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00:00:30Good morning and welcome to the Thoroughbred Daily News Writer's Room podcast.
00:00:33My name is Bill Finley. I'm a correspondent for the TDN.
00:00:36I also do the Down the Stretch radio show with Dave Johnson every Saturday on Sirius XM Radio.
00:00:42How are y'all doing? I'm Randy Moss with NBC Sports back home from the road trip
00:00:48and still celebrating the Arkansas Razorbacks upset win over Tennessee on Saturday.
00:00:56And that was a very good win indeed. I'm Zoe Calvin with First Racing and XBTV.
00:01:01And if you're wondering where I am, and we started this podcast early so it was dark,
00:01:06but I am at my good friend Marietta Jelilich's house in Palm Springs.
00:01:12And it is absolutely beautiful right now. It's 85 degrees already.
00:01:17So give it an hour and I'll be melting and sitting back inside in the AC.
00:01:22Hit them straight. Yeah. Yeah. Right. We can go play golf if you want. Right on the golf course.
00:01:31I guess that's a no on Randy.
00:01:37All right. So back to enough golf and back to horse racing. Plenty to go over from last weekend.
00:01:42It was the last round of Breeders' Cup preps of any significance.
00:01:46And I kind of wanted to divide them into the various divisions.
00:01:50And I thought the one that was the most interesting and we're going to talk to Michael Banahan a little bit later in the show
00:01:56about East Avenue's win in the Breeders' Futurity.
00:01:59But to me, he was clearly the best of the three horses that ran in the male races.
00:02:05Chancellor McPatrick wins the Champagne and Bob Baffert wins the American Pharaoh with Citizen Bull.
00:02:12I love the kind of race he put in. He took it to them. He just motored around the track, beat them.
00:02:18But Randy, I got one question for you. Was there a speed bias there?
00:02:23Because a lot of people were talking about that. I didn't think if there was one, I didn't think it was very pronounced.
00:02:28But I've heard some people say speed bias that carried him and carried a couple other horses to wins.
00:02:35Well, I think there was more of a speed bias on opening day Friday than there was on Saturday.
00:02:42So, you know, I'm not going to downgrade East Avenue's performance based on that.
00:02:48It's going to be interesting to me when we get to the Breeders' Cup to see who's going to be the betting favorite between East Avenue and Chancellor McPatrick.
00:02:56I mean, I agree with you that East Avenue was the more probably the more impressive, but not by much in my book.
00:03:04I thought Chancellor McPatrick had an outstanding win in the Champagne.
00:03:09And it was like we had talked about the week before, you know, what we saw in the hopeful as far as his running style is concerned,
00:03:18was not so much a function of trouble that he got into. He just has no speed.
00:03:23And he dropped way out of it again in the Champagne.
00:03:27So to me, looking ahead to the Breeders' Cup, that's going to be, in my book, the biggest concern about Chancellor McPatrick.
00:03:38Because at Del Mar, the stretch run is 66 yards shorter than Chancellor McPatrick got at Aqueduct and 71 yards shorter than he got at Saratoga in the hopeful.
00:03:52And with his running style, he is going to be playing catch up, you know, to Citizen Bull and Jonathan's Way and East Avenue by the time they turn for home at Del Mar.
00:04:02But he's a very, very nice horse. And his win in the Champagne was even better than it looked on paper because he was five wide all the way around the turn and just cruising up to the leaders with Flavie and Pratt.
00:04:16I thought that was extremely impressive as well.
00:04:18And Randy, I want to make another point about that. In this race, two jumps out of the gate, he was in the lead.
00:04:25He almost outbroke the field and then it was like he just took himself out of the race.
00:04:30Well, Zoe, you should be able to answer this as well. Is this emblematic of a horse who hates kickback or just isn't comfortable being sent at all?
00:04:39And, you know, he went from, you know, jump and a half for the lead to five jumps later, dead last and many lengths behind.
00:04:47He's not giving them a head start, that's for sure. He broke cleanly because I watched the break about five times just to be like, how did he get so far back?
