foundation, and about how much he loved going to dinner where Kate was a waitress. He talked about Dave Bunnell teaching school and driver’s education classes, and how he was a coach that every kid loved to have.

When we finally were about to shake hands and bid our farewell, Shug McGaughey grabbed my hand and looked me in the eye.

“I’m glad you brought this up today,” he said. “Two things made my day. Code of Honor working good and talking about Dave Bunnell.”

Bob Baffert:

(It doesn’t take long after a Bob Baffert sighting for a impromptu press conference to break out. One did early Sunday morning after Improbable got his last major work for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby / Photos by Gene McLean)

Another horse to light up the conversation on Sunday morning was Improbable, one of three major contenders for the 145th version of the Kentucky Derby from the barn of Team Baffert. He toured the busy Churchill Downs oval — with Baffert watching from the grandstand. The City Zip colt zipped through 5 furlongs in 1:00.60. That was the 9th best time out of 65 to go the distance.

Most of all, though, it was exactly what the boss wanted.

“I thought it was great,” said Baffert, after he arrived back at the barn. “He (Improbable) loves it here. He likes the track. He seems to just skip over it very nicely. They have been telling me how good he has been doing and how he is really feeling it. I got to see it today. It was good.”

According to Baffert, his other two Derby candidates — Game Winner and Roadster — will just jog and gallop up until Saturday’s prime event.

“They just jogged today. Not much you can tell from that. Game Winner is just tough. He’s like a fullback. He just kind of drops his head and plugs away. Roadster a bit lighter and smaller. But he has a lot of talent, too. They are all three very different. They have their own styles and quirks, but they are all talented. It’s fun to bring three of them in here with a chance.”

Big chances.

Baffert’s Quote of the Day:

When asked who he was most afraid of in this year’s Derby field, Baffert — a master of glib — responded with:

“All of them. They are all dangerous. What do you think I’m going to say? I’m not here to make them mad,” Baffert immediately responded.

And, then he gave a clue:

“You have to respect Omaha Beach and what he has done. He really looks like he is doing well. And, that horse of Bret Calhoun’s (By My Standards) caught my attention today. He’s the one everyone has been talking about. But there are a lot of them in there. Aren’t there?”

Michael Trombetta:

(Trainer Michael Trombetta, one of the most likable and personable people you will ever find on the racetrack, had an anxious moment or two on Sunday morning. He was on the front side and watching his talented colt Win Win Win gear up for his last work for the KY Derby on Saturday, when he noticed that his colt and workmate were about to be joined by the talented team of Tacitus and Country House, from the Bill Mott barn. It turned into a pre-Derby throw down, of sorts / Photos by Gene McLean)

All’s well that ends well, right?

Well, don’t tell Michael Trombetta’s stomach that.

Early on Sunday morning, he was standing and watching what was to be his colt’s final tuneup for this Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, when he noticed a couple of horses really tuning it up behind his duo of Win Win Win and his workmate.

Quickly, Trombetta snatched his walkie-talkie and told exercise rider Mel Williams, who was on the work mate, that she and the horses had better hurry up or they were about to have some serious company.

Too late.

(Win Win Win, on the outside, was encountered by Tacitus, middle, and Country House, rail in an impromptu work-race. Win Win Win’s regular workmate? The one left in the Churchill dust / Photo by Holly M. Smith)

Serious company came.

The Bill Mott-trained team of Tacitus, the winner of the Wood Memorial, and Country House, the third-place finisher in the Arkansas Derby, soon joined the side of Win Win Win and we had ourselves a sideshow that nobody thought was coming and a little Derby preview.

The three of them locked up and hunkered down. The work mate? Well, he fell a bit off the pace and let the others go about their serious business.

When it was done, Country House was clocked going 5 furlongs in 1:00 flat. Tacitus, the beautiful gray teammate, was head-bobbing for the same time.

And, Win Win Win won the race that wasn’t. He was clocked going 4 furlongs in :47.60, which was the 4th best time out of 76 at that distance.

“I can’t repeat what I said at the time,” said Trombetta, when he arrived back at the barn area and was assured that his colt was doing well. “I mean, it all turned out OK, I think. The riders really did a good job of maintaining control and keeping things together. But it could have been an issue.

“I saw those other two coming up quickly, and I radioed by assistant (Mel) and told her that they had better get it going. But it was too late. It didn’t take them long to all be right together. A little harried there for awhile.

“But I feel much better now. Whew.”

Jockey Julian Pimentel — who rode Win Win Win to victory in the Pasco Stakes at Tampa Bay earlier this year and will be reunited with the colt for this year’s Derby — was in the saddle and managed to do damage control on the spot. In his first ever trip to Louisville. And, Churchill Downs.

(We will have more from Julian Pimentel tomorrow. We have an audio interview about his first Kentucky Derby mount.)

Here is some of my most favorite photos of the day:

By My Standards:

(By My Standards coming off the Churchill Downs’ track and headed back to W. Bret Calhoun’s barn. Hope you caught our audio interview with the trainer today. What a great guy. / Photos by Gene McLean)

“Magic:”

(Several children visiting the backside had a “magical” time visiting with Trainer Buff Bradley’s pony “Magic.” What a friendly guy. Better than a War-Mart greeter. / Photos by Gene McLean)