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00:00:00Welcome to another edition of the Thoroughbred
00:00:29Daily News Writer's Room podcast. My name is Bill Finley. I'm a correspondent for the
00:00:34Thoroughbred Daily News, also co-host of the Down the Stretch radio show on Sirius XM.
00:00:39How are y'all doing? I'm Randy Moss with NBC Sports. You're in a hotel room in Stanford,
00:00:45Connecticut after watching five hours of dancing horses this morning from Versailles, France.
00:00:51I'm Zoe Cabman, and I'm in the third floor of the house, aka the basement at Niall and Stephanie
00:00:58Brennan's house. I'm with First Racing. Randy, what about those Brits? Aren't they doing quite
00:01:02well there in the equestrian games? You have something to be proud of, Zoe. Those Brits
00:01:07dominated the eventing competition, as they often do. Team Great Britain took the worst of it from
00:01:13the judges in the cross country. But if you had a chance to see that, I mean, I wish I was there
00:01:18instead of here in Connecticut, but I understand. The cross country course, everybody's talking
00:01:23about it. People that don't even follow equestrian sports are talking about what an unbelievable
00:01:28course it was visually with the Palace of Versailles in the background and just the
00:01:33whole landscape and the French crowd lining the course. It was a pretty fun thing to cover.
00:01:41And for those people living in Kentucky, it would be the Palace of Versailles.
00:01:45I'll never forget my first trip to Kentucky and I'm like, what is going on with these people?
00:01:50Do they not know it's Versailles? And this woman pulled me aside. She's like, honey,
00:01:56I don't know where you come from, but right here, it's Versailles. I'm like, okay.
00:02:05Randy, and they let you out of your jail cell that you were in last week. This is a much better
00:02:09setting. Yeah, I'm spending so much time in that jail cell bill that I figured I wanted to get out
00:02:15for a little while, right? I mean, yeah, the biggest challenge to covering the Olympics when
00:02:19they're in Paris is obviously the hours, right? So I'm having to get accustomed to going to bed
00:02:24at 7 o'clock p.m. and getting up at 2 o'clock in the morning. A lot of times, like tomorrow morning,
00:02:29we start our coverage. I don't know if it's necessarily live, but round two of Versailles,
00:02:34we started at 4 a.m. Eastern. So it's been a lot of hours, definitely.
00:02:40Hopefully, you'll get a good night's sleep and we'll talk about more Olympic stuff next week
00:02:44when we come back. All right, on the horse racing front, very exciting, very interesting weekend,
00:02:50starting off with the Jim Dandy at Saratoga. And I had talked beforehand, and a lot of people were
00:02:56saying the same thing. What do you do with Fierce? Can you count on him or not? And it's
00:03:02funny. Yes, he did everything right. Yes, he won. But it still wasn't that explosive electric
00:03:08Florida Derby type race, that Breeders' Cup juvenile type race. But I think it's fair to say
00:03:14that he's back. He proved himself that he is a top class horse. And now Todd Pletcher has not
00:03:20said one way or another if he's going to go in the Traverse. Sounds like he's kind of leaning
00:03:23against it a little bit, as a matter of fact. Thinks the horse needs more time in between races,
00:03:28but, you know, right now, Fierceness, the enigmatic sort that he is, is back either on
00:03:33tight. I don't think he's on top of the division, but he's certainly edging his way up there, Randy.
00:03:39Fierceness must be a gambler. There's something to be said for going against the crowd speak,
00:03:47so to speak, right? I mean, to zig when other people are zagging, that's really one of the keys
00:03:55that's really one of the keys of playing the horses is to be able to successfully do that.
00:04:01With Fierceness, he absolutely bombs in the Champaign last year. So then everybody's off
00:04:08of him for the Breeders' Cup juvenile. And he wins very impressively. He comes back and looks
00:04:13like a world beater in the Florida Derby. Then he can't lose in the Kentucky Derby.
00:04:17He totally bombs. And then everybody's off the Fierceness bandwagon. He's got the heart of a pea.
00:04:23You know, he's too inconsistent, this and that. And lo and behold,
00:04:27he bounces back and runs a big race. You know, I initially when I watched the Jim Dandy,
00:04:33I was a little concerned about the drifting at the top of the stretch until you read the post-race
00:04:38quotes from John Velasquez about how that was done purposely because he was expecting Sierra
00:04:45Leone to come rolling up to his outside and he wanted to carry Sierra Leone out as much as
00:04:50possible. So when I read that, it didn't really bother me too much about Sierra Leone. I thought
00:04:55he ran a hell of a race. You know, I think the owners, I think Chad Brown, that, you know,
00:04:59they should always want to win. And I get that. But I don't know how you could be disappointed
00:05:04with that. And I think Sierra Leone actually ran the race, the best race of his life, I think.
00:05:10And some of that, at least, was because he was on the rail. When you log in like he does,
00:05:15I think, Zoe, you might have touched on this last week. Keep him on the rail.
00:05:19And that's exactly where he wound up through much of the stretch run. And he didn't say
00:05:23any of those antics like he had shown us before. No, he had the picture perfect trip. Now,
00:05:29apparently Chad wasn't all that pleased because he wanted him on the outside. The inside of the track
00:05:35was supposedly a little bit deeper that day. But I didn't find any fault with Flavian's trip
00:05:41whatsoever aboard Sierra Leone. He was straight and true. And he was simply just second best
00:05:47at the end of the day. As far as fierceness is concerned, if you're planning on betting on him
00:05:53or against him next time, I suggest you watch him in the paddock because he almost killed Todd.
00:05:58So I am standing there in the paddock and I'm actually talking to Tracy Pletcher, his wife.
00:06:03Hello, Tracy. By the way, she's a big fan of the show. She watches each week. She thought that
00:06:07Doodle was Lucy and Lucy was Doodle. So which does indeed show she does watch the show,
00:06:13not only listen to it. So I'm chatting to her. The next thing I know, Todd has hold of fierceness.
00:06:19I look around to Tracy and we're laughing about something or other. The next thing,
00:06:24Luis has hold of fierceness. Fierceness is up on his hind legs in the air, leaps forward,
00:06:31double barrels. And Todd is in the back of the stall, almost had his head blown off.
00:06:36And then he rears up again. And I'm like, holy shit, what just happened?
00:06:41And then they got the tack on him and that was all good. And I looked at Tracy. I'm like,
00:06:45oh, I think that's a good thing. A very good thing indeed. So anyway, he goes and wins the race
00:06:51and he earned it because Pony Express didn't let him have it all his own way.
00:06:56He got sent out of there hard with Joelle. They went on his fractions,
00:07:0047 and 2, 1 and 11 and change. So he did earn it. And I went to the barn the next day because
00:07:06I wanted to see fierceness and I wanted to see Todd. I'm like, Todd,
00:07:10what happened? I said, he almost kicked your head off. And he's like, I know. He goes,
00:07:15I was saddling him and he just leapt up in the air and leapt forward.
00:07:19And then he was in the back of the stall and he just double barreled and let him have it.
00:07:24You watch going forward because fierceness had a reputation,
00:07:27at least in the mornings around the barn, as being so docile and laid back.
00:07:31Yeah. Zoe, I want to take you back to Sierra Leone and Randy, feel free to
00:07:37jump in on this as well. I'm tired of picking this horse. I pick him every single time
00:07:42and he runs great. And you think, oh, next time, next time. But I'm just wondering,
00:07:46Zoe, a horse that has to come from that far off the pace as he does.
00:07:52Isn't that a big handicap that he's probably having a difficult time overcoming?
