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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 podcast, presented by Keeneland.
00:00:32My name is Bill Finley.
00:00:33I'm a correspondent for the Thoroughbred Daily News, also co-host of the Down the Stretch
00:00:37Radio Show on Sirius XM Radio.
00:00:41I'm Randy Moss.
00:00:42Sorry, I was asleep at the wheel there.
00:00:43Randy Moss with NBC Sports.
00:00:46Glad to be back from a four-legged equestrian Olympic assignment and back into the horse
00:00:53racing swing.
00:00:55Zoe Kalman here with First Racing, and Randy, we're glad to have you back, but what was
00:01:00your favorite moment of all the equestrian days, the dancing horses, everything that
00:01:06you've covered?
00:01:07You must have one favorite moment.
00:01:10Other than Snoop Dogg showing up with Martha Stewart and being deathly afraid of horses,
00:01:14I think it would...
00:01:15I'm partial to the show jumping.
00:01:18I really like that sport, and I like the no-nonsense rules.
00:01:24There's no judging or anything like that, and the beauty and the athleticism of the
00:01:28horses.
00:01:29It's always very dramatic and all that, so I think the individual final of the show jumping
00:01:33was probably my favorite.
00:01:34I want to hear more about Snoop Dogg.
00:01:37Oh, yeah.
00:01:38No.
00:01:39Snoop Dogg, I don't know how much he was making.
00:01:41They say he was making about a half million a day for NBC, and he worked his ass off.
00:01:50NBC sent Snoop to every possible venue.
00:01:54He got in the pool with Michael Phelps and swam with Michael Phelps.
00:01:58You name it.
00:01:59Every single venue, Snoop Dogg shows up.
00:02:05Last Olympics, he and Kevin Hart famously described dressage, horse dancing, and neither
00:02:13one of them had ever seen it before.
00:02:16They both just like...
00:02:18It went viral.
00:02:19It's on YouTube.
00:02:20They called it horse crip walking, and he was doing a beat while the horses were doing
00:02:27their dressage thing.
00:02:29He and Martha Stewart came back to the venue and got a chance to meet some horses up close
00:02:33and personal.
00:02:34They had their riding outfits on with their helmets and everything, and it was really
00:02:38pretty comical, but Snoop did a great job for NBC.
00:02:41He really did.
00:02:42It was really, really fun to watch.
00:02:45It's well done, and it's ongoing, but yeah, I've really enjoyed it.
00:02:49Well, I know one place Snoop Dogg was not this weekend, which was at Colonial Downs.
00:02:54Lots of all this crazy weather this weekend where they had to postpone the races at Colonial
00:02:59and run them on Sunday instead of Saturday, but the old Arlington Million races would
00:03:04move to Churchill and then came to Colonial, which is a pretty good home for them, I think.
00:03:08It's a very nice turf course there and whatnot.
00:03:11Let's start with the Arlington Million, which is the big show.
00:03:15Going into that, Charlie Appleby was having kind of a tough weekend.
00:03:19In the four-star day, he lost with Legend at a time, and in the Saratoga Derby, he lost
00:03:23with Nation's Pride.
00:03:24Not used to Charlie Appleby going 0-for-2 in American stakes races, but he more than
00:03:30made up for it with a win in the Arlington Million with Nation's Pride.
00:03:34This is a horse that William Buick came over to ride.
00:03:37Had run well in the Manhattan, run well in the Man o' War, and kind of probably, I would
00:03:41have to say this is one of the softer Arlington Million fields we've seen in a while, but
00:03:45having said that, go Charlie Appleby.
00:03:48Does it again.
00:03:49Yeah.
00:03:50I mean, I think that's fair to say it's among the softer fields.
00:03:52You don't get six-horse fields in the Arlington Million very often.
00:03:57For my money, I mean, the appearance, the full-time appearance of Charlie Appleby String
00:04:04in the United States this spring and summer has been one of the major stories in American
00:04:09horse racing.
00:04:10For the most part, they've lived up to the billing.
00:04:14There's no way that Appleby was ever going to continue the kind of percentage that he
00:04:18had about a year ago, right?
00:04:20When he was batting like 75% or something with the horses he shipped to America.
00:04:26But the string that he's had in New York and he had them in Kentucky for a while on Kentucky
00:04:30Derby weekend and now it's continued on to Colonial Downs.
00:04:34It's been, in my opinion, a huge addition to the American racing scene.
00:04:39Yeah, it has been huge.
00:04:42And to give the horses that ran in Saratoga an excuse, we'll talk about the Saratoga Derby
00:04:47and the Four Star Dave in just a moment, but horses that come from Europe are looking for
00:04:52firmer ground and you're not getting that Saratoga this weekend.
00:04:56So I think they just spun their wheels and just did not run their races.
00:05:00Nations Pride got the ground he wanted.
00:05:03It was an easy field he ran over the top of.
00:05:05He got his final quarter of a mile in 23 flat.
00:05:09The Arlington Million didn't run till eight o'clock last night.
00:05:12I mean, I hope it was still light out there, but eight o'clock one of the satellites went
00:05:18down and they just had to push everything back.
00:05:20So it was a long day.
00:05:22Those horses had to endure like an awful lot with the races being pushed back, but he was
00:05:26much the best.
00:05:27Was it the best field I've ever seen?
00:05:30For the Million?
00:05:31No.
00:05:32And you know what's killing the Arlington Million?
00:05:33It's Kentucky Downs.
00:05:35Kentucky Downs is going to kill turf racing in August because they're just offering up
00:05:40so much money.
00:05:41Yeah, that's a good, good point.
00:05:46You cannot compete with that.
00:05:49So the Beverly Dee, of course, is on that card as well.
00:05:52And I think this was, if you look into it, the race to figure out who has the best grass
00:05:57filly and mayor in the country, not trained by Chad Brown.
00:06:01Where was he?
00:06:02He wasn't even in here, which is something unusual.
00:06:04I've always got a kind of a soft spot for Canadian racing, and I thought it was super
00:06:08cool that the 2023 Horse of the Year from Canada, Mora took, excuse me, she's 2022.
00:06:18Mora is 2022 and Fevrover 2023 Horses of the Year.
00:06:22The two last two Canadian Horses of the Year were in this race.
00:06:26Mora who's just a, you know, she can't win all these grade ones all the time in the US.
00:06:30She's just a tiny cut below some of the others, but she's a good, consistent mayor.
00:06:35She ran second in the Diana behind who else, but Chad Brown ran pretty well last year in
00:06:40the Breeders' Cup filly and mayor turf.
00:06:41And for those of you who aren't familiar, don't pay much attention to Canadian racing.
00:06:46It's not just Mark Cassie.
00:06:47Kevin Attard is a terrific trainer and really knows what he's doing.
00:06:52So he takes the hardware and the money back to Toronto in the Beverly Dee with Mora.
00:06:58For my money, she's the best female turf horse in North America.
00:07:04Last year at the Breeders' Cup in the filly and mayor turf at Santa Anita, she was kind
00:07:08of overlooked at 13 to one, but she was third behind in Spiral and Warm Heart.
00:07:14She was the best of the North American-based fillies and mayors there.
00:07:18Then she goes to the Diana and she lost to White Beam, but you can make a strong case
00:07:23that she was the best horse in that race.
00:07:25The way the race developed, and you predicted it, Bill, with zero pace in the race, White
00:07:29Beam was able just to, as they say, walk the dog on the front end in very soft fractions.
00:07:34And Mora was the one that was in the second flight behind that very, very slow pace who
00:07:41ran the best.
00:07:42And she just lost by three quarters of a lane.
00:07:44So no surprise that she was a three to five favorite in there.
00:07:46She had to work really hard to beat another really talented distaffer in Feb Rover.
00:07:52But Mora is really a very, very nice five-year-old mare.
00:07:57And you hit the nail on the head, Randy.
00:07:59She's five.
00:08:00Now she went through the November sale, and I don't know if they were dispersing a partnership
00:08:06because some of the same owners are still in there, but she went through for $3 million.
00:08:11She's turning five in January.
00:08:13It takes a lot of balls to keep a mare in training at five who's already won the Queen's
00:08:20Plate, right?
00:08:21Which is now the King's Plate.
00:08:22But she'd never won a grade one race.
00:08:24That was her first grade one race in the Beverly D. She's run strictly in stakes.
00:08:30She broke a maiden in a stake, but she finally picks up a grade one.
