Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00:00For the love of the horse, for generations to come.
00:00:28Good afternoon.
00:00:29It's February 15th at 107 p.m. here on the East Coast.
00:00:33This is the Thoroughbred Daily News Writer's Room podcast.
00:00:35I'm Bill Finley, the host today, and I'm also a correspondent with Thoroughbred Daily News.
00:00:40I co-host the Sirius XM Down the Stretch show each week with Dave Johnson, Saturday mornings.
00:00:45I am Randy Moss.
00:00:46I am no longer a writer as such, but I work for NBC Sports.
00:00:51So I'm here with XBTV and First Racing.
00:00:54I seem to be missing Doodle.
00:00:56He's disappeared for now.
00:00:58So I know you guys have your dogs strategically placed and we'll see them throughout the show.
00:01:03But I think Doodle is, he's bowing out this one.
00:01:06All right.
00:01:07And Randy, before we go ahead, I got to ask you, your right eye, like, did you get in
00:01:10a rowing with Floyd Mayweather or something?
00:01:12What's the deal here, pal?
00:01:13You should see the other guy, Bill.
00:01:15No, I had a little dermatological, is that how you say it?
00:01:19The dermatology worked out, so.
00:01:21Good enough.
00:01:22Well, I hope you're back on the road to recovery and thanks for joining us with the little
00:01:27eye issue there.
00:01:28Hey, let's do what let's get right into last weekend, because, you know, as is the case
00:01:35this time of year, you're going to get almost every Saturday some major races.
00:01:39But it was not so much to me, the boys that took center stage this weekend, but the Phillies
00:01:45in the Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs.
00:01:48And, you know, you wouldn't think here's this little race, kind of this little racetrack
00:01:51is not even graded.
00:01:52Why would this be such a big deal?
00:01:54Well, it was because, first of all, Wonder Wheel came back in that race.
00:01:57She is the obviously the two year old Philly champion owned by D.J. Stables and our friends,
00:02:02the Green family, Julia Shining, the full sister to Malathat, who had won the Demoiselles
00:02:07in there.
00:02:08So, you know, Cassie Pletcher, who's going to win?
00:02:11Which one of these Titans?
00:02:12Wait a minute.
00:02:13It's won by Gerald Bennett, 78 year old claiming trainer, a guy who's been at it for years
00:02:18and years, has won over 4000 races.
00:02:20And I bet you there's some listeners of this podcast who don't even know who he is.
00:02:23But you like to see the little guy win.
00:02:26He won it with dreaming of snow.
00:02:28But it was an interesting race.
00:02:30And you know, you can look at it a lot of different ways.
00:02:33Did Wonder Wheel need the race?
00:02:35Mark Cassie said the horse was a little bit tired.
00:02:37Will she move forward off that?
00:02:39All that is true.
00:02:40But Randy, to me, that's a disappointment.
00:02:43You're the two year old Philly champion and you can't run by a horse that is kind of a
00:02:46glorified allowance horse from Tampa Bay Downs.
00:02:49Well, maybe dreaming of snow is a little bit better than she was given credit for.
00:02:53I don't know.
00:02:55Anybody who followed DRC and Hazel Park back in the day definitely knows who Gerald Bennett
00:03:00is.
00:03:01And anybody who handicaps Tampa Bay Downs on a regular basis knows who Gerald Bennett
00:03:04is.
00:03:05And it's nice to see a small time guy get a chance to win a race like this.
00:03:10Look, I thought Wonder Wheel showed up.
00:03:12I can totally buy what Cassie said, that it was the first start of the year.
00:03:17Maybe she was just a little bit short.
00:03:19She seemed to have dead aim on Dreaming of Snow all the way down the stretch and couldn't
00:03:23get by.
00:03:24And I thought Julia Shining ran a very good race in defeat.
00:03:27In fact, I would argue that given the trips, Julia Shining probably ran a little better
00:03:30race than Wonder Wheel did.
00:03:33So it'll be interesting to see how Dreaming of Snow comes back.
00:03:36And I would expect that we'll see good efforts down the road once again for both Wonder Wheel
00:03:41and Julia Shining.
00:03:42Yeah, I'm in agreement with you, Randy.
00:03:44I mean, listen, this is no knock on Tampa Bay Downs.
00:03:48Sometimes what happens at Tampa generally seems to stay at Tampa.
00:03:51It can be a very testing track.
00:03:53It's a great track for legging up horses.
00:03:55We know that Wonder Wheel did not leg up there.
00:03:58She was at Cassie's training facility.
00:04:00Perhaps that's a little bit more glib.
00:04:02She cruised into the stretch like she was going to win by 10.
00:04:06In my mind, she looked like a filly who got tired.
00:04:09I mean, Tyler hadn't moved on her.
00:04:11And I'm looking at this little Dreaming of Snow who's just trying and trying and trying.
00:04:17The little part of me was hoping she got there.
00:04:20And she did get there, stay there, Dreaming of Snow, because I love Gerald Bennett.
00:04:24I rode in Chicago for a long time.
00:04:26So I've known him.
00:04:28I've known his son, Dale Bennett.
00:04:29I rode for him.
00:04:30So I was cheering for the little guy.
00:04:33And Wonder Wheel shall have her day.
00:04:34I mean, she's a proven commodity.
00:04:36She's not pace dependent anymore, thanks to a new running style.
00:04:40And she ran like a filly who got tired.
00:04:42In my mind, she's a big growthy filly, but she never carries a whole lot of weight.
00:04:47And when you're looking at fillies like that, she may look as fit as a fiddle
00:04:51because there's not a pick on her.
00:04:53Maybe she wasn't.
00:04:54Maybe Mark was right.
00:04:55Maybe he ran a short horse.
00:04:57So I think she'll come on.
00:04:59Julia Shining looked like she was running in quicksand the whole way,
00:05:02but then she always does.
00:05:04She always looks like she's under a full drive at the three-quarter pole,
00:05:07even the two times that she's won.
00:05:09So I think both of those fillies will move forward.
00:05:13And maybe Dreaming of Snow is a little better than we all thought
00:05:16the daughter of Jess's dream.
00:05:18It's a good story to follow.
00:05:19And I like those stories.
00:05:20I mean, I'm somewhat in agreement with you guys.
00:05:23I mean, the jury is still out.
00:05:25But if, you know, if the big girls got beat by a really strong candidate,
00:05:31you know, Horsey was running big figures, et cetera,
00:05:33I could put a little bit more stock in the race.
00:05:36But what a neat story, Gerald Bennett, is he's 78 years old
00:05:39and instead of slowing down, he's won seven straight training titles
00:05:44at Tampa Bay Downs.
00:05:45And as Randy said, he came out of Michigan.
00:05:48He had not won.
00:05:49He had only won two graded stakes races in his career.
00:05:53And he had to go all the way back to 1990 in Bow Genius,
00:05:57if you remember that horse, to get Gerald Bennett's last
00:06:02graded stakes winners.
00:06:03He told me the horse will likely run next in the Fantasy at Oaklawn.
00:06:07Randy, you know, fast forward, is she?
00:06:09I'm doing my Kentucky Oaks top ten today.
00:06:12It'll be in the Thursday edition of the TDN.
00:06:14By the time you're listening to this podcast, it'll be out.
00:06:17I didn't include her in my top ten.
00:06:18I can't. I got to see more from her before I put her in there.
00:06:22I could I could see that.
00:06:23I mean, I would I would certainly have her on the bubble
00:06:25if I didn't put her in the top ten.
00:06:27The buyer speed figure only came up 83, which is what Wonder Wheel got
00:06:30when she won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Phillies.
00:06:32She's probably going to step forward from there,
00:06:34whether this is the peak for Dreaming of Snow.
00:06:37I don't know, but it was a good effort from her.
00:06:39And she's a fill you can root for down the line, I guess.
00:06:43Yeah, I mean, I'm rooting for Dreaming of Snow,
00:06:45and we'll see what the other girls do, but they have to move forward off of that.
00:06:49If they don't, then they've gone backwards.
00:06:51I think the next step is to push both Wonder Wheel and
00:06:57Julia Shining are going to the Ashland next, and that'll be the race.
