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00:00:00For the love of the horse, for generations to come.
00:00:28Welcome to another edition of the TDN Writer's Room.
00:00:30My name is Bill Finley.
00:00:31I'm a correspondent for the TDN and I also co-host the Down the Stretch show on SiriusXM
00:00:36Radio.
00:00:37Hey y'all, my name is Randy Moss with NBC Sports.
00:00:39Yes, I do know, mind that bird, was the top horse to come out of New Mexico.
00:00:44We had that question on the show this past weekend and I kind of, I kind of was a little
00:00:49slow off the mark there, Zoe.
00:00:52Come on, Randy, really?
00:00:53You couldn't find that rabbit hole?
00:00:55Couldn't find that rabbit hole.
00:00:56It was up here somewhere, but I couldn't pull it out, yeah.
00:00:59You know, I used the Senor Buscador one.
00:01:03I asked Michelle Yu, I was said, do you know what Senor Buscador means?
00:01:07She was like, too slow.
00:01:09No, that's wrong, Michelle.
00:01:12It means Mr. Prospector.
00:01:13So yeah, I did piggy bank off of you.
00:01:16And I never got that into the show.
00:01:18Never got it into the telecast.
00:01:19Oh, well, I got it in for you.
00:01:22So everyone down there in, um, in the big suites, they, they all understood that.
00:01:28And some of them bet on him and he ran massive, which we'll get to in just a bit.
00:01:33Yeah.
00:01:34No picking on Senor Buscador.
00:01:35He ran a big, big race.
00:01:36He did.
00:01:37All right, guys.
00:01:38Obviously, let's take a look back at where Randy Moss was on Saturday at Gulf Stream
00:01:42Park for the Pegasus card.
00:01:45And uh, you know, we know, we knew going in that it was something that didn't have a whole
00:01:49lot of star power, but at the same time, what they did to make up for it was they had
00:01:55full field, very competitive racing.
00:01:58And it was a really good day of racing.
00:02:01You'd love to see an arrow gate type or a gun runner wind up in the Pegasus, but, uh,
00:02:05that wasn't to be this year, uh, with so many horses retiring and other horses looking for
00:02:10Saudi Arabia.
00:02:11So we go into the Pegasus and the, really the marquee horse was national treasure based
00:02:16on his Preakness win.
00:02:18I hated him.
00:02:19I didn't think he had any chance whatsoever because I thought he was going to duel for
00:02:23the lead.
00:02:24He did duel for the lead.
00:02:25He put away the horse that won the cigar mile and then held off Senor Buscador.
00:02:31I've totally changed my mind on this horse.
00:02:32I thought that was a very, very good effort.
00:02:35And remember, he only lost by a nose to Cody's Wish in the Breeders' Cup dirt mile.
00:02:39I think that this horse has come around.
00:02:40Oh, it was a huge effort by national treasure.
00:02:43And I was sorted in your boat, Bill.
00:02:45I mean, I didn't think he had no chance, but looking at his past performances, uh,
00:02:51and he made such an easy lead in the Preakness at historically slow pace.
00:02:56And then his, the biggest race of his life was in the Breeders' Cup dirt mile when he
00:02:59had a clear lead at a shorter distance.
00:03:02I mean, yeah, I knew he fought, he's always fought whenever he was in front and some horses
00:03:07tried to get by him, but in a very stiffly run mile and an eighth with a fast pace that
00:03:14he was a part of, I just didn't know if he really would be hanging around for the last
00:03:19eighth of a mile.
00:03:20Uh, and boy, was he, because Senor Buscador came roaring up to him at about the eighth
00:03:25pole.
00:03:26And yeah, Senor Buscador looked like he got a little bit late.
00:03:29It was a very tiring racing surface on Saturday at Gulfstream Park, but kudos to national
00:03:35treasure.
00:03:36He, he was even better in the Pegasus World Cup than he was in the Breeders' Cup dirt
00:03:42mile.
00:03:43Yeah.
00:03:44He, he was good.
00:03:45Did I trust him going in?
00:03:47No, but watching him work at Santa Anita and knowing how Bob, how good Bob is getting his
00:03:53horses ready on the day.
00:03:55He was my top pick in there.
00:03:57And I think the thing that pushed me over the edge was Flavien Pratt back aboard him
00:04:02and he won this race in the third quarter.
00:04:05He knew he had to go with first mission who drew on inside of him and they locked horns
00:04:10for the first half mile.
00:04:11But in the third quarter, Pratt just took a breather and that was the winning move right
00:04:16there.
00:04:17He's like, okay, I'm just going to grab a hold of my horse.
00:04:20I'm going to let him take a breather and then I'm going to finish with a flurry.
00:04:23And boy, did he, that was the absolute winning move, giving the Hall of Fame of Bob Buffett
00:04:29his third victory in the race as far as first mission.
00:04:34He was involved just a little bit.
00:04:36According to Brad Cox, he didn't handle the track.
00:04:38He didn't handle the kickback and he will live to fight another day.
00:04:42Tom Ryan said about national treasure that he's already back here at Santa Anita and
00:04:48Saudi would be awesome if the horse bounces out of it.
00:04:52But again, they're going to let the horse talk and they'll see what happens moving forward.
00:04:57But it looks like Senor Buscador may go as well.
00:05:00And yeah, it was a terrific race.
00:05:03Randy, you've got something.
00:05:05Yeah, you know, I mean, one of the things that I don't think we really fully realized
00:05:10because there were so few dirt races and there were no other two turn races at Gulfstream
00:05:15Park on Saturday was exactly how the racing surface was playing.
00:05:19And in hindsight, watching the race, talking to the riders, it was an extremely slow track
00:05:25by Gulfstream standards, a very tiring track.
00:05:28And the riders all came back and said that the kickback on Saturday was punishing.
00:05:34You can really see that by looking at the chart.
00:05:37I mean, first mission, he was beating 20 and a half lengths.
00:05:41And when you get past, really, when you get past the first three finishers and you go
00:05:45fourth place, hoist the gold all the way back, every one of those horses ran their last
00:05:52quarter of a mile no faster than 27 and change.
00:05:56Most of them 28 and change and even some 29 and change final quarter miles.
00:06:01So a lot of those horses were just walking the last part of the race.
00:06:05Right. And I mean, National Treasure didn't finish up all that fast because the pace was
00:06:09so fast. But that just underlines to me how game he was to still be in there slugging
00:06:16down the lane when Senor Buscador and Kruppi, the second and third place finishers, came
00:06:21from last and next to last, respectively, because of the aggressive pace and because
00:06:27of the tiring nature of the surface.
00:06:29And one thing about Bob, when he sends horses out, he's not sending a short horse.
00:06:34So sometimes even if his horses aren't the best, they're just fitter than the rest and
00:06:40they can outslug it.
00:06:41They've been trained to slug in the morning and they'll slug in the afternoon.
00:06:45He's supposedly going to stay in America.
00:06:47I mean, Bob Baffert made a big deal post race out of saying that he's going to look for
00:06:53races in the United States for National Treasure instead of shipping them over to Saudi
00:06:58Arabia or to Dubai.
00:06:59So we'll see which races they plot out.
00:07:01But that's that's good news as well.
00:07:03He's the only one of the three-year-old, the top three-year-olds of last year that's
00:07:08really right now, I guess maybe First Mission was one of them, but not really Triple
00:07:12Crown, you know, horses that that's still that's still in there.
00:07:16All the rest of them have been retired.
00:07:19Yeah, and we'll see what happens to him down the road.
00:07:21I mean, a long way to go for Horse of the Year, but I could see him putting together a
00:07:25Horse of the Year type campaign.
00:07:27I want to get to the Pegasus turf in a second.
00:07:29I just want to make one more point.
00:07:31I talked about how there were no stars on the card, but Gulfstream managed to handle
00:07:36forty seven point three million dollars on the program, up seven point eight percent
00:07:43over last year when they bet forty three point eight.
00:07:46They have really perfected with this race the idea of the big event, you know, bringing
00:07:52out entertainers that people like me and Randy have never even heard of, but are huge
00:07:57with the twenty three year old crowd type of thing.
00:08:00Calvin Harris was awesome.
00:08:02It was really a lot of fun in the Carousel Club.
00:08:06Randy, you should have come down and had a little bit of a bop.
00:08:08We left at nine o'clock.
00:08:09We could we could have still tucked you into bed.
00:08:13I was. It was really fun.
00:08:16I thought Calvin Harris was a wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers.
00:08:20No, he's a tall, skinny Scotsman.
00:08:23Had you Zoe, had you heard of him before this?
00:08:26Oh, you know, I'm really hip.
00:08:27Yes, I have.
00:08:28Oh, he's got it. He's one of the best DJs in the world.
00:08:32All right. But anyways, they've perfected putting on a party, putting on a celebration.
00:08:37And, you know, like I said, didn't take they didn't need an arrow gate, a gun runner or City
00:08:43of Light or a California Chrome to track that kind of betting action.
00:08:48OK, the other big race of the day was the Pegasus Turf, of course.
00:08:52And what more can you say about Ryan Moore?