00:08:35So I mean, she's going to have a bright future ahead of her, but yeah, Mora and the best
00:08:40name ever.
00:08:41I mean, who's not a fan of Schitt's Creek?
00:08:43You guys watch that?
00:08:46Sorry I don't.
00:08:47No, I didn't.
00:08:48I, that's, I should have.
00:08:50I've been wanting to, but I am familiar with the namesake.
00:08:53Yes.
00:08:54It's absolutely brilliant.
00:08:56Now I had to literally get pulled by my hair to watch it by Steph Brennan, who told me
00:09:01it was absolutely brilliant.
00:09:03And Steph and Niall have watched the whole thing and we stay with them during the April
00:09:08and March sales.
00:09:09And I think we watched the whole two seasons or three seasons or whatever it was.
00:09:14It's hysterical.
00:09:15It's really, really good and aptly named.
00:09:17I don't know what's a better name though.
00:09:19Moira or Carl Spackler, who will get to that.
00:09:24I vote Carl Spackler.
00:09:25That's the name of the century.
00:09:26But anyways.
00:09:27All right.
00:09:28So the third of the three races of Colonial was the Secretary at Stakes going one mile.
00:09:35Graham Motion had cross entered Tricary both in this race and the Saratoga Invitational
00:09:40Derby.
00:09:41And even though the Saratoga race had a higher purse, he said that he thinks Tricary is better
00:09:47as a miler and wants that to be this horse's future.
00:09:51The other race was at a mile and three sixteenths.
00:09:53He absolutely made the right decision.
00:09:56He wins this race quite convincingly and now has got some real good credentials coming
00:10:04out of having won four of his last five races.
00:10:10I think they're calling them Tricary now.
00:10:12I was saying...
00:10:13Tricary.
00:10:14Yeah.
00:10:15They called the race Tricary.
00:10:16And in the interviews, he was called Tricary.
00:10:19Big shout out to Bob and Sean Feld, who picked this horse up for a mere $27,000 at the OBS
00:10:24October sale.
00:10:26So well done to them.
00:10:27Feld family finds, they pick up cheap horses along the way and they've picked out a lot
00:10:32of good horses.
00:10:33Bob's got a good eye for a horse.
00:10:34He was great.
00:10:35Got a terrific ride by Johnny V. Delighted for Graham Motion to take down the Arlington...
00:10:41The Secretariat, not the Arlington Million.
00:10:43But he was the best in there, wasn't he?
00:10:47And he, in my opinion, sort of stepped into the next level.
00:10:51Right.
00:10:52I mean, he was a good horse already.
00:10:55And yeah, Graham Motion may have preferred to run in the mile in the Secretariat, but
00:10:59he was coming off a win in the Belmont Derby at a mile and three sixteenths.
00:11:02So he's versatile.
00:11:03He's not limited to being just a miler.
00:11:07And it's just unfortunate that they had to run the Saratoga Derby and the Secretariat
00:11:12basically on the same weekend, because it would have been nice to see all these horses
00:11:16in the same field.
00:11:17I think Trickery was the best three year old grass horse to run last weekend.
00:11:22He's going to step up into like the mid 90s, maybe even 97, 98 buyer speed figure, I think,
00:11:28based on that win at Colonial.
00:11:31And I think, you know, he's really, really on an upward swing in his career.
00:11:37More weather problems in New York where they had to take the two grade ones scheduled for
00:11:41Saturday and move them to Sunday.
00:11:44They took everything else off the grass on Saturday.
00:11:47And that was a good decision to make.
00:11:49That was, you know, people were thinking on their feet this weekend, both Colonial and
00:11:53Saratoga.
00:11:54Four star Dave.
00:11:56If I would tell you Chad Brown won the four star Dave, what, five, six times?
00:12:00He wouldn't.
00:12:01He said, that probably sounds right.
00:12:02Right.
00:12:03He never won the race.
00:12:04How is that possible?
00:12:06Chad Brown was 0 for 15, but no more.
00:12:09He gets the job done.
00:12:10And I'm sorry, Zoe, about Maura.
00:12:12Carl Spackler is maybe the greatest name of a race horse ever.
00:12:16And it's so cool.
00:12:17It, of course, is the Bill Murray character from, from Caddyshack.
00:12:22We need Bill Murray to accept the trophy in the winner's circle at some point.
00:12:26Yeah.
00:12:27That would be really cool.
00:12:28And the way this horse is running, there'll be some more winner's circle photos for him.
00:12:32This is, I think this was the best race of his career.
00:12:35He was always, for a while, he was the kind of horse that had the potential to be a real
00:12:41superstar in the sport, but then something would happen.
00:12:44He wouldn't run his key race, you know, maybe an injury here or there.
00:12:47He just never really, uh, achieved the full level of his potential until like his last
00:12:53few races.
00:12:54Uh, he's now, he's putting them together back to back.
00:12:57And I loved this particular outing.
00:13:00I agree with Zoe that, uh, you can't look at Autumn and Fleet's race as representative
00:13:07of his usual form, because I do think even though the course was rated as good, I think
00:13:12looking at the times, it was closer to soft than it was to good.
00:13:15I think that was kind of a PR move by Naira to call it a good track instead of soft.
00:13:21Uh, so I think we'll see Autumn and Fleet bounce back and it'll be a good matchup next
00:13:25time to see Carl Spackler against Autumn and Fleet on firm turf.
00:13:30Carl loved it.
00:13:31He loved every second of that race.
00:13:33And how about the meat Dylan Davis is having?
00:13:36He's really stepped to the forefront.
00:13:38He's winning races in bunches.
00:13:39That's his third grade one, his first ever at Saratoga, which made it even more special,
00:13:45uh, owned by Carson and Wade Yost.
00:13:48We know that story with Carson's run, just a terrific story all around.
00:13:53And how about the reemergence of Cupid now standing in Maryland?
00:13:57I'm going to give this plug for my good friend, Gary Murray and Elizabeth Voss at Atlanta
00:14:02Hall stands for 8,000 or he did this year.
00:14:05If you're looking at Carson's run, he's just this big, gorgeous horse.
00:14:11And when I first saw him, I was like, it's by Cupid, really?
00:14:14And it just goes to show you that, that he's been given a bit of a chance and he'll do
00:14:18really well in Maryland as a regional sire.
00:14:23It was the Saratoga Derby a half hour after the four-star Dave and you know, those four
00:14:28horses hit the wire right together, right?
00:14:30Carson's run, Legend of Time, another Charlie Appleby horse, Deterministic, who's now got
00:14:35a new home on the grass and Royal Majesty.
00:14:38They were all right together, a good race.
00:14:41I think Trickery's race was better in the Secretariat, but I mean, how can you not root
00:14:46for a storyline like Carson's run and the Yost family and all that really, really made
00:14:51it extra special?
00:14:53The other interesting thing about the Saratoga Derby Invitational is it's a win-in-you're-in
00:14:58race for the Cox Plate in Australia.
00:15:00And I spoke to Terry Finley earlier today and they're very serious about going to look
00:15:04into that and maybe send him over there for one of the bigger races on the Australian
00:15:08calendar.
00:15:09That would be a lot of fun to see him go over there, but keep your eye out for that because
00:15:13they certainly are aware of the invitation and certainly are taking it under strong consideration.
00:15:18All right, guys, I'm jumping all over the place.
00:15:21Carson's run, Carl Spackler.
00:15:23I don't know what's going on.
00:15:24It's been a really long week here at the Saratoga sales, but I did want to mention Carl Spackler
00:15:29and the ownership group, Bob Edwards, E5 Racing, a really, really special win for them, a home
00:15:36ride for them.
00:15:37I mean, we're not going to have anyone buying horses at the sales.
00:15:40They keep breeding them.
00:15:41I mean, look at Claravage breeding all his good ones now.
00:15:45Bob Edwards and his avenue, Fifth Avenue Bloodstock, breeding Carl Spackler with Zendaya,
00:15:51the first mare he ever won with.
00:15:53Just coming full circle at Saratoga.
00:15:56So really cool stories all around in Saratoga this weekend.
00:16:00I do want to remind you that the TDN Writers' Room is brought to you by Keeneland.
00:16:06Keeneland's September yearling sale internationally recognizes a source of thoroughbreds who excel
00:16:11in the sport's most important races has cataloged, listen to this, 4,396 horses to be offered
00:16:21over 12 sessions from Monday, September the 9th through Saturday, September the 21st.
