Michael Matz could have another horse for the Kentucky Derby this year, yet nothing can replace his memories of Barbaro.

The trainer made that perfectly clear Thursday morning outside his barn at Palm Meadows training center, when he pulled an envelope from his car and shared a letter sent by a young boy from Namibia.

“He’s 10 years old, he’s an orphan, and he has AIDS,” Matz said, his voice cracking with emotion. “He knew about Barbaro.”

Ten-year-old Mateo rides at an orphanage, and when the headmistress told him Matz used to jump horses “he got obsessed with writing us a letter,” Matz said, “because he wants to jump, too