00:08:55My goodness. This was the identical ride he put in in the Breeders' Cup turf aboard Augusta
00:09:02Dan. He's boy, he's got some big cojones the way he goes through those tight little holes on
00:09:08the rail. And he got the job done.
00:09:11I generally Zoe will get mad at me for saying this.
00:09:15I think it's ninety nine percent the horse and one percent the jockey.
00:09:18But in this case, as was the case with Augusta Dan, I think jockey made all the difference in
00:09:24the world. Only other point I want to make is rarely do I so disagree with betters.
00:09:31Why on earth was was this horse two to one and integration was six to five.
00:09:37Made absolutely no sense.
00:09:39I mean, Worm Harp absolutely should have been the favorite.
00:09:42No knock on integration to finish fifth.
00:09:44But but that was crazy the way they bet this race.
00:09:46So I think the overlay of the day two to one was Worm Harp.
00:09:51I absolutely loved her coming in.
00:09:54And that was I had to watch the head on just to see how much room there was.
00:09:59And once Ryan got her head in that hole, it did open up.
00:10:02But he still had to stay there.
00:10:04And he's just such a smart, tactical rider.
00:10:07He's saying, look, he goes, I know in America the jockeys come off the rail, which they do.
00:10:13Horses get tired and usually they're finishing slower than they are in Europe.
00:10:17They don't have that finish.
00:10:18She had that kick to get in that hole and go away.
00:10:22She broke the track record that's been held since 2007.
00:10:25English Channel held that track record.
00:10:27She smashed that.
00:10:29It was just an absolutely brilliant ride by Moore.
00:10:32She'll now go to Justify, which, you know, not bad, picking up a million dollars in her swan song.
00:10:39And she'll head off to Coolmore.
00:10:40She's already there.
00:10:41So, yeah, terrific.
00:10:45The only question, Mark, I think going in about Worm Harp was the question, Mark,
00:10:49that the Coolmore people had was the question, Mark, that that Ryan Moore had.
00:10:53Ryan admitted after the race and Aiden O'Brien kind of said the same thing,
00:10:58that Ryan wasn't exactly all in on the decision to run her in the Pegasus because of the mile and an eighth distance.
00:11:06Her best distance is thought to be like a mile and a half, a mile and a quarter.
00:11:10She could handle OK, which she did in the Philly Mare Turf at the Breeders' Cup.
00:11:15But a mile and an eighth was kind of a question mark.
00:11:17Would it be too sharp for her?
00:11:18Would it be too short for her?
00:11:20And Ryan rode her pretty aggressively in the first part of the race to establish a good position.
00:11:24And it wasn't a slow pace.
00:11:26And he was still kind of on the engine at the half mile pole to get her, you know, to keep her right up in there.
00:11:32And as they were going around the second turn and he was right on the rail, a couple of lengths off the lead, sitting in third.
00:11:39He commented after the race.
00:11:42He had no worries at all about getting through inside because he had been watching main event.
00:11:47And not only do American riders tend to get off the rail, but main event was kind of leaning out a little bit during the running of the race.
00:11:54So he knew he would come off the inside.
00:11:56And even at the top of the stretch, right, when we were all saying, oh, man, what's he going to do?
00:12:01I hope he gets through. Does he have room?
00:12:03Ryan Moore was like, I was just fine.
00:12:04I wasn't ready to go then.
00:12:08He knew how much acceleration Warm Heart was going to have once she found the hole.
00:12:12He knew what kind of turn of foot she was going to have.
00:12:14So even at the 3.16 pole, when we were all worried, he was like, I'm not ready yet.
00:12:18I want to wait a little longer.
00:12:20And then sure enough, main event drifted off at about the eighth pole.
00:12:23Boom. You know, before you know it, she's a length, length and a quarter in front.
00:12:27So another great performance by Warm Heart.
00:12:30Easily the best horse in the race.
00:12:31Integration.
00:12:33Finished fourth or fifth, rather.
00:12:35Ran a solid race, right.
00:12:37Ran back to his 98 buyer speed figure.
00:12:39Got a rail trip, a little bit of traffic in the running, the last 3.16 of a mile.
00:12:45So maybe he can even do a little bit better than he ran in this particular race.
00:12:50So I think we're going to see some big things from him going forward.
00:12:53Big race from Catnip to finish.
00:12:56Huge. I mean, he was being only a half length and a neck.
00:13:00So three quarters of a length with a three wide trip around both turns.
00:13:04And Catnip showed in that race kind of what he did, what he showed last year,
00:13:08that he's extremely tactical.
00:13:09He can turn on and off.
00:13:11DeTore rode him very aggressively into the first turn and around the first turn
00:13:15to get position.
00:13:16And then he just throttled him down
00:13:18and he dropped back to about four or four and a half weeks back
00:13:21and it came on again to finish a good third.
00:13:23So those two, I think, are horses to watch, especially going forward.
00:13:28I thought there might have been an inquiry because right when they got to the wire,
00:13:31it looks like Frankie was running up on Ryan Moore's heels
00:13:35because I think Ryan drifted out.
00:13:36And you can see in the photo, Frankie's got his mouth wide open
00:13:41and he is yelling for room right there at the wire.
00:13:44Go back and look at that picture.
00:13:45I'm like, oh, my God, I need to change his britches after this one.
00:13:50It was a very, very good race indeed.
00:13:53Well, with all the stakes races on the card,
00:13:55we still have to talk about what happened in the second race of the day.
00:13:58And Randy Moss was nice enough to point out to me that we have to talk about this.
00:14:03And I know why it was a maiden special weight race.
00:14:06And you get this sometimes this time of year.
00:14:09Speakeasy wins the race for Todd Pletcher, got a 100 buyer number,
00:14:16beat a horse by the name of Victory Avenue, trained by Gustavo Delgado.
00:14:20That horse got a ninety seven buyer number.
00:14:22So, you know, horses racing in late January.
00:14:25Is it too late for them to make the Kentucky Derby?
00:14:28Maybe, maybe not.
00:14:29It's going to be a tough call.
00:14:31But again, talk about betting.
00:14:34How does Todd Pletcher send out an international good thing like this?
00:14:37And it goes off at eight to one.
00:14:39Well, we were at Victory Avenue, it was three to two.
00:14:43Yeah, go ahead, Zoe.
00:14:45His works weren't great.
00:14:47His works were not great at all.
00:14:49He'd been out work several times down there at Palm Beach.
00:14:53He drew the one hole.
00:14:54And you know what?
00:14:55I was looking at him because I bet all the races throughout the day.
00:14:59And I just tossed him in because I know how good Todd is.
00:15:02First time out, you've got a rad.
00:15:04But I didn't like him at all.
00:15:06I liked his other horse that was in that race.
00:15:09I did not like Speakeasy, the son of Constitution.
00:15:12But sometimes when those gates open, Todd's horses just jump to it.
00:15:16And he ran absolutely massive.
00:15:19Now the runner up, Victory Avenue, ran huge as well.
00:15:22This is the same race that Mage came out of last year.
00:15:25And he went on to do great things.
00:15:27So it's definitely not too late.
00:15:29He ran his third quarter in second quarter in twenty one point nine seconds.
00:15:35He ran ridiculously fast.
00:15:37He ran a ridiculously fast final quarter as well.
00:15:41So if you like Speakeasy, you have to like Victory Avenue
00:15:45Avenue as well for Delgado.
00:15:47What Victory Avenue was the good thing.
00:15:51He was the horse everybody was talking about going to.
00:15:53That's very much the same ownership as Mage.
00:15:57The same trainer, Gustavo Delgado.
00:16:00You know, they were talking up this horse as their Mage of twenty twenty four.
00:16:04The Clockers were raving about Victory Avenue and he ran a ninety seven buyer.
00:16:08He ran gigantic.
00:16:10But Speakeasy, you know, stamped himself as well as a horse
00:16:14really to watch going forward because it's twenty twenty four.
00:16:17And the way horses are trained nowadays, guys, I don't think it's too late
00:16:20for either of these horses to jump in to the to the Kentucky Derby picture,
00:16:25assuming that they, you know, they stay healthy and all that.
00:16:27I mean, I'm sure Victory Avenue will probably come back in a maiden race.
00:16:30And then if he wins, they'll look for a stakes after that.
00:16:33They try to put him on the fast track.
00:16:36But a you know, even before the day started,
00:16:41the word was so strong about Victory Avenue
00:16:45that someone involved with Gulfstream Park told me,
00:16:48you know, the best race of the day is going to be the second race.
00:16:52And, you know, I didn't really know what they were talking about.
00:16:55And then I looked at the past performances
00:16:56and then I started hearing things about Victory Avenue.
00:16:58So, yeah, that's really going to be a key race going forward, I think.
00:17:02Got one more that won on Saturday at the fairgrounds.
00:17:05Just a touch.
00:17:06Watch out for him, for trainer Brad Cox.
00:17:08I think we're going to see some of these three year old horses
00:17:12that just broke their maiden jumping through big hoops pretty soon.
00:17:16He's a son of Justify.
00:17:18Yeah, it looked very, very good.
00:17:21Do you want to remind you that the TDN Writers Room is brought to you by Keeneland?
00:17:25We have a huge congratulations to all the horses
00:17:28and the connections of Keeneland sales graduates,
00:17:32as well as newly minted champions Arcangelo.