00:04:54Did I did I miss something? Did I look away? Did he stumble? And he broke. He broke. Well, he's just got no early speed.
00:05:02And this is something that he's kind of learned. Maybe that initial start where he didn't get off to a good start and he got the dirt.
00:05:10This is how he's going to be. I'd like to see him a little bit closer, but you can't take him out of what seems to be right now, at least his natural running style.
00:05:19Pratt knows him oh so well. The one thing about the Breeders' Cup, yes, the stretch is going to be shorter, but East Avenue is going to get some pace pressure and he doesn't need the lead.
00:05:30He's tactical. I believe that he can sit just off the pace. He's not a need lead.
00:05:35You know, we're going to talk about Bob's horse in just a moment, but Bob's horse is going to be sent.
00:05:39He's only got one way to go in the Breeders' Cup.
00:05:42So there'll be pace aplenty and it's going to set up for Chancellor Patrick in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
00:05:47And I believe he'll probably go off the favorite.
00:05:50All right, so let's move on to the next race that we haven't covered yet, which is the American Pharoah run out at Santa Anita.
00:05:56Bob Baffert won it for the 13th time.
00:05:59And, you know, I guess if you citizen bull right now looks like the best of the Baffert horses, though, I don't know about gaming and where he has been.
00:06:09But apparently he has just skipped the race and will be going to the Breeders' Cup.
00:06:12So if you're number one in the Bob Baffert battalion, that says something.
00:06:17But I wasn't I'm not very impressed by this horse.
00:06:21He just I mean, he he got it.
00:06:24You know, he runs a good race, but there was nothing like it doesn't have any electricity to him or any big moves or something that will get you really excited about him going forward.
00:06:34Can he win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile? Sure.
00:06:37But I think that Baffert, at least the horses he ran, the American Pharaoh for him, and that's setting the bar very high.
00:06:45We're not we're a little bit on the ordinary side, even though I ran one, too.
00:06:50Yeah, Bob winning it for the 13th time, by the way, as well, that was Intermischief's 22nd grade one winner.
00:06:57He also won Gina Romantica on the day as well.
00:07:01Martin Garcia was in town to write for Bob and he went off the third choice.
00:07:06It was Martin's first time winning the race.
00:07:08And I looked up some stats.
00:07:10Randy, you're going to love this on Martin Garcia.
00:07:13I actually have the exact number written in my iPad that I don't have with me.
00:07:17He's won eighteen hundred and twenty races.
00:07:21Right. Lifetime. Four hundred and sixty two of those have been for Bob Baffert.
00:07:27That is twenty five percent of all of his races he has ever won have been for Bob.
00:07:33Now, the last four years, he's only ridden 13 horses for Bob.
00:07:38Eleven have won. So it just goes to show you he has a lifetime percentage when riding for Bob Baffert of twenty nine percent.
00:07:48When Martin Garcia is in for Bob and he was in for one reason and one reason only.
00:07:53First, he just won on the horse. And two, the horse needs a strong rider and he needs to be sent.
00:07:58He needs to be peddled. And that is the type of rider Martin is.
00:08:02So I think there's a little bit more under the hood on that horse.
00:08:07Is he as good as East Avenue or Chancellor Patrick? No.
00:08:11But he's going to be right there. And Martin's going to peddle him for as far as he can.
00:08:16Yeah. And we're also when we talk about the Breeders' Cup juvenile and we talk about East Avenue,
00:08:21Chancellor McPatrick, talk about Citizen Bull, it's kind of out of sight, out of mind.
00:08:25We also can't really forget about Jonathan's Way.
00:08:28Phil Bowers has won the Iroquois so impressively on the front end that day.
00:08:34I don't think he really needs to be on the early lead either, but it's set up to be a pretty solid Breeders' Cup juvenile.
00:08:41And it's going to be a lot of fun to watch.
00:08:44Do you want to remind you that the TDN Writers Room is brought to you by Keeneland.
00:08:47Listen to this. One of only 40 shares in the fastest horse in the world.
00:08:53He's been on Randy's list all summer long. His name is Cogburn.