00:16:28That's a whole lot of horses.
00:16:29And for the fourth consecutive year, I think we've finally got something right here.
00:16:34The format remains the same.
00:16:36The two-day book one will be held on September the 9th and the 10th.
00:16:40And the two-day book two will take place on September the 11th and the 12th.
00:16:46September the 13th, which is a Friday, Friday the 13th will be a dark day, guys.
00:16:52And the sale will continue on Saturday.
00:16:54We'll be right back after this message from Keeneland.
00:16:59At Keeneland, a horse will always be measured in hands.
00:17:09Hands that see, that sense, that speak.
00:17:17Hands that hold our sport to a higher standard, not for our sake, but for theirs.
00:17:25For the love of the horse, for generations to come.
00:17:29He's all class, he's champion rider.
00:17:32And he's lost on the outside here, with a great turn of foot.
00:17:35Palace Pier, Palace Pier, Palace Pier, Palace Pier.
00:17:38Space Blues, Space Blues, Space Blues, Space Blues.
00:17:42He's danced every dance, been incredibly sound horse.
00:17:44After every run, he always hungs back some more.
00:17:46He's a true Diwali that goes out there and he gives everything.
00:17:56Now a segment that you're going to have some fun with.
00:17:58It's News You Can Use with Emma Barry, brought to you by Garley.
00:18:01She is our person that brings us up to speed on all things European racing and sales.
00:18:06And I know right now, Emma, what you're busy with, what you're studying is the Arcana August sale,
00:18:11which is a boutique sale with just 335 yearlings on offer.
00:18:15What can we expect to see from there in terms of quality and pedigree?
00:18:19Yeah, well, it's the first big European yearling sale,
00:18:22and it's France's major, major sale of the year, certainly for yearlings.
00:18:26So it is select, as you say, but it's also a great sort of first sort of tester,
00:18:32if you like, for the market here.
00:18:34We've all been watching on and seeing how strong things have been in Saratoga.
00:18:38And I guess everyone in Europe is now hoping that will follow suit.
00:18:42And, you know, this is a really international sale.
00:18:45Last year's was particularly strong.
00:18:48I've been interviewing consignors all week, really, and there's a really good vibe going into this week.
00:18:53We start on Friday.
00:18:55And I would imagine we will expect to see again, you know,
00:18:59well, Godolphin and Coolmore always play a big part on the buying bench.
00:19:03But we've had, you know, in the last few years, you know,
00:19:06major participation from Bahrain and from Japanese buyers as well.
00:19:10So I'm sure we're going to be seeing more of the same, you know,
00:19:13looking out for some of the best pedigrees on offer in France.
00:19:18Well, Emma, looking at it from this side of the pond,
00:19:20it seems like this particular sale is getting more and more important internationally as each year passes.
00:19:27And with all these big sales, Keeneland, Saratoga, this one,
00:19:30it seems like there's always excitement about the new stallions and their first crop yearlings.
00:19:36On that particular topic, what do you think the sale has to offer?
00:19:40Well, it's going to be very interesting.
00:19:42As you say, I mean, this is this is the first time we'll get to see any of the yearlings by the freshman for this year.
00:19:49The best represented best represented in the catalogue is St.
00:19:52Mark's Basilica, who was a champion two year old and a classic winner as well.
00:19:57Here is Icy Uni. He has 12 in the sale, including several out of Group 1 winners.
00:20:02So I'm sure we'll be hearing his name plenty during the week.
00:20:06There are also a couple of Dali first season sires represented, Space Blues, who remember the Breeders' Cup mile winner.
00:20:12He's got a handful of yearlings in the sale.
00:20:15And a horse who really kind of partly made his name in Deauville already as a racehorse,
00:20:19Palace Pier, a really brilliant son of Kingman, five time Group 1 winner over a mile.
00:20:25He has, again, only kind of a select group in the Deauville sale.
00:20:31I think we'll see a lot more at Newmarket once we get to Tattersalls for the October sale.
00:20:36But, yeah, we've got a decent bunch to start out with.
00:20:39And Palace Pier himself won the Jacques de Marois two years running, actually.
00:20:43That was last weekend in Deauville.
00:20:46And, you know, the sale obviously runs concurrently with really top class racing just across the road on the racecourse.
00:20:53So we've got that to look forward to as well as some hopefully explosive action in the sales ring.
00:21:01Do you know of any particular horses thus far that we could zone in on?
00:21:05We're just watching from afar. So I like to write down horses and watch them go through the ring.
00:21:10Do you have any insight?
00:21:13Yes. Well, funnily enough, every consignor I've spoken to so far,
00:21:17well, at least several of them said to me, I've got a lovely Bluepoint filly.
00:21:20And, of course, we've been hearing quite a lot about Bluepoint.
00:21:22He's a sire of Roussalion, who sadly was missing from from Goodwood, but is already a classic winner this year.
00:21:27And Big Evs, who I know you love. So Big Evs came back out again at Goodwood.
00:21:31He's going to the Nunthorpe hopefully next week. And Bluepoint.
00:21:35So he's now got his third crop of yearlings and he's a sire that's really taking hold here.
00:21:42I wouldn't be surprised if we see some good results for him.
00:21:46And, of course, Dubawi, one of the kings of Europe.
00:21:49There's only five in the in the catalogue, actually.
00:21:52But there's full brother to Group One winner Ancient Wisdom, who's co-bred by LNJ Foxwoods with Monceau.
00:22:00I think Ancient Wisdom was about two million when he sold here.
00:22:04And, yeah, this are the four brothers in the in the catalogue.
00:22:07And we've also got a full brother now. Have I got it the right way around?
00:22:11Yes. A full brother to last year's top lot, which was Dubawi Filly,
00:22:16who was herself a half sister to two Group One winners, Wooded and Buccanero Fuerte.
00:22:21So I wouldn't be surprised if, again, her brother makes a bit of a splash.
00:22:26Emma, every job has its downside.
00:22:28What did you do to deserve to have to spend two weeks in Deauville every year?
00:22:31And is there going to be a little something extra in your paycheck because of this terrible assignment?
00:22:37Well, I'm pretty sure I can rely on Sue Finlay to take us out to dinner while we're there.
00:22:43It's a tough gig, you know, it's a hard beat.
00:22:45But as I say, we get to see some really good racing while we're there.
00:22:48The beach isn't too far away. There's a great market.
00:22:51And Deauville is just a beautiful town.
00:22:53So I'll sneak out here and there and make the most of a lovely few weeks away.
00:22:58Very good. Emma, thanks as always for filling us in on news you can use.
00:23:02We'll talk to you again soon.
00:23:04Will do. Bye bye.
00:23:05So it's that time of the podcast again for our Green Group guest of the week.
00:23:10Brought to you by the Green Group, a tax consulting and advisory firm that specializes in the thoroughbred industry.
00:23:18And this is the Green Group guest of the week segment.
00:23:20And welcome in Phil Bauer, one of the hottest trainers in Saratoga.
00:23:24A lot of good things happening with him and Richard Brigney in their partnership.
00:23:28And Phil, as I look down at your numbers, you guys have been doing well for quite some time.
00:23:33But in the last two years, this thing has just exploded.
00:23:36In 19, excuse me, in 2023, you won with 26 percent of your starters.
00:23:40And in 2024, you won with 23 percent of your starters so far.
00:23:44What's going right?
00:23:46It was I think it was about five years ago.
00:23:49Richard signed on, joined forces with John Moynihan in the yearling selection process for us.
00:23:58And, you know, we started in 2013, Richard and myself, just trying to do things ourselves.
00:24:06And there's no doubt about it.
00:24:09It takes particular athletes to compete at the top level.
00:24:14And, you know, we were able to pick up, you know, a random one or two.
00:24:20But for overall, our barn was just lacking talent.
00:24:25And so once John came aboard, it was just like a flip of a light switch.
00:24:31You could tell as the horses came in and the years were progressing,
00:24:35you just felt like it was this giant wave heading towards the shore.
00:24:40And we felt it come in and we were excited.
00:24:43But I don't think you can ever prepare yourself for the success that we've had in the last few years based on the way we started.
00:24:51There's a lot of pinch me moments that were, you know, we catch ourselves.
00:24:55And a lot of times, you know, it's I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
00:25:00So the early years may have kind of prepared us for, you know, the moments that don't go so well.
00:25:08So it's overall, you know, Richard, he's just he's great.