00:07:00They'll really answer the questions if they run another kind of lackluster
00:07:02second or third.
00:07:03Well, you can really make the case that they haven't developed that much this year.
00:07:07OK, so let's stay at Tampa Bay Downs and Todd Pletcher,
00:07:10who really likes to run at Tampa Bay Downs.
00:07:14And, you know, you see that he brought Julia Shining in there on the Suncoast.
00:07:17He won with Nest last year.
00:07:19He's won the Sam F. Davis stakes seven times in his career.
00:07:23He won it this year with Litigate, won by a length and a quarter,
00:07:27coming off a second place in an allowance race at Gulfstream Park.
00:07:31You know, again, is this horse a major Kentucky Derby contender?
00:07:35Not at this point.
00:07:37You'd have to see more.
00:07:38But I think one thing is interesting.
00:07:39At one point in time, it looked like Pletcher didn't have a lot of depth.
00:07:43It was kind of forte and nothing else.
00:07:45And then Tappet Trisset, is it, Randy?
00:07:48Remember, we had that whole discussion last week.
00:07:51Tappet Trisset wins that allowance race at Gulfstream.
00:07:56Well, Randy thinks it's Trisset.
00:07:58Technically, it should be Tappet Trisset.
00:08:01But the owner gets the final say.
00:08:04And as of right now, unless she changes her mind and she's thinking about it.
00:08:08Right. It's Tappet Trisset.
00:08:11OK, so be it Tappet Trisset or Tappet Trisset.
00:08:14All of a sudden, Pletcher, you know, was added to his his list of,
00:08:18you know, really legit Kentucky Derby contenders.
00:08:21There probably would be more to come.
00:08:22He's got a horse in the Risen Star stakes on New York.
00:08:25But of all things, on Saturday at the fairgrounds,
00:08:27which we're going to talk a lot about later on.
00:08:29Randy, what do you make of Littigate?
00:08:31Is, you know, is he a serious Kentucky Derby candidate?
00:08:34No, no.
00:08:35He ran the last quarter in the race in 27 seconds flat.
00:08:39Got a buyer speed figure of 77.
00:08:41To me, Littigate's win in the Sam Davis is yet another example
00:08:44why Todd Pletcher is the greatest trainer in modern racing history
00:08:50at getting horses into the Kentucky Derby and managing the point system.
00:08:54And before that, the earning system to get sometimes mediocre horses
00:08:58in to the Derby to give their owners that experience.
00:09:02And Littigate gets 20 points for winning the Sam F.
00:09:05Davis Pletcher had eight horses nominated for the race.
00:09:08Chose to run only Littigate.
00:09:10The horse was training well, but Todd didn't tell me this.
00:09:13But I think another reason is that he looked at the race,
00:09:17saw it was a weak race and thought that this would be a perfect opportunity
00:09:21to get a horse like Littigate Kentucky Derby points.
00:09:24The best three year old that Todd Pletcher ran at Tampa Bay
00:09:27Downs last weekend was not Littigate.
00:09:30It was Kings Barnes, who the next day on Sunday
00:09:33in a first level allowance race won by seven and three quarters links.
00:09:38He's a son of Uncle Mo, an $800,000 two year old.
00:09:40He's two for two.
00:09:42He got an 85 buyer.
00:09:43He is a better horse than Littigate, but Littigate gets the points
00:09:47because Pletcher managed it in exactly the right way.
00:09:51He also gets a crucial graded stakes earning as an early three year old.
00:09:55So whatever happens, I mean, I think Pletcher can see by,
00:09:59see past the Derby being the be all and end all.
00:10:02He's got three year olds.
00:10:03He's got dozens of top class three year olds.
00:10:05They need graded stakes wins.
00:10:08And that has to go on their resume.
00:10:09He's a guy who's had a habit of building stallions over the years,
00:10:13regardless of whether they win the Derby.
00:10:16Most of them are in it.
00:10:17I'm going to rattle off some past winners of the Sam F.
00:10:20Davis so we can just kind of gauge on where we're going.
00:10:23So we have Littigate, Classic Causeway, Candyman Rocket, Sol Volante,
00:10:28Well Defined, Flame Away, McCracken, Destin, Ocean Night,
00:10:33Vince Ramos, Falling Sky, Battle Hardened.
00:10:36I can't even remember him.
00:10:37Sorry, Eddie Keneally.
00:10:38Brethlen, Rule, General Quarters, Fierce Wind, Any Given Saturday,
00:10:43Bluegrass Cat, Anadromia's Hero, Coffee Mate, White Buck,
00:10:48Bunk and Ted, Burning Roma and Go Lib Go.
00:10:51Going back to 2000.
00:10:53Now, none of those jump off the page as really, really top class horses.
00:10:58Right.
00:10:59And I think that's where we're at.
00:11:01So we'll see more from Littigate down the road.
00:11:03I'm not sure where he's going to run him next.
00:11:05OK, so at Aqueduct, we had the Withers stakes, which was rescheduled after they
00:11:10had to cancel the prior week because of the cold.
00:11:13And Randy, there were two stories here to me.
00:11:15First of all, hit show winning for Brad Cox.
00:11:17You know, speaking of guys loaded for the Kentucky Derby.
00:11:20But I know, I don't believe you do the buyer figures for Aqueduct, but I'm
00:11:24sure you're paying attention.
00:11:25What the heck is going on there?
00:11:27They ran this race mile and an eighth in 154.7.
00:11:31The final three eights went in 41.28 seconds.
00:11:35And the day before, granted it was an 8,000 claimer.
00:11:38Horses, they actually finished a mile and an eighth race at Aqueduct in 159.04.
00:11:46The hit show who looked, you know, he got a perfect trip, but he looked good
00:11:49winning, probably didn't beat a great field one by five and a half.
00:11:52I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, you got a 91 buyer.
00:11:55But first of all, Randy, have you been paying attention to how slow that track
00:11:58is and, you know, does that have any bearing on the overall picture here?
00:12:05Oh, it did.
00:12:05I think it has a huge bearing.
00:12:07It makes this race very tough to gauge when the track is that horribly
00:12:11slow, like it's been at Aqueduct.
00:12:12I mean, some horses handle it well, other horses hate it.
00:12:15The margins, because horses are exhausted, the margins become greatly
00:12:19exaggerated, which can also at times inflate the speed figure.
00:12:24So you really don't know what to think about hit show.
00:12:26He looked good.
00:12:27He got a perfect trip, but the margins, he wins by five and a half.
00:12:30Arctic Arrogance was six and a quarter links ahead of third place General
00:12:33Banker, who was 14 and three quarters links ahead of the fourth place horse.
00:12:37The fifth place horse was 23 links ahead of the sixth.
00:12:40It's ridiculous.
00:12:42So you really don't know that much more about hit show than you did going in.
00:12:45He's an improving horse going in the right direction, trained by Brad Cox.
00:12:49He's got some talent.
00:12:50How much talent?
00:12:51We still don't know.
00:12:52The jury's still out.
00:12:54Visually, he looked good.
00:12:56Time-wise, not so good.
00:12:57Final three eights, 41 and change.
00:13:01To use a quote from John G Dooley from the fairgrounds, the rest of them were
00:13:05staggering home like Bourbon street regulars, and that's exactly what it looked like.
00:13:10They were crawling there.
00:13:11Half of them look drunk coming down the lane.
00:13:13And I think that just shows what a tiring track it is right now.
00:13:16It's a safe track, which is fine by me, but, um, I think either they like it or
00:13:22they don't, and we'll see what happens.
00:13:26The TDN Writer's Room is brought to you by Keeneland.
00:13:29Keeneland will re-offer six two-year-olds previously purchased as yearlings at
00:13:34last year's September sale, which are actively in training in Ocala.
00:13:38Offers will be accepted Monday, February the 27th to Wednesday, March the 1st.
00:13:44Visit keeneland.com slash re-offer for full instructions and details.
00:13:49We'll be right back after these messages from Keeneland.
00:13:53If this place could talk, it would roar.
00:14:03It would say, this is a reset.
00:14:07This beating heart in the heart of horse country, steady and strong beneath the
00:14:13roar, reminding us why for the love of the horse for generations to come.