00:08:57All right. They will sell a Keeneland championship sale on Wednesday before the Breeders' Cup in the paddock at Del Mar.
00:09:04Cogburn is an undefeated grade one winner and North American record setter in 2024.
00:09:10He's also the favorite for the Breeders' Cup sprint.
00:09:13You can buy a share in Cogburn Wednesday before the Breeders' Cup.
00:09:18And the Keeneland November Breeders' Cup Breeders' Sale will be accepting wildcard entries up until the sale date.
00:09:25Make plans to attend and shop for mares like Zindaya, who was purchased at the 2015 Keeneland November sale,
00:09:32and is the dam of this year, this weekend's grade one Coomore Mile winner, Carl Spackler.
00:09:39We'll be right back after this message from Keeneland.
00:09:43Looking for bloodstock that shapes the world? You can find it here.
00:09:49Foundation mares that will shape the breed.
00:09:52Weanlings with prime potential.
00:09:55Your next moment in the winner's circle.
00:09:57It's all waiting for you here at the World's Marketplace.
00:10:01Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, where the future is found.
00:10:07Beginning Tuesday, November 5th.
00:10:15This week's fastest horse of the week is brought to you by, drumroll please, Nashville.
00:10:20One of those fast sires at Windstar Farm, whose first in-foal mares last year sold for up to $850,000.
00:10:30That's in-foal mares.
00:10:32And now his first weanlings are coming to market.
00:10:35You can find three of them at Fasig-Tipton's upcoming Night of the Stars, and another 35 at the Keeneland November sale.
00:10:43Now, as a racehorse, of course, Nashville was super fast.
00:10:46Track record 107.89 for six furlongs at Keeneland, running nearly a full second faster, as we've mentioned,
00:10:53than the Breeders' Cup Sprint later on that same day.
00:10:56So Nashville, one of those fast sires at Windstar.
00:10:59Fastest horse of the week also took place at Keeneland.
00:11:03That would have been on Friday's opening day.
00:11:05Federal Judge, co-owned by Windstar and Sienna Farm, trained by Brad Cox, won the Phoenix Stakes,
00:11:11the oldest stakes race in America, by a widening margin of five and a half lengths.
00:11:17Six furlongs, 108.20, the fastest raw running time of the Phoenix in 24 years.
00:11:24And the buyer speed figure the Federal Judge earned for that race, 106.
00:11:29He stamps himself as one of the leading contenders now for the Breeders' Cup Sprint.
00:11:33The only real question mark is something that Bill just mentioned in the previous segment.
00:11:37On opening day at Keeneland, most people, I'm one of those, believe that there was a speed bias,
00:11:44maybe even a speed and rail bias to a certain extent, certainly a speed bias,
00:11:48and Federal Judge led from start to finish from post position number one in the Phoenix under Jockey Clavien Pratt.
00:11:55Nevertheless, Federal Judge, our fastest horse of the week.
00:12:04We welcome in now our guest of the week, Michael Banahan.
00:12:06He's the director of Bloodstock for Godolphin.
00:12:08And what a weekend it was for Godolphin at Keeneland, winning the Alcibiades on Friday
00:12:12and coming back and winning the Breeders' Futurity with East Avenue on Saturday.
00:12:17Michael, I know you guys are so used to winning big races, but did this, you know,
00:12:22what kind of thrill was this to get these two, the two main two-year-old races at Keeneland under your belt?
00:12:29Well, I'm not too sure where to rank on the great weekends we've had throughout the course of our time here racing in the U.S.,
00:12:38but I would suggest that it's very close to the top to have two two-year-olds win on our home track,
00:12:48both by our own stallions, home-bred horses.
00:12:53It was absolutely phenomenal.
00:12:55And the great thing about winning at Keeneland, obviously, we love Keeneland, but being our home track,
00:13:00we have an awful lot of employees that can get out to the track, be engaged with the event
00:13:07and celebrate if we do happen to get to the winning line first as well.