00:25:12And the position I'm in is just you couldn't couldn't make it up.
00:25:18So I'm truly blessed and very fortunate.
00:25:20And to have everything coming together now with with the caliber of horses that we're able to participate with, it just makes all the difference.
00:25:29Well, Phil, you mentioned what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
00:25:32Well, something almost did kill you. And we'll get to the horses in just a moment.
00:25:38I hate to do this to you, but can you explain to us about that horrific plane crash you endured?
00:25:44And you had the best year of your life the year before.
00:25:47Was it almost like your life flashed before your eyes?
00:25:51You know, I think it's not this.
00:25:55I don't know. I mean, as far as life in general, I think it's the the important things in your life.
00:26:02I, I was with my wife, Ashley, Richard and Tammy took us, John and his wife and another close couple to them.
00:26:14And then their their daughter, Madison, to Lizard Island in Australia for just an amazing vacation of scuba diving and whatnot.
00:26:23So we were on our way home and you have to take a like a 15 passenger single engine prop plane from the island back to the mainland.
00:26:33And we took off. Everything seemed normal.
00:26:37And about five minutes into the flight, the pilot just did an absolute 180.
00:26:41I mean, to where you almost when you fly, you just get to a point where you stop paying attention.
00:26:47And when he did that move, it kind of woke you up a little bit like what's going on here.
00:26:53And you didn't you couldn't feel anything was wrong.
00:26:56But one of the one of the people that went on the trip, Eric, he was sitting in front.
00:27:04So there's no separation from the cockpit so he could see all the panels.
00:27:09And he he didn't tell us at the time, but it was registering that the engine was on fire and everything was flashing.
00:27:17And somebody in the back said, what's going on? He said, you don't want to know in a joking manner.
00:27:23So there was no panic. And we got back to the island and approached the runway and overshot the runway.
00:27:32And the pilot, you know, after everything was done, intentionally buried it.
00:27:39He had no cut the power to the engine because he couldn't slow the engine down.
00:27:45So it was luckily it was sand and bushes as opposed to some trees or whatnot.
00:27:51That was about 300 yards from the end of the runway to back into a cliff into the ocean.
00:27:57So I think the pilot recognized he needed to figure out the best way.
00:28:01And when he couldn't land, he just told us to brace for impact.
00:28:06And back to your question about life flashing before your eyes.
00:28:11It was, you know, you you know, you're not ready to go.
00:28:16And so your kids and, you know, all that stuff.
00:28:19I think, you know, that that's what kind of went through my mind that this is it.
00:28:25And you're never going to see him again, stuff like that.
00:28:29So it was, you know, something you just count your blessings and you don't try not to sweat the small stuff anymore and realize just how precious life is and count your blessings every day for sure.
00:28:46Yeah, it's a real thing. It really makes you think when something like that happens of you.
00:28:51When you landed on terra firma, were you like, OK, well, I'm going to maybe do this differently or that differently?
00:28:58Or is it just business as usual?
00:29:01You know, I think originally you're going to, you know, you kind of bulk up a little bit.
00:29:08I'm going to do this and this and this. But life, life just kind of runs back into normalcy.
00:29:12And I think that's some of the most comforting things is that you're just living life normal again and just truly, truly fortunate to, I guess, be alive.
00:29:25But I think the great moments and the things in your life, you recognize maybe even more so.
00:29:33Well, that's a harrowing story, Phil. I'm so glad he came out to be a good story at the end and everything.
00:29:39Everybody was safe. Lots of things are happening for you recently. Matter of fact, you have your rising star, Saratoga Mead in Too Sharp.
00:29:48Tell us about this horse.
00:29:51She was a horse. It's a fun, fun story with the purchase.
00:29:55We were shopping the September sale and the day she was going to go through the ring,
00:30:02we had a home-bred, sired, Indiana filly that was running in a stake at, I guess, Horseshoe, Indianapolis is what it's called now.
00:30:12So we left and Richard was going to buy her online and driving up there, we lost service.
00:30:19So, you know, he panicked and called and got on the phone with one of the bidders.
00:30:26I'm driving and, you know, we had a budget and he just kept bidding back and bidding back and it blew past the budget.
00:30:34I mean, you saw the purchase price of her. She's close to a million and that at the time was one of the, I think, the highest priced yearling we had ever bought.
00:30:42So maybe almost drove off the road as he kept going.
00:30:47But, you know, we loved her at the sales and we ran into a situation at two that, you know, she was just the physical that wasn't ready.
00:31:00So we slowed down on her and then she was pointed towards the Keeneland meet and ran into a really bad leg infection.
00:31:08And so we had to send her to the clinic and it was one of those that, you know, we caught it in time.
00:31:14But we were concerned that would she come back as good as she left and she did.
00:31:19So her gate breeze before her first start was so impressive that we went ahead and gave her a run at Churchill.
00:31:26But she just wasn't polished and kind of fell asleep in the gate a little bit with everything going around her and missed the break.
00:31:33But ran well enough that you knew her training and then the way she ran that she's pretty talented.
00:31:40So brought her up here, got her used to the track and went ahead and took her back to the gate one more time just to make sure, hey, we know what we're doing.
00:31:49And she worked a bullet that day. And so we were we were we were really excited to lead her over there that day,
00:31:55but certainly didn't anticipate her just clicking away like that.
00:32:00So I think we're pointed towards the price, whether it's there's any other than the same day that we can use if we decide she's not up to it.
00:32:11But she's very, very talented and hopefully one that will just continue to thrive on.
00:32:17Your other accomplishment of this meet is that you won your first ever Saratoga Stakes race, the Galloway Stakes.
00:32:23Tell us more about that. You know, that was Mother Nature helped us out with that a little bit.
00:32:30We played the MTO card and it worked out for us. And I was glad, really happy for the filly.
00:32:36She's just talented from the word go last year, too.
00:32:39And then just his head to buttheads with some pretty good ones here recently.
00:32:43And so it's nice when you can finally give them a little bit of a class break, even though she the trip made her work for it.
00:32:50And I read gave her just a beautiful ride so that that if we're going to win races, I'd rather win them like too sharp did.
00:32:57But it was just. Heart on the heart, I guess you can say from just I didn't think she was going to find room.
00:33:06And then the way she exploded up the rail and got got there in time was a good way to win our first black type race up here.
00:33:14You know, hopefully one first to many. Well, I think you're underselling too sharp because she's an absolute beast.
00:33:22We're privy enough to watch with XB TV and get her videos. She's terrific.
00:33:28Helena's forte. Now, that's the correct pronunciation because we've heard it many different ways. Right, Phil?
00:33:34Yes. I think some people call it fort. But from what when we named her, it was intended to be forte.
00:33:42And I think the word comes from Italian. That was actually four, four, four day, four day or something.
00:33:49So definitely stresses the at the end of it. And that's that's how she's named.
00:33:56You mentioned about Ortiz and the ride. I mean, is Ortiz just a master?
00:34:01Because she was supposed to win that race. It was rained off four horse field.
00:34:05She fell on her face. I mean, that was a hell of a ride, wasn't it?
00:34:09He's a magician. You know, it's it was fun for me.
00:34:13He breezed a horse for us the following morning and, you know, we were revisiting it.
00:34:17And it was fun to hear after watching the replay and the head on and all that stuff, what he was thinking down the lane.
00:34:25And he said the key moment was when Tyler pulled the stick to the left hand is when he he he decided he's going to die for the rail.
00:34:34Knowing the horse would probably drift towards the other one.
00:34:36And it's he's you know, he's one of the hardest workers that I've seen, you know, and I think all his success, him and his brother both.
00:34:46It's well earned. You know, they just don't show up on the afternoons and get on fast horses.
00:34:50They they put the time in as a lot of jockeys do.
00:34:54But usually, you know, in certain circumstances, people at the top tend to just kind of go on idle as far as putting in the work in the mornings.
00:35:06But they don't feel the Bauer Rigney team is still added at the sales.
00:35:11You guys went for a seven figure horse at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga. Is that a sign of more to come?
00:35:16I mean, are you guys ready to now kind of play in the big, big leagues rather than just maybe the big leagues?
00:35:24I think, you know, that's always the goal. We're very excited about the kind of I think the last piece of the puzzle for us is the breeding.
00:35:34So Richard keeps all his mares with Denali and the the the stock that we've had at the track and been successful with have now kind of trickled into the broodmare band.