00:14:23The best two-year-old by legendary sire, Quality Road.
00:14:27In the back, a million five.
00:14:29Very, very impressive debut.
00:14:31Cantering home could not have been more impressive.
00:14:35Coast to coast to the American Pharoah.
00:14:37He's the real deal.
00:14:38Undefeated and unchallenged at two.
00:14:41He's just too good.
00:14:43He wins the Breeders' Cup Double Dome.
00:14:45Cornish.
00:14:46Cornish, the newest champion to Coolmore, America.
00:14:51The TDN Writer's Room is brought to you by Coolmore.
00:14:54It's been a big week overseas for the Coolmore stallion, Justify.
00:14:58His just for soul was an impressive winner in Saudi Arabia last Saturday,
00:15:02winning by more than 13 lengths.
00:15:04That gave Justify his second international win on the day after his superstar
00:15:09Philly Learning to Fly won the $2 million English-Malaysian Grand Prix.
00:15:14Justify won the $2 million English Millennium Stakes to cement her place
00:15:18as the favorite for the Golden Slipper.
00:15:20Justify stands at Ashford Stud for a fee of $100,000.
00:15:25Other Coolmore stallions that were also active overseas were Looking at Lucky's
00:15:30Tall Boy, winning the Group 3 UAE Guineas on Friday, breaking his maiden, guys.
00:15:35Just remember that.
00:15:36And here in America, it was another three-year-old by Looking at Lucky.
00:15:39She's Looking Lucky, who dazzled in a maiden special weight with a 13
00:15:44length romp in her debut at the fairgrounds.
00:15:48Well, it's kind of a rough week for horse racing so far as the people that were lost
00:15:52and some real giants in the industry passed away during the week.
00:15:56Burt Bacharach, Diana Firestone and John Veitch.
00:15:59And I want to start with Burt Bacharach because he was such a I didn't know him
00:16:03personally, but we all obviously knew his music.
00:16:06And, you know, it was the soundtrack to our youth, sort of in many cases.
00:16:11I mean, he wrote literally dozens and dozens of major hits, but he loved horse
00:16:16racing and he campaigned some really good horses.
00:16:19The people out in the West Coast tell me that he was always around the track and
00:16:23was, you know, always real friendly with the fans and whatnot.
00:16:26And I dug up a column that Jim Murray, the fabulous columnist for the Los Angeles
00:16:31Times, wrote about Bacharach in 1994.
00:16:34And this is his quote from his quote in Bacharach.
00:16:37Why do I race?
00:16:38I think it's because most of us are in a world where we have control over.
00:16:41We control what's going on, whether it's a concert, a TV series, a movie to score
00:16:45or a tune to be written.
00:16:47And we have something we love but can't control.
00:16:49You can't make a horse run faster than he wants to.
00:16:51That's the pain of it.
00:16:52But it's exhilarating for people who otherwise control their lives.
00:16:55Besides, the crowd is the race crowd is different, more understated, more calm,
00:16:59more comfortable to be with.
00:17:01We're like the two dollar better.
00:17:02We deal with disappointment, shove off the defeats, go back to the drawing board,
00:17:05the form, you know how we are.
00:17:07There's always tomorrow.
00:17:08He had at least three grade one winners.
00:17:12Oh, not the least. He had three grade one winners.
00:17:14First of all, Heartlight, number one, who was a champion.
00:17:17Afternoon Delights, who ironically and tragically passed away today.
00:17:22Excuse me. Yesterday on Tuesday was put down at Old Friends.
00:17:26We'll talk maybe a little bit more about that and Soul of the Matter.
00:17:30But Randy, you know, just one of those great ambassadors for the game.
00:17:33And, you know, he lived to be 94 years old.
00:17:36So he had a great run.
00:17:38Yeah, I used to spend once in the newspaper business.
00:17:42I spent for 15 years.
00:17:44I spent my summers at Louisiana Downs Racetrack, and I had to look up the date.
00:17:49September 30th, 1994.
00:17:53It was a Friday night.
00:17:54I was out with a group of friends at a live music venue in Shreveport, Louisiana,
00:17:59standing by the bar. The band was playing.
00:18:00I looked over.
00:18:02There's freaking Burt Bacharach standing there with his wife.
00:18:05And I'm like, what do I do?
00:18:07You know, I want to talk to the guy, but he didn't know who the hell I am.
00:18:10He still wouldn't know who the hell I was a year ago.
00:18:12So but so I walked over there, introduced myself.
00:18:16And for the next hour, we hung out and talked a little bit about music.
00:18:21He was there because a couple of the guys playing in the band had played with Elvis.
00:18:25And he knew one of them and he wanted to come out and hear them.
00:18:27And we talked most of the time about horse racing.
00:18:30He could not have been nicer or more friendly.
00:18:34My friends were like, dude, you know, Burt Bacharach.
00:18:36And I'm like, I do now.
00:18:38The very next day was the Super Derby, which is why he was in Shreveport.
00:18:42Soul of the Matter was running in the Super Derby on Saturday.
00:18:46He beat Concern.
00:18:48Both of them wound up running in the Breeders' Cup Classic in their next starts.
00:18:51Concern winning the Classic.
00:18:53But I went down to the winner's circle, as I would to cover, you know,
00:18:55for the newspaper business.
00:18:56And he sees me and walks over with a smile, remembered my name from the night before.
00:19:02Just what a gentleman, what a nice guy.
00:19:04I never saw him again, never talked to him again.
00:19:06But at least I have a Burt Bacharach story.
00:19:10Yeah, I mean, I've seen him around a lot.
00:19:12I've seen him in the winner's circle several times.
00:19:14Carla Gaines trained for him.
00:19:16Duvet Day won for Michael McCarthy last week.
00:19:18His last winner just a couple of weeks ago in the Astra States.
00:19:22So that was quite apropos.
00:19:24And he just always seemed just a really cool guy.
00:19:27Obviously, he's survived by Jane, aka Raindrops, which is her nickname.
00:19:32And he just loved horse racing.
00:19:35I can remember my mom saying, I'm like, oh, yeah,
00:19:38Jane and Burt Bacharach were there.
00:19:39And I never really heard a whole lot about Burt Bacharach.
00:19:43A little bit before my time, guys, just, you know, throwing that out there.
00:19:47But my mother...
00:19:47You calling me a randy old?
00:19:49No, no, not at all.
00:19:50But my mother, oh, my God, Burt Bacharach?
00:19:54She was beside herself.
00:19:56And she was like, do you know Burt Bacharach?
00:19:58Can you get a picture?
00:20:00And I'm like, oh, my, just that is just
00:20:03the type of...
00:20:05That's just how Burt was.
00:20:06He's just a really cool guy.
00:20:08My mother was in awe.
00:20:09I was in awe.
00:20:10And I mean, he played pretty much right up until a couple of months
00:20:13before he passed.
00:20:15He was still composing songs.
00:20:16And I think if there ever was a list of all the songs that he's written
00:20:21and composed, the younger generation today would be absolutely shocked
00:20:26at some of the artists that are now in the modern limelight
00:20:29that he's written songs for.
00:20:31Because a lot of the time you don't know who's writing the songs.
00:20:34You just know who's singing them, right?
00:20:36And he's just a master who loved horse racing.
00:20:39I know Carla Gaines was very close with them.
00:20:41She went over and spent the day with Jane and the family just last week.
00:20:46I took care of her dogs for her.
00:20:47She saw me in the morning and she's like, Burt passed last night.
00:20:51Everyone was around.
00:20:52I've got to go over there.
00:20:53I've got this new puppy.
00:20:54Can you take care of him?
00:20:55And I'm like, yeah, I'm really sorry.
00:20:57And everyone was with him.
00:20:59So he lived to a ripe old age, along with Afternoon Delights,
00:21:03and they passed within days of each other.
00:21:06I'm not sure Burt would have wanted it any other way, to be honest.
00:21:10Yeah, and Afternoon Delights was put down at Old Friends on Tuesday at the age,
00:21:15they said 31.
00:21:17But but by the way, we measure horses because it's after January
00:21:21when his actual birthday hadn't come up yet this year.
