Backtalk is a colt of 2007, sired by Smarty Jones, who in 2004 lost his bid for the Triple Crown when he ran second to Birdstone. Backtalk is out of the mare Apasionata Sonata, a daughter of Triple Crown winner Affirmed. He is a multiple stakes winner out of his sire and is considered a contender for the Triple Crown. He has thus far won the Bashford Manor Stakes, the Sanford Stakes and the Sportsman's Paradise Stakes, the latter in 2010, en route to the Kentucky Derby.