HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. — Nicanor's debut wasn't one to remember.

The 3-year-old full brother of 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro finished ninth in a one-mile maiden race at Gulfstream Park today, hardly an encouraging step toward what his connections hoped would be a journey into this year's Triple Crown races.

Under jockey Edgar Prado, who was aboard ill-fated Barbaro three years ago, Nicanor made a move near the half-mile mark but never got close to the lead.

His debut came two years and two days after Barbaro, who shattered his right hind leg in the Preakness, was euthanized because of complications from that injury. Warrior's Reward won the race, a 30-1 shot stealing the show.

Nicanor broke slowly, almost seeming to stumble at the start before recovering and settling in near the rail. After passing the half-mile pole, Prado moved Nicanor off the rail a bit, trying to find a hole, but one never opened.

And by the turn, it was over. Nicanor was down to a mere gallop,

There was plenty of buzz around Gulfstream on Saturday, partly because of the Grade 3, $150,000 Holy Bull Stakes for Derby-hoping 3-year-olds (where Saratoga Sinner prevailed) and the $500,000 Donn Handicap for older horses (the race that immediately followed Nicanor's debut).

But mostly, the talk around Gulfstream's rail Saturday was all Nicanor, all the time.

When owner Gretchen Jackson walked past the finish line area at 3:15 p.m. — more than an hour before Nicanor went to the post — two men scrambled to capture the moment on cell phone cameras, one of them shouting "Good luck!" as she made her way by. Trainer Michael Matz heard many of the same cries as he climbed the stairs to his seat before the race.

And as Nicanor came into the view of fans for the first time at 4:25, many in the estimated crowd of 3,000 packed five-deep around the saddling ring broke into applause, with a few more clapping when Prado climbed aboard for the short trek over to the track. The 4-1 second choice in the morning line was actually bet down to 3-5 at one point, before going off at 2-1.

Barbaro had plenty of history at Gulfstream, winning the Holy Bull there three years ago before going on to win the Kentucky Derby by 6› lengths.

But he never finished another race. He shattered three bones in his right hind leg in the opening strides of the Preakness, then defied the odds by surviving eight months and enduring close to two dozen operations, but ultimately succumbed to laminitis, an often life-threatening problem in horses who shift their weight to one leg to keep pressure off another injured limb.

The second anniversary of Barbaro's death was Thursday, which made Nicanor's debut come at a bittersweet time for Prado, Matz and the Jacksons.