'He's the best in the country' - Baffert hails McKinzie after Whitney triumph

Bob Baffert labelled McKinzie "the best horse in the country" after the son of Street Sense provided him with a poignant first win in the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga.

The odds-on favourite – named after Baffert's friend the late Brad McKinzie – beat Yoshida by a length and three-quarters to register a fourth Grade 1 success. European raider Thunder Snow was a non-runner due to a temperature.

"He's getting better and better. To me, he's the best horse in the country," Baffert told the Bloodhorse.

The trainer has been responsible for some outstanding horses, including Triple Crown winners American Pharoah and Justify, but paid a hefty compliment to McKinzie when saying he ranked alongside his greats.

He added: "I was nervous today. I've been nervous because I knew down deep he could win the race. I was going to be very disappointed if he didn't win. I've had really good horses, and he's ranked right up there with them. I was going to be just totally shocked if he didn't win today, but the way he did it was really impressive."

Touching on why the win was so important, Baffert said: "I was thinking about Brad McKinzie and how we loved him.

"I started choking up. It was very emotional for me. I know his mother's watching, all his friends are watching. McKinzie will always be [in the record books] at Saratoga there with the best, and that's important.

"I'm just glad that this horse is as good as he is, because we named him at Brad's funeral."

McKinzie raced prominently under Mike Smith and always looked in control after hitting the front in the straight.

"That was incredible. He ran big," said Smith. "There were some good horses in there so he had to run, but he ran. He had to work at it, but he got away from them and the best part of it was at the end of the race. That gives me confidence going a mile and a quarter down the road."

McKinzie is a 12-1 shot for the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita on November 2.

Members can read the latest exclusive interviews, news analysis and comment available from 6pm daily on racingpost.com