00:07:56Always. I mean, he's got a, he gets all the dirt. He was absolutely covered.
00:08:00When he got back, he will get to go an extra course of a mile, probably in the next two
00:08:04races of his life, the Travers and the Brutus Cup Classic. So a mile and a quarter, he's going
00:08:10to be right there because if Flavian can keep him straight and true. And you know, at the end
00:08:15of these long races, he's not really going to encounter any trouble because they all get strung
00:08:21out. No one can get a mile and a quarter anymore. So you've just got to buy your time and be
00:08:26patient. So a mile and a quarter, no problem for him whatsoever. I mean, it's always a disadvantage
00:08:32in American dirt racing because A, you've got the kickback and B, you've got oftentimes pace
00:08:37considerations to deal with. And then C, you've got trip considerations because that often forces
00:08:43the jockey's hands and the horses have to go wide. You can look at his trip in the Kentucky Derby
00:08:47and he was pretty darn wide around the second turn, obviously much wider than Mystic Dan,
00:08:52you know, who had an inside trip for the most part. So, you know, you get those sorts of
00:08:57disadvantages, but I can't give him that kind of an excuse in the Jim Dandy. I don't think he had
00:09:02that sort of bad come from behind or trip in the Jim Dandy. And I agree with Zoe that he just got
00:09:08outrun on the up and up. Now, Randy has 14 favorite horses, which we've been through
00:09:14these many a times. I'm adding a second one to my favorite horse, Bookum Dano.
00:09:19How could you not just be in love with the chosen Ron who won the Bing Crosby? This horse is so
00:09:26unbelievable. He won by two and a quarter lengths, got a 105 buyer, the best buyer of his career.
00:09:32I think he beat a much tougher field this year in the Bing Crosby than he won last year. And Randy,
00:09:38I think there's a chance that at six years old, he's never been better. He's won 14 of his last
00:09:4315 starts, the only loss of Breeders' Cup Sprint, which I'm sure he's headed back to that. You know,
00:09:48in a day and age where we're looking for heroes, especially a blue collar hero,
00:09:52and he's a gelding, so he's not going anywhere anytime soon. You can't beat this horse for just
00:09:57like awesomeness. Yeah, he's a six year old. He's never been better than he is right now. He kind
00:10:02of reminds me a little bit of Kona Gold on the Kona Gold stakes. A few races back, a Kona Gold
00:10:08was Kentucky bred and the chosen bronze California bred. So it's not comparing apples to apples
00:10:14necessarily. But man, the chosen bronze, it's just like a machine. And he had a three wide
00:10:18trip in this race as well. It's not like, you know, you get a beautiful trip sitting on the
00:10:21rail to run the best figure of his life. The only loss, as you pointed out in that last 15 race
00:10:28streak was the Breeders' Cup Sprint against some really good horses, Elite Power, Gunite,
00:10:34Nakatomi was third in the sprint. And we saw what he did last weekend in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt.
00:10:40So, you know, the chosen bronze didn't really have any excuses that I could see in the Breeders'
00:10:45Cup Sprint. I think he just got outrun. He remains to be seen at Del Mar. We know he loves Del Mar,
00:10:51but he likes Santa Anita as well. You know, if that will help him in the Breeders' Cup.
00:10:57But for now, I mean, wow, this horse is just really, really fun to watch, Zoe.
00:11:02Randy, I got a feeling this year's Breeders' Cup Sprint is not going to be nearly as tough
00:11:06as last year's, which had listed some of the big stars in there. And there's some good
00:11:11sprinters out there, but I don't think there's anybody that compares to Elite Power and those
00:11:15sort of horses. Well, keep in mind, too, that these things can change pretty quickly. Just a
00:11:19couple of years ago, Elite Power was just an allowance horse in New York at this time.
00:11:23And look what he went on to do in the Breeders' Cup two years in a row.
00:11:27Yeah, Steve's going to have something, you know, Bob's going to back some horses up.
00:11:31We'll get to National Treasure in just a moment. But the Trojan Chosen Vron, absolutely terrific.
00:11:39At Tismoly Partners, congratulations to all of them, including John Sondraker.
00:11:43He's just amazing. And they're going to do something different. Now,
00:11:46last year after he won this race, they trained him up to the Breeders' Cup.
00:11:50It looks like they're not going to do that. They're going to give him a prep race because
00:11:54I think Eric Kruljak can't really put his finger on what happened between the Bing Crosby
00:12:00and the Breeders' Cup. So they're going to find a race for him somewhere.
00:12:04Be it, does he just beat up on cowbreds once more? Who knows?
00:12:09But we will see him in the entry box one more time before the Breeders' Cup. And that could
00:12:13be the difference. It could not be the difference. I don't know. But that's the plan going forward.
00:12:18What they tried last year didn't work. So why not something different? Yeah, good point.
00:12:23We will see what happens. The other big race at Del Mar on Saturday was the San Diego
00:12:28Handicap, which is a prep for the Pacific Classic. And Randy, you've been a big Arabian
00:12:33Knight fan all along. Matter of fact, you requested last week that we talk about it,
00:12:39which was fine because I was kind of overlooking Del Mar maybe a little bit when I put together the
00:12:44format. But boy, he just didn't have it. What do you think of him now? A total head-scratcher.
00:12:51He had an uninterrupted long series of workouts that we talked about last week. So you certainly
00:12:56can't give him much of an excuse from a fitness standpoint, even though that was his first start
00:13:01since his fourth place finish in the Breeders' Cup Classic. The horses that he was in against
00:13:05are not horses that you would confuse with leading candidates for the Breeders' Cup Classic
00:13:11this year. I mean, that's why he was such a heavy favorite. He made the early lead,
00:13:15had to be hustled a little bit to get there, but that's the way Arabian Knight is.
00:13:19And I thought he had the race by the throat going down the backstretch.
00:13:24And then Dr. Venkman just ran by him on the second turn. And it was a very disappointing
00:13:30performance, and I can't really explain it. And the horse has certainly lost some cred
00:13:38in my eyes right now as we start looking for classic contenders.
00:13:41Yeah, Bob couldn't find any initial excuses that he said they were going to run some tests,
00:13:46go over him, because he was just as flat as a pancake. He really had no horse throughout the
00:13:51race. As far as the winner, he was cross-entered in the Bing Crosby, Dr. Venkman. First time going
00:13:57two turns for him, a Sonnego Sapper. He's bred to go as far or as short as he wants.
00:14:02And you know, Mark Glant, if he opted to say, I want to go in the sprint, he could easily
00:14:07back that horse up because he's a very good sprinter. He got a little bit wobbly down the
00:14:12lane under Fraisou, but he won. And we'll see what he can do. He loves Del Mar. He's a perfect
00:14:18three for three at Del Mar, having broken his maiden there as well.
00:14:21He might wind up being one of the chosen bronze primary competitors in the Breeders' Cup sprint.
00:14:27I do want to remind you that the TDN Writer's Room is brought to you by Keeneland.
00:14:31The Keeneland September sale, along with many other sales, is fast approaching. If you needed
00:14:37another reason to attend, we'll point out that the September sale produced three graded stakes
00:14:43winners this weekend. Dr. Venkman, we already talked about him. He won the Grade 2 San Diego
00:14:48Handicap at Del Mar, while Time to Dazzle was much the best in the Grade 2 Ontario Killeen
00:14:55Stakes at Woodbine. Meanwhile, at Monmouth, September Grad and Stone Street Bred and
00:15:01Raised Scalable took the Grade 2 Monmouth Oaks. Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks, excuse me.