00:17:36Well done to the connections, their elite power and up to the mark
00:17:39on their well-deserved victories at the Eclipse Awards.
00:17:43For those hoping to watch the next generation of champions in action,
00:17:47tickets for the Keeneland Spring Meet go on sale February the 20th
00:17:51for the Keeneland April meeting, which runs from April the 5th to the 26th.
00:17:56We'll be right back after this message from Keeneland.
00:18:03At Keeneland, a horse will always be measured in hands.
00:18:10Hands that see,
00:18:13that sense,
00:18:15that speak.
00:18:18Hands that hold our sport to a higher standard,
00:18:22not for our sake,
00:18:24but for theirs,
00:18:26for the love of the horse, for generations to come.
00:18:31As always, the fastest horse of the week segment is brought to you
00:18:33by the fast sires at Windstar Farms, such as Improbable.
00:18:38Here's a nice stat.
00:18:39Improbable is the first horse since Seattle Slew
00:18:43to finish his two year old season as an undefeated grade one winner
00:18:47and then go on to become a champion older horse
00:18:51to win an Eclipse Award as an older horse.
00:18:54Improbable did it by winning the Los Alfitriti at two
00:18:57and then winning the awesome again, the Whitney and the Hollywood Gold Cup
00:19:00at age four.
00:19:02Improbable is from the immediate family of Hard Spun.
00:19:06His damn rare event is out of a half sister to Hard Spun.
00:19:10So the bloodlines are there and he'll have his first two year olds
00:19:13that will hit the track in 2024.
00:19:16Improbable stands at Windstar for $15,000.
00:19:20Now, Improbable was co-owned by Windstar Farm, China Horse Club
00:19:25and also SF Racing.
00:19:27SF Racing, also the co-owner of our fastest horse of the week.
00:19:30Of course, that would be National Treasure for winning the Pegasus World Cup.
00:19:34National Treasure received a buyer speed figure of one oh five.
00:19:38Just a couple of ticks below the one oh seven.
00:19:40He got finishing second to Cody's Wish in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.
00:19:51Well, what would a week be without some drama out of the Bob Baffert
00:19:55versus Churchill Downs saga that's been dragging on way, way, way too long.
00:20:00The week started out with Baffert and his owner, Amir Zidan,
00:20:04announcing that they were dropping the lawsuits that they had filed.
00:20:08I believe Zidan was the main person behind it,
00:20:11but the lawsuits that were still pending to try to get the Medina Spirit decision
00:20:16from the Kentucky Derby reversed.
00:20:19There was an obvious an olive branch that they held out in their statement.
00:20:25They were actually complimentary to Churchill Downs
00:20:28and the Kentucky Racing Commission.
00:20:30Churchill Downs promptly said, No, thanks, Bob.
00:20:34Thanks, but no, thanks.
00:20:35You still can't run in the Derby this year.
00:20:37And I do wonder if Baffert's team thought that that statement
00:20:40would get him reinstated for the Derby. It didn't happen.
00:20:42But now we're doing this on Tuesday, on Monday, yesterday, on July 29th.
00:20:48There was the deadline for owners to move their horses out of Baffert's
00:20:52barn if they wanted to start in the Kentucky Derby.
00:20:56If they were still in Baffert's barn as of today, January 30th,
00:20:59ineligible to run in the Kentucky Derby.
00:21:02Years past, most of the owners capitulated,
00:21:07gave their horses to Tim Yaktin.
00:21:09This year, they are drawing a line in the sand.
00:21:14I talked to several owners yesterday.
00:21:16I talked to Zidane. I talked to Mike Pagram.
00:21:20And then also John Chirwa in the L.A.
00:21:24Times checked in with Baffert.
00:21:26Not one horse, not one three year old has been taken away from Baffert.
00:21:32Now you're talking about at this point,
00:21:34he probably has seven or eight real Kentucky Derby contenders.
00:21:37They are all staying in his barn.
00:21:39All of them will be ineligible to run in the Kentucky Derby.
00:21:43So this opens up a lot of stories.
00:21:46But, Zoe, what happens if Nysos wins the Santa Nina Derby
00:21:50by 12 lengths, is undefeated and then can't run in the Kentucky Derby?
00:21:54I think that's going to make Churchill Downs look pretty stupid.
00:21:57Yeah, it most likely will.
00:21:59And I think that is the idea moving forward.
00:22:02Listen, they tried going with Tim.
00:22:05Tim's a great trainer, good guy.
00:22:07Things just didn't work out.
00:22:10The Derby gods did not allow it to happen the last couple of years.
00:22:14So they may as well stick with what they know.
00:22:16Keep the horses in Bob's barn.
00:22:18There's nothing wrong with winning the Travers, winning the Preakness,
00:22:21winning all kinds of other races.
00:22:23And they're going to stick with them as far as Mike Pagram.
00:22:26His horses never left the barn.
00:22:28He was true and true, one for all and all for Bob.
00:22:31So the rest of the team have opted to stay with Bob.
00:22:35And I personally never thought they were going to leave this year.
00:22:39And I'm glad that that decision has been justified.
00:22:42So we'll see what happens moving forward.
00:22:44Obviously, with the drop of the lawsuit against Churchill Downs,
00:22:47I'm sure maybe there was an inkling of hope that they may have slid the door open.
00:22:52You know, Brian Moore style, just enough for Bob to get his nose in.
00:22:56But that didn't happen.
00:22:58Patrick extended the olive branch and Churchill Downs, Incorporated
00:23:00took it and swatted him with it, basically is what happened.
00:23:04Yeah. And I think with a lot of those owners,
00:23:08it was a matter of principle.
00:23:09They felt that Baffert was being unfairly treated,
00:23:12not just with the original two year ban, but then in particular,
00:23:16the extension to twenty twenty four.
00:23:19And I think it was really a two pronged deal.
00:23:21First of all, the three year olds that in the past
00:23:24were transferred to Tim Yakteen, who, as you said, is a good trainer,
00:23:28did not run as well when they left the Baffert barn
00:23:32as they had been running before that.
00:23:34And then secondly, over there anyway, none of them were
00:23:37like big, massive standouts that, you know what I mean?
00:23:41Yeah. And then in the last couple of years, Churchill Downs has sort of
00:23:48had its cake and eaten it, too. Right.
00:23:50I mean, they they banned Baffert, but they still got Baffert's best
00:23:55three year olds with a different trainer to go ahead and run in the Kentucky Derby.
00:24:00Right. So they really felt no pain in the deal.
00:24:02They really were missing out on any of the top horses, like Bill pointed out,
00:24:06which might happen this year with Nysos or maybe some others.
00:24:08So I think maybe the owners felt, hey, you know,
00:24:13this this might even keep happening if we keep transferring
00:24:17our best three year olds out of the Baffert barn to other trainers.
00:24:20Churchill Downs is not being penalized at all here.
00:24:23And so I think it was kind of a combo platter as to how we got to where we are
00:24:27right now. A lot of owners being very loyal to Baffert.
00:24:31Yeah. And I think this blew up in Churchill Downs his face.
00:24:34And, you know, we don't know what's going to happen with these Baffert horses,
00:24:37but it's Baffert. He's got seven or eight top contenders.
00:24:40And, you know, we're going to have a Kentucky likely have a Kentucky Derby
00:24:45where some of the best three year olds in the country are not in the race.
00:24:50I guess they'll point for the Preakness afterwards.
00:24:53So we'll see what happens there.
00:24:55But I don't think Churchill Downs expected this.
00:24:59And it was kind of a, you know.
00:25:01And yeah, I think you should give credit to Baffert's owners for showing their loyalty.
00:25:06It can't be easy to go out and spend a million dollars on a horse,
00:25:09have the horse, you know, do well for you.
00:25:11And then you can't fulfill the dream of trying to win the Kentucky Derby.
00:25:14So anyways, on the Pegasus World Cup broadcast with NBC,
00:25:20Belinda Stronach announced they're going to have a Pegasus
00:25:23like event on September 28th at Santa Anita.
00:25:28It's going to be called the California Crown.
00:25:30They haven't decided yet on what the purses are going to be.
00:25:33There's so many moving parts in California with everything that's going on
00:25:37that they have to sit down and figure out what kind of money can be put towards this.
00:25:43The the race that is going to become the
00:25:47version of the Pegasus World Cup will be the awesome again.
00:25:50It's a race for three year olds and up.
00:25:52They're going to have a couple of turf races.
00:25:54The Eddie D is going to be part of this renamed ISU and the John Henry Turf Cup.
00:25:59They also have a bunch of other stakes races that they normally run during that meet.
00:26:04I'm all for it.
00:26:06I think it's going to be a great afternoon of racing.
00:26:09I think they've proven they know.
00:26:10As we said, they know they know how to put on a big party.
00:26:13And Santa Anita is a great place to have it.
00:26:15I got one kind of off the wall take on this, though.
00:26:18I wish they would have switched the calendar around
00:26:22and made the race the the big cap.
00:26:27A race that is struggling so much
00:26:30because of the competition from Saudi Arabia and Dubai.
00:26:34And you can do that.