00:35:50So, you know, we've got some foals on the ground this year out of some really, really nice race mares that you're just impatiently waiting to bring them to market.
00:36:02Because I think that'll be the final piece of the puzzle for the Rigney racing as a whole.
00:36:07You know, played hard. She had a gun runner. She's a folded gun runner.
00:36:12Mariah's princess was a very talented filly that probably never showed her true potential.
00:36:17She's got a knot this time on the ground. So, you know, you got stallion power with with racing pages that that seems to be the key at these sales.
00:36:27If you bring the if they look like their moms are going to bring the physicals and then you got the stallion power and then the race on the page.
00:36:35So we're excited. Is the plan to keep the fillies and sell the boys?
00:36:42Are you just keeping everything for Rigney racing as far as the the breeding program goes?
00:36:48I think the breeding program, we're going to approach it the same.
00:36:51We do yearling markets. You know, they got to have top physicals.
00:36:54And it's I think that's the key. I mean, it's obviously been the key for us.
00:37:00You know, extremely picky. John is sometimes he hurts your feelings when you fall in love with one.
00:37:05He said, no, it's not good enough. So we I think we'll analyze it every year.
00:37:10And, you know, we're starting to get to the point where we're analyzing the mares themselves.
00:37:15If they're going to be some hard decisions made, if you're trying to keep a certain number that you're going to have to probably turn some loose.
00:37:23That'll be great mares for another program, but just aren't as good as some of the ones you'll have.
00:37:28So it's it's good problems to have and just extremely excited for for Richard and Tammy.
00:37:35And I think everything they've endured early on and stuck with me.
00:37:40It's just they deserve everything they're getting here recently.
00:37:44Phil, you paid your dues coming up, including working for Kenny McPeak as his assistant for a long time.
00:37:50Kenny McPeak is certainly somebody who likes to do things a little bit differently.
00:37:54What did you pick up from him? You know, I think it's it kind of shows his program is another example that you got to you got to do well with with athletes and buying good horses.
00:38:10You know, Kenny's very good at it. And I think it's.
00:38:18I think the best thing for me with working for Kenny was I was in charge of thirty six horses at Churchill.
00:38:24And, you know, he was bouncing back and forth between the strings at Keeneland and Louisville.
00:38:29So, you know, I had to kind of keep to keep the thing in the right direction.
00:38:36And he put a lot of trust in me to do it.
00:38:39And I think it kind of helps you in the long run when you're kind of hold your hand to the fire and doesn't have somebody there to hold your hand all the time.
00:38:47So he gave me a tremendous opportunity and actually met Mr. Igni while I was there.
00:38:52And then he approached me with a private training offer.
00:38:56So, you know, I think I've been very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time.
00:39:01And then just extremely lucky with, you know, how the chips fell for me.
00:39:07So time with Kenny was was good.
00:39:11You know, I experienced the Saratoga meet and then the Churchill with that string.
00:39:18So we we ran in some moats and derbies and had a year up here, I think, that we won 13 races.
00:39:24And so a lot of good times and was around some some pretty good horses that you're once you're around the good types.
00:39:32I think they teach you a lot. Just you can kind of think back sometimes in your own training of when you run across something that reminds you of some horse that you've had previously that maybe you did something different that worked.
00:39:48And, you know, it's all kind of trial and error sometime with horse racing.
00:39:52But just I think the key, you know, is the horse.
00:39:57And I was fortunate enough to to be around some good ones with with with Kenny.
00:40:01And then now that when you walk our shed row, it's it's very flattering that what's what's behind the webbings.
00:40:10I mean, it's it's some some high horsepower.
00:40:14So very, very fortunate.
00:40:17So let's talk about some of the webbings.
00:40:19What's Kajara up to?
00:40:20And would she be joining your broodmare band?
00:40:23Because I know she's like a family favorite, isn't she?
00:40:25Absolutely.
00:40:26You know, I think anything that's that's kind of had a career like hers is a definite lock to be a broodmare for us.
00:40:34I think, you know, I actually talked with Mr.
00:40:37Rigney about her yesterday and was just at the end of last year.
00:40:41I thought she was probably one of the best three year old fillies on the dirt.
00:40:44And she rattled off some really good races in a row.
00:40:48And I think it gave her the credentials that we knew, you know, if she doesn't come back at four, she's done enough.
00:40:55And but everything indicated to me early on this year that she would return to that form.
00:41:00And she just hasn't. I think we've had some bad luck with the weather in the first race.
00:41:06Then I probably ran a short horse when she was second in the Shawnee.
00:41:13And then just the brutal trip that she had in her last start was was one that you really can't can't blame her for.
00:41:22So we really haven't given her an opportunity to to kind of show if she's back and get a true answer.
00:41:31So she's up here. She's training forwardly to the personal ensign.
00:41:36I talked with Andrew this morning. He's expecting maybe five or six in there.
00:41:40So trip wise, I think we'll be a little safer.
00:41:43But, you know, you're going to butt heads with the best.
00:41:46So we'll get a definite answer and no shame if she's just not going to return back to her old form.
00:41:51But everything she's shown me in the mornings has indicated that she should be able to.
00:41:56So we're going to give her a few more runs.
00:41:58And, you know, if it doesn't happen, then no, no, no, no fault to her.
00:42:05She's she's one of my favorites. I've been around.
00:42:08You know, she was our first trip to the Breeders' Cup.
00:42:11And, you know, just just a lot of great memories with her.
00:42:18What about Buku? Is she in Del Mar already?
00:42:21Tell us about the Del Mar Oaks because we're recording this on Monday.
00:42:25Entries aren't even out. So we're going to let you handicap it.
00:42:29How about that?
00:42:31I felt that, you know, she's she runs kind of her same race every every race.
00:42:39And then the last race really indicated to me at Aqueduct,
00:42:43it was so paceless that she needs a little pace to run at.
00:42:47And she's a multiple grade two winner.
00:42:49Our main goal, I think, this year is the QE2 at Keeneland.
00:42:54We know she likes Keeneland. She's she's undefeated there.
00:42:57So with that in mind, I think we're just we thought, let's just swing into grade ones this year and see if it can happen.
00:43:05And I think the Del Mar race for us will set up.
00:43:09Hopefully, you know, with with pace and that's kind of the outlook of the California horses,
00:43:16those horses that just ran in the prep were running the six furlong turf sprint so that, you know,
00:43:23you expect them to have pace. So in a perfect world, we'll get it.
00:43:27We'll get a pace set up and she'll come with a rally and hopefully we can win it.
00:43:31But the other thing is, I felt maybe the East Coast horses on numbers were a little better.
00:43:39But you don't know. It's kind of similar to when the Kentucky horses come up to Saratoga the first week.
00:43:44It's fun to kind of see who what jurisdiction is got the horsepower.
00:43:51And, you know, last year I felt New York probably had the upper hand.
00:43:53But this year, Kentucky horses have done very well up north.
00:43:57So maybe that was part of the deal with shipping out there.
00:44:01It's, you know, maybe not.
00:44:05There's never a class break when you're when you run at that level, but you're not hooking the monster.
00:44:11I don't think anybody will be six to five or eight to five in the race.
00:44:16I think everybody's pretty well matched and I think it'll boil down to trip as most races do.
00:44:21But she shipped out Saturday to Mike McCarthy.
00:44:24He's going to take care, take care of her for us.
00:44:27And he said she shipped in. Well, our first day on the track was today.
00:44:30And we'll just you know, she's she's fit, happy horse.
00:44:34And we just got to keep it that way for another five days.
00:44:40Phil, congratulations on all your recent success.
00:44:43It's good to see that all the accolades coming your way now and very well deserved.
00:44:47Thanks for joining us on the TDN Writers Room podcast this week and keep up the good work.
00:44:52It's my pleasure. I really appreciate you having me on.
00:44:54And, you know, hopefully our success can continue and play at the top level.
00:45:02Thanks, Phil.
00:45:05And as this week's Green Group guest of the week, trainer Phil Bauer will receive a free one hour tax consultation from the Green Group, including Lynn Green,
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00:46:56The TDN Writers Room is brought to you by Stone Street Bread and Raised.
00:47:00While the Saratoga sale is in the books and the seven Stone Street yearlings that went through brought a total of $4.83 million,
00:47:09an average of $690,000.
00:47:15All right, well, we mentioned we've got the Keeneland September sale coming up, so let's take a gander.
00:47:20Book one, we're going to kick it off with a bang.