00:13:12So I think that's maybe as big a part of it as anything else, because, you know, if we're at Saratoga or California
00:13:19or somewhere else down in Louisiana, there's usually just a small representation of our team,
00:13:25ones and twos, but to be able to do it at the home track at Keeneland is spectacular,
00:13:31and Keeneland's such a spectacular place to do it as well.
00:13:34And to have two two-year-olds doing it, we've sponsored the Alcibiades for, you know, 22 years.
00:13:41We never had a filly close enough to get into the money.
00:13:46And to actually win it for the first time was very special.
00:13:50And then to come back on Saturday with the maturity that Claiborne has sponsored.
00:13:55And since Claiborne has sponsored the race, we've been very, very fortunate to win it three times.
00:14:01So it's been a lucky race for us.
00:14:03Well, Michael, before we get into some of the turf horses and all, let's dig a little deeper,
00:14:08drill down a little more into the two-year-olds.
00:14:11In talking to Brendan Walsh about East Avenue prior to the race,
00:14:15you could tell he was excited, but he was doing his best to sort of temper his enthusiasm, right?
00:14:20Yeah.
00:14:21He's only had one race. He's got to go out and do it.
00:14:25Give us a little bit about what the thoughts have been behind the scenes about East Avenue
00:14:31from the same female family as Cody's Wish right from the start.
00:14:37Well, we liked him from the get-go when he was a young foal yearling as well.
00:14:43He got broken down in Bridlewood, and Mila Murphy does a fabulous job down there with our horses.
00:14:50And we liked him on the track down there.
00:14:54But we like a lot of them when they're down in Florida doing three-eighths of a mile,
00:14:58they look good doing it.
00:14:59But he certainly did.
00:15:01We held him in very high regard.
00:15:05When he came up to Keeneland and joined Brendan String up there,
00:15:10he only maybe worked once, twice, and they were all pretty high on him as well from then.
00:15:18So it was sort of like tempering our enthusiasm all the way through the summertime,
00:15:25knowing that he looked like a really, really nice horse.
00:15:30And we said we'd stay here in Kentucky rather than bringing him up to Saratoga,
00:15:37which usually if we have some really nice ones, we'll bring them up there.
00:15:42But we've been disappointed before bringing horses to Saratoga.
00:15:46Ellis is a good place to get them started.
00:15:48Prize money obviously is good down here.
00:15:50And we just said we'd keep him in Kentucky.
00:15:52And he was ultra-impressive that day, and he's trained forwardly ever since.
00:15:59So I think every time you go into Brendan's barn, not only with him but as help,
00:16:05they were so high on the horse all along.
00:16:07And I think we were all nervous about him running just because we thought he was so good.
00:16:15And it was a competitive race.
00:16:17And I said it to someone the other day in the parade room beforehand,
00:16:24and Tyler Gafleona said, you know, I'm really looking forward to letting him loose
00:16:29and show people what he can do.
00:16:31And I said, well, he didn't even do that.
00:16:34He sat up for the last furlong posing for the cameras, really.
00:16:39And we think there's still a lot in him.
00:16:41It was nice to do that two-turn.
00:16:43And for a horse to go from three quarters to two turns at Keeneland was great.
00:16:49We don't think he needs the lead.
00:16:51But it was just circumstances played at Ellis that he was so much the better horse on Saturday
00:16:57just to get an advantageous position going into that first turn.
00:17:02Tyler wanted to be a little bit more aggressive with him.
00:17:04But as you could see in the race, he responds very well to the jockey's cues.
00:17:09He would do whatever he wanted to do all through the race,
00:17:13eased off the bridle, going around the backside.
00:17:17And looking at him at the three-eighths pole, I sort of had to blink a couple of times.
00:17:22I couldn't believe how easy he was going in a quality field like that.
00:17:26And then he opened up, and it was cruise control from there.
00:17:30So, you know, we're exceptionally excited about him.
00:17:33Quick follow-up.
00:17:35How much did Brendan Walsh's success with Maxfield have to do with him getting this horse
00:17:41as opposed to Brad Cox or Bill Mott, et cetera, et cetera?
00:17:44Well, we try to be very fair and divvy up the horses as we think quality-wise
00:17:52where to go to all the trainers.