00:26:36It doesn't have to be run in March, run it in September and call it,
00:26:39you know, call it the California crown or the, you know, the big cap
00:26:42California crown or something like that.
00:26:44And that would breathe some life into a race.
00:26:47It really needs some somebody to breathe some life into it.
00:26:50Zoe, I'm looking forward to September the 28th.
00:26:52I have no doubt it's going to be a big day of racing.
00:26:56I mean, we saw at Gulfstream Park, you know, each race.
00:27:00I mean, every race I looked up, there was at least four million dollars
00:27:04bet on that particular race, regardless of whether it was a stakes
00:27:08race, allowance race, maiden race, claiming race.
00:27:12It didn't matter.
00:27:13The handle was astronomical.
00:27:16And hopefully we can get the same thing out here at Santa Anita
00:27:19for a big day of racing.
00:27:22Yes, the awesome again is going to have to be three year olds and up.
00:27:26Which is going to be great.
00:27:27Not just three year olds.
00:27:29And we're going to have a lot of other races moving forward.
00:27:32It'll be interesting to see what kind of musical talent they get.
00:27:35What I think they really need to do is to get a plane already charter
00:27:41a plane to bring those horses from Kentucky.
00:27:46They're all going to be in Kentucky, New York.
00:27:48Get a plane already set up and say, hey, come to California.
00:27:51We're going to fly you out there first class on our plane.
00:27:54Because that is one of the main problems people get with shipping
00:27:58horses around the country.
00:27:59You can't get them there.
00:28:00It's a nightmare to move horses.
00:28:02Bob's horses had to go through Memphis to get down to Florida.
00:28:06It's just a logistical nightmare to fly horses since we last text up.
00:28:12Let's talk about first racing and Belinda Stronach here for just a second.
00:28:16Right.
00:28:17When Belinda won the power struggle with her father and took control
00:28:21first racing at Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park.
00:28:24You know, Frank Stronach was a basically a lifelong breeder, and he had been
00:28:27really passionate about the thoroughbred industry.
00:28:30We didn't really know how much passion Belinda would bring to the project.
00:28:34And then when when you had all the horse deaths out at Santa Anita a few years
00:28:38ago, there was a big fear that Belinda would just be, you know, this is too much.
00:28:43I don't want to have to deal with all this.
00:28:45Right.
00:28:46And if anything, she's actually doubled down on thoroughbred
00:28:50racing in the aftermath of that.
00:28:52I mean, for decades and decades, people have been talking about the need to
00:28:55expose new people to thoroughbred racing that knew nothing about it.
00:28:59How do you do it?
00:29:00There have been concerts at racetracks since we were kids.
00:29:04Right.
00:29:05The old Gulfstream Park used to have a concert series out behind the
00:29:08grandstand all the time.
00:29:09She's taken it to the next level.
00:29:11She has put her money where her mouth is and she's done it.
00:29:15She spent more money on it and she's done it better than anybody
00:29:19else has ever tried to do it.
00:29:20I mean, she I don't want to say she gentrified the Preakness infield, but
00:29:24she definitely took the Preakness infield scene to the next level.
00:29:29Right.
00:29:29It's blue collar, not all blue collar, but mostly blue collar in the infield.
00:29:34Then she transferred that sort of to the Pegasus.
00:29:37It's diamond collar at the Pegasus World Cup.
00:29:40Right.
00:29:41She's really going for the upscale at the Pegasus World Cup.
00:29:44I mean, some of those couches and some of those tables at the very front are
00:29:49selling for like forty, fifty thousand dollars and they're selling out.
00:29:53Right.
00:29:54You know who had one of those?
00:29:56You know who was there?
00:29:58In fact, I tried to get through to take a shortcut and they and they stopped me
00:30:01cold.
00:30:02John Stewart.
00:30:04You can't even walk through.
00:30:05You've got to go around.
00:30:06Yeah.
00:30:06John Stewart was there.
00:30:08He had one of those bottle service tables.
00:30:10He was having a good old time.
00:30:12So now at Santa Anita, I guess it might be somewhere in between.
00:30:15OK, it's not going to be as blue collar as the Pimlico infield.
00:30:19It probably won't be, although it may be as diamond collar as we see at the
00:30:23Pegasus World Cup.
00:30:24It's going to be fascinating to see how they pull it off.
00:30:27Well, I'm not going if they don't have Calvin Harris as the entertainer.
00:30:34Yeah, but well said, Randy.
00:30:36You know, they really are trying and it's great to see that they get a big event
00:30:41like this out at Santa Anita during a time of year where everything that's
00:30:44after Saratoga and Del Mar.
00:30:46So it's kind of otherwise a quiet time of year for horse racing, particularly
00:30:51out in California.
00:30:51So good for them.
00:30:53And let's hope that that is a big success, as big a success as the Pegasus
00:30:56has been.
00:30:57And while we are talking about the Pegasus and there is a there is a segue
00:31:01here, right?
00:31:02The TD and Riders room is brought to you by the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders
00:31:06Association.
00:31:07And here's the segue.
00:31:08I'm very busy.
00:31:10We never talked about I'm very busy when we were analyzing the Pegasus World Cup
00:31:14turf.
00:31:14She finished a ground saving good second with Irad Ortiz behind Warmheart in
00:31:20the turf.
00:31:20And I'm very busy.
00:31:21Trained by Chad Brown, happens to be a Pennsylvania bred.
00:31:25She was bred by Glenn Brock and Mark Toothaker, just beaten a half length by
00:31:30Warmheart in that race.
00:31:31If you're interested in breeding in Pennsylvania, you can breed to a
00:31:35registered PA stallion and you can receive a 40% breeders award for
00:31:40finishing first, second, third.
00:31:42And of course, also, you can be eligible to that PA sired PA bred stallion
00:31:46series that we always talk about for two year olds and now for three year olds
00:31:49as well.
00:31:50Check out the 2024 Stallion and Boarding Farm Directory.
00:31:53It's available on the PHBA website at www.pabred.com.
00:32:01PA bred, I think we've built a brand at this point.
00:32:05The state of Pennsylvania has the best breeders program in the entire United
00:32:10States.
00:32:13Angel of Empire wins the Arkansas Derby and wins it clear.
00:32:17Caravelle in the Breeders' Cup turf sprint.
00:32:20Pennsylvania and the PHBA have the best state bred program in the country, bar
00:32:25none.
00:32:25The best breeders awards and stallion awards in the country.
00:32:29Respect the law.
00:32:31He's earned it.
00:32:33A grade one winning juvenile.
00:32:35Tis the law pops the cork in the champagne.
00:32:38A classic winning three year old.
00:32:40Tis the law is going to win the first leg of the Triple Crown.
00:32:44Five triple digit buyers.
00:32:46Respect the law.
00:32:47Tis the law.
00:32:48The best son of Red Hot Sire Constitution.
00:32:52He's left the others behind.
00:32:54He's going to win the Run Happy Travers.
00:32:56Tis the law.
00:33:00It's time for the Coolmore Stallion of the Week.
00:33:02And this week, that is Tis the law, whose first two year olds will race in
00:33:062024.
00:33:07Tis the law comes from one of the best sire lines in the book.
00:33:10His sire, Constitution, is one of the best young sires in the game.
00:33:13His grand sire, Tappet, has been one of the most influential and breed shaping
00:33:17stallions of the past half century.
00:33:19And his great grand sire, Pulpit, was a successful stallion at Claiborne Farm.
00:33:23But Tis the law was a far better racehorse than a sire grand sire or great
00:33:28grand sire.
00:33:29In fact, just like his great great grand sire, AP Indy, he won four grade one
00:33:33races, including one as a juvenile in the Belmont Stakes at three.
00:33:37Classic winner Tis the law stands at Coolmore for what I would think a very
00:33:41reasonable fee of $20,000.
00:33:45The TD and Writer's Room also brought to you by the Green Group, a tax
00:33:49accounting and advisory firm, which, of course, as we told you and told you and
00:33:53told you, we'll keep telling you, it specializes in thoroughbred industry and
00:33:57it is designed to save you money at tax time.
00:34:03Welcome in now the Green Group Guests of the Week.
00:34:05We've got a good one for you this week.
00:34:07Oshin Murphy, one of the top European riders, three time champion rider
00:34:12overseas, is riding this meet at Gulfstream Park.
00:34:15We thought we'd bring him in to talk about why he's come to the States and
00:34:19how's he enjoyed his stay here.
00:34:20So, Oshin, a jockey of your prominence, you had a lot of different things you
00:34:25could have chose from this winter, maybe Dubai, maybe stay at home and just take
00:34:30it easy.
00:34:30Why did you decide to make this journey over to the United States and ride at
00:34:34Gulfstream?
00:34:35Well, I've never done a stint in the US and I suppose most young riders,
00:34:40particularly one who wants to get to a high level, does some time in America to
00:34:46learn the tricks of the trade and get some experience on the track and with
00:34:50times.
00:34:51And I never had that opportunity before.
00:34:53And this time around, I was thinking, how would I spend January or particularly
00:34:58from after Christmas time into early spring?
00:35:03And I thought it'd be brilliant to get some experience out here.
00:35:06And Aiden Butler from Stronach mentioned that they'd like to have me.