00:47:23How about hit number 25, Buy Into Mischief Out of Dreaming of Julia,
00:47:29which makes her a half-sister to one of my favorite fillies of all time, Champion.
00:47:34What about the boys?
00:47:35We like the boys.
00:47:36Let's talk about hit number 64, Occult Buy Into Mischief Out of Glinda the Good.
00:47:41Now, that should sound familiar, right?
00:47:44Because Glinda the Good produced the hit number 64, Occult Buy Into Mischief Out of Dreaming of Julia.
00:47:51Now, Glinda the Good is a cult.
00:47:53It's a cult.
00:47:54It's a cult.
00:47:55It's a cult.
00:47:56It's a cult.
00:47:57It's a cult.
00:47:58It's a cult.
00:47:59It's a cult.
00:48:00It's a cult.
00:48:01It's a cult.
00:48:02Because Glinda the Good produced none other than champion two-year-old cult, Good Magic,
00:48:08the sire of the derby winner, Mage, and the Belmont Stakes winner, Doorknock,
00:48:13and the second-leading first, second, and third crop sire.
00:48:19I think I got all that right.
00:48:21That's some beautiful speed right there.
00:48:25This week's Fastest Horse of the Week is brought to you by none other than Two Fills,
00:48:30one of those fast sires at Windstar Farm,
00:48:33who just happens to be my favorite of the young stallions at Windstar.
00:48:36And why not?
00:48:37I mean, Two Fills was a graded stakes-winning two-year-old,
00:48:41a multiple graded stakes-winning three-year-old.
00:48:44He ran huge on Tepita at Turfway Park and obviously ran exceptionally well on Dirt also,
00:48:51a four-time stakes winner in all by a combined margin of 26 links.
00:48:56The first three-year-old of his crop to have three straight 100-buyer speed figures,
00:49:01including his two best races on Dirt, the Kentucky Derby and the Ohio Derby,
00:49:05105 buyers in both of those.
00:49:07And we all know he was the best horse in the Kentucky Derby, don't we?
00:49:12Two Fills stood his initial season at Windstar Farm 2024 for a fee of only $12,500.
00:49:20Now, the fastest horse of the week would be Nations Pride,
00:49:24the winner of the Arlington Million at Colonial Downs.
00:49:27Nations Pride, we've already talked about his performance there for Goodolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby.
00:49:33Fastest horse of the week with a buyer speed figure of 103.
00:49:41Well, we talked about all the older horses that ran over the weekend.
00:49:44Let's take a look at the two-year-olds, three big two-year-old races between Delmar and Saratoga.
00:49:49Exactly what you would expect this time of year is the big boys and big girls are starting to make their moves
00:49:55and getting ready for the Breeders' Cup.
00:49:57So, let's start off with Delmar and the Sorrento Stakes on Saturday.
00:50:00So, I'm going to ask this question.
00:50:02Well, first of all, Noonie is the winner.
00:50:04Heavy favorite trained by Bob Baffert.
00:50:07She looked good.
00:50:08She didn't look spectacularly good to me.
00:50:10But I can't get over this.
00:50:12A horse that is by a $5,000 stallion, win, win, win, costs $1.8 million at OBS March.
00:50:21That is a factor of 3,600 times the stud fee.
00:50:273,600 times the stud fee.
00:50:29Have you ever seen anything quite like that?
00:50:32And then keep going the conversation.
00:50:34What do you think with Noonie?
00:50:35I think she's awesome.
00:50:37Was I underwhelmed by the performance?
00:50:40I was.
00:50:41I was a little bit underwhelmed.
00:50:43I thought maybe she was lugging out just a touch around the turn.
00:50:47So, that's beside itself.
00:50:50I was at the sale, and I helped Mariette Farrell at the sale, and we were on her.
00:50:54She is just gorgeous.
00:50:56She had it all.
00:50:57She has a big, strong body, good walk, great temperament, like you could put a five-year-old on her.
00:51:02And she's acted just the same since she arrived at Bob's.
00:51:05Yes, is that a lot of money to pay $1.8 million for that for all the reasons you mentioned?
00:51:10For sure.
00:51:11But she was a superstar at the sale, guys.
00:51:14No question.
00:51:15There were a lot of people on her.
00:51:17She stuck out like a sore thumb.
00:51:19And Ocala Stud breeds a really good horse, a really, really good horse.
00:51:23So, yes, she was much the best.
00:51:25Who did she beat?
00:51:26No one.
00:51:27Should she have won by 10?
00:51:29Probably.
00:51:30Well, you know, we'll have to see what happens Breeders' Cup time, and then she'll really have to face some good ones, won't she?
00:51:39Yeah.
00:51:40I mean, unfortunately, we didn't learn a whole lot about her.
00:51:42I mean, she was supposed to win like she did, and she did, in only a four-horse field.
00:51:47And we see the same thing with the Best Pal the next day, just a four-horse field.
00:51:51It's really concerning because you know these owners want to point for Delmar in some of these two-year-old races,
00:51:57and yet they can only get a total of eight horses in their two initial stakes races.
00:52:03I don't know if that's because Baffert has cornered the market to a large extent on the very best two-year-olds out there.
00:52:09I mean, there are other guys out there that have good two-year-olds, you would think.
00:52:13But, yeah, that's concerning to me.
00:52:15But Noonie did what she was supposed to do, but we may not know.
00:52:19We may not really find out about exactly how good Noonie is, like you said,
00:52:24until we get to the Breeders' Cup and you get some of the best in the East thrown into the mix.
00:52:31The following day at Delmar, the Best Pal was for two-year-old males.
00:52:35Wesley Ward actually did something pretty interesting.
00:52:37White Sands is a filly, was entered in the Sorrento.
00:52:40He decided, I guess maybe he was afraid of Noonie, decided to run the horse against the boys.
00:52:45It didn't work out. She was not the winner.
00:52:48Who else? Bob Baffert, getaway car, cost $700,000, the son of Kerling, was fine.
00:52:56I think everything that Randy just said, I would repeat.
00:53:00We don't know how good these horses are and we'll see.
00:53:02This was the 11th time that Baffert has won the Best Pal.
00:53:06He's won the Sorrento only eight times.
00:53:09I mean, it's just total domination on the West Coast with all the Baffert two-year-olds.
00:53:14As we sit here on August the 12th, as we're taping this,
00:53:20the reality of the situation almost certainly is that Bob probably has two or three or four or five in the barn
00:53:26that are even better than getaway car.
00:53:28Who knows? And getaway car is pretty solid.
00:53:31I mean, he's the son of Kerling, so you know he's going to stretch out.
00:53:35And yet at six furlongs in the Best Pal, Zoe, he was just absolutely dominating.
00:53:41The 60th graded stakes winner for Kerling. That's quite incredible.
00:53:45And he did dominate. He was supposed to dominate.
00:53:48I was at the sale, so I just saw the race in the distance.
00:53:53Was there an inquiry or any kind of objection in the race?
00:53:57Because it looked like mischief and there should have been.
00:54:00Because Mischief River looked like he came over on the Philly White Sands.
00:54:04And that's a Philly against the boys and greater stakes placing means a lot,
00:54:08especially if you own a Philly.
00:54:10I think there should have been at least something posted or looked at.
00:54:15Am I the only one that thinks that?
00:54:19I guess so.
00:54:21I mean, there was definitely some contact there.
00:54:25There was. I mean, there's no doubt about it that he came over on the Philly
00:54:29and, you know, bothered her to a certain extent.
00:54:32I guess the stewards have to decide. Was it enough to impact the placing?
00:54:37She finished third, so she's still graded stakes placed.
00:54:40But second would have been better.
00:54:42Yeah.
00:54:44Okay.
00:54:45Well, if Bob Baffert dominates the two-year-old races at Saratoga,
00:54:48you would excuse me at Del Mar.
00:54:50Who's going to dominate at Saratoga?
00:54:52Well, who else but Todd Pletcher?
00:54:54Saratoga special was run on that awful rainy Saturday at Saratoga.
00:54:58And I have a question for you.
00:55:01Is it because of the figures?
00:55:03I would guess that making figures for two-year-old races must.
00:55:07It must be about the hardest thing you guys have to do.
00:55:10Showcase, trained by Todd Pletcher, ridden by Irod Ortiz,
00:55:14cost $300,000.
00:55:16First time out, won a main race by seven and a half lengths.
