Shug McGaughey Further Enhances Resume with Orb's Kentucky Derby Win

There's a monkey wandering the streets of Churchill Downs Saturday night, head on a swivel, searching in desperate need of a place to stay. He's been displaced from his longtime mode of residence. His host body, the man to whom he's played the parasite, has finally managed to extricate him.

After nearly 30 years on the back of Shug McGaughey, this monkey is no longer welcome.

There was something different in the gait of Shug McGaughey all week long. You could tell he thought—nay (neigh), knew—he was training a special horse. Ignominious for being a jittery, nervous wreck in the days leading up to a big race, McGaughey was congenial and talkative all week long.

"I have not been like this in a long time, maybe ever, really." Shug disclosed to Yahoo! Sports' Pat Forde. "I've enjoyed doing this as much as I have in a long, long time."

It's not hard to figure why. His work was already the thing of legend, but with Orb, he surpassed even his own lofty standard. The horse wasn't always considered a Triple Crown contender, but under McGaughey's deft tutelage, that's precisely what he's become: The favorite/winner of the Kentucky Derby, and the sure-to-be favorite at the Preakness whenever it arrives.

The significance of this win cannot be overstated—both personally and professionally. McGaughey was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky; he attended his first Derby as a teenager in 1967, the recipient of a spare ticket from a neighbor. He was raised around this race, in a way those of us outside the immediate Kentucky area can never understand. Especially for a kid already interested by equestrians.

That this was the final hurdle, or at least one of the final hurdles, remaining for him to clear must have taken a massive toll on McGaughey's person. And after the win, you could cut the emotion with a knife. Per Jerry Bossert of the New York Daily News, he reacted to the win as such:

“It means everything to me,” McGaughey said trying to hold back the tears. “I always dreamed of this day and it finally came.”

From a professional point of view, the magnificent work he's done with Orb just adds to an already Hall of Fame resume. But it adds in a specific, all-important way. Orb's wasn't just the first Kentucky Derby win in Shug's illustrious career; it was merely the second time he's won a race in the Triple Crown. And his sole triumph, a 1989 Belmont Stakes victory with Easy Goer, came nearly 25 years before this one.

Now that he's conquered the Derby, there's only one palpable hole on McHaughey's curricula vitae: The Preakness. He'll take Orb to Pimlico on May 18 with a chance to fill that void, adding a career Triple Crown to his name and further entrenching himself in thoroughbred history.

And if he and Orb keep performing at this particular level, there's a chance the history-making won't stop there.

*Here's how the Kentucky Derby finished up from top to bottom:

Place	Horse	Odds
1	Orb	5-1
2	Golden Soul	34-1
3	Revolutionary	6-1
4	Normandy Invasion	9-1
5	Mylute	15-1
6	Oxbow	24-1
7	Lines of Battle	31-1
8	Will Take Charge	36-1
9	Charming Kitten	33-1
10	Giant Finish	38-1
11	Overanalyze	16-1
12	Palace Malice	23-1
13	Java's War	21-1
14	Verrazano	8-1
15	Itsmyluckyday	9-1
16	Frac Daddy	25-1
17	Goldencents	7-1
18	Vyjack	18-1
19	Falling Sky	39-1