00:35:11And Sheikh Fahd, my main employer in Europe, said that he would have some
00:35:17runners.
00:35:17So fortunately, it all worked out.
00:35:20And I've been here a couple of weeks now.
00:35:23So, Oshin, a lot of people in this country think it's very brilliant to spend a
00:35:27winter or at least part of a winter in the sunshine in South Florida.
00:35:31They spend a lot of money to be able to do that every year.
00:35:34How much of this was also sort of a quality of life thing for you, not being
00:35:39on a plane, going here and there and getting some sunshine?
00:35:42Sure. I suppose the bottom line is I have traveled a lot even during my time
00:35:47here. I've been to India.
00:35:48I went to Dubai the day before the Pegasus.
00:35:52So unlike most guys who treat it as a working holiday, I've actually still
00:35:58incorporated a lot of travel.
00:35:59But the weather hasn't been too kind to us, but still a lot better than what it
00:36:03would be in Europe.
00:36:05And even this morning, I was in the water.
00:36:09I spent some time on the beach.
00:36:10So it's been great to freshen up in that sense with racing from Wednesday to
00:36:16Sunday. I've been pretty busy, but I've felt it has been great for me to see a
00:36:24new place, a change of scenery and not have that workload that maybe I associate
00:36:30with my summer months in England.
00:36:33Oisin, South Florida is a fun place to be.
00:36:37We're here to talk about the horses.
00:36:38But what is one of the funnest things that you've done thus far in South Florida?
00:36:43I know you're big into show jumping.
00:36:45Have you ventured up to Wellington and had a little bit of a crack at Wellington as
00:36:49well?
00:36:49I got to go kayaking and we didn't see any alligators, fortunately.
00:36:54But that was quite fun.
00:36:58I tried to push another international rider who's Irish and based here for a few
00:37:04weeks, David Egan.
00:37:05I tried to get him into the water.
00:37:08Unfortunately, it didn't happen.
00:37:09But maybe I'll get him out there again and see if I can capsize his canoe.
00:37:18Oisin, and I'm sure you're aware before you came, it's very hard for a new rider
00:37:23to break into the Gulfstream Colony because it has so many great riders up and down
00:37:28the roster.
00:37:30The Otis brothers, John Velasquez, Javier Castellano, Tyler Gafleon, you've won five
00:37:35races so far.
00:37:36To me, that's that's good, considering that you had to come in here without any
00:37:42connections. Are you satisfied with the meet you've had?
00:37:45No, no, I'd like to have ridden a lot more winners, but I've tried.
00:37:52And in fairness, I knew coming here that it wasn't going to be easy.
00:37:56I got some really good results on Saturday, which was fulfilling.
00:38:01And I felt like I rode well over the weekend.
00:38:06But of course, I always want to do better.
00:38:10You know, I have huge admiration for the guys I've been sitting close to in the
00:38:14weighing room. I knew coming here that the Jockey Colony, as you alluded to, was very
00:38:20strong. But I want to do better.
00:38:25And particularly if I got another chance to come here, I'd like to ride many more
00:38:32winners.
00:38:34Great ride on a Tone, by the way, the 34 to one shot, the defending champ in the
00:38:39Pegasus Turf, following Ryan Moore up through the rail there to finish fourth.
00:38:43And he also had a great ride, obviously, on Maj last fall, not only in the QE2 at
00:38:48Keeneland, but also just getting nipped by Master of the Seas in the Breeders' Cup
00:38:53Mile. What's an update on Maj and some of the other horses you're looking forward
00:38:58to riding in 2024?
00:39:00Yeah, so Maj had a fantastic year last year.
00:39:04She won the Kipko 1000 Guineas and then she came over to Keeneland and won the Queen
00:39:09Elizabeth. And as you said, she just got beaten in the Breeders' Cup Mile.
00:39:14She ran on Friday in Dubai and she wasn't at her best.
00:39:19They haven't made a firm plan where she'll go from now or what her future is.
00:39:25But I suppose she was an absolute star for me.
00:39:29Porta Fortuna, she won group one.
00:39:32She's owned by some American people and she was great last year.
00:39:37She ran really well at the Breeders' Cup as well, where she was placed.
00:39:41I suppose the chances are she might stay at a mile and try running in the English
00:39:491000 Guineas or maybe the Irish 1000 Guineas.
00:39:52I haven't spoken to Danica about her recently, but I'm sure he'll be aiming for
00:39:58something like that. And then maybe of the other two-year-olds, I have to look forward
00:40:03to Rama 2. She was second in the pre-mourning in France.
00:40:08It's likely I'll be partnering her in one of the early season's Guineas trials and
00:40:14see how she gets on.
00:40:16And a couple of the old favourites, Battlehagen horses, will be staying in training as
00:40:23well, the likes of Middle Earth.
00:40:24So hopefully, you know, I won six group ones last year.
00:40:29Hopefully with a few horses to look forward to again this year.
00:40:34What are your plans moving forward, Oshin?
00:40:37You mentioned you went to India.
00:40:38You won the 1000 Guineas in India, which I didn't even know they ran one.
00:40:43You've been to Dubai.
00:40:45Where can we expect to see you next?
00:40:47Obviously, Saudi, Dubai again?
00:40:49Yeah, February is a very busy month of kind of action in the Middle East.
00:40:56I'll be riding in Qatar, Saudi and Bahrain and probably Dubai as well through February.
00:41:03But in between all that, I'll be riding in England.
00:41:06And more importantly than anything, my kind of morning track work schedule will begin
00:41:13as soon as I get back because we'll be trying to prepare horses for the spring and for
00:41:19those early season kind of stakes races, Guineas trials or whatever.
00:41:25They'll all be doing fast work from now on.
00:41:28So, yeah, February is going to be very busy.
00:41:31But I'm looking forward to it.
00:41:34Zoe, I'll be riding here Saturday and then Linfield does a couple of listed races on
00:41:40Sunday. So there's kind of no let up in my schedule.
00:41:45Oshin, you said you came here because you wanted to learn.
00:41:47You wanted to get better as a rider.
00:41:49What have you learned during your stay here and what have you done to make yourself
00:41:54fulfill the goal of being a great rider, even greater?
00:41:58Well, Bill, more so than anything, it's amazing.
00:42:03I've got through 10 years of my career without ever learning about the horse standing in
00:42:11the gate with their hind legs square, how much faster they can break as a result of
00:42:18that. Obviously, it's apparent to me or always was that if they're leaning up against the
00:42:22side of the stalls, they're not going to get out as well as a horse standing kind of in
00:42:28the middle. But I never realized that having them standing square behind was so
00:42:34important. And yeah, you know, basic stuff like that.
00:42:40Also, maybe, you know, on dirt, I always knew that if you get stopped at any stage, it
00:42:48can be race over for you.
00:42:50But just watching those top riders riding on a daily basis has been great.
00:42:56And I suppose I've ridden for some top trainers while I've been here and I've enjoyed
00:43:03that. And, you know, hopefully now this week, I've got some chances as well to to ride
00:43:09another winner or two.
00:43:11And yeah, I just have a lot of admiration maybe for the lads I've been riding against
00:43:17and the people that have been pulling me off as well.
00:43:21Well, you ride against some pretty good lads over in Britain.
00:43:24You made a great comeback in 2023 to be second in the British riding standings behind
00:43:29William Buick. You were the champion jockey in Britain in 2019, 2020, 2021.
00:43:35Then, of course, it was huge news over there that you had to miss all of 2022 due to a
00:43:40suspension for alcohol and COVID related breaches.
00:43:43What did you learn about yourself during that one year you had to be away?
00:43:48Yeah. Yeah, it was the first time I ever had any time away from race riding.
00:43:55I broke my collarbone like eight years ago and I came back in 23 days.
00:44:02And other than that, I'd never really spent much time away.
00:44:04So it was interesting because how do I fill the time and constructively, how do I
00:44:13manage my money?
00:44:14Finally, I don't have an income.
00:44:18I have a tax bill to pay.
00:44:20I have show jumpers and horses, mares to pay for.
00:44:26I really had to grow up and yeah, it was food for thought.
00:44:31And to be honest, I had some great times.
00:44:34I got to jump all over Europe.
00:44:36I rode in Spain and in Portugal.
00:44:39I got to spend time with my family.
00:44:42But by the time it came to renewing my license and getting back in the saddle, I
00:44:47was very ready.
00:44:49I spent a lot of time in the gym.
00:44:51I had a stone to lose.
00:44:53So like 14 pounds, six plus kilos.
00:44:59And yeah, my first ride back was a winner and I just got very lucky to get immediate
00:45:04support. I suppose I had even during my time off, I kept riding gallops for Andrew
00:45:11Boulding and any trainers that asked, I'd been sure.
00:45:15So those trainers were good enough to have me in.
00:45:17But then when I was ready to come back, they put me up, which was very important.
00:45:24And I didn't come back with a huge amount of confidence like any jockey that tells
00:45:30you that they always believe in themselves, I think isn't telling the truth.
00:45:35You go kind of like a football player.
00:45:38You go through periods where you think you're riding very well and then periods where
00:45:43you start questioning your ability.
00:45:45And when I came back, I wasn't sure if I was going to be as clinical as I was in the
00:45:51past. Would I be as tactically aware?
