LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Something so right and so good happened yesterday in the 132^nd Kentucky Derby that even the cynics in the crowd of 157,536 at Churchill Downs had to raise their mint julep glasses and lift their voices in lusty tribute to an American hero and his remarkable horse.

            Taking the lead at the top of the stretch, Barbaro drew off for a 6 ½-length victory over Bluegrass Cat that made him only the sixth unbeaten colt to win the world’s most popular thoroughbred horse race.

            It was the ride of a lifetime for jockey Edgar Prado, who won his first Derby, and the climax of an amazing day for Roy and Gretchen Jackson of West Grove, Pa., the breeders and owners of Barbaro who earlier in the day won the English 2000 Guineas with George Washington, another horse they bred.

            But mostly it was a fitting reward for trainer Michael Matz.

            It was almost 17 years ago that Michael Matz, then in the midst of show-horse career that earned him a spot on two U.S. Olympic Equestrian teams, not only survived one of the most horrific airplane crashes in American history, but helped a couple of children to safety.

            Yesterday those children, now grown, were with Matz as he watched Barbaro gallop his way into the history book. The winning time for the mile and a quarter was 2:01 36.

            “I just couldn’t be more pleased,” said Matz. “My only thought was, ‘Just don’t fall down.’”

            Cause to Believe, who won the California Derby at Golden Gate Fields for Bay Area training icon Jerry Hollendorfer and perennial leading jockey Russell Baze, finished 13^th in the 20-horse field.

            “We got shuffled back so badly and pushed so far down inside that we never really got a chance to run,” Hollendorfer said. “But that’s not to say we were going to beat Barbaro today. He just might go on a be a very special horse.”

            The Derby was only the sixth career race for Barbaro, and it was his first start since his victory in the Florida Derby on April 1. His victory made him the first horse since Needles in 1956 to win the Derby off a five-week layoff.

            In addition, his margin of victory was the Derby’s largest since Assault began his 1946 Triple Crown sweep with an eight-length win. As fate would have it, Assault was bred and owned by the King Ranch of Texas – and Matz’s wife, the former D.D. Alexander, is the heiress to the King Ranch fortune and legacy.

            In fact, D.D. was with Matz on July 19, 1989. Then engaged, they were returning from judging a horse show in Hawaii, but missed their connection to Philadelphia in Denver. The next flights were leaving 20 minutes apart, and, says Matz, “we picked the wrong one.”

            So did Jody, Melissa and Travis Roth, who were forced to get on United Airlines Flight 232 because their flight was overbooked. They were traveling unaccompanied by their parents, Done and Leslie Roth of Denver.

            Over Iowa, the DC-10’s engine blew up and it crashed into a cornfield near Sioux City, killing 111. The 185 survivors included Matz, Alexander, and the three Roth children. After the crash, Matz led Travis and Melissa through a hole in the fuselage to safety. Then he went back inside and rescued a crying baby from an overhead bin.

            Over the years, the Roth family has kept in touch with Michael and D.D. They were delighted when he was named to carry the U.S. flag in the closing ceremonies for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. When Matz retired from riding show horses, they attended a ceremony in his honor in his hometown of Redding, Pa.

            Turning to thoroughbred training six years, ago, Matz made his first national impact when he won the 2004 Arlington with Kickin Kris. When the Jackson’s sent him Barbaro, he initially thought the colt’s high-stepping gait would suit him perfectly for grass racing.

            He won his first three on the turf, so Matz decided to see what he could do on the dirt. On Feb. 4, he won the Holy Bull Stakes on a sloppy track at Gulfstream Park. Then came his gutty half-length victory in the Florida Derby. Immediately afterward, Matz surprised the Derby historians by announcing he would train the colt up to the Derby.

The race unfolded beautifully for Prado and Barbaro. As expected, Keyed Entry and Sinister Minister broke sharply from the gate and engaged in a suicidal duel for the lead. Barbaro settled comfortably behind the pace-setters and was never worse than fourth at any point in the race. This enabled him to avoid the traps and traffic that compromised the chances of Brother Derek, Bob and John, Cause to Believe and others.

When Prado asked him in the turn for home, Barbaro was fresh and full of himself. He effortlessly moved to the lead and began pulling away as the field straightened out and headed down the long Churchill Downs stretch. Prado never had to touch him with his whip. The only question is the last eighth of a mile was the margin of his magnificence.

"He stumbled a little bit coming out of the gate," said Prado, "but he recovered right away. When I turned him loose, he took off like a rocket. I never had a doubt in this horse. Mr. Matz did a super job."

Prado dedicated the victory to his mother, who died in his native Peru in January while awaiting a visa to come to the United States for treatment. Had it not been for the bureaucratic red tape, Prado said, the better treatment she would have received here might have kept her alive long enough to see her son’s crowning glory.

It was the only note of sadness on a day when a hero was rewarded. In the weeks leading up to the Kentucky Derby, Matz was reluctant to talk about United flight 232. That’s the way it is with people who have seen, and survived, death and devastation.

“That happened a long time ago,” he told Jennie Rees of The Louisville Courier-Journal. “We just have to give thanks that both my wife and I got out and that we were able to save those kids.”

            He may not go down in history as the greatest trainer to win the Derby. But there’s no argument about this: He’s the most deserving.