00:21:23But he would be officially 32.
00:21:26And he was the oldest resident of Old Friends.
00:21:30So Burt Bachrach and perhaps his best ever horse, the Heartlight No.
00:21:341 again, was his lawn champion.
00:21:37And she was terrific.
00:21:37But he had these three really, really good horses.
00:21:40And as Zoe mentioned, I mean, what a way to go out.
00:21:42His last ever starter won the Aster Stakes at Santa Anita.
00:21:45Then so far as the passings of Mrs.
00:21:47Firestone and John Beach, as someone who's, you know,
00:21:50Randy, you talk about your all your time in Louisiana Downs.
00:21:53Well, when I was writing for the newspapers, you know, my time was all spent
00:21:56around the New York racetracks in an era where we still had the what we call
00:22:00the society stables, you know, really the only one we might have left
00:22:04is sort of the fifth stable now.
00:22:05But where there are these aristocratic aristocratic families
00:22:09that own these great stables and they had their private trainers.
00:22:12We don't see that anymore at all.
00:22:14John Beach made his mark for Calumet Farm back when they had the famed
00:22:18not this Calumet Farm back when they had the famed red and blue silks.
00:22:22And then, you know, he had four champions for them.
00:22:25And one that wasn't champion was probably his best ever horse with Alidar
00:22:29with the 1978 Triple Crown was to me the greatest series ever
00:22:33because of the rivalry between those two horses.
00:22:36And then Diana Firestone, along with her husband, Burt,
00:22:39trained numerous champions, including Genuine Risk,
00:22:42who won the 1980 Kentucky Derby.
00:22:44So two titans of the sport also passed away.
00:22:47Yeah, the Firestone said Genuine Risk and Theatrical,
00:22:49who Bill Mott credits for really jumpstarting his career.
00:22:53Were it not for the insistence of Burt Firestone,
00:22:56who passed away in 2021 and Diana Firestone,
00:22:59we would never have had the historic win by Genuine Risk
00:23:03in the Kentucky Derby in 1980 because they were the ones who pressed
00:23:07trainer Leroy Jolly to run Genuine Risk against the boys
00:23:11out of a sense of adventure and and wanting a challenge.
00:23:15And as far as John Beach goes, Daily Racing Forum had a great statistic
00:23:18out of all the career wins that John Beach had.
00:23:21I think there were four hundred eighteen and a half percent
00:23:24of all of his wins were in grade one stakes races.
00:23:28That is the definition of a big race trainer.
00:23:32I think he had like four hundred and ninety two winners, which,
00:23:35you know, when we're looking at Steve Asmussen's ten thousand,
00:23:39you're like, oh, really? And he's in the Hall of Fame.
00:23:42But that was kind of like the norm back in those days.
00:23:46And then you're looking at a trainer that like John Sheriffs,
00:23:49that a lot of people are saying he should be in the Hall of Fame.
00:23:52I think he's got five hundred and something wins.
00:23:55But if you look at his lifetime statistics as well in graded stakes, very high.
00:24:00I mean, these are guys who know how to win the big races.
00:24:03And that's basically what they pride themselves on doing.
00:24:07Well, let's turn our attention now to one of these unpleasant subjects
00:24:11that we have to tackle every so often here.
00:24:13And Bob Baffert and his spat with the Churchill Downs was back in the news.
00:24:18And it took a pretty I mean, this thing has been ugly from the start,
00:24:21but it took a pretty ugly turn this week.
00:24:23First of all, Baffert and his legal team were in court in Kentucky
00:24:28over the last couple of weeks trying to get a judge to overturn the ban
00:24:32that, as we speak, will keep him out of training
00:24:36Kentucky to restarted this year.
00:24:38And the clock is ticking because not only can he not if things
00:24:43don't break right by the end of this month, if if horses,
00:24:47if Baffert doesn't win in court, if if he wants to get his horses
00:24:51into the derby under these new rules that came in this year,
00:24:54apparently there were new rules.
00:24:55Nobody really knew anything about it till this year.
00:24:57Horses have to be turned over to another trainer by the end of this month,
00:24:59by February 20th. That's 13 days from from now.
00:25:03But it involved the Jockey Club here.
00:25:07And Baffert's attorneys asked Judge Rebecca Jennings to recuse herself
00:25:12because they found that her husband had taken money as a lobbyist
00:25:16for the Jockey Club.
00:25:18And this is what Baffert's lawyers had to say, says the Jockey Club
00:25:22has actively intervened publicly and litigiously in the litigation
00:25:25surrounding the Bob Baffert Medina spirit matter
00:25:27since the beginning of State and Racing Association action against Mr. Baffert.
00:25:32Now, the fight has been not with so much with the Jockey Club.
00:25:36It's been with Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.
00:25:40But the Jockey Club has been a player in this.
00:25:42Matter of fact, in 2021, they filed an amicus brief on behalf of Naira
00:25:47in opposition to Baffert's efforts to get an injunction from the ban
00:25:51that Naira put in place against Baffert.
00:25:53That ban has now been he served his time, so to speak, here.
00:25:57Churchill Downs, you know, there's a lot of saber rattling here.
00:26:01They came back and they called this a brazen and baseless attack
00:26:05on the integrity of this court.
00:26:07I had to tell you, I think Baffert's lawyers have a very good point here.
00:26:10And, you know, the problem is that the clock is ticking.
00:26:13I don't know how you get to straighten out,
00:26:14but there can't be any hint of impropriety in this.
00:26:19I'm sure Judge Jennings is an honorable person.
00:26:22I'm sure her husband is an honorable person, but that he was making money
00:26:26from the Jockey Club and the Jockey Club has stuck its neck out
00:26:29and been involved in this.
00:26:31I think Baffert's lawyers have a good point.
00:26:33I don't know where on heck this is going
00:26:36other than to just continually to gum up the works,
00:26:39which have been gummed up from the very start.
00:26:41But we'll find out more about this as the case progresses.
00:26:44Yeah, I mean, based on what's transpired so far in the state of Kentucky,
00:26:48you'd have to think that Baffert and his lawyers would be up against it.
00:26:50But the fastest way in the world to look like an idiot is to try to predict
00:26:54what a judge is going to do or say in situations like this.
00:26:58I mean, when we get Heise going and the lawyers start throwing bombs
00:27:02back and forth with the HBPA and you get Baffert and his attorneys
00:27:06and Churchill Downs and all the acrimony going on there.
00:27:09I just can't wait until all this is behind us.
00:27:12And we can focus 100 percent on horse racing
00:27:16instead of what's going on in the court systems.
00:27:18Well said.
00:27:20That's that's all I've got to say about it.
00:27:22I mean, I'm sick of reading about stuff that's happening in the courts.
00:27:27I mean, February 28th, we've already seen one of Bob's horses.
00:27:31We'll talk about that a little bit later on.
00:27:32But Harlow Cap already with Steve Asmussen to run this weekend at the fairgrounds.
00:27:37So they've already started the move.
00:27:39We'll have to wait and see what happens.
00:27:41I mean, I totally agree with both of you guys.
00:27:43I think we're not only are we sick of this, I think everybody is sick of this.
00:27:46You know, after this year's Kentucky Derby, for the most part, it'll be over.
00:27:51They might still fight some things out in court, but Baffert will be reinstated.
00:27:55But, you know, the pockets again, I what's that Zoe?
00:27:59Let's hope because it seems like they've moved the goalposts every time because.
00:28:03Yeah, well, yeah, perhaps.
00:28:05But I think that we're going to see him.
00:28:07I mean, in the twenty twenty four Kentucky Derby, Bob Baffert will be the trainer of
00:28:12whatever horses Bob Baffert has.
00:28:14But, you know, it doesn't look good for him.
00:28:16I mean, this judge has acted as if she is, you know, shown signs that she's going to
00:28:23side with the Kentucky Horse Racing Mission.
00:28:26Excuse me, with Churchill Downs, if that's the case, Mr.
00:28:28Baffert will not be able for the second straight year to run horses in the Kentucky
00:28:32Derby. They'll likely be turned over to another trainer, perhaps Tim Yatkin.
00:28:36We shall find out.
00:28:38The Lane's End Stallion of the Week is Twirling Candy.
00:28:42Twirling Candy's three year old Philly A.G.
00:28:45Bullets stretched out to a mile and rated nicely under Frankie Dettori to win Sunday's
00:28:49Lady of Shamrock Steaks on turf at Santa Anita.
00:28:53And on Saturday was Twirling Candy's three year old Colt Gilmore, who was a solid
00:28:59second in the El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate in his twenty twenty three debut.
00:29:06Quality Road, proving Lane's End's tried and true stallion making tradition, a
00:29:11tradition that leads to success for our partners and our stallions.
00:29:15Quality Road has sired multiple Eclipse Award and grade one winners, including
00:29:20champion two year old Colt Corniche, champion two year old Philly Caledonia Road, champion
00:29:25three year old Philly Abel Tasman and multiple grade one winner City of Light.
00:29:30He's a leader of his generation.
00:29:32Quality Road, a stallion that stands above the rest.
00:29:36The fastest horse of the week is presented by the Fast Stallions at Windstar Farm.
00:29:41On average, only two to three horses a year record a buyer's speed figure of 100 or
00:29:46higher as a two year old and such precociousness is prized by breeders.
00:29:50Independence Hall did just that in a twelve and a quarter length victory in the Nashua
00:29:55Steaks and only the second start of his career.
00:29:58Independence Hall would go on to record two more triple digit buyers, including a seven
00:30:02length victory over Code of Honor in the Fayette Steaks at Keeneland.
00:30:06That's a lot of speed for a stud fee of only ten thousand dollars at Windstar Farm.
00:30:13And now for the fastest horse of the week.
00:30:15Technically, it would be Sibelius, a five year old gelding who last Saturday just missed
00:30:19the six furlong track record at Tampa Bay Downs in his hard fought win in the Pelican
00:30:24Steaks. Sibelius earned a 100 buyer speed figure, the highest of the week, but perhaps
00:30:28the most talked about buyer of the week was the 95 figure turned in by Skinner, a
00:30:34promising Colonel in Colton last Sunday beat a strong Maidenfield at Santa Anita by a
00:30:38widening three and one quarter lengths at one mile.
00:30:42That was Skinner's first start since October.
00:30:45If all goes well, you can look for Skinner in a Kentucky Derby prep next time out.
00:30:50He is owned by the prominent CRK stable of Lee and Susan Searing, whose Santa Anita
00:30:55Derby winner on her AP finished fourth in the 2020 Kentucky Derby.
00:31:00Skinner is trained by John Sheriffs and was ridden Sunday by Victor Espinoza.
00:31:05The Green Group is an accounting and tax consulting advisory firm specializing in the
00:31:11thoroughbred industry with over 500 clients in the horse business.
00:31:15The Green Group has proven strategies to save you taxes.
00:31:18And you can learn more at www.greenco.com.
00:31:22Welcome in now the Green Group guest of the week, Tom Amos.
00:31:25And what a perfect time to have Tom on the TDN Writer's Room podcast, because on
00:31:29Saturday, Hoosier Philly, a horse that people are just falling in love with for good reason,
00:31:35will make her three-year-old debut in the Rachel Alexander Stakes.
00:31:38And Tom, thank you for joining us.
00:31:40Take us beyond the past performances, beyond the speed figures.
00:31:44What have you seen in this Philly from day one that you've been so effusive in your praise for her?
00:31:49Well, we're going to go back to a two-year-old year, obviously, and that's a while back.
00:31:54But when she got ready to run at the beginning of September, we had practiced quite a bit with all the horses.
00:32:03And what she was doing in the mornings in her workouts and her strong moves against competition was unlike anything that we had seen in our barn.
00:32:14So, I mean, I'm not going to tell you all these champions I've had in the past,
00:32:18but we've had a lot of good horses and not the likes of what Fletcher or Chad Brown or any of those guys have had.
00:32:24We've had enough of them through the years since 1987 that this one was just different.
00:32:29Hoosier Philly was different than anything I've had before.
00:32:33So, Tom, heading now into the Rachel Alexandra, give us an update on how she's been doing since we saw her last in the Goldenrod.
00:32:41Obviously, you look at the workouts and it looks like it's just been sensational recently.
00:32:47Yeah, Randy, you know, her preparation has been very, very good, but the expectations have now become so high with her.
00:32:57It's almost as if anything less than a win is going to be a huge disappointment, not only to the barn and the ownership, but to the general racing public.
00:33:10Hoosier Philly has gone through, or perhaps just as she should.
00:33:15If there's any hesitancy in my voice at all, it's only because she hasn't run since the end of November and this is her first start off the bench.
00:33:23And I just want her to show me that she's the same horse she was at two, if not a more mature, better version of that.
00:33:31And in the mornings, that's what she's telling us.
00:33:33So hopefully we see that on Saturday.
00:33:36Tom, Zoe here once again, thanks for joining us.
00:33:39Happy Valentine's Day and happy Mardi Gras.
00:33:41I know you guys are all gearing up for Mardi Gras down there.
00:33:45I want to know where she went.
00:33:47She had a little break.
00:33:48Where would you send a Philly like that?
00:33:50And was that a hard decision to actually let her out of your crutches?
00:33:54Well, she went the same place that Curly Jack went.
00:33:57So both those horses were bought at the Keeneland Yearling sale and they were raised and broken and gotten ready to go to the racetrack at Woodford Farm in Ocala, Florida.
00:34:09After their last races in the end of November, I had thought to myself that we have a chance to have long and very nice three-year-old campaigns with both.
00:34:20And we thought it was an opportunity before it happened to give them about 30 days to farm, let them go out in the fields on a daily basis, be a horse before bringing back in and start intensifying their training to get ready to run.
00:34:32But it had nothing to do with anything other than just wanting to give them a break because we thought we had big campaigns ahead of us.
00:34:38How important is that, Tom, to give them a break?
00:34:42Well, to me, it is. I mean, every trainer has their own style.
00:34:46So I can't speak for anyone else other than our programs.
00:34:49And, you know, racehorses are elite athletes and their training is also elite and fairly intense.
00:34:57And I think, you know, look at any horse, no matter what level, and they go through periods of being very good and periods of not being as good.
00:35:06And when you have the opportunity to give them a break, particularly when they're healthy, I think that that pays back in, you know, very nice dividends in the future.
00:35:15Tom, how about, is there pressure with training a horse like this, or is it if there is pressure, it's a good feeling to have that with a horse in the barn like this?
00:35:24There's a real kind of a yin and a yang to that, Bill, it's a great question.
00:35:29You know, on the one hand, I've always tried to be very transparent about my horse with the betting public and the general public,
00:35:35as long as the owner is not someone that, you know, wants the information kept to themselves.
00:35:39And this group has been very generous and said that I can speak as I want.
00:35:43So ever before, even before this filly ever ran, I praised her and said, she's the best we've ever had.
00:35:49And so I like being transparent like that.
00:35:54But when you start making those kinds of statements, then every time you race, there's an expectation that's associated with that kind of talent of horse.
00:36:03And that can make it to where, quite frankly, after a really big performance like the Goldenrod, it's almost more of a relief than it is joy of winning a race.
00:36:14So you've really got to be careful on how you handle those situations.
00:36:18And the short answer is, yes, there's a lot of pressure involved with that.
00:36:22I'm not someone that thrives on pressure, but I can certainly handle it.
00:36:27Well, talking about your comments and talking about the way the public has perceived your comments,
00:36:33I'd kind of like to get your opinion about the Kentucky Derby future wager that we just saw.
00:36:42The second, I guess it was the second phase of it that ended this past Sunday,
00:36:46where Hoosier Philly was behind only one other horse, was 11 to 1, the second individual betting interest over two dozen colts.
00:36:57Now, you had mentioned casually that you wouldn't necessarily shy away from running against colts if the situation allowed.
00:37:08How did you feel about seeing that 11 to 1 up there for Hoosier Philly?
00:37:13Well, I'm going to answer that question in two parts.
00:37:15First is, you know, from the standpoint of just being analytical and how we operate out of my barn.
00:37:21She's going to run in this race on Saturday, the Rachel Alexandra.
00:37:25And what she does after that race is so dependent on how she performs, how she comes out of the race.
00:37:33And in a long discussion with the owners on what we're going to point to next.
00:37:37But that would be any horse, you know, getting ahead of yourself and being do this or that is silly.
00:37:45And, you know, when you think about what those odds closed at,
00:37:49if the derby was run tomorrow by some silly reason, we decide that's what we were going to do.
00:37:55She'd be a lot more than 11 to 1 at post time.
00:37:58So why would you want to why would you want to bet on something like that?
00:38:00But, you know, to me, it's all just a lot of noise.
00:38:03Randy, I'm looking forward to Saturday and her coming back as a healthy horse after the race to hopefully a successful one.
00:38:11We'll see.
00:38:11Tom, you use Edgar Morales an awful lot, and he's the guy that may not be at the forefront of a lot of people's minds.
00:38:19And I know especially towards the end of last year, they're like, well, you know,
00:38:22Tom could probably get anyone to ride this filly.
00:38:25Look how good she is.
00:38:26Who's this guy using?
00:38:28Tell us a little bit about Edgar and your relationship that you have with him,
00:38:32because he certainly looks like a remarkable young man, especially on the back of a horse.
00:38:36Yeah, so I mean, look, I'm the kind of guy that is not married to any one rider.
00:38:43And I certainly have made changes in the past with horses that I have.
00:38:46And a couple of years ago in Indiana, I was looking for a new rider to kind of carry the barn through our races there.
00:38:53And I gave Edgar an opportunity.
00:38:55I really liked what I saw that grew into a bigger professional relationship with him riding on horses and in recognition of that.
00:39:06And recognizing how talented he is.
00:39:09So Edgar is a brilliant gate rider.
00:39:12And he's a very, very strong finisher on the horse.
00:39:15And to me, when I watch him ride, I see the next big rider coming out of the Midwest.
00:39:23How quickly he catches on or doesn't catch on.
00:39:25You know, part of that may be about his personality.
00:39:28He's a quiet guy, very, very much an introvert, doesn't say a lot.
00:39:33And, you know, in our world of being a trainer or a jockey, you almost have to have, for lack of a better word, a little narcissism in you.
00:39:42And you've got to think you're better than the rest and say that he doesn't do any of that.
00:39:47And so so maybe that hurts him.
00:39:49But but if you're if you're if you're a student of the game and you watch races and you watch him ride, he stands out for the other riders.
00:39:58Tom, this horse costs $510,000 at the sales.
00:40:02This day and age, that's not a huge price tag.
00:40:05Todd Pletcher probably has 20 in his barn that cost more than that.
00:40:08But for you, that is sort of uncharted territory.
00:40:12I don't recall you ever getting much of a chance to go to the sales with a big bank account behind you.
00:40:17Tell us the story behind that.
00:40:18And, you know, what what is the future now of Tom Amos buying six figure horses?
00:40:25I don't know the future of Tom Amos buying six figure horses.
00:40:28But but to speak directly to your question, Bill, you know, this horse is by intermischief
00:40:34and intermischief just to breed to him is a quarter of a million dollars, $250,000.
00:40:39So this would be a baby of his that that really probably is not even at the yearling average for intermischief.
00:40:48But but this is a horse that at the sale we liked.
00:40:53I mean, full disclosure, I buy a lot of my yearlings.
00:40:56This is not a horse that I found.
00:40:58Lauren Carlisle found the horse.
00:41:00I came behind her and looked at the horse.
00:41:03And I liked her as well.
00:41:05And this ownership stepped in and bought the horse.
00:41:07But fate is a funny thing.
00:41:10This same group was looking to buy at Saratoga and didn't get a horse at Saratoga sale.
00:41:16And they were going to buy one horse.
00:41:18If they got something, then Hoosier Philly would be in somebody else's barn because
00:41:22I don't have another client with that kind of money.
00:41:24So, you know, I've always said luck is a great thing to have in anything, especially
00:41:29horse racing.
00:41:29And so, you know, we were able to get her and and I'm able to see a race out of our barn.
00:41:36I'm very appreciative of that.
00:41:40So, Tom, a half hour after the Rachel Alexander is the risen star and you've got Curly Jack
00:41:46going in that you and I go back a long, long way.
00:41:50And I know from experience that you're a really good handicapper and you also give
00:41:55very honest assessments when you can about your own horses.
00:42:00So how good is Curly Jack?
00:42:03The Curly Jack is a good two year old turning three.
00:42:08And, you know, when you handicap the Kentucky Derby, when the time comes, you usually
00:42:13classified into three groups, classified into a group of contenders and maybe then the next
00:42:19group is some outsiders you think have a chance.
00:42:21And the third group is a group that have earned their way in.
00:42:25They've gotten their points.
00:42:26They deserve to be in there.
00:42:27But maybe that's not what you're going to have you win money on.
00:42:30And for Curly Jack to move out of that third group because he does have points and from
00:42:35his two year old races to move into one of those top two categories, he's got to be better
00:42:40at three than he was at two.
00:42:42But I'll give you some things to support why I think that's a real chance, a real
00:42:45possibility.
00:42:47At two, he really didn't understand racing, wasn't very good about competition.
00:42:52It got him beat at Ellis Park.
00:42:54He made the lead and then got beat at the wire by a horse he passed.
00:42:57And then after the Breeders' Cup and the Breeders' Cup was that's on me.
00:43:02I really thought that Dave's speed was a good thing to have.
00:43:06And I kind of took him out of his game.
00:43:07And that's that's if there's a ten commandments of horse racing for a trainer, commandment
00:43:13number one is don't change your horse's style.
00:43:16And I did that that day.
00:43:18And I shouldn't have.
00:43:19And he didn't run well.
00:43:20So we decided to give him one more race when we were really going to give him some time
00:43:23off at that point to his three year old campaign.
00:43:26And it was a very good one in the Jockey Club.
00:43:30He got stuck in traffic.
00:43:31It was a slow pace.
00:43:32We finally got out.
00:43:33He came running.
00:43:34The horse that beat him flattered the race by winning the LeCompte here at Fairgrounds,
00:43:38a horse named Instant Coffee.
00:43:40And Curly Jack has come back, as most horses do from two to three, as a stronger version
00:43:44of himself.
00:43:45So, you know, again, if the derby was run right now, he would be certainly a horse who
00:43:51would be considered an outsider at best.
00:43:53But but I think he has a chance to step forward between now and the first Saturday of May,
00:43:58assuming he stays healthy.
00:44:00It looked like he put it all together in that race.
00:44:03What kind of trip does he need to move forward at at the Fairgrounds this weekend?
00:44:09Because that's a big field.
00:44:10There are a lot of horses in that.
00:44:13Well, I think to move forward, number one, when you when you draw a field of 14, you
00:44:17know, the first thing you're thinking of is, well, I'm not a front running type horse,
00:44:19so I'm going to need a clean trip.
00:44:21So the first thing is, you need a good trip to be a competitor in that race.
00:44:25Second thing, he's going to need some pace up front to set up what he likes to do, which
00:44:29is to close.
00:44:30And, you know, I do see pace in there.
00:44:33So that's a good sign.
00:44:35But, you know, Edgar is a, you know, he's a cerebral rider.
00:44:39He's going to he's going to he's going to pick the trip and hopefully we get it.
00:44:42We can be a clean trip.
00:44:45Where's the Mardi Gras parade this year?
00:44:49Are you riding in a parade?
00:44:51No, not anymore.
00:44:52I used to do it when the kids were little, but not anymore.
00:44:54But I dress up every Mardi Gras.
00:44:56It's something I did and I was too cool for when I became a teenager.
00:45:00But I found my way back.
00:45:02So I dress up every year.
00:45:04And dress up as as in how?
00:45:07Well, I can't tell you.
00:45:08It's a secret.
00:45:11Everyone dresses up.
00:45:12It's amazing.
00:45:12And then you walk downtown and follow the parade.
00:45:17I'll send you I'll send you our best.
00:45:18I'll send you one of our best, Mandy.
00:45:21All I can tell you is you have to keep in mind that in New Orleans, we have the worst
00:45:26streets in North America.
00:45:28I mean, you literally can't drive down without hitting a pothole.
00:45:32There's actually a site on Twitter where it's just Potholes New Orleans or something like that.
00:45:39So I'll send you I'll send you one of our latest.
00:45:41You can take a look at it.
00:45:46All right.
00:45:47Well, Tom, best of luck this weekend, not only with Hoosier Philly, but with Curly Jack.
00:45:51Going to be a big weekend for your stable at the fairgrounds.
00:45:55And if you win on Saturday, we're going to bug the living hell out of you about whether
00:45:59or not she's going to run in the Kentucky Derby.
00:46:00So be prepared for that.
00:46:01But, Tom, thanks so much for your time.
00:46:03And again, best of luck this weekend.
00:46:06Thank you guys for having me.
00:46:07It was a pleasure.
00:46:08And I apologize for not being sophisticated enough to get on the proper Twitter channel
00:46:14or Zoom channel to get to you guys on time.
00:46:17OK, thanks, Tom.
00:46:20As this week's guest of the week, Tom Amos will receive a free one hour tax consultation
00:46:25from the Green Group, an accounting and tax consulting advisory firm specializing
00:46:29in the thoroughbred industry.
00:46:31Why do the most successful owners, breeders and horsemen select the Green Group as their
00:46:35tax advisor?
00:46:36We simply save them money and know how to make them more successful.
00:46:39Over the past 40 years, founder Leonard Green has owned and bred some of the best racehorses
00:46:43in the history of the sport.
00:46:44His in-depth, hands-on industry knowledge combined with cutting edge tax saving strategies
00:46:48has produced positive results for his clientele and has made the Green Group the top rated
00:46:53accounting and tax firm in the business.
00:46:54For a confidential and complimentary consultation, contact us at 732-634-5100 or visit our website
00:47:01at www.greenco.com.
00:47:03The Green Group, proven strategies to save you taxes.
00:47:06Here in Pennsylvania, we're proud of our breeding program, the best in North America.
00:47:11But we're also proud to be leaders in this industry.
00:47:14The PA Horse Breeders Association is funding cutting edge research at PenVet to detect
00:47:19gene doping in thoroughbreds.
00:47:21And we endorsed the SAFE Act to help protect the most vulnerable horses.
00:47:25Plus, we're pleased to support the aftercare programs set up by our horseman's groups.
00:47:30Just a few of the reasons why you should join us in Pennsylvania, the premier place to breed
00:47:35and race.
00:47:37The TDN Writer's Room is brought to you by the PHBA.
00:47:40This week, a Pennsylvania bred hopped onto the Triple Crown Trail when Chase the Chaos
00:47:45won the El Camino Royale Derby at Golden Gate on Saturday, earning a free guaranteed
00:47:52berth into the Preakness and also earning 10 Derby points if he is nominated to the
00:47:57Triple Crown by the late nomination deadline of March the 27th.
00:48:00That's now two wins in a row for Chase the Chaos bred by Dale Craft in Pennsylvania.
00:48:07Well, the main action this weekend will take place at the fairgrounds where we have major
00:48:11preps for both the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby.
00:48:14We just heard from Tom Amos talking about Hoosier Philly.
00:48:17And after, you know, hearing Tom and also talking to him last year, I had to go back
00:48:24and say, you know, what's going on here?
00:48:27Why the hype?
00:48:28She didn't win the Breeders' Cup from a speed.
00:48:32She being Hoosier Philly, obviously, from a speed figure standpoint, really isn't all
00:48:35that very fast.
00:48:36Her best buyer number is an 81.
00:48:38So I took a chance to look back for a third or fourth time at her win in the Golden Rod
00:48:43at Churchill.
00:48:44I get it.
00:48:47I mean, she just looked like a sensation in there.
00:48:50Now, Randy, as you brought up, should she be 11 to 1 in the Derby future wager?
00:48:54That's insane.
00:48:55I mean, it's absolutely insane.
00:48:56You know, Tom is not committed to running in the Kentucky Derby.
00:49:00He's just mentioned it.
00:49:01She's the second choice among the other than the all other, which is all Bob Baffert because
00:49:09his horses aren't in the Derby future wager.
00:49:11That's 2 to 1.
00:49:1211 to 1 is insane.
00:49:14Be that as it may, she's so exciting.
00:49:18And I'm getting ahead of myself.
00:49:20I'd love to see her run in the Derby, but let's worry about the Rachel Alexander first.
00:49:24There's some decent horses in there.
00:49:26I think Chop Chop coming off a nice second place finish in the Silver Bullet day for
00:49:29Brad Cox is a legitimate horse.
00:49:32Pretty mischievous is a legitimate horse.
00:49:34But I don't expect Hoosier Philly to do anything other than put on a show.
00:49:38Yeah.
00:49:38In her last race at Churchill Allianz, in a race called the Golden Rod, she beat a Philly
00:49:42who she'll run against again in the Rachel Alexander called Knock Your Socks Off.
00:49:46That's exactly what happens when you watch Hoosier Philly on video.
00:49:49She knocks your socks off.
00:49:51And what's funny about Hoosier Philly, you know, I go back, as we said in our interview,
00:49:55I go back to the 1980s with Tom Amos.
00:49:59After Hoosier Philly broke her maiden first time out of Churchill Allianz, it was a workman
00:50:03like performance.
00:50:04She got 76 by her.
00:50:06She didn't, you know, it wasn't visually like, wow, when you watched that race.
00:50:11And I ran into Tom and I said, what do you got in the bar?
00:50:13And he said, I got the best horse I've ever trained.
00:50:15I said, really?
00:50:16I said, who?
00:50:17And he said, Hoosier Philly.
00:50:18And I'm like, really?
00:50:19I mean, you know, I didn't challenge him on it.
00:50:22But obviously now we see what he's talking about.
00:50:26She does have a pretty good opponent here in Chop Chop.
00:50:30If you go, as you pointed out, if you go just by numbers, Chop Chop is coming off a really
00:50:34fast win in her last start at the fairgrounds with the race over the track in the Silver
00:50:39Bullet Day, a race that she finished second, actually, to a horse called the Alley's Look,
00:50:44the one-two finishers, both trained by Brad Cox.
00:50:46And they were 13 lengths ahead of the third place finisher.
00:50:49So that was a really good effort from a Philly that is stakes tested in Chop Chop.
00:50:55So it won't be a complete walkover on paper, you would think, from Hoosier Philly.
00:50:59This is going to be a nice test for Hoosier Philly coming off a layoff.
00:51:01But I also think she'll probably run to what will be, what, two to five odds?
00:51:07Yeah, she's going to be extremely tough to beat.
00:51:10I mean, if you're trying to beat her, the only thing you're hoping,
00:51:13much like Wonder Wheel, is that she's not quite tight enough.
00:51:17She has been training at the fairgrounds, whereas Wonder Wheel was not training at Tampa Bay Downs.
00:51:21She does only have three recorded works, and they're good.
00:51:24You can go to Tom Amos' feed and you can watch some of those works.
00:51:29And any time you can work 47 and 2 at the fairgrounds, I've ridden there, I've worked
00:51:34horses at pretty darn quick.
00:51:37Fastest of 86.
00:51:38The next one was the fastest of 67.
00:51:41And the first one she had this year on the 28th of January, 47 and 2, the fastest of 102.
00:51:48And the thing about the East Coast trainers that we don't seem to have on the West Coast is,
00:51:53while you're only seeing a half mile time, these horses will gulp out 5.8s, 3.25s and 7.8s.
00:51:59Tom Amos' barn is by the 5.8s pole.
00:52:02And when he works horses, they'll go past the wire, past the mile pole, past the 7.8s pole,
00:52:08past the 3...
00:52:09And they'll pull up down by the half mile pole.
00:52:12So I can guarantee that even though she's got three works just under her belt,
00:52:17she's likely fitting up.
00:52:18And she was good enough to win first time out.
00:52:20She is the filly to beat.
00:52:22But for those of you looking at the three works, thinking, is she beatable?
00:52:26I mean, she might be, but I doubt it.