00:15:07It is a reminder that entries close for the Keeneland November breeding stock sale
00:15:11on August the 1st. We'll be right back after this message from Keeneland.
00:15:19At Keeneland, a horse will always be measured in hands.
00:15:26Hands that see, that sense, that speak.
00:15:33Hands that hold our sport to a higher standard. Not for our sake, but for theirs.
00:15:41For the love of the horse, for generations to come.
00:15:47As always, the fastest horse of the week is brought to you by those fast sires at
00:15:51Windstar Farm. And this week, the sire in our spotlight is Nashville. Some of racing's top
00:15:59judges of bloodstock are looking at Nashville's first foals and pronouncing them something
00:16:05special. It's exactly what Jane Lyon said about this half-sister to Grade 1 winner Saudi Crown.
00:16:11Lyon said, quote, I am absolutely delighted with this filly. We can't find a fault with her. If
00:16:17Nashville continues throwing foals that look like that, he's going to be something special.
00:16:23Nashville was a special racehorse. He was a track record setter at Keeneland.
00:16:27His first in foal mares sold for up to $850,000, and he stands for just $15,000 at Windstar Farm.
00:16:36Fastest horse of the week, we have dual fastest horses, and we've already mentioned both of them.
00:16:41First of all, Bill talked about the Chosen Bronze buyer's speed figure, 105 for his big win last
00:16:47weekend at Del Mar, and also getting a 105, Vanderbilt winner Nakatomi. If all goes well,
00:16:54Nakatomi and the Chosen Bronze will see each other eye-to-eye at Del Mar in the Breeders' Cup
00:17:00Sprint. Now, our Guest of the Week segment on the TDN Writer's Room brought to you by
00:17:07The Green Group, a tax consulting and advisory firm that specializes in the thoroughbred industry.
00:17:13Welcome in now this week's Green Group Guest of the Week. It's none other than jockey
00:17:17Brian Hernandez Jr., obviously one of the hotter jockeys in the country with the spring and summer
00:17:21that he's had. Brian, going back to the most basic question, what was it like winning the
00:17:27Oaks in Derby back-to-back? Has it sunk in yet, or is it still something that maybe it won't sink
00:17:32in until you're telling your grandchildren about it 30 years from now? Yeah, I think it's still
00:17:38surreal. I don't think it's ever going to sink in. I've talked to guys about it, and they're like,
00:17:43yeah. Guys that have won the Derby before, they're like, no, it doesn't ever sink in.
00:17:47You know, you just kind of go through days, and you're just like, well, you know, the biggest
00:17:53thing is like you'll be sitting here by yourself, and you're like, man, wow, we really won the
00:17:57Kentucky Derby. But at the same time, it's a life goal achievement, and it's hard to explain how it
00:18:05actually ever going to sink in, I believe. And in Torpedo, Anna just continues to almost look
00:18:10better and better every time she runs. My God, the last time she ran, that move at the quarter
00:18:14pole was just unreal. Now the big news, obviously, is that Kenny McPeak has come out and said that
00:18:20she will run next against the boys in the Travers. Given that you've been so closely involved with
00:18:26her development, I'd like to think that Kenny gave you a call or maybe asked you even as soon
00:18:31as that last race was over. So what do you think about running against the boys? What do you think?
00:18:36Yeah, it's going to be another tough goal on her hat, but at the same time,
00:18:44she's done everything we've asked of her so far. So we're going to go into the Travers thinking
00:18:49she's the best three-year-old in the country right now, and just very, very hopeful and
00:18:55just excited about it. It's one of those situations where when you get a great filly like
00:19:00she is that you have to go ahead and give her the test. I mean, she's dominated the filly so far,
00:19:06so you have to kind of up the game on her, I believe, and just let her show how good she really is.
00:19:15So how good do you feel she is, Brian? You've been on some good ones.
00:19:19That's a tough question to answer just because I don't think we've seen the best of her yet.
00:19:24I mean, she's kind of destroyed her competition so far, so to go into the Travers like we are,
00:19:33it's going to be one of those situations where she's going to have to step her game up again,
00:19:37but we believe she can. What's her best attribute?
00:19:42That's the thing about her is that she's just so versatile when she does everything we've
00:19:47asked of her. You know, the only time she's been beaten was last year as a two-year-old,
00:19:51but she ran three horde races back to back to back really quickly. So we kind of tossed that
00:19:58race out, but then since she's turned the corner this year, it's just been everything we've asked
00:20:03of her so far, you can't deny it that she's put away her competition. Brian, people are going to
00:20:10ask you this a lot, and I'm going to jump in before Bill on this one because I know he wants
00:20:14to ask it too. You've been aboard her. You also were aboard Rachel Alexandra. Now, maybe not
00:20:21for her biggest wins, but you broke a maiden. She was second in the golden rod at that point
00:20:28in her career and sitting on her. Are there any similarities? Yeah, it seems like fillies like
00:20:35these two, they just want to show their dominancy. Even like watching both of them train
00:20:41in the mornings, they were both very aggressive. They're kind of alpha females more than anything.
00:20:47They don't believe they're females. I think that's their closest similarities is that they
00:20:55dominate in their profession and they enjoy what they're doing. Brian, so much of your recent
00:21:02success revolves around your relationship with Kenny McBeek. What's it like riding for him and
00:21:08what kind of big boost has he given you for your career? It's been huge. I think a lot of that with
00:21:16Kenny and I's relationship has to go back to a guy that hasn't gotten a whole lot of credit
00:21:22so far is my agent, Frank Bernice. Him and Kenny, they work so well together
00:21:27that he does all the entries for Kenny. He's doing all the entries right now for Kenny at
00:21:31Saratoga and Ellis. He's handling all this business. It goes back to that, that they just
00:21:37work so well together. Then I've been fortunate enough to have Kenny in my back corner.
00:21:43It helps in my situation where I know going out there and riding these good horses and these
00:21:48better races that I don't have to worry about getting taken off. It goes back to when we go
00:21:55in the paddock for these races, Kenny's first instructions are, hey, you've ridden these horses
00:22:00long enough. We've been successful. There's nothing I can tell you. Just go out there and
00:22:05ride your race. It takes the pressure off of me more than anything. Frank Bernice, that's cool.
00:22:11Zoey and I go all the way back to Tee Red Bernice, the most unlikely apprentice jockey champion in
00:22:16the history of apprentice jockeys. Zoey knows this feeling, maybe not on a horse like Torpedo
00:22:23Anna. Bill and I have no clue. Describe to us what it's like. You're on her back. You're in
00:22:29the running of a race. You know what you're sitting on. Just take us through what that
00:22:34feeling is like when you're on a horse like that. It's just the confidence in her, even going back
00:22:39into the coaching club a couple of Saturdays ago. Going into the second turn, Leslie's rows
00:22:46jumped away and sped off away from us a little bit going into the second turn. I was like, you
00:22:51know what? If Torpedo Anna is as good as I think she is, I can let her do that. We'll be able to
00:22:57reel her in. That's what makes it so easy riding a filly like her. It's just having the confidence
00:23:04in her. What happened at the start of the coaching club? She's a little bit of a high-strung filly,
00:23:11and she wants to show how good she is. She got a little high-strung in there a couple times. Then
00:23:17right before they sprung them, she just got a little anxious. When they sprung the gate,
00:23:22she just hopped a bit. When she hopped a bit, she lost a half a step. After that, she just showed
00:23:28how athletic she is. Most horses won't be able to overcome what she was able to overcome
00:23:36that quickly. Once she got her feet back under her, she got her spot so fast inside of Intricate
00:23:43that before Intricate could even close the gap on her, she had already taken that spot.