00:17:54And she was an unraced mare.
00:17:59This was her first foal getting to the racetrack.
00:18:01And as going through all our two-year-olds in the springtime,
00:18:07it was a balance of who gets what.
00:18:10And we've had plenty of other ones that we thought were really nice horses
00:18:14that haven't gone on and done it.
00:18:16So it's just keeping that, you know, as equitable as possible between all the trainers.
00:18:22And I think, you know, everyone has had a good run at the moment with winners.
00:18:27You know, Brad obviously has a really nice filly for us.
00:18:31Brendan has this horse.
00:18:33Bill Mott has a couple of horses that we really like.
00:18:37We have a two-year-old that has been beaten twice actually already called Sovereignty
00:18:42that Bill has that we hold in very high regard as well.
00:18:46And Mike Stidham has had a lot of nice two-year-olds out there.
00:18:50A couple of them just need a little bit of time off before we get them back going again.
00:18:55And Owen Harty, he had a horse that ran second in the Saratoga Special,
00:18:59and he's had a really good year with his two-year-olds as well.
00:19:02So I think everyone has had a fair share of nice horses,
00:19:06and you just don't know which ones are going to turn into the East Avenues, you know.
00:19:11So Brendan has got a really nice horse this year for sure.
00:19:15And this is where the comparisons start.
00:19:18People have already said Maxfield, and then someone's like,
00:19:21no, not Maxfield, it's got to be Essential Quality.
00:19:24Like, if you could compare him to any horse, and you have to do it now,
00:19:30because I'm asking, who are you going to compare him to?
00:19:35I think probably closer to Essential Quality.
00:19:40I think he's a bit more speed than Maxfield had, can get himself into a better position.
00:19:46He's more tractable.
00:19:49Maxfield has come from behind.
00:19:52As we saw in the Breeders' Maturity, he was a phenomenal run that day,
00:19:56but he came from way off the pace and mowed them down.
00:20:00This horse, as we all know, horses on the dirt with speed that can stay
00:20:07are unbelievably good horses to have in your stable.
00:20:12And I think this horse might be, who knows how good he can be,
00:20:19but I think having those qualities, we're pretty excited about where we can go with him.
00:20:26And I know it's a different deal if we hopefully touch wood,
00:20:30we get to the Breeders' Cup.
00:20:32We were excited to get there with Maxfield.
00:20:34That didn't happen.
00:20:36Essential Quality was a home field advantage,
00:20:39so we didn't have to do any shipping or anything.
00:20:41But to go back out to California and you have to deal with the speed out there,
00:20:45which will be a little bit different to maybe what we've encountered before.
00:20:49We don't feel like he really needs the lead.
00:20:53He can sit off the pace and he can do exactly what Tyler or whatever rider
00:20:58has ridden him in the mornings.
00:21:00He'll do whatever they want him to do.
00:21:02So we feel like he has enough speed to get himself into a good position.
00:21:06He can manoeuvre through a race if things don't work out well for him.
00:21:11So I think you committed me to one and I'm going with Essential Quality.
00:21:18Who named him?
00:21:19Because anyone that's been to Saratoga knows exactly where East Avenue is.
00:21:23Exactly.
00:21:24We like doing that.
00:21:25We had a good filly called Lake Avenue up there as well.
00:21:28We had a horse that wasn't quite as good that got named Nelson Avenue.
00:21:32So we've gone there.
00:21:34But who actually named him?
00:21:36I'd have to check and find out.
00:21:38Vicky Van Camp orchestrates and coordinates all our naming.
00:21:45Usually a lot of the employees and relations as well will throw names into it.
00:21:50It's a big effort.
00:21:51We only just finished naming our last 2-year-old a few weeks ago actually.
00:21:56So that's how long it takes.
00:21:58Michael, for the longest time we've heard how much Sheikh Mohammed
00:22:02and the Goodolphin team really wants to win the Kentucky Derby.
00:22:05It's the one big race in the world they have not won.
00:22:08Don't hear much about that anymore.
00:22:10Is that fever still burning within the organization as much as ever?
