"Stamina? You talkin' about pedigree? You talkin' to me? You talkin' about my horse?"

John Toffan's response was nowhere near that extreme, but his voice rose a bit after the moderator of a conference call suggested that Toffan and the rest of Came Home's connections had doubts about their colt's ability to get 1 1/4 miles on the first Saturday in May.

"I don't recall ever saying anything about his pedigree or about him not getting the distance," Toffan said Tuesday. "As far as I'm concerned, I'm not particularly worried about his pedigree. There are a lot of self-appointed pedigree experts . . . You look at a lot of these horses, and it just doesn't work. You can't just look at a pedigree and say, 'This guy is going to be a sprinter.'

"I don't know how many of these horses want to go a mile and a quarter. I don't think he'll have any trouble getting a mile and an eighth, and after that we'll just see what happens."

Came Home had no problems last month in his first attempt to go two turns, when he cruised to a 3-length win at a mile in the Grade II San Rafael Stakes at Santa Anita. He'll enter more unknown territory there Saturday in the 9-furlong Santa Anita Derby (ESPN, 5 p.m. ET).

Besides his speed-slanted pedigree and an off day last fall in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, there's nothing to knock about the son of Gone West and the Clever Trick mare Nice Assay. Came Home is 2-for-2 this year and 5-for-6 lifetime, with an average winning margin of more than 4 lengths. If his sire were A.P. Indy or Unbridled, there would be no room on Came Home's bandwagon.

It's easy to forgive his dud in the Juvenile, which he entered off an illness-induced layoff of eight weeks. On a day when outside closers had the edge, Came Home battled on the lead until the stretch before backing up to seventh. "I think it's a throwout race," Toffan said, which makes sense, especially in light of his two races this winter.

Patrick Biancone trains the brilliant Mayakovsky, who looks like Came Home's main rival in the Santa Anita Derby. Mayakovsky couldn't handle him Sept. 1 in the Grade I Hopeful at Saratoga, and it would be no surprise if that happened again. Biancone has great respect for Came Home, who is likely to be stalking pacesetter Mayakovsky on Saturday.

"I think what he has done so far is quite exceptional." Biancone said last month. "[Except for the Juvenile], he looks like a monster . . . And I think Came Home is really the horse for the time being. He would be my first pick today if the Derby were tomorrow.

"This year he gallops in two races, winning easily in great times. If it was not for the fact that people think he may not stay, he should be the 2-to-5 favorite at this stage."

Toffan and his longtime partner, Trudy McCaffery, bred Came Home and own him with Will Farish and John B. Goodman. Toffan and McCaffery and their trainer, Paco Gonzalez, have been through the Triple Crown grind with Mane Minister in 1991 and with Free House six years later.

Although neither made it to the winner's circle, each had remarkable success. Mane Minister produced a unique triple, finishing third in the Derby, Preakness and the Belmont. Free House also ran third in the Derby and the Belmont and was second by a head to Silver Charm in a three-horse photo with Captain Bodgit in the Preakness.

Maybe this is the spring when Toffan, McCaffery and Gonzalez finally will get lucky. Nobody thought Free House, a California-bred son of the obscure sire Smokester, would get the classic distances, either. Came Home could be a freak with the class to outrun his pedigree. In a year with no clear-cut leader of the pack, he could be the one.

"He's got a really good head on him," Toffan said. "He's a real pro. At this point, [the Derby] is wide-open. There's no outstanding horse, unlike in recent years. I think a horse could come out of the blue to do it."

If Came Home gives his typically excellent effort Saturday, he'll get his chance.

"He definitely has to run good for us to be going," Toffan said. "Paco says he's good enough to win the Santa Anita Derby, and if he does that, we'll probably go on to the Kentucky Derby."

Probably? Even in this uncertain season, there are a few sure things.