00:23:48Then from there, it was just like, okay, now we're going to be on cruise control for a while.
00:23:52The instant that happened at the break, was that like an oh, hell moment for you?
00:23:57Yeah, it was like an oh, shit moment. By the time I can get that out,
00:24:01I was already back in my spot, so I was like, okay, I'm good.
00:24:12She's got a wicked turn of foot. I was just trying to imagine who's going to go
00:24:17in the Travers and what the pace scenario is going to be like. Have you thought about that?
00:24:22Who's going in it? I was talking earlier about Dornok and how Dornok likes to fight. I'm like,
00:24:29she's so quick. He might not even get a chance to fight her. Is that something that you would
00:24:33think about? I don't want to go right next to him because he likes to eyeball horses and he
00:24:38comes back. Maybe I'll try and whiz by him. Is this something that would go through your brain
00:24:43or is that overthinking it? Yeah, that's something that's going to go
00:24:46through your brain. At the same time, we still have to wait and see who's going to be in the
00:24:51Travers and what post position everyone's going to draw and go from there. It's one of those things
00:24:59where you can't really worry about it at this point because we're quite a ways out. At the same
00:25:05time, we know what horses are going to be there, but we can't worry about it this early in the
00:25:13game. Brian, we're about nine minutes into the conversation and we haven't hardly mentioned
00:25:19Mystic Dan, which is a testament to Torpedo Anna because she's the now horse and how hot she is.
00:25:26A couple of questions. First of all, not only did you win the race, but you were widely applauded
00:25:33for a perfect ride just the way you saved ground and got the horse's nose in front of the other
00:25:38competitors. Does that make it even a little bit more special that you got so much praise for that?
00:25:43Also, at the same time, do you have any updates on him from Kenny? Looks like obviously not going
00:25:50to see him in the Travers, but maybe can we see him a little bit further down the road? What do
00:25:54you know? We really haven't discussed him yet, but I know as of right now he's over at Magdalena
00:26:01at the farm. He's just getting a little R&R. Well-deserving for a horse like Mystic Dan.
00:26:08He ran hard all spring long and then he goes into the derby. He runs a race of his life
00:26:12and then he comes back. He runs back a big race in the Preakness and a well-respected race in the
00:26:18Belmont. He was the only horse this year that tried all three races. At the same time, we're
00:26:25just happy that it looks like we're going to have him back next year as a four-year-old. I don't
00:26:29know the whole logistics of what's going on with him right now, but he's a Kentucky Derby winner.
00:26:37That ride in the Kentucky Derby, Brian, it evoked some comparisons with one of your good buddies,
00:26:44Calvin Burrell, and some of his daring, rail-skimming rides that he had in the Kentucky
00:26:49Derby. You, Calvin, my God, we could sit here for 30 minutes and talk about all the great riders
00:26:55that have come out of South Louisiana. You don't necessarily sound like you're from there.
00:26:59I'm guessing if you have a couple, it may come out a little bit. Why, in your opinion, is that
00:27:07such a hotbed for outstanding jockeys? I think it's just a work ethic. We start
00:27:14putting in the work ethic very early, very young and early as wanting to be jockeys.
00:27:20We just learned very early on that if you want to be a really good jockey, you're going to have to
00:27:26a lot of hard work and a lot of dedication to the craft. That's what it's come from more than
00:27:31anything, I believe. We've been a lot of Louisiana guys that have left Louisiana and moved up to the
00:27:38bigger stages of horse racing that if you want to be really good at it, you're just going to have
00:27:44to put the work ethic into it and the horsemanship and work hard at it. Did you hear from Boo? Did
00:27:50you hear from Calvin Burrell after the Derby? He called me the day after and we talked a while.
00:27:56I hadn't talked to him in about two or three months, so it was awesome to hear from him again.
00:28:01Could you believe it? When you crossed the wire, not only after winning the Oaks,
00:28:05and then you win the Derby, or did you have a sense that it was actually going to happen that
00:28:11way? It was kind of a surreal deal this year because it was kind of like we went in knowing
00:28:17that we were going into the Oaks with a really, really good filly. We were really quietly confident
00:28:23in Mystic Dan because after he won the Southwest, he showed how good he was and that he'd be able
00:28:29to handle the distance. Then we went into the Arkansas Derby and we had a pretty good excuse
00:28:34why he was third. He got knocked around around the first turn pretty badly. He was doing so well
00:28:40and doing everything right. Then with the Derby as well, it's another testament to how intelligent
00:28:47and how sharp of a trainer Kenny is because when he decided to take him to the gate on the Wednesday
00:28:53before the Derby and we popped him out of there and just had him leave there sharply, it put all
00:28:59the confidence in the world and in myself as well that, hey, we're going to have a hard set. He's
00:29:03going to leave the gate sharp and he's going to leave there good. After that moment, I was like,
00:29:08you know what? We got a big, big chance to win the Derby. Then once we won the Oaks on Friday,
00:29:13we went into the Derby pretty confident that if we can give him the right kind of trip that
00:29:19he'd be able to deliver. If you get out of the gate in the Travers like you did in the Derby,
00:29:26you may beat Dornick to the lead. That was our game plan for the Derby, but we'll see what
00:29:33happens in the Travers. Brian, reading your bio, it says you've been galloping horses since you
00:29:38were 12 years old. Where were you galloping at 12 years old and what trainers were entrusting
00:29:44their horses to a 12-year-old kid? It's funny. My dad, he worked for Dale Angel for like 10 years
00:29:53before I started galloping for him. He galloped horses for him in the mornings and then he'd
00:29:57ride everything for him in the evenings at Evangelion and Delta. When I was about 12,
00:30:0413 years old, they gave me a helmet and they put us on the farm, me and another friend of mine,
00:30:10his name's Casey Fuseli. We were both the same age. They were like, here's 60 head of horses.
00:30:15You guys go ahead and you'll learn how to ride. Wow. Did you ride any of those unsanctioned
00:30:21quarter horse races at bush tracks? I did a couple summers of those. It was towards the tail
00:30:28end of them. They were dying off. We did a lot of like Shetland pony races out the gates and
00:30:34quarter horses and a few mule races and all that. Anything they let us saddle up,
00:30:39we were ready to race. Casey Fuseli, that's a name I've not heard for a very, very long time.
00:30:47The accent's starting to come out now, Brian, when we're talking about Louisiana.
00:30:53You mentioned the pony races. Now, it's almost full circle because you're big into the pony
00:30:59races now with your kids. What can you tell us about what's going on with them?
00:31:03They're doing rather well, aren't they? Yeah. Jamie, my wife, she loves her and
00:31:10Rosie Nipravanik, Rosie Sharp. They take the kids over to all the pony races on the East Coast.
00:31:16They've been actually won one up in Maryland last year. Then my youngest daughter, she won
00:31:23two lead line races. She won one in South Carolina at Aiken. Then she won one up in,
00:31:31I think it was Laurel. I'm sorry, she won one at Laurel as well. Yeah, they're big into the
00:31:37pony races. That's what we're trying to get it started here in Kentucky. They've been working
00:31:43with Damon Thayer, the Kentucky State Senator here in Kentucky. They're trying to get them
00:31:47started here in Kentucky. That's something to be looking forward to, we're hoping.
00:31:52Do you want them to be jockeys? Yeah. If that's what they choose to be.
00:31:58They love their horses. They're out at the barn and we're at the farm every morning.
00:32:03I left the house this morning at nine o'clock and Jocelyn and Ben, they were out doing their
00:32:07chores with their ponies, bathing them and taking care of them. If they choose to be jockeys,
00:32:13it's more willing to them and it'll be something we'll all enjoy.
00:32:18Brian, that was some great stuff. Congratulations on all your success this year. Good luck with
00:32:22Torpedo, Anna and the Travers. It's going to be quite the spectacle. We can't wait.
00:32:27Thanks again for joining us as the Green Group Guest of the Week.
00:32:29Thanks for having me on.
00:32:31And as this week's Green Group Guest of the Week, Brian Hernandez will receive a free
00:32:37one-hour tax consultation from Lynn Green et al at the Green Group, who has saved a lot of money
00:32:45on the tax bills of people in the thoroughbred industry as well as in all other walks of life.
00:32:49To find out more about how the Green Group can help you, log on to www.greenco.com.
00:32:57I almost didn't get through that one.
00:32:59When it comes to the horse industry, tax laws are complicated and unique.
00:33:03That is why most people overpay on their taxes. Why not get a second opinion from the top-rated
00:33:08accounting and tax firm in the thoroughbred industry? With over 800 clients in the horse
00:33:13business alone, the Green Group has the expertise to save you taxes. There is a reason the most
00:33:18successful owners, breeders, trainers, vets and horsemen use the Green Group as their tax advisors.
00:33:24We save you taxes. Over the past 40 years, the Green Group founder, Lynn Green, has owned and
00:33:30bred some of the best racehorses in the history of the sport. His DJ stable competes at the highest
00:33:36level and has received the game's most prestigious honors. Lynn Green's in-depth, hands-on industry
00:33:42knowledge combined with current-edge tax-saving strategies produces positive tax-saving results
00:33:47for clients. Take advantage of this special offer. The Green Group will give you a complimentary and
00:33:53confidential review of your tax return. Contact us at 732-634-5100 or visit our website at www.greenco.com.
00:34:23Once more this summer, the TDN Writer's Room is brought to you by Stone Street Bred
00:34:42and Raised. This past week alone, the Stone Street Bred and Raised Scalable won the grade
00:34:48three Monmouth Oaks. And this fall, now Randy, write this down, you can look out for her half
00:34:54sister by City of Light at the Keelan September Sale. I actually saw pictures of her last night.
00:34:59She's absolutely stunning. All right, enough of that. In the meantime, doesn't it seem like
00:35:04Complexity has a winner every single day? Well, if you want to get on the Complexity bandwagon,
00:35:11you can take a good look at Hip57 at the Saratoga Fasig Sale is a charlatan half-brother
00:35:19to none other than Complexity. It's a real stallion prospect pedigree and he's a half
00:35:25to a valedoner as well. And finally, we just saw the Stone Street Bred and Raised Corporate Power
00:35:30finish second in the Curlin Stakes. He's the second foal of Racing Age out of Road to Victory.
00:35:36Her intermischief feeling sells at Saratoga as Hip134. Writing that down, 134, I'll be there.
00:35:45All right, we move on now to the other news of the week. It didn't happen on the track,
00:35:50but it happened off track. And it was a big one. I don't think it was unexpected.
00:35:53Kenny McPeak is a guy who's never afraid to go for it. He doesn't mind challenges. He's not going
00:35:59to protect his horses to the point where he will only run them when they're going to be three to
00:36:03five in five horse fields. I think he's a breath of fresh air in this business. And because he's
00:36:09got a penchant for trying difficult things, has already won a triple crown race with Swiss
00:36:13Skydiver the Preakness, I wasn't the least bit surprised that he committed Torpedo Anna to the
00:36:19Travers. The question now is, is she going to be good enough? And it's going to be an interesting
00:36:25test. She's dominating fillies, but obviously is going to be running against much better.
00:36:30Um, but you've got coming up into the, uh, Travers, you've got to be just a terrific field,
00:36:35maybe Fierceness Dornach, Sierra Leone, maybe Torpedo Anna in there. It's not going to be an
00:36:40easy assignment for her. Uh, Randy, what do you make of it? And do you think he made the right
00:36:44move? Oh, we, you know, we talked about it last week, uh, that, uh, I'll say now what I said then
00:36:49echo what you just said, I would have been shocked if McPeak had made any other move.
00:36:54And we've all, you know, a lot of us talk to Kenny in person or seen quotes from Kenny,
00:36:59you know, over the, over the years. And he has some grandiose schemes sometimes, right? He's
00:37:06going to take this grade two American turf force, and he's going to go run at Ascot or, you know,
00:37:12run at Epsom or something like that. And you hear him talk about things like that sometimes.
00:37:16And you think, wow, that's ambitious. You know, Kenny, he'll, he'll really roll the dice. I mean,
00:37:22you go with it, Kenny, right? This is not one of those moves. This move makes solid sense
00:37:30because his choices are, he can run her in the Alabama, right? They might be lucky enough to
00:37:37scrounge up a five horse field that would include two or three horses that were sort of hustled
00:37:42into the race almost. And yeah, it's, it's a lot of money and it's another grade one,
00:37:47but she doesn't necessarily need another grade one on her resume. She's got plenty
00:37:51of those already. So by contrast, I mean, look what the winning the Travers could do
00:37:57for the value of Torpedo Anna, the value of Torpedo Anna's foals. And, you know, besides
00:38:03the fact that it, you know, it getting me people think, and everybody else, how neat is it that
00:38:08you, for her legacy, that you see Torpedo Anna run against the boys and be able to beat them.
00:38:13And I not only think she can beat them, especially if fierceness doesn't go in the Travers,
00:38:19Todd chooses to wait for the Pennsylvania Derby, like he's talking about. I think she
00:38:23could be the favorite in the Travers and rightfully so. I'm with you. And you know what?
00:38:30Kudos to Kenny for letting everybody know early enough, because a lot of people with nice fillies
00:38:36will be ducking her. So it gives those owners and those trainers a shot at the Alabama because no
00:38:44one wants to run against Torpedo Anna and he's right. It'll be a short field. And yes, it's a
00:38:48horse race. Anything can happen. Every one of us can have a bad day. Even you Bill can have a bad
00:38:54day. So that can happen. So I'm delighted that he let everyone know early. He wanted to make a big
00:39:00show of it. He went on Fox. He talked about it. He's encouraging everyone that is going to be
00:39:05rooting for her to wear pink, which I think is really cool. I'm obviously wearing pink already
00:39:10today, so it'll be exciting. It really will. And she's going to look those boys in the eye.
00:39:16She'll look Dornach in the eye and he might not be quick enough to go with her when she zips off.
00:39:21He'll give her a fight as long as he can be head and head with her. And if I'm Brian Hernandez,
00:39:26like you don't want to get in a fight with Dornach because he loves to fight. You want
00:39:30to stay as far away from him as possible, right? The other thing, too, that is interesting is
00:39:37McPeak is loves the game and he's a historian of the game. And I think he understands the historical
00:39:43significance of this. No Philly has won it since 1915. That's what 100 and God, I can't even do
00:39:49the math. It's 109 years since that. So I never said I got a A's in the party. Okay. But also,
00:39:58just like Zoe mentioned, when he announced it, I mean, already, he's thinking like a promoter,
00:40:03which is great. Have the women wear pink. Make a big deal out of this.
00:40:07Not just the women, Bill. Not just I don't wear it. I don't know any pink clothes.
00:40:14Randy looks good in pink. Okay. But that's so cool, too, that he I think he's doing this not
00:40:20only for the, you know, the purse money, the grade one, but the legacy of this Philly. And if she
00:40:27wins this, she doesn't have to be horse of the year, depending on what happens in the Breeders
00:40:31Cup Classic and a couple other races. But if she does win this, she's in the driver's seat.
00:40:37At this point in time, four horse of the year, that would be four grade ones,
00:40:42including one against males, which would be, you know, tremendous accomplishment.
00:40:46So and I just I can't you can't give me enough credit if you ask me, because you know how many
00:40:50other people would have said no, no, no, let's go to the Alabama. I love the fact that I'm one to
00:40:54five against four horses. And just think how much extra interest there will be in the Travers now
00:41:01with her in the field as opposed to her running in the Alabama and Dornick being the favorite
00:41:06against Sierra Leone in the Travers. Yeah, as soon as we're done this, I'm going down to Macy's
00:41:10to buy myself a pink shirt. You should wear it next week. All right, we'll do.
00:41:18The TDN Riders are brought to you by the PHBA, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association.
00:41:24We kind of set it up last week when we talked about how big the weekend at Saratoga was going
00:41:29to be for Pennsylvania breads, because Don't Look Back at All was one of those horses that was
00:41:33running and she was going in the Caress Stakes, grade three, and she wins it. The Pennsylvania
00:41:38Red wins at Saratoga in the Caress. Not only a Pennsylvania bread, Don't Look Back at All is by
00:41:43the Pennsylvania-based stallion Peace and Justice. It's owned by West Point Thoroughbreds. We'll talk
00:41:49some more about that later. Meanwhile, don't forget the $1 million Pennsylvania Day at the
00:41:55Races just for Pennsylvania breads. It'll be run at Parks. To find out more about that and the entire
00:42:00PA bread program, you can contact Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association at this number 610-444-1050
00:42:09or you can just do it the new fashioned way and go to pabread.com. The PA Horse Breeders
00:42:17Association presents the new and improved Pennsylvania Stallion Series. Six $100,000
00:42:24stakes for PA-sired PA breads and parks. Two six-furlong contests on PA Derby Day.
00:42:30The two-year-olds then go seven furlongs on December 30th. The last two races are in August 2025
00:42:36for three-year-olds. Then $50,000 in breeder bonuses go to the top three horses in the series.
00:42:42For more, go to pabread.com. With some of the fullest fields in the country and quality racing
00:42:49year-round, there's never been a better time to reap the rewards of breeding and racing in Kentucky.
00:42:57Purse money in Kentucky is at an all-time high, as is average purse per race, outpacing California,
00:43:04Florida, and New York. Kentucky breads. Breed them. Raise them. Race them. We all win.
00:43:13And that brings us to Kentucky breads. The TDN Writers Room is brought to you by Kentucky breads.
00:43:18Where are the winners of the biggest summer races bred? Kentucky, of course. In the past eight days,
00:43:24grade one Haskell winner, Dorna, bred in Kentucky. Grade one CCA Oaks winner,
00:43:29Thorpedo Anna, bred in Kentucky. Grade one Alfred Vanderbilt winner, Nakatomi.
00:43:35And grade two Jim Dandy winner, Fierceness, were all bred in Kentucky.
00:43:40Find your own Kentucky bread at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale, which starts this week, August 5th
00:43:46and August 6th. Kentucky breads. Breed them. Race them. Race them. We all win.
00:43:53Another big weekend of racing, of course, highlighted by what's going on at Saratoga,
00:43:57with three grade ones among a bunch of stakes races on the card. Clement Herschel will be run
00:44:02at Del Mar. The Whitney, to me, emerges the second most important race of the year.
00:44:08Emerges the second most important race of the Saratoga meeting behind only the Travers.
00:44:14But this year, it didn't come up scintillating, to be honest with you.
00:44:17I mean, National Treasure, who is right now also a main threat for horse of the year,
00:44:23is certainly on a roll coming off his win in the Met Mile. Flavien Pratt rides for Bob Baffert.
00:44:27But I, guys, I'm going to kind of try to get sneaky here. How about bright future?
00:44:33Wins the Jockey Club Gold Cup last year. Runs OK in the Breeders' Cup Classic.
00:44:37Todd gives him seven months off and he comes back with a win in the Salvatore Mile at Monmouth.
00:44:43That had to be a prep race for this race today, for the, excuse me, for the Whitney.
00:44:48I think Pletcher has geared this horse up for his very best effort. If that's good enough to
00:44:53beat National Treasure, maybe it's not. But as I look at this race now, I like bright future.
00:44:58I've got a different take on it. OK, so National Treasure is the horse to beat.
00:45:02However, we just saw Bob's other horse get completely drubbed off the layoff.
00:45:11What was his name? Why am I blanking on his name?
00:45:14Arabian Knight.
00:45:15Arabian Knight off the layoff. Now, this horse is a bit fresher.
00:45:19We've not seen him since he took down the Met Mile. He's the horse to beat in here.
00:45:22He's a very, very good horse. It's National Treasure.
00:45:25There's some speed in here. It's a good field. It's a field of 12.
00:45:28I like Arthur's Ride. I'm going to take Arthur's Ride along with National Treasure.
00:45:33I mean, Arthur's Ride's done nothing wrong. He's fairly lightly raced.
00:45:36He just won a lounge race by 12 lengths with 111 by a speed figure.
00:45:42He's the white unicorn here at Saratoga. He's already got a massive fan club.
00:45:48He's a beautiful looking horse. He's a progressive kind of horse.
00:45:51He's got speed. He draws the outside. National Treasure is going to go under Pratt.
00:45:57So I'm going to take those two. But I think Arthur's Ride may be a horse with a very bright future.
00:46:04Don't you think, Randy?
00:46:05Those are the two logical horses. This is really going to be the gut check for Arthur's Ride
00:46:10because he got absolutely everything his own way in his last race against a much,
00:46:14much easier field than he'll obviously face in the Whitney.
00:46:17He controlled the pace in that race that he got the huge buyer speed figure in.
00:46:22And this time he'll be sitting maybe, probably second outside of National Treasure.
00:46:27There's a chance some other horses might get up in between him and he could get caught three to four wide
00:46:33around the first turn because he does have an outside draw in this spot.
00:46:37And he's not really a speedster, speedster type horse.
00:46:40The thing to like about National Treasure, in the races that he has won,
00:46:45that have kind of been his signature recently, you've got the Pegasus World Cup, right,
00:46:52in which he was absolutely sent to the early lead at a mile and an eighth at Gulfstream Park.
00:46:59Now, that's more of a speed favoring track than Saratoga is.
00:47:02But the fact that he went fractions that aggressively early and still held on to win at a mile and an eighth
00:47:09is a feather in his cap. I don't hold Saudi Arabia against him.
00:47:12Very, very deep track there. Now you come back to the Metropolitan Mile and keep in mind,
00:47:18it was run at Saratoga this year. It's easy to think back, met mile, all right, one turn mile.
00:47:24OK, now he's got to go a mile and an eighth in the Whitney.
00:47:26No, it was like a turn and three quarters on that new course at Saratoga.
00:47:30And again, it was the fastest one mile fractions in the history,
00:47:38the short history of that particular distance, one mile at Saratoga.
00:47:43They were flying early in that race by Saratoga standards at a mile.
00:47:47And yet he still was able to finish with some, you know, with some eat on, as they say,
00:47:53and was able to win with a pretty decent fig. He's one of those horses.
00:47:57I don't think you can judge him necessarily based on just the buyer speed figures,
00:48:02because you've got to take everything else into consideration.
00:48:04The way he's being ridden early to make the lead. And in this race,
00:48:07they may not have to ride him that aggressively to get that clear early lead
00:48:12that he seems to really relish. So that's what I think is going to make him really tough.
00:48:16But I agree with you. Yeah, he doesn't need to take his track with him.
00:48:20Right. I mean, Saratoga, Saudi Gulf Stream, he runs everywhere.
00:48:26And, you know, there's been a few times he didn't show up like here in the Traverse.
00:48:30So that was in the mud. Things didn't quite go his way.
00:48:34But the fact that he has a win over this track at Saratoga over the Wilton course and was so
00:48:39impressive makes him I mean, he's nine to five. He'll he'll be the favorite easily.
00:48:44You're not going to make any money betting on national treasure,
00:48:46especially with the way Pratt's been riding as well.
00:48:49Which is why Bill likes bright future. You can't make a lot of money betting national.
00:48:53And I do believe that national treasure is probably a better horse.
00:48:57At a mile that he is at a mile and an eighth or even going forward at a mile and a quarter,
00:49:02if that's what it comes to. But when you give a horse with his talent,
00:49:06a good trip on the front end, like he got in the Preakness, right?
00:49:10When he went a mile and three sixteen, plenty left at the end.
00:49:13Then that, you know, that obviously makes him even tougher.
00:49:18Other stakes races on the card on Saturday, the grade one test stakes,
00:49:22seven four once for three year old Phillies.
00:49:24If you're a Bayer fan, Randy, ways and means of one oh four last time out,
00:49:30kind of came out of the middle of nowhere, but an allowance race over the Belmont at
00:49:34Belmont stakes at Saratoga meet. He certainly looks like, excuse me.
00:49:39She certainly looks like she would be the most likely winner of this race
00:49:42for Chad Brown and Flavian Pratt. Also interested, though, in Denim and Pearls.
00:49:47I don't know what happened to her in the eight bells.
00:49:48She didn't run much at all as the four to five.
00:49:50I don't know what happened to her in the eight bells.
00:49:52She didn't run much at all as the four to five favorite.
00:49:55But in the Beaumont, if she runs back to that race where she whistled
00:49:58by nine and a half lengths at today's distance or Saturday's distance of seven for long,
00:50:03she certainly has a chance at nothing.
00:50:07And let me throw this out to both of you, too,
00:50:09because I think a lot of people are going to look at ways and means
00:50:12and see that she had Lasix in that last start and she freaked.
00:50:17She ran 104, 14 points better than her previous buyer number.
00:50:21I don't worry about that when they come off Lasix.
00:50:24I don't think it's that big a deal.
00:50:26Randy, is that a mistake?
00:50:27Should should I be should ways and means fans be concerned
00:50:32that she's going back to running on hay oats and water?
00:50:36I don't think so.
00:50:39Look, you know, her signature win at Saratoga before this at Saratoga,
00:50:45when she broke her mating by 12 and three quarters lengths,
00:50:47despite getting off to a bad start.
00:50:50She didn't have Lasix that day.
00:50:51You know, I mean, I agree with you that initially when we first heard
00:50:57that these rules were going to go into effect a few years ago,
00:50:59we were going to see a lot of horses in major stakes races having to go off Lasix.
00:51:04We wondered, we worried a little bit about what was going to happen.
00:51:07I think what we've seen is that it's much ado about nothing.
00:51:10This really hasn't been that big of a deal.
00:51:13And, you know, in talking to trainers like we often do before these major races that we televised,
00:51:18you know, sometimes I'll ask them, is that any concern?
00:51:20Nah, no concern at all.
00:51:22And it turns out that they're right.
00:51:23I think you nailed the two horses there.
00:51:25I mean, ways and means was just visually awesome in that one mile race at Saratoga.
00:51:30And we did them in pearls.
00:51:32She had an OK sloppy track race at Oakland Park.
00:51:37I believe it was in the Martha Washington.
00:51:39It was around two turns.
00:51:40She probably wants to go one turn.
00:51:42But in that race, she was kept outside out of the slop.
00:51:46Last time out in the eight bells, she took a face full of slop down the backstretch.
00:51:52And I'm going to use that as a legitimate excuse for her last.
00:51:56She's been training well at Churchill Downs.
00:51:58So, Zoe, I think she's the primary danger to ways and means.
00:52:02I don't.
00:52:03I love ways and means.
00:52:05No Lasix is a two year old.
00:52:06Graded stakes, no Lasix.
00:52:08That's why she had it last time, because she was in an allowance race.
00:52:11She's been training absolutely amazingly, like she always does for Trainer Champ Brown.
00:52:16You're getting proud.
00:52:17She's the one to beat.
00:52:18However, there is a filly that ran right behind her in the spin away,
00:52:22and she's coming off a significant layoff.
00:52:24That's bright work.
00:52:25She draws the outside with Johnny V.
00:52:27Johnny V is riding lights out.
00:52:30She had to work out the gate on the 21st of July.
00:52:33And it gives me chills just to think about it.
00:52:36She galloped out a mile.
00:52:38She worked a minute flat out of the gate and galloped out a mile like a freak.
00:52:42She looks like a colt.
00:52:44She's head and shoulders like way bigger than ways and means.
00:52:48She's a beautiful filly, and she has been training like a freak.
00:52:52So if any horse can give it to ways and means, it's going to be her.
00:52:57And she ran right behind her in the grade two spin away.
00:52:59She's a very, very good filly.
00:53:02Indeed, that's bright work.
00:53:03Wow.
00:53:03And she's six to one, the second highest price on the board in the morning.
00:53:07And she's got a good draw on the outside.
00:53:09Johnny V, since teaming up with his new agent, Kieran McLaughlin,
00:53:14has been riding like a freak as well.
00:53:16So she's going to be a major danger.
00:53:20The other great one on Saturday's card is the Saratoga Derby Invitational.
00:53:25And you got not only a horse from Charles Appleby,
00:53:27you have a horse from Aiden O'Brien by the name of Diego Velazquez.
00:53:31I'm going to out rabbit hole Randy here.
00:53:33Randy, who is Diego Velazquez?
00:53:36Diego Velazquez falls in line with what I think is the awesome pattern
00:53:43that Coolmore has of naming their top racehorses after famous composers,
00:53:49in this case, famous artists.
00:53:51Diego Velazquez was an artist of several centuries ago of some note.
00:53:58And Coolmore is great about naming horses like that.
00:54:01I should have known I couldn't.
00:54:02Come on, Bill.
00:54:03I never heard of Diego Velazquez until I looked it up.
00:54:07But, you know, I haven't been down nearly as many rabbit holes.
00:54:12I never heard of Diego Velazquez either until I looked it up about 25 minutes ago.
00:54:16OK, all right.
00:54:17So that's fair.
00:54:19But anyway, speaking of that horse,
00:54:22he only won a grade three by seven lengths last time out.
00:54:26That's his whole claim to fame.
00:54:28Prior to that, grade two, grade one, grade one, not really making the cut.
00:54:33Is a horse that's good enough to win a grade three in group three in Ireland,
00:54:38good enough to transfer that form and win a grade one in Saratoga?
00:54:43I wouldn't be the least bit surprised because of,
00:54:45you know, Aidan O'Brien's ability to get these things done.
00:54:49But I've got to go with Appleby here.
00:54:51The horse ran pretty well in the Belmont Derby while he was third.
00:54:55But the pace was so slow, 50 and one,
00:54:58114 and two, that there was just really no making up ground.
00:55:00It just sort of ran evenly the whole way around.
00:55:04There's more speed to go on this time around.
00:55:06White Palomino has speed on the outside.
00:55:08Looks like maybe Cugino, who won wire to wire last time out,
00:55:12will try to send him to the front as well.
00:55:14So I'm going to jump back on the Charlie Appleby bandwagon.
00:55:18Go ahead, Zoe.
00:55:20I mean, how can we not talk about Carson's run?
00:55:23Oh, yeah, good point.
00:55:24I mean, Eclipse Award winners,
00:55:27Carson's run, West Point thoroughbreds,
00:55:29the whole story with their son, with Carson's run.
00:55:33I mean, he's going to have to step it up,
00:55:35but he's been training very, very well here at Saratoga.
00:55:39So I'm going to use him.
00:55:40I'm also using Deterministic, a horse who I've always loved from day one.
00:55:45He's been working on the grass here at Saratoga.
00:55:48He comes off a second place finish in the Manila.
00:55:51Yes, he's got to move up big time,
00:55:53but he's a big framed, good looking, burly son of Liam's map.
00:55:58And his work on the grass was extremely good the other day as well.
00:56:02So I think there's value.
00:56:03If you're not just keying in on Charlie Appleby in here,
00:56:07it's going to be a very good race.
00:56:09So you're going Christophe Clement exactly there.
00:56:13I'm going to use them.
00:56:14I'm not saying they can beat Legend of Time,
00:56:17you know, or Diego Velasquez, but they're going to be live.
00:56:21Deterministic and Carson's run are going to run some very sneaky, good races.
00:56:27Numbers wise, these three-year-old turf horses going into this race are not very special,
00:56:34you know?
00:56:35So the fact that Diego Velasquez was able to win as impressively as he did last time,
00:56:42I think is going to make him awfully tough to beat.
00:56:44I can tell you what Aiden O'Brien says about Diego Velasquez.
00:56:48They obviously loved his race in the French 2000 Guineas, okay?
00:56:52That was back in May.
00:56:53He was at a mile, was on soft turf.
00:56:55He didn't win, but typically getting, you know, losing by a length in the French 2000
00:57:01Guineas or the English 2000 Guineas or the Irish 2000 Guineas is going to make your horse
00:57:06probably better than what he's going to see in the Saratoga Derby.
00:57:09Then he comes back in the French Jockey Club, French Derby.
00:57:13And it was on a heavy course.
00:57:15And Ryan Moore came back and told Aiden that he had made a mistake,
00:57:20that on that sort of footing, he had ridden Diego Velasquez much too aggressively during
00:57:26the early part of the race.
00:57:27And he thought it was worthwhile to come back and give him a chance at a mile and a half
00:57:31in the King Edward.
00:57:32So they did.
00:57:33And what they learned is that he wants no part of a mile and a half.
00:57:37And Ryan Moore took care of him.
00:57:39He was beating 30 lengths, but they brought him back in pretty short order after that
00:57:44to see what they had, to see exactly how good Diego was, if they could back him up in distance
00:57:49a little bit, which they did to a mile and an eighth.
00:57:52And if you watch that race, he was way out in the middle of the racetrack turning for
00:57:55home.
00:57:56And man, he accelerated nicely the last part and drew off.
00:57:59He was so impressive that Aiden O'Brien is pegging this horse now as his horse for the
00:58:05Cox Plate in Australia later this fall.
00:58:08He was looking for something, a few races in between, and this race popped up.
00:58:13And it only comes up when he ran on July the 18th at Leopardstown.
00:58:16But they've done things like this very effectively and successfully in the past, brought horses
00:58:22to the U.S. and the breeders got on very short rest.
00:58:26So that doesn't bother me at all.
00:58:28San Clemente.
00:58:29Let's talk about Randy's other favorite horse, Adair Manor.
00:58:33San Clemente.
00:58:35Yeah, I mean, who can beat out Randy?
00:58:40I can't really find anyone to beat her in there.
00:58:43I haven't really.
00:58:44I've been so busy with the dress up, as you would say.
00:58:49I haven't had a chance to look too much at the San Clemente.
00:58:51Who's the field going to be?
00:58:55Yeah, these are all possibles because they have not drawn yet.
00:58:58Coffee in Bed, Pretty Mischievous, Super Shine, Skyla, I don't think she's going for
00:59:05Mart.
00:59:05Flying Connection, Desert Dawn, Sugarfish, and then Adair Manor.
00:59:09Those are the possibles.
00:59:11I don't know the probables.
00:59:12We'll find out once they take entries.
00:59:15But over that bunch, barring there's anyone that jumps in there, I mean, she has to win
00:59:20it, doesn't she?
00:59:21I mean, if Pretty Mischievous runs out there, that could be interesting.
00:59:24But taking on Adair Manor in Adair Manor's backyard.
00:59:28Yes.
00:59:29Is going to be an awfully tall order.
00:59:31So, hey, one of my favorite horses.
00:59:35You have a lot of favorite horses, Randy.
00:59:36I never noticed that.
00:59:39This is for you, Bill.
00:59:41XBTV Work of the Week.
00:59:43You like Bright Future, so make sure you watch this.
00:59:46The Work of the Week is Bright Future and Charge It, posting their final work ahead
00:59:50of next Saturday's Grade One Whitney Stakes.
00:59:52They worked a half a mile over the main track in Saratoga in 48.75.
00:59:59Bright Future was the last out winner of the Salvatore Mile Stakes at Monmouth on June
01:00:03the 15th.
01:00:04According to Pletcher, he worked well and he's very happy with him.
01:00:08Charge It also went well, but Pletcher kind of gave the edge to Bright Future.
01:00:13And I can see that watching the work.
01:00:16Bright Future is just a little bit more eager.
01:00:18Charge It always works really well, but Bright Future's in the bridle and he gallops out
01:00:22really nicely as well.
01:00:24Pletcher also may be represented by Grade Two Suburban winner Kruppi.
01:00:29So Bright Future looked really good, Bill.
01:00:31You might well be onto something.
01:00:34Thank you, Zoe.
01:00:35I think this is a conspiracy.
01:00:37Bill picks Bright Future and then Zoe suddenly has Bright Future as her XBTV Work of the Week.
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01:01:47I told you we'd be talking a little bit more about Don't Look Back at All,
01:01:50who won the Caresse Stakes last weekend in Saratoga.
01:01:53That's because Don't Look Back at All is co-owned by West Point Thoroughbreds.
01:01:56So they had a huge group in the winner's circle, as they usually do.
01:01:59That was on Thursday and that made Don't Look Back at All a graded stakes winner.
01:02:05Trainer Christophe Clement, Jackie, I read Ortiz Jr.
01:02:08Congratulations as well.
01:02:09West Point will bid for more success at Saratoga this week.
01:02:13Parnak and Atomic Blonde go in the Glens Falls.
01:02:17That's a grade two.
01:02:19Zarev in the grade two Hall of Fame stakes.
01:02:22And Cugino, we've already talked about him along with Carson's run in the Saratoga Derby.
01:02:26To learn more, visit westpointtb.com.
01:02:34Well, that's a wrap on this week's show.
01:02:36I want to thank my partners, Randy Moss and Zoe Cadman.
01:02:39I want to thank our Green Group Guests of the Week, Brian Hernandez Jr.
01:02:42Especially the trio who worked so hard behind the scenes.
01:02:45Our producers, Katie Petruniak, Anthony LaRocca, and Alila LaRocca.
01:02:49Thanks for tuning us in.
01:02:50We'll be back next week.
01:02:51Should be a great week of racing.
01:02:52We'll have plenty to talk about next week too.