00:22:14And if so, how excited are they about East Avenue winning the derby this
00:22:18or next year?
00:22:19Yeah.
00:22:20Well, I think always excited for Sheikh Mohammed to compete
00:22:26and try to win the big races globally.
00:22:29Be it the Kentucky Derby, Breeders' Cups, Prix de l'Arc, Melbourne Cups,
00:22:35wherever they might be, he loves competing at that top level.
00:22:39So I think some of the early days it was more media-driven than anything else.
00:22:45Some of those horses that went in the race weren't probably up to scratch
00:22:53to go there.
00:22:54Probably our best opportunity or Sheikh Mohammed's best opportunity
00:22:57was Strictride.
00:22:58He unfortunately hurt himself a couple of weeks before the race
00:23:01and he loved Churchill Downs.
00:23:03We saw him in the Breeders' Cup, which was a phenomenal Breeders' Cup 2-year-old
00:23:07race that year where he was placed and then came back and he won
00:23:11the Stephen Foster at Churchill.
00:23:12So we sort of always thought in the back of our minds he would have been
00:23:15a great opportunity there.
00:23:17We were really excited about essential quality getting in there.
00:23:22We thought he had an unbelievable opportunity.
00:23:25He was favorite on the day.
00:23:27Lots of people would come out after the race and say,
00:23:30he's the best horse in the race, but still didn't win.
00:23:33He only got fourth.
00:23:36It would be wonderful for Sheikh Mohammed to have a horse in the derby
00:23:43that could compete and be challenging for that trophy.
00:23:48I think it would get him very excited.
00:23:51I know he's watching the race on Saturday night so he's well aware
00:23:56of East Avenue.
00:23:59I'm sure he was excited to see the talent that he showed that day.
00:24:05This is about the time of year when I start badgering Michael with phone
00:24:10calls and text messages and all that.
00:24:12Who's running in the Breeders' Cup races so we can get a head start
00:24:15on our homework?
00:24:17We know East Avenue.
00:24:18We know Immersive and the Juvenile Fillies.
00:24:20Let's transition for a second to the Breeders' Cup turf.
00:24:24Charlie has had silver knot and measured time here in the United States.
00:24:30Rebels Romance, winner of the race a couple of years ago,
00:24:33is lurking out there.
00:24:35What's the thought right now?
00:24:36I know we've still got a couple of weeks before you have to pre-enter,
00:24:38but if the Breeders' Cup turf were being run this next weekend,
00:24:42for example, what's the thought process?
00:24:45I would think probably silver knot will probably head in that direction
00:24:50and maybe Rebels Romance as well.
00:24:53I think they're the two horses that are probably foremost in Charlie's mind
00:24:59that would go for the turf race.
00:25:03What about the two-year-old turf races?
00:25:06Juvenile, Al-Quadra, Amore City?
00:25:11Both of those probably will be lined up for that.
00:25:16Al-Quadra ran a very nice race up in Canada,
00:25:20and he'll probably go straight to the Breeders' Cup
00:25:24and would have a big chance on that run up there.
00:25:27I think it was a quality race in the Summer Stakes this year.
00:25:32The horse that won the race is held in very high regard
00:25:35and I think he might go there as well.
00:25:37Amore City ran respectively in England in his last start,
00:25:41and I think he could very well come over for the Juvenile turf race as well.
00:25:47I think the horse that they'll probably most look forward to
00:25:52is a notable speech in the Breeders' Cup mile.
00:25:55He got bogged down in the soft ground in France the last day.
00:26:00When we've seen him on a firm surface, he's an electric turn of foot,
00:26:05and I think if he gets there in good shape,
00:26:09he'll take a lot of beat in the mile, I think.
00:26:15I'm writing all this down.
00:26:16We're getting our homework done early here.
00:26:19Michael has saved himself about four text messages in one call.
00:26:26We get more involved domestically,
00:26:28so I was hoping you were going to want to talk about Highland Falls
00:26:32in the Classic.
00:26:34Oh, we can.
00:26:36Let's go.
00:26:38We were very excited about him running in the Jockey Club.
