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00:00Well, it's time for first things first.
00:02While myself and Randy were having a whale of a time
00:06at the Pegasus, the four-legged namesake
00:09was winning a race at Santa Anita.
00:11Myself and Doodle set out to find out more about Shamu.
00:21Newgrange has plenty left in the tank
00:23and it's back to back in the San Pascual
00:26for Newgrange under Victor Espinosa.
00:29Hi, Shamu.
00:32All right, Phil, Buck's back for Newgrange.
00:34It looks like he's made this year a winning one already.
00:37Yeah, I think he's kind of found his stride and his confidence
00:40and came out of the race in good shape.
00:42Did you ever have any doubt he wouldn't make the lead
00:44and Victor aboard him?
00:46Yeah, I mean, Victor's great about getting early position.
00:48So we all thought it was a good fit.
00:51And when he was where he was at the three-quarter pole,
00:55I was very happy.
00:57And it just unfolded perfectly and had enough in the stretch
01:02to hold off Newgate and get the job done.
01:06Who was the happiest person in your barn, Phil?
01:09Oh, of course, my wife.
01:11She gets on him every day.
01:13She's been his pro, you know, that's been her project.
01:16And she's great with these big horses.
01:18She also gallops pretty much all my steak horses,
01:21Desert, Dawn, and the likes.
01:23And, you know, takes her time, gets along with them,
01:26and gets the job done.
01:28What's one of his quirks?
01:29Like, why is he a project for Sherry?
01:32You know, he's just kind of a horse that early on,
01:37he kind of wanted to do things his way all the time.
01:39And she got him, you know, to do things our way.
01:44And his gallops just kind of, you know, find his,
01:47get into a more comfortable stride early and finish strong.
01:51He kind of wanted to do things the opposite, you know,
01:54when we got him and we've gotten him to relax
01:57and finish better.
01:59What's the plan?
01:59So are we going to Dubai?
02:01I'd say we're definitely leaning towards that way.
02:04You know, we've got plenty of time,
02:06but he'll come out of the race in good shape.
02:08And he's a horse, I don't think a mile and a quarter
02:12would hurt him any.
02:13He's got that big, long stride, nice tactical speed.
02:17Does not need the lead, but you know,
02:20he needs to be forwardly placed.
02:22But all those things are, you know,
02:24good traits to have when you run in big races.
02:27Did you have to buy a mind even before the race,
02:30because you put Victor on,
02:32and Victor in my mind's a good rider,
02:34but he's certainly not hot at the moment.
02:36Yeah, I mean, he's, Victor's good friends with the owners
02:42and has good rapport with them.
02:44I've won graded stakes with Victor in the past.
02:46And, you know, to draw on his experience
02:49in big races like this, you know,
02:51that's what you need.
02:53And, you know, that proved very useful.
02:57Thanks, Phil.
02:58Thanks.
03:03Hello, Shamu.
03:09Great to find out about Shamu there,
03:11and a really, really good to talk to trainer Phil D'Amato.
03:15Well, Santa Anita does continue this weekend.
03:18We'll have a 1230 post time on Friday.
03:21And on Saturday, it's the first racing tour.
03:24The first leg kicks off with races from Goldstein Park.
03:28And of course, Santa Anita will have four stakes here
03:30highlighted by the Bob Lewis,
03:33which we will get to in just a moment, guys.