The five-year-old American-bred bay horse Barnaby returned from a six-month absence to win the Lloyd Lindbergh "Lindy" Delapenha Memorial Trophy feature race on Sunday, February 8, 2026. The victory followed a lengthy recovery period for the horse, a journey that left trainer Anthony "Baba" Nunes visibly moved as his trainee crossed the finish line.
"I am emotional because we almost lost him six months ago. Just to have him make it back was a win for me,” Nunes said.
Under a ride from champion jockey Raddesh “Sneaky Fox” Roman, Barnaby secured the win by three-quarters of a length over stablemate Neo Star in the one-mile (1,600m) Overnight Allowance contest. Rainsville followed in third.
Nunes emphasized that the horse's return to health was the primary goal. "It wasn't about winning or losing for Barnaby, it was that he had made it back to the races," Nunes said. "It was a long road and the team really did a good job to get him back. Neo Star is owned by another owner in my barn as well Mr Kerr and so if he had won it would have been great also."
During the early stages, Barnaby maintained fifth position while Neo Star (Javaniel Patterson) and Strike Smart (Emelio McLean) contested the lead. Roman waited until the final stretch to ask for an effort, and Barnaby responded to take the lead in the closing stages. The race was completed in a final time of 1:39.2, following splits of 25.0, 49.0, 1:14.1, and 1:26.2.
Roman noted that while the trip was not entirely smooth, the horse showed significant determination. "To the calibre of horse, he is, I know that he is a luger and so I knew he could win easier. But I had a rough trip, had to pull him at some point and cut back on his stride, and he took a while to develop,” Roman said.
Despite the mid-race interference, the jockey remained confident in the horse's ability to close. "I wasn’t worried at any point during the race," he said. "It was a very good performance because when I straightened up and I asked him to run, he gave me everything," Roman shared.