00:55:19The horse is supposed to be off those credentials three to five,
00:55:24but then only made a 58 buyer figure.
00:55:27You know, how do you personally as a handicapper deal with that?
00:55:30I tend to really downplay the two-year-old numbers.
00:55:34It just depends.
00:55:36It depends on...
00:55:38I don't want to get too deep in the speed figure weeds here,
00:55:41but since we've got a pretty intelligent horse racing clientele here,
00:55:47I'll do that to a certain extent.
00:55:49The issue with Showcase was that in his career debut,
00:55:53he ran on July the 6th at the Belmont at Aqueduct meeting.
00:55:57And he ran on a day that was fairly consistent
00:56:03from after his race on to the end of the card
00:56:07in terms of how fast the racetrack seemed to be.
00:56:10Okay?
00:56:11And if you apply that speed of the racetrack,
00:56:14the dirt surface that day based on all the other races
00:56:17and you apply it to Showcase's race,
00:56:19you get a 58 buyer speed figure,
00:56:21which is what our speed figure maker in New York stuck with.
00:56:26Right?
00:56:27That's the data.
00:56:28That's what the data says.
00:56:29It was the first race on the card.
00:56:32So occasionally, you can't count on this,
00:56:35but occasionally you get situations where maybe they didn't put as much water
00:56:41on the racetrack for the first race on the card
00:56:43and they saw that it was really cuppy afterward
00:56:45and then they start pouring the water on.
00:56:47Maybe if it was the last race on the card,
00:56:51sometimes the racetrack, you know,
00:56:53when the sun goes down, it retains moisture better
00:56:57and it tracks a little fast.
00:56:58You know, there are a lot of little nuances that go into it.
00:57:02But you would think that a horse that won that impressively visually
00:57:07would have to get a better speed figure than a 58.
00:57:10When I saw that, first thing I did was go into our database
00:57:13and that can't possibly be right.
00:57:15And I looked at it and based on the data, that's what it was.
00:57:19Now, in hindsight, this horse comes back
00:57:22and he wins very impressively in the Saratoga Special.
00:57:26Now that number based on evidence has been changed.
00:57:30So the next time Showcase runs, the career debut won't show a 58,
00:57:34it'll show a 73, which is admittedly a guess
00:57:38because you've got one race to go on, right?
00:57:41I mean, you just have to guess what you think that figure should have been.
00:57:44But that's part of the challenge in making speed figures
00:57:49and not just for two-year-olds, it's just in general.
00:57:52Sometimes the racetrack surface can get a little funky.
00:57:55I think he's a superstar.
00:57:57The way he ran, the way Arad tried to bully his way through there,
00:58:02couldn't get through, Pratt's not letting him out, dives down to the inside.
00:58:06He learned so much and showed so much moxie in the running of that race.
00:58:11Took some dirt, did everything you want to see from a really good horse.
00:58:16300,000 at Keenan looks like steel right now.
00:58:20The TD and Riders Room also brought to you by the PHBA,
00:58:23the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association.
00:58:26Let me give you some Pennsylvania bread math
00:58:29that will be very important, I think, to horse owners.
00:58:32First of all, if you have a PA bred
00:58:34and you win a $50,000 maiden special weight race in parks,
00:58:39parks racing in Pennsylvania, the owner takes home $42,000.
00:58:44The purse is 50.
00:58:46The owner takes home 42,000 because that's the purse plus the owner's bonus.
00:58:50At any other track, it'd be like running for a purse of $70,000.
00:58:54If you're the owner and the breeder,
00:58:56then you take home either $50,400,
00:59:00that's for a non-PA sired horse,
00:59:02or 58.8 for a Pennsylvania sired horse.
00:59:07That is like running for a purse of $100,000.
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00:59:33the new and improved Pennsylvania Stallion Series.
00:59:36Six $100,000 stakes for PA sired, PA breds in parks.
00:59:41Two six furlong contests on PA Derby Day.
00:59:44The two-year-olds then go seven furlongs on December 30th.
00:59:47The last two races are in August 2025 for three-year-olds.
00:59:51Then 50,000 in breeder bonuses
00:59:53go to the top three horses in the series.
00:59:55For more, go to pabred.com.
00:59:59With some of the fullest fields in the country
01:00:02and quality racing year-round,
01:00:04there's never been a better time to reap the rewards
01:00:07of breeding and racing in Kentucky.
01:00:11Purse money in Kentucky is at an all-time high.
01:00:14As is average purse per race,
01:00:16outpacing California, Florida, and New York.
01:00:20Kentucky breds.
01:00:21Breed them.
01:00:22Raise them.
01:00:23Race them.
01:00:25We all win.
01:00:30The GED and Writer's Room brought to you by Kentucky breds.
01:00:33We're always stressing the point that Kentucky breds win,
01:00:36not just in the U.S. and North America, but all over the world.
01:00:39And that was certainly the case
01:00:40at the recent Glorious Goodwood meeting in the U.K.
01:00:44Black Forza, who sold at Keeneland November as a weanling
01:00:48and then Fasig-Tipton July as a yearling,
01:00:52won the group two Richmond stakes at Goodwood.
01:00:55The two-year-old Black Forza is a son of complexity.
01:00:59And then at the same meeting,
01:01:00the three-year-old Philly opera singer,
01:01:02how good is she by justify,
01:01:04won the group one Nassau stakes.
01:01:07Those are the two Kentucky bred justifies coming up now
01:01:11in that Arcana sale that we just talked to Emma about.
01:01:14Both were purchased at Weanlings in Keeneland, November.
01:01:18So coming up this weekend, we have the Alabama at Saratoga,
01:01:22the grade one Delmar Oaks at Delmar.
01:01:25And the Alabama is obviously the key race this weekend at Saratoga.
01:01:30But you know something?
01:01:32Torpedo Anna's not in it.
01:01:34She's not supposed to be in it.
01:01:35She should be in the drivers.
01:01:37But just taking her out of there, it's kind of a blah race.
01:01:40I'd have to say, I guess Candide,
01:01:42who ran second behind Torpedo Anna in the coaching club,
01:01:45be a pretty solid favorite for Todd Pletcher and Manny Franco.
01:01:50But, you know,
01:01:51this is one of those races where I'm glad they're going with a superstar in
01:01:54the Travers.
01:01:55It'll make for a great Travers.
01:01:56But again,
01:01:57this is an Alabama that just doesn't do a whole lot for you so far as
01:02:02looking for future stars or horses that have already counted themselves as
01:02:07stars.
01:02:08Someone will come out of it,
01:02:09but we'll see.
01:02:10Are you looking at the perspective field right now?
01:02:13Yes,
01:02:14I am.
01:02:15How big is the perspective field?
01:02:17One,
01:02:18two,
01:02:19three,
01:02:20four.
01:02:21Well,
01:02:22it's not perspective.
01:02:23They've drawn the race.
01:02:24Oh,
01:02:25and how many?
01:02:26Eight,
01:02:27eight horses.
01:02:28Okay.
01:02:29Okay.
01:02:30So you have eight horses in the Alabama and it's going to be a pretty
01:02:32good betting race.
01:02:33I would think if Torpedo Anna had run in the Alabama,
01:02:35what would you have had?
01:02:36Three,
01:02:37three,
01:02:38two,
01:02:39one.
01:02:40Yeah.
01:02:41When betting only,
01:02:42maybe,
01:02:43I don't know how they would have handled that at,
01:02:44at Naira,
01:02:45but you know,
01:02:46no,
01:02:47it's not as sexy,
01:02:48a race without Torpedo Anna.
01:02:50But I think from a betting perspective,
01:02:53I think it's going to be much better with her running in the Travers than
01:02:57with her at one to nine in the Alabama.
01:03:00My opinion.
01:03:01I'm with you,
01:03:03Randy.
01:03:04It's going to be a very,
01:03:05very good betting race.
01:03:06And,
01:03:07you know,
01:03:08perhaps Candy,
01:03:09you know,
01:03:10she didn't get a chance to run.
01:03:11Um,
01:03:12what am I talking about?
01:03:13She didn't get a chance to run,
01:03:14but she needs another grade one and she's not going to get it running
01:03:17against Torpedo Anna.
01:03:19So she's likely going to go off the favorite,
01:03:21but there are several other horses in here that deserve consideration.
01:03:25You got Miss Justify,
01:03:26who just took down the Wilton stakes in her last,
01:03:29uh,
01:03:30America's Vow,
01:03:31just basking,
01:03:32not a great race,
01:03:34but it will be a good best race.
01:03:36Um,
01:03:37if you're wondering what the noise is,
01:03:38I did try and move,
01:03:40but I'm in the tree house at Saratoga above the pattern.
01:03:45And we're now mowing grass.
01:03:47So,
01:03:48but look,
01:03:49Rand,
01:03:50if you look right behind me,
01:03:51can you see your favorite horse on the big board?
01:03:54No.
01:03:55Who would that be?
01:03:56No,
01:03:57I can't say the whole meat.
01:03:59It's a damn manner.
01:04:00Ah,
01:04:01there you go.
01:04:02I see.
01:04:03I missed last week's podcast when the conversation was about a dare manner,
01:04:06at least partly.
01:04:07So,
01:04:08yeah,
01:04:09I just now,
01:04:10I'm sorry.
01:04:11I was behind the curve here on the field actually being drawn for the
01:04:13Alabama,
01:04:14but you've got intricate who was beaten eight and a half links by
01:04:16Torpedo Anna in the coaching club Oaks.
01:04:18You've got power squeeze,
01:04:20who was beaten almost seven links by Torpedo Anna in the acorn.
01:04:23Um,
01:04:24you know,
01:04:25you've got,
01:04:26uh,
01:04:27Candid who was beaten four and a half in the coaching club,
01:04:30American Oaks.
01:04:32It's very possible.
01:04:33You wouldn't have gotten any of those to come back and run against
01:04:36Torpedo Anna if she was entered in the Alabama.
01:04:39So there's that
01:04:43out West at Del Mar,
01:04:45there is the Del Mar Oaks.
01:04:47Zoe,
01:04:48you are our Del Mar expert.
01:04:49Take it away.
01:04:50I haven't seen PPS or anything like that.
01:04:52So you,
01:04:53uh,
01:04:54you tell us what's going on.
01:04:55Well,
01:04:56I was hoping that Phil Bauer could help us out a little bit more.
01:04:59He's got Buku in there,
01:05:01uh,
01:05:02who he mentioned looks like she could bounce back in there.
01:05:05We're filming this on Monday.
01:05:07I have the probables in front of me.
01:05:09Buku,
01:05:10who's a definite whiskey decision for Delacour,
01:05:13uh,
01:05:14Maduro for who had that three,
01:05:17four race winning streak snapped.
01:05:19And then it looks like a few from Phil D'Amato.
01:05:21I scream,
01:05:22you scream.
01:05:23We all scream for ice cream.
01:05:25She'll be the top one in there for him.
01:05:27Zona Verde and circle of trust.
01:05:29So not an overly huge field as far as I can see going forward,
01:05:34but I did like what Phil Bauer had to say about Buku and the pace setting up
01:05:38for her.
01:05:39And it looks like the mower's back,
01:05:41Zoe.
01:05:42I know it's right to move.
01:05:45So Zoe,
01:05:47we'll stay with you.
01:05:48Um,
01:05:49cause not only are you,
01:05:50you are a Del Mar expert,
01:05:51you're our sales expert.
01:05:52And,
01:05:53um,
01:05:54you heard Emma Berry talk about it earlier in the podcast.
01:05:56That the Europeans were very,
01:05:58uh,
01:05:59pleased by how well the sale went.
01:06:01Uh,
01:06:02the Saratoga phasic Tipton sale thinking that same thing's going to happen in
01:06:05Arcana.
01:06:06Uh,
01:06:07just what were some of the highlights and what were some of your
01:06:08observations?
01:06:10It was an incredible sale with some incredible horses.
01:06:14Uh,
01:06:15it's not quite over yet.
01:06:16We've got the New York phasic Tipton sale going on.
01:06:19They had that night session last night and they just started selling today.
01:06:23So that's still going on,
01:06:25but the actual Saratoga select broke all records,
01:06:28right?
01:06:29154 yearlings sold good for $82 million.
01:06:35That's up 9.5% on last year's handle.
01:06:39The median,
01:06:40just think about this 425,000 was the median.
01:06:44So they're making money left.
01:06:46Oh,
01:06:47left over,
01:06:48right.
01:06:49To be honest,
01:06:50the sale topper again,
01:06:52I'm a sedan,
01:06:53much like last year,
01:06:54buying a cell topper for 3.4 million speedway stables.
01:06:58Uh,
01:06:59I help her at Farrell.
01:07:00They picked up a very nice,
01:07:02uh,
01:07:03Colt from Lane's end,
01:07:04the family,
01:07:06the white family bred this horse.
01:07:08So in total,
01:07:10it was a massive sale all around by multi billion dollar horses.
01:07:16It is time for the XBTV work of the week.
01:07:19And this one's for you,
01:07:20Randy.
01:07:21Senor Buscador worked a half mile at Del Mar on August the 8th in 47 and one.
01:07:27Good time for him.
01:07:28He's not always the most generous workhorse.
01:07:30That's him there on the outside with his workmate red pill inside of him.
01:07:35Joe Talamo up aboard Senor Buscador.
01:07:38Now we've not seen him since finishing third in the Dubai world cup in March.
01:07:43He won the Saudi cup prior to that.
01:07:45And he's now pointing for the Pat O'Brien States on August the 24th,
01:07:50August the 24th at Del Mar.
01:07:52You planning on headed out there,
01:07:53Randy?
01:07:54You like Del Mar.
01:07:55You love Senor Buscador.
01:07:57I would love nothing more than to be out of Del Mar on a nice 78 degree day with a boogie board in the morning,
01:08:04going out on Del Mar beach and hitting the waves and then going to the track in the afternoon.
01:08:08Unfortunately,
01:08:09I won't be at Del Mar until the breeder's cup in November when the water is going to be too cold to get into.
01:08:14Be a smarter,
01:08:16better with XP TV,
01:08:18the best horses with thousands of exclusive morning workouts,
01:08:29all at your fingertips and delivered right into your inbox.
01:08:34Everything you need to be informed.
01:08:37Be smart,
01:08:38that's smart with XP TV.
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01:08:54Experience the power of the partnership.
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01:09:00make new friends and compete at the highest level of thoroughbred racing.
01:09:07West Point Thoroughbreds,
01:09:08the gold standard in racing partnerships.
01:09:11Visit westpointtv.com.
01:09:14Lucy and I would like to tell you that the TV and writers room is also brought to you by West Point Thoroughbreds.
01:09:20Isn't that right?
01:09:21It was an emotional victory for West Point Thoroughbreds.
01:09:23We've already talked about the Saratoga Derby on Sunday.
01:09:26West Point's Terry Finley,
01:09:28very good friends with Wade Yost,
01:09:30the father of Carson Yost.
01:09:32And we've talked about that story in the past and how much it means to the West Point people.
01:09:36Carson Yost was born with the same very rare genetic disorder,
01:09:40Wolf's Wolf Hirshhorn Syndrome,
01:09:43as was Cody Dorman,
01:09:45the late namesake of the tremendous racehorse,
01:09:47Cody's Wish.
01:09:48So we've been following Carson's run for a long time.
01:09:50He's been very successful.
01:09:51Obviously,
01:09:52he'd already won the grade one summer stakes last year at Woodbine,
01:09:55and he got the job done in the Saratoga Derby to essentially reward trainer Christoph Clement for his hunch that Carson's run would appreciate more distance.
01:10:06And clearly he did.
01:10:07Isn't that right?
01:10:08So now,
01:10:09West Point and Clement will have a newcomer from France to look forward to.
01:10:13Les Reys.
01:10:15Les Reys runs on Saturday in the grade two Lake Placid stakes for three-year-old fillies.
01:10:20I'm not French.
01:10:22Les Reys.
01:10:23Let's get that right.
01:10:24To learn more,
01:10:25visit westpointtv.com.
01:10:28Les Reys.
01:10:29So that's a wrap on this week's show.
01:10:31I want to thank everybody for tuning us in.
01:10:33I especially want to thank my partners,
01:10:35Randy Moss and Zoe Cadman.
01:10:37Our Green Group Guest of the Week,
01:10:38Phil Bauer,
01:10:39and the people who work for us behind the scenes,
01:10:41our producers,
01:10:42Katie Petruniak,
01:10:43Anthony LaRocca,
01:10:44and Ali LaRocca.
01:10:45That's it for this week's edition of the TDN Writer's Room Podcast.
01:10:48Catch up with you next week.