00:45:57And, you know, there's all these questions are going through your mind.
00:46:00But fortunately, those first couple of months went very well.
00:46:04And Maj won the Guineas in the beginning of May and it all kind of rolled along.
00:46:11But still the middle of the season, you know, Royal Ascot time even in June, I had six
00:46:17seconds before I got on the score sheet.
00:46:19And if you ask me, honestly, guys, looking back, I'd have said I rode better Royal
00:46:26Ascot 2023 than I had done ever before.
00:46:30You know, lots of those horses had the perfect run.
00:46:33And I just wasn't getting them home in front, whereas maybe in years gone by, I got the
00:46:40rub of the green and I might have made an error or sat in a position that wasn't ideal,
00:46:46but they still won.
00:46:48So you kind of have to take the rough and the smooth and try and believe in yourself.
00:46:54And yeah, hopefully this year I can ride better than last year.
00:47:00Sounds like you're a bit of a perfectionist there, Oisin, you're very proud of yourself.
00:47:06Yeah, well, no, listen, you know, small things make the difference between winning and losing.
00:47:12And if you take Irad, Ortiz or Ryan Moore or Frankie or someone, they don't make an awful
00:47:20lot of mistakes. And, you know, that's kind of what you're looking to achieve.
00:47:25For someone who doesn't know you, Oisin, just give us a broader view of yourself as a
00:47:32horseman. You mentioned mares.
00:47:34We know you're big into showjumping.
00:47:36Like what is your life like?
00:47:41OK, OK, so I buy and sell showjumpers, I try and do it at a decent level.
00:47:52So from maybe 140, 140 centimetre horses up to up to the best, which is 165.
00:48:02That's kind of what we're aiming towards.
00:48:04And I buy horses often to sell to America if they're easy enough to ride or rideability is
00:48:14key. And then I have an interest, obviously, in young horses.
00:48:19So I will buy breeze up horses privately and then sell them on maybe a couple of weeks
00:48:27later. I did that with Dragon Symbol.
00:48:32He won the Commonwealth Cup with him.
00:48:35I actually got demoted in the stewards room afterwards for Lady Aurelia.
00:48:40But, yeah, I try and buy at a decent level and then hopefully the horses achieve.
00:48:47I am very interested in the breeding side of it and kind of all equestrian sports from
00:48:56eventing and dressage and the whole way along.
00:49:00I kind of love the high level athletes, human and equine.
00:49:09Oisin, will we see you back at Gulfstream next year?
00:49:12It's an interesting one, Bill.
00:49:14I will definitely aim to come back and do a similar stint that I did.
00:49:23I'm not going to earn loads of money in the month of January here, but I think the
00:49:30connections I can develop or hopefully keep and grow if I return will serve me well in
00:49:39the future, because some of those top jockeys are going to retire in the next number of
00:49:45years. The likes of Johnny V and Frankie LaTorre and those top races like the Saudi Cup,
00:49:52Dubai World Cup, Breeders' Cup Classic, I worked an awful lot of money.
00:49:57And one day, if I have enough experience on dirt and can prove myself, hopefully I can
00:50:05stick my hand up or put my hand on the phone and say, hi, you know, whatever trainer or
00:50:13owner, is your horse available in this race?
00:50:16I'd love to ride him, you know.
00:50:17So that's kind of what I need to be looking towards, yeah.
00:50:23So I want to ask one follow up question about what Zoe asked about your lifestyle.
00:50:28Look, I'm involved in the coverage of equestrian sports in this country during the
00:50:33Olympics, the show jumping, the eventing, the dressage.
00:50:36To me, it's fascinating that you're so involved with the show jumpers.
00:50:40I don't think I've ever heard of a professional rider, flat rider, who's that involved in that
00:50:47part of the equestrian world.
00:50:49And then I also read that you're considering, you would love to actually be a jump rider,
00:50:55maybe even at Cheltenham this year.
00:50:58Is that still in the offing?
00:51:00And how did all this come about?
00:51:03Well, my uncle, Jim Collett, he won three gold cups as a jockey and won and then another
00:51:10gold cup as a trainer and he won the Grand National as a jockey as well.
00:51:15So I grew up watching him on television and I was lucky when I was a small child.
00:51:21I kind of followed my show jumping dream and we bought and sold ponies through my
00:51:29teenage years, many of them actually to the US.
00:51:33And lots of the guys I grew up with jumping those ponies are now based in America as
00:51:38show jumpers.
00:51:40So I know all those guys and I followed their careers and maybe when I could afford to
00:51:48start buying a few jumpers, I was on to those guys if they could help me or if they had
00:51:55any advice or whatever.
00:51:56And yeah, then with the jump racing side of it, my sister manages a race course.
00:52:03Her name's Bloine, she's 25.
00:52:05And I managed to get myself on a horse at Wincanton that I thought would win, which
00:52:11was her track for a boy that basically lived down the road from us growing up.
00:52:18And it was all going to work out and hopefully the horse was going to win.
00:52:23And it rained for about 72 hours and it never happened.
00:52:28The race was cancelled.
00:52:29So maybe when I get back sometime in February, I'll be able to do that.
00:52:34And if that went well, then, of course, I'd look at trying to ride something at
00:52:40Cheltenham. But time is running out.
00:52:42And yeah, the jump jockey dream thing, to tell you a bit more, before I came back in
00:52:50February last year, I was writing my will and I realised that the solicitor was saying,
00:52:57oh, is there anything, you know, you haven't done that you'd like to do before you die?
00:53:03And I thought, God, there is actually, I'd like to ride in a jumps race and I've been
00:53:09putting it off for years and it can never happen because I don't even have my licence.
00:53:14It's a separate thing.
00:53:15So when I finished with him, I contacted the British Horse Racing Authority and I asked
00:53:22them, would they licence me?
00:53:24And they said, no, you have to do a course.
00:53:27You have to prove that you can jump.
00:53:29So I did that and they granted it to me.
00:53:33And yeah, one day you will see me in a jumps race.
00:53:38Hopefully it'll be soon, but let's see.
00:53:41Zoe, I think we should start a Twitter campaign to get him on Constitution Hill.
00:53:45Oh my God, that would be amazing.
00:53:49I'm very friendly with the owner, but I'm afraid Nico de Boyneville will put up quite a fight to stop me doing that.
00:53:58I know some guys, I know some guys.
00:54:01Yeah, please make it happen.
00:54:03You might break a finger.
00:54:06Yeah.
00:54:07Well, O'Sheen Murphy, thanks so much for joining us here on the TDN Writers' Room podcast.
00:54:11I think you've done great at Gulfstream.
00:54:13You got a mountain on Saturday for Todd Pletcher, so you certainly are knocking on the right doors.
00:54:19Congratulations on past success and I do hope you come back next year to Gulfstream.
00:54:23It's always great to see some new talent in the writing room.
00:54:26Once again, thanks so much for joining us.
00:54:29Thanks for having me, guys.
00:54:30Take care.
00:54:31Thanks, O'Sheen.
00:54:32Watch out for those alleys.
00:54:34I know, I know.
00:54:35Goodness gracious.
00:54:36As the Green Group Guest of the Week, O'Sheen Murphy will receive a free one-hour tax consultation
00:54:42with the Green Group.
00:54:43You might ask, does Len Green know anything about the British tax code?
00:54:46Well, O'Sheen Murphy is writing in the United States and making some money in Florida, so
00:54:50he might have to know something about the U.S. tax code.
00:54:54Len Green might be the man here.
00:54:56Free consultation.
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00:56:06With some of the fullest fields in the country and quality racing year-round, there's never
00:56:12been a better time to reap the rewards of breeding and racing in Kentucky.
00:56:18Purse money in Kentucky is at an all-time high, as is average purse per race, outpacing
00:56:23California, Florida, and New York.
00:56:27Kentucky Breds.
00:56:28Breed them.
00:56:29Raise them.
00:56:30Race them.
00:56:32We all win.
00:56:36Kentucky Breds once again asserted their superiority in Grade 1 races around the world this week
00:56:42in the Group 1 Al Maktoum Challenge at Maidan.
00:56:45It was Karim Khan who came home first, and of course, National Treasure took home the
00:56:50top prize, as we've said, Kentucky Bred, in the Pegasus World Cup.
00:56:53Also in Dubai, Mendelssohn Bay won the UAE 2000 Guineas, and Mohib took the Group 3 Firebreak
00:57:01stakes.
00:57:02Kentucky Breds winning all over, and you can find your next Kentucky Bred at the Fasig-Tipton
00:57:06Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale.
00:57:08Those dates are February 5 and February 6.
00:57:12Kentucky Breds.
00:57:13Breed them.
00:57:14Raise them.
00:57:15Race them.
00:57:16We all win.
00:57:17Well, it's time for First Things First.
00:57:20While myself and Randy were having a whale of a time at the Pegasus, the four-legged
00:57:25namesake was winning a race at Santa Anita.
00:57:29Myself and Doodle set out to find out more about Shamu.
00:57:38Newgrange has plenty left in the tank, and it's back-to-back in the San Pascual for Newgrange
00:57:44under Victor Espinoza.
00:57:45Hi, Shamu.
00:57:48All right, Phil, back-to-back for Newgrange.
00:57:51It looks like he's made this year a winning one already.
00:57:53Yeah, I think he's kind of found his stride and his confidence and came out of the race
00:57:58in good shape.
00:57:59Did you ever have any doubt he wouldn't make the lead and Victor aboard him?
00:58:03Yeah, I mean, Victor's great about getting early position, so we all thought it was a
00:58:07good fit, and when he was where he was at the three-quarter pole, I was very happy,
00:58:14and it just unfolded perfectly and had enough in the stretch to hold off a new gate and
00:58:22get the job done.
00:58:23Who was the happiest person in your barn, Phil?
00:58:26Oh, of course my wife.
00:58:28She gets on him every day.
00:58:30She's been his, you know, that's been her project, and she's great with these big horses.
00:58:35She also gallops pretty much all my steak horses, Desert, Dawn, and the likes, and,
00:58:41you know, takes her time, gets along with them, and gets the job done.
00:58:46What's one of his quirks?
00:58:47Like, why is he a project for Shelly?
00:58:50You know, he's just kind of a horse that early on, he kind of wanted to do things his way
00:58:56all the time, and she got him, you know, to do things our way, and his gallops just kind
00:59:03of, you know, find his, get into a more comfortable stride early and finish strong.
00:59:09He kind of wanted to do things the opposite, you know, when we got him, and we've gotten
00:59:14him to relax and finish better.
00:59:15What's the plan?
00:59:16So, are we going to Dubai?
00:59:18I'd say we're definitely leaning towards that way.
00:59:22You know, we've got plenty of time, but coming out of the race in good shape, and, you know,
00:59:26he's a horse I don't think a mile and a quarter would hurt him any.
00:59:31He's got that big, long stride, nice tactical speed, does not need the lead, but, you know,
00:59:37he needs to be forwardly placed, but all those things are, you know, good traits to
00:59:42have when you run in big races.
00:59:44Did you have to buy a mind even before the race because you put Victor on, and Victor
00:59:50in my mind is a good rider, but he's certainly not hot at the moment.
00:59:53Yeah, I mean, he's, Victor's good friends with the owners and has good rapport with
01:00:00them.
01:00:01I've won great at stakes with Victor in the past, and, you know, to draw on his experience
01:00:06in big races like this, you know, that's what you need, and, you know, that proved
01:00:13very useful.
01:00:14Thanks, Phil.
01:00:15Thanks.
01:00:16Hello, Shamu.
01:00:17Great to find out about Shamu there, and really, really good to talk to trainer Phil D'Amato.
01:00:32Well, Santa Anita does continue this weekend.
01:00:35We'll have a 12.30 post time on Friday, and on Saturday, it's the first racing tour.
01:00:42The first leg kicks off with races from Goldstream Park, and, of course, Santa Anita will have
01:00:47four stakes here highlighted by the Bob Lewis, which we will get to in just a moment.
01:00:53Guys.
01:00:54Well, it's going to be a big weekend of racing with four Triple Crown Kentucky Derby prep
01:00:59races on tap.
01:01:01This is definitely going to be the biggest weekend of the year so far for the three-year-olds.
01:01:04We've got the Holy Bull at Goldstream Park.
01:01:06We've got the Southwest at Oaklawn, the Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita, and the Withers at
01:01:11Aqueduct.
01:01:12Let's start with the Holy Bull because that's where we find last year's two-year-old champion,
01:01:17Fierceness.
01:01:18He'll be making his first start of the year for Todd Pletcher and coming off the big win
01:01:23in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Eclipse Award winner, et cetera.
01:01:26There's some other fairly nice horses in the race.
01:01:28Tello is two for two for Christophe Clement.
01:01:32He'll be interesting.
01:01:33Hades, for our old friend John Green, won an allowance race last time out by eight,
01:01:40albeit it was for Florida breads, but got a pretty good buyer figure of 84.
01:01:44But Zoe, no reason whatsoever to believe that Fierceness just wouldn't dominate against
01:01:50this.
01:01:51He's just a lot better than them.
01:01:52How cranked up will he be?
01:01:54That's always a question.
01:01:55But Todd's horses are always ready to go.
01:01:58Keep in mind, only two Breeders' Cup Juvenile winners in 40 years have come back to win
01:02:06the Kentucky Derby.
01:02:07Can he be number three?
01:02:08Well, certainly looks like he's got a good chance, but it's just a starting point.
01:02:13But I think we're going to see an easy win from him over match competition.
01:02:19He definitely looks like the horse to beat, delighted that Johnny V has the Kentucky Derby
01:02:23mount, probable Kentucky Derby mount going forward.
01:02:27All things going well.
01:02:28Looks like the horse to beat, but he's thrown in clunkers before.
01:02:32He's been working right along for trainer, Todd Pletcher, who seems to be just brilliant
01:02:37at getting horses ready off of four furlong works.
01:02:39But there's a work in here that jumps off the page down there at Palm Beach.
01:02:43It's not often you see a horse work in 59 and two, because that is a slower racetrack.
01:02:50And even when Todd works horses on fast racetracks, they don't work that fast.
01:02:55They go 101 and gallop out and 116 and gallop out in 127 and then the mile in 140.
01:03:02That's how he gets them ready.
01:03:04That 59 and change just jumps off the page for me.
01:03:08I do like Hades in here.
01:03:09You know, if you listen to Mike Rapoli's long, long speeches on Eclipse Awards night, you
01:03:16may have heard him mention Ocala Stud, who do an awful lot of work for them in prepping
01:03:21the babies and also breeders on good horses.
01:03:24They are the breeders on Hades, a son of Awesome Slew, who is an underrated Florida
01:03:29bred sire down there.
01:03:32They paid only $130,000 for him.
01:03:34And Hades does look like he could be better than that state bred allowance race he just
01:03:41had.
01:03:42I mean, he ran a pretty good number there, 84 by a speed figure.
01:03:45Yeah, we're doing this race on NBC.
01:03:48As a matter of fact, we'll have six races we're doing on Saturday, including the Robert
01:03:53B. Lewis out at Santa Anita.
01:03:54We'll do the last four at Gulfstream and then a couple from Santa Anita.
01:03:58And looking at this race, I was going to say fierceness was one to five, but I think that's
01:04:02being conservative.
01:04:03I think he's probably going to be, you know, one to 10 or one to 20, I think, when they
01:04:08finally leave the gate in here.
01:04:11He's that much of a favorite on paper.
01:04:14His Breeders' Cup Juvenile was just awesome.
01:04:16And yeah, I mean, there's not a lot of history there for Breeders' Cup Juvenile winners going
01:04:19to the Kentucky Derby.
01:04:21And the last three Breeders' Cup Juvenile winners that Todd Fletcher has trained didn't
01:04:25even make it into the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby, right?
01:04:29So we'll see how fierceness can go, you know, going forward, how it can do going forward.
01:04:36Because of the short price, if you're going to bet the race, I think the only real way
01:04:40to do it is just to concede the race to fierceness and then just figure out, okay, who's going
01:04:44to run second behind him?
01:04:46I share your opinion about Hades' allowance win against Florida Brats.
01:04:53He looked very good.
01:04:54When he broke his maiden, he got in trouble early.
01:04:56So he was much better than that, and he showed that the next time he ran.
01:05:01But here's what I'm concerned about, and you see this all the time gambling.
01:05:04Hades might be the second best horse in the race, okay?
01:05:08But the way the race is going to be run, Paco Lopez is going to go to the lead probably
01:05:13from post one on Hades.
01:05:14Hades has speed, and Paco's a speed rider, and he has post one.
01:05:18Fierceness though is going to be locked right up on his outside, and fierceness is better
01:05:21than Hades.
01:05:23And when fierceness, when they say go on fierceness, if they can even keep him off the lead down
01:05:28the backstretch, it's probably, a lot of times it'll break the heart of the horse that was
01:05:35in front.
01:05:36So even though Hades might be the second best horse in the race, I don't think he's the
01:05:39best candidate to finish second when he's got to lock horns early with fierceness.
01:05:44So to me, I think there are three or four horses that came out of the mucho macho man.
01:05:48And if you go back and you watch the mucho macho man, Otello was about three or four
01:05:54lengths the best in there probably.
01:05:56And Vagold also had a little bit of traffic trouble, but Otello, two starts, two wins,
01:06:02both times got in some serious trouble.
01:06:06Christophe Clement said the horse must like getting in trouble because he seems to find
01:06:10it, but so far he seemed to get himself out of it.
01:06:13So to me, that's the almost a gimme exacta, fierceness over Otello.
01:06:20All right, let's head to Oaklawn, the Southwest Stakes.
01:06:25I still can't get used to this, a grade three race with a purse of $800,000, they just,
01:06:32boy, are they giving away serious money at Oaklawn.
01:06:35This race was scheduled for a week ago, two weeks ago, when they had all that crazy weather
01:06:41in Oaklawn, they had to cancel.
01:06:42They reschedule it for this weekend.
01:06:45Unlike the fierceness race, Holy Bull, a much more wide open field, Carbone is undefeated
01:06:51for Steve Asmussen.
01:06:53That horse will certainly take some money.