00:26:44I think it was a good race this year up in Saratoga.
00:26:48Obviously, Bill Mott had his Whitney winner Arthur's ride in there,
00:26:54and we were a little bit disappointed in the previous race in Monmouth
00:26:59and thought we should have taken advantage of breaking well,
00:27:02and we said we're going to get him out there, make more use of him.
00:27:06I'd certainly not give Arthur's ride an easy lead around there,
00:27:10and he loves the distance.
00:27:13He's a mile and a quarter horse, and he ran his eyeballs out that day
00:27:18and showed what he could do, and he's sort of learning all along
00:27:24because he only started at Ellis Park 12 months ago before the Jockey Club,
00:27:31so he doesn't have the experience that a lot of other horses have
00:27:35going in there, but we feel like he's peaking at the right time.
00:27:39Brad has him in great shape.
00:27:42He's come out of the Jockey Club really well, and he's been training well,
00:27:46so if we get another few good weeks out of him, I think we can go in there
00:27:50and I think we have a bit of a shot there.
00:27:53It looks like it's going to be a pretty open race this year.
00:27:56Do you get to keep your rider, Pratt?
00:28:00That might be more difficult.
00:28:05We'll see. It'd be great if we could.
00:28:08We'd love to have him on board again.
00:28:10He gave him a super ride that day.
00:28:12I know he has some options out there and connections with other stables
00:28:19and trainers and whatnot, so I think you might like to ride him.
00:28:24I think he was pretty enamoured with him when he rode him up the Jockey Club.
00:28:29We'll see what happens.
00:28:31How's the experiment gone this year with the Appleby horses staying stateside?
00:28:37Because you've had so much success shipping backwards and forwards.
00:28:41Do you feel that this is something that you guys are going to do next year as well,
00:28:45or you don't know yet?
00:28:46I'm not too sure, but I think it's been successful.
00:28:50Charlie has won, I'm not too sure, but maybe 10 or 12 grade races
00:28:55and I think four grade ones.
00:28:57So I presume that's a success in anyone's estimations.
00:29:03I'm not too sure.
00:29:06Obviously, it leaves his home team a little bit short on quality.
00:29:11Maybe not at the top end, but underneath that.
00:29:14Whether they want to rebalance it or something, I'm not too sure.
00:29:18I haven't had the conversation with them.
00:29:19But the horses have run well here, especially early in the year.
00:29:24They've had a lot of success, so I would say it's been successful.
00:29:28I think for them to have a stable based over here rather than shipping back
00:29:33and forward has made it a little bit easier as well.
00:29:37Michael, one thing that always interests me is you have all these fabulous horses
00:29:41and you wind up with all these fabulous trainers.
00:29:44But if somebody were to ask, well, who is your main trainer in the United States?
00:29:49It's hard to say.
00:29:51How do you decide which horse goes to which trainer?
00:29:55For instance, Brad Cox, Brendan Walsh, Bill Mott, et cetera?
00:29:58Okay.
00:29:59Well, I suppose a lot of what we like to do is keep families together.
00:30:04So if Brad has trained siblings out of a certain mare or Brendan or Bill or whoever,
00:30:11especially successful ones, we keep them with those trainers.
00:30:15And as they're coming through pre-training in Florida, if they have certain quirks
00:30:22and they don't have a relationship with one of the trainers really,
00:30:28we'll try and line them up where we think best suits them
00:30:31and who might get on best with them.
00:30:37Also, somewhere along the line, if they've got a good run with a certain stallion as well,
00:30:43we might bring that into the equation as well.
00:30:46So a lot of it is family-oriented.
00:30:49And I think it's vital that they know previous siblings as well,
00:30:56how they respond to different types of training as well.
00:31:00And I think that gives an advantage when they know the families as well.
00:31:04So we try to keep that there.
00:31:06But we will make some changes.
00:31:08If we feel like we haven't had much luck with a certain family with a certain trainer,
00:31:13we might switch them up then at that stage.
00:31:16But they all want the best horses.
00:31:20But we do try to keep it as fair as we can as well when they're coming through.