00:52:28It is a long, long stretch, that New Orleans stretch.
00:52:31If you start lagging at the 16th pole, it's a long way, let me tell you.
00:52:36It is like the longest stretch in the world.
00:52:39We'll find out more about the boys in the Risen Star.
00:52:42And this is a very different race than the Rachel Alexander, where you have a two to five favorite.
00:52:48You have a big bulky field, no major horses in here, in a very evenly matched race.
00:52:54Somebody will emerge from this, no doubt, and kind of jump up and maybe for the time being,
00:52:59be the leader among the fairgrounds-based contingent.
00:53:02I think Tom Amos has a very good chance in here with Curly Jack as well.
00:53:06He talked about that horse in the podcast earlier.
00:53:10My pick is going to be Tappett's Conquest for Brad Cox.
00:53:14Finished second last time out in an allowance race, but caught behind...
00:53:17Last behind at a pretty slow pace.
00:53:19They went 25 and changed the first quarter allowance race to the fairgrounds.
00:53:23I think Cox is very good at getting his horses to improve as they go through the various races
00:53:28to get them ready for the Kentucky Derby.
00:53:30But a very wide open race, Randy.
00:53:33Interesting, very good betting race.
00:53:34And we'll see what happens on Saturday in the Risen Star.
00:53:37What are your thoughts?
00:53:37Yeah, totally wide open.
00:53:39I mean, you got the winner of the Smarty Jones, the one-two finishers, actually,
00:53:41in victory formation in Angel of Empire.
00:53:43You got the runner-up in the LeCompte in Two Fills,
00:53:47who was second behind Instant Coffee and ran a really good race.
00:53:49You've got Curly Jack.
00:53:50You've got the one-two finishers in that allowance race.
00:53:52Talking about Determinately and Tapit's Conquest,
00:53:54who certainly looked the best of those two in that race.
00:53:57And a horse that Zoe mentioned a little bit earlier that was previously trained by Bob Baffert.
00:54:02This is a horse that's kind of off the radar screen here.
00:54:06But I'm telling you, Harlow Cap has a heck of a chance in this spot
00:54:10because he comes off of a maiden win January the 22nd at Santa Anita.
00:54:14Every horse so far, and I think there have been three of them,
00:54:17that have come out of that maiden race,
00:54:19have improved their buyer speed figures next out by at least 10 points.
00:54:23They have been running lights out, including a horse in Text the Legend and Yellow Brick,
00:54:29two of them, who just ran behind Skinner
00:54:32in that really fast maiden race at Santa Anita last weekend.
00:54:35And Harlow Cap blew him away, blew him away in there.
00:54:39So he is not without a chance in there either.
00:54:41Should be a very entertaining race.
00:54:43Yeah, don't discount the California speed.
00:54:45It's not often you'll see Bob ship one to the fairgrounds.
00:54:49But Bob's not really shipping.
00:54:50He put the horse on the train, so to speak.
00:54:53And Steve Asmussen takes over Harlow Cap.
00:54:57So looks like we've seen the first of Bob runners go to other trainers.
00:55:01This horse does keep his regular rider, Johnny B.
00:55:03It's going to be a go for Harlow Cap.
00:55:06He's going to be extremely tough in here.
00:55:08I do like Victory Formation for trainer Brad Cox.
00:55:12You get Pratt sticking with that one.
00:55:14And then there's a horse light on numbers that
00:55:17I'm definitely going to take another look at.
00:55:19Drawn down towards the inside.
00:55:21That single ruler for Keith DeSomo,
00:55:24who's having a terrific meet down at the fairgrounds.
00:55:28And this is just atypical for Keith, right?
00:55:30Bought this one for $65,000.
00:55:32Takes a few starts to break the maiden.
00:55:33Breaks the maiden in impressive fashion and then moves forward.
00:55:37He's run six times already.
00:55:39Visually, that was a very, very impressive maiden win by him last time out.
00:55:45If he can move forward,
00:55:47distance is not going to be a problem for him by Empire Maker.
00:55:50Out of a storm, Cap Mare.
00:55:51Visually, he's your atypical, long, lean, big,
00:55:55growthy-looking colt that Keith likes to buy.
00:55:58So he's a live long shot for me in there.
00:56:01And guys, another interesting aspect of the Risen Stars,
00:56:03the way the race ought to be run.
00:56:05We've talked about Harlow Cap and his California speed.
00:56:07Well, Victory Formation in his last start in the Smarty Jones
00:56:10had an outside drawn at 8-horse field
00:56:12and was ridden very aggressively from the gate
00:56:15to get the lead by Flabby and Pratt.
00:56:17Pratt's back on him again in the Risen Star.
00:56:18He has an even farther outside draw in this race.
00:56:22So I think we can expect a very fast pace.
00:56:25And back to Harlow Cap, keep in mind,
00:56:27Baffert is currently banned at the fairgrounds
00:56:30because it is a Churchill Downs-owned track.
00:56:32So if the owners wanted to run Harlow Cap in this race,
00:56:36you know, maybe they wanted to go the Louisiana route to the Derby.
00:56:39They had no choice but to make a trainer change
00:56:41and Harlow Cap shows up for Steve Asmussen.
00:56:44Perhaps it'll be his 10,000th career winner.
00:56:46We'll never know.
00:56:46We'll have to see.
00:56:47That'll be another big story to watch this weekend.
00:56:51The TDN Writer's Room is brought to you by XBTV.
00:56:54The XBTV work of the week is a dual work.
00:56:57We got two champs working here,
00:56:59Country Grammar on the outside
00:57:01and then Tabor down on the inside.
00:57:03This is the third time this pair has worked together
00:57:07and Tabor just getting the better of Country Grammar.
00:57:11We know that Country Grammar's a grinder.
00:57:13Tabor's not usually a very good workhorse,
00:57:15but this is the best I've seen in quite some time.
00:57:18They pair up in 1.25 and 2
00:57:21prior to their trip to the Saudi Cup,
00:57:23the $20 million race.
00:57:25It's like they left this morning from Santa Anita
00:57:28and they are on route right now.
00:57:30This is just two of many top-class horses
00:57:33you'll see on XBTV.com.
00:57:43♪♪♪
00:57:53♪♪♪
00:58:23The TDN Racer's Room is brought to you by West Point Thoroughbreds.
00:58:40Joining West Point Thoroughbreds can literally
00:58:43launch you right into the winner's circle
00:58:45for a fraction of the cost.
00:58:47Learn more at westpointtb.com.
00:58:51Meanwhile, racing as a gelding for the first time,
00:58:54Empire Ride broke his maiden by two and three-quarter lengths
00:58:57Thursday at Aqueduct,
00:58:58pulling away in the stretch
00:59:00with a persistent ride from Manny Franco.
00:59:02Are you a fan of Flightline?
00:59:04I am, so I want some of this swag, guys.
00:59:06West Point Thoroughbreds is introducing
00:59:09the Flightline Collection.
00:59:10Dress like a champion and visit westpointtb.com
00:59:15to check out the merch.
00:59:16Guys, Terry, I need some of that merchandise.
00:59:19I'll be your model.
00:59:21I know that Randy will wear some, too, and Bill.
00:59:24Well, this week's Remy Baloch cartoon is in.
00:59:27It'll be in Friday's edition of the TDN.
00:59:29Now, you think that we've only been betting on horses,
00:59:31what, maybe since the 1700s or so?
00:59:34Not true.
00:59:35Remy Baloch is unearthed information
00:59:37that the cavemen were betting on horses
00:59:40for the world's oldest bookie.
00:59:41You'll love his cartoon this week in the TDN.
00:59:44Well, that's a wrap on another show.
00:59:45I want to thank my co-hosts, Zoe Cadman and Randy Moss,
00:59:49our Green Group Guests of the Week, Tom Amos,
00:59:51our producer, Patty Wolfe,
00:59:53our associate producer, Katie Petruniak,
00:59:55and our editors, Anthony LaRocca,
00:59:57Aaliyah LaRocca, and Nathan Wilkinson.
00:59:59Thanks for joining us.
00:59:59We'll see you next week on the TDN Writers' Room Podcast.