01:06:54I'm going to be interested, I'd like to see just Steele do something here because it wasn't,
01:07:01it's just the triple crown is more fun when Wayne Lucas is involved.
01:07:05It's been an erratic horse, but his last couple of races are probably good enough to make
01:07:09him a contender here.
01:07:12Randy, what did you come up with in the Southwest Stakes?
01:07:17As it often is at Oaklawn Park in the Southwest or the Rebel, I think it's going to be all
01:07:22about Baffert.
01:07:23He's shipping in wind stock from Southern California, who won the Low South Futurity.
01:07:29Really fought pretty gamely, defeating Stronghold in that race.
01:07:34Got a nice number, he'll be on the engine as all Baffert horses are.
01:07:38I think he deserves top billing and he's four to one right now on the program line.
01:07:44I don't expect that to really happen.
01:07:47When Baffert ships horses to Oaklawn, it's amazing the success level that they have.
01:07:52And a lot of the other leading contenders in here have early speed as well.
01:07:55I mean, Carbone is coming off a nice win last time out in an allowance race at Oaklawn going
01:08:00a mile.
01:08:01He went wire to wire, a big number at the fairgrounds for Maycox Bay, a Mike Stidham
01:08:05horse who won an allowance race there.
01:08:08He went wire to wire.
01:08:10So it's a mystic Dan was right up on the pace in the Smarty Jones.
01:08:15So you should get a pretty contentious pace in here.
01:08:19But still, I think the way Baffert's horses typically run at Oaklawn, wind stock is going
01:08:24to be the one to beat.
01:08:25Listen, he will not take kickback.
01:08:28He won't take any dirt in his face.
01:08:29That was his problem with his first two starts around one turn.
01:08:33When Calfray won on him, he just sent him to the lead and he ran off.
01:08:37In the last Alphasturity, he got Calfray again and he managed to race him just a little
01:08:42bit that day.
01:08:43It was much, much the best coming from the one hole.
01:08:46I just checked the weather really quickly because it always, always rains on a Saturday
01:08:55when there is a three-year-old Kentucky Derby prep at Oaklawn.
01:08:58I can't tell you how many years I was there when just got absolutely sopping wet.
01:09:03He's going to rain on Saturday.
01:09:05Wind stock by Solomini, who's by Carolyn out of a flatter mare.
01:09:09That is like off-track breeding like you've never seen before.
01:09:13I believe he's the horse to beat.
01:09:14He'll certainly be in there for as long as he can.
01:09:17He's a big, huge horse with a head only a mother could love.
01:09:21So he could easily win by that giant head of his.
01:09:25It's wind stock for me, but Carbone is a very good horse with trainer Steve Asmussen.
01:09:30A lot of people will be looking at the breeding and thinking, oh, totally, never went long.
01:09:34Never really got the shot, but he was pretty damn good going a one-turn mile.
01:09:39We all remember that.
01:09:41So I got no problem with Carbone stretching out.
01:09:44He's already won going a mile at Oaklawn and he's going to be extremely tough as well.
01:09:48Those would be the top two for me.
01:09:51Wind stock is a New York bred.
01:09:53Don't see many of those in the Bob Baffert barn, but cost a pretty penny at the sale,
01:09:58700,000 at Ocala April.
01:10:00Zoe, we don't have the PPs out yet, so I got to rely on you.
01:10:04What do you know about the Robert B. Lewis?
01:10:06Well, I reached out to the racing secretary, Jason Egan this morning, and he gave me the
01:10:12list of probables.
01:10:13Bear in mind, we're taping this on Tuesday morning.
01:10:15We have Ace of Clubs, Better Than Gold, Coach Prime, he was third in the Los Alfaturity
01:10:21to win stock last out for Baffert, Moonlit Sonata, a maiden winner, Nysos is going.
01:10:27I also reached out to Bob Baffert and said, is Nysos going?
01:10:32He said, yes.
01:10:35Then you have Scatify for Sadler.
01:10:37It looks like Baffert will be trying to win on not only Southern California, but also
01:10:43Oaklawn, which is something he has done many times before winning both of those.
01:10:49Nysos will definitely be the one to beat in there.
01:10:53Right now?
01:10:54I mean, on February the 3rd in three-year-old prep races, it looks like we might have arguably
01:11:00the number one and the number two contenders early for the Kentucky Derby in fierceness
01:11:05in Florida and in Nysos in California.
01:11:07Right.
01:11:08So, it's going to be a good Saturday.
01:11:10The first Saturday, you'll be on NBC, right?
01:11:13CNBC, Santa Anita and Goldstream?
01:11:15I think that's right.
01:11:17Remember, this is the race last year where there was a four-horse field, all four trained
01:11:24by Bob Baffert.
01:11:25So, it's nice to see we get a little bit more diversity into this race.
01:11:29But yeah, Baffert, Nysos, you know, the thing about Nysos, it'll be his first race around
01:11:34two turns.
01:11:35So, we'll learn a little bit more about him coming up on Saturday.
01:11:40And they already have the Preakness circled on their calendars.
01:11:43Absolutely.
01:11:44And do I have a segue for you?
01:11:45I'm just catching up to Randy.
01:11:47The TDN Writers' Room is brought to you by XBTV.
01:11:50And guess who the XBTV Workout of the Week is?
01:11:54It's Nysos, who drilled five furlongs in 59-3 for Bob Baffert on Sunday.
01:12:00Now, he's won his past two races by a combined 19-1⁄4 lengths and looks like he will be
01:12:07going forward in the Bob Lewis.
01:12:10And if you just watch him, he was a little late switching leads there, but he did finally
01:12:14switch leads and just draw away from his workmate.
01:12:17As always, Bob working the better horse on the outside.
01:12:20Nysos does look outstanding going forward into the Bob Lewis.
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01:13:23TDN Writers' Room also brought to you by West Point Thoroughbreds, a couple of big wins
01:13:30in New Orleans for West Point this past weekend, courtesy of Foxfire, that's trained by Cherie
01:13:35DeVoe, and SWAT Analysis, who was trained by Mark Cassie.
01:13:39Coming up now, West Point has a lot of irons in the fire this weekend.
01:13:43On Saturday on the Southwest Undercard is the $150,000 King Cotton stakes at six furlongs.
01:13:49Jackson Traveler is co-owned by West Point, right?
01:13:54Trained by Steve Asmussen.
01:13:56Steve Asmussen and trainer Chris Hartman have six of the eight starters total in the King
01:14:01Cotton.
01:14:02Also, West Point has three-year-old Sprinter Legalize, who won the Sugar Bowl at the fairgrounds.
01:14:07He'll be one of the favorites in the Swale Stakes on the Holy Bull Undercard at Gulfstream
01:14:11Saturday.
01:14:12A couple of races before that, Bourne Noble, co-owned by Winstar.
01:14:17Trained by Todd Pletcher.
01:14:18This was the horse that got the 93 buyer speed figure in his career debut.
01:14:23Todd told Jerry Bailey and I this past weekend up at Palm Beach Downs he was looking for
01:14:27an allowance race for the horse.
01:14:28He hoped it would fill.
01:14:29Well, it did.
01:14:31And it's on Saturday's card in Eight Horse Field, going that one-turn mile distance at
01:14:35Gulfstream Park.
01:14:37Merritt, a horse that had a 10 length maiden win for Savvy Joseph at Gulfstream, is in
01:14:41there.
01:14:42And so is a horse called Ari's Magic, who had an impressive maiden win at Tampa Bay
01:14:46Downs for Christophe Clement.
01:14:48So Bourne Noble has a little bit of competition in there on Saturday.
01:14:51If you're interested in joining a West Point partnership and being vaulted into the world
01:14:56of instant camaraderie, you can visit westpointtb.com for more information.
01:15:01Well, guys, that's a wrap on this week's show.
01:15:05I want to thank my partners, Randy Moss and Zoe Kamen.
01:15:08Zoe, thanks for going up on the platform and getting our Eclipse Award last week.
01:15:13And thanks also to Anthony and Aaliyah LaRocca, who joined you.
01:15:17And it was great to see you guys with those big smiles on camera.
01:15:22And that was my highlight of the Eclipse Awards, not Mike Rapoli's F-bombs.
01:15:27How about that?
01:15:28Well, Randy was there.
01:15:29Randy, you know, picked up too.
01:15:31And so kudos to Randy.
01:15:33We can't compete with Randy.
01:15:34We just just can't.
01:15:37I was I was I was sitting at my table cheering for the TD and crew as they were as they were
01:15:41expecting.
01:15:42It was it was a lot of fun.
01:15:44So just to be there.
01:15:45Great weekend.
01:15:46Your glasses you're wearing, you need to wear more often, Bill.
01:15:49They look good.
01:15:53All right.
01:15:54Once again, I want to thank Randy and Zoe.
01:15:55Our Green Group Guests of the Week, O'Sheen Murphy, our producers, Katie Petruniak and
01:15:59Anthony LaRocca, and our editors, Aaliyah LaRocca and Nathan Wilkinson.
01:16:02It should be a great weekend of racing.
01:16:05We'll talk more about it next week on the TDN Writer's Room podcast.
01:16:08Thanks for joining us.