00:31:24But, for example, if we have a sibling to Cody's wish, Bill probably will automatically get that.
00:31:32If you have a sibling to pretty mischievous, Brendan will automatically get that.
00:31:37One to essential quality, Brad will get that.
00:31:40So we try and keep them with the trainers that know the families.
00:31:46So, Michael, we're all – the three of us are sort of grizzled veterans
00:31:50when it comes to horse racing in the United States.
00:31:53And we go back to the days where Sheikh Mohammed's breeding program –
00:31:57Breed yourself.
00:31:58There you go.
00:32:00We go back to the days when Sheikh Mohammed's breeding program was almost entirely centered in Europe.
00:32:06And when he had good horses in the United States, they were typically ones that he bought privately.
00:32:12Those were back in the days when you wanted to prep horses for the Kentucky Derby.
00:32:16They had simulated races in Dubai to get them ready to come over here.
00:32:23Now, one of the big developments in the United States, breeding-wise, in the last decade,
00:32:29has been the Godolphin focus on breeding their own dirt horses in this country.
00:32:35The last three years, Godolphin has swept the Eclipse Award as champion breeder.
00:32:41Tell us a little bit about that transition, about the decision by Sheikh Mohammed, you know,
00:32:46to spend megabucks on mares, dirt mares, and create his own dirt breeding program
00:32:53to complement what he had in Europe.
00:32:56Well, I think it's playing that long game as well.
00:33:00And obviously, Sheikh Mohammed has bought a lot of nice mares
00:33:05and developed a lot of nice mares in the homebred program as well.
00:33:10And over time, we really had a focus more on the dirt horses over the last 10 years.
00:33:18That sort of happened naturally as well.
00:33:21Years ago, where a lot of the European mares used to come over here as well
00:33:27and be based here to go to, say, back in the day, the King Mambos or Danzigs or whoever it might be.
00:33:35And as they transitioned out, we went through a lull in America with not many really good,
00:33:41outside of maybe Kitten's Joy or English Channel or something like that,
00:33:45and they weren't in America.
00:33:48So the sort of broodmare band transitioned more into a dirt one.
00:33:52We raced a lot more horses in America that stayed here as well.
00:33:57So we ended up with primarily a very strong broodmare band that was dirt-centric.
00:34:05And probably COVID maybe helped us a little bit in that there wasn't a whole lot of movement
00:34:13during that time as well that horses were staying in the countries that they were born in and stayed in.
00:34:20And we were fortunate enough that we had a lot of nice fillies over the last few years
00:34:25that were successful on the racetrack that then went into the broodmare band.
00:34:29And even going back to Dubai Escapade, who is the Grand Dame of Immersive,
00:34:34she wasn't very successful for us as a broodmare.
00:34:38Gap Year was probably quality-wise our best horse that got to the racetrack,
00:34:46but she didn't get to win a graded stake or a stake race.
00:34:51But we felt that she had the talent and so we kept that family going through her
00:34:57and then we ended up with Immersive.
00:34:59But that has happened over 20 years probably, getting those mares and developing the family
00:35:05and not losing faith in them if they don't hit straight away as well.
00:35:12And I think we've retired a lot of nice fillies over the last few years as well
00:35:18that will hopefully continue our program of what we're doing here in America as well.
00:35:24We've probably had maybe more autonomy on who to breed to over the last seven or eight years as well.
00:35:33And that's helped in having the American program stronger than maybe it was in the past as well.
00:35:44Before we used to breed an awful lot of mares just to our own stallions
00:35:49and we've gone and searched out being able to breed to some of the best stallions in central Kentucky
00:35:56as well as our own ones.
00:35:58And I think we've got a good balance to that now as well.
00:36:03And I think with our stakes winners this year, I think Highland Falls is the only one
00:36:08with an outside stallion.
00:36:09All our other greatest stakes winners are all by our own stallions, be it Nyquist or old boy like Bernardini
00:36:16in the mix as well, Street Sense.
00:36:20So we've been very fortunate that we've had some very nice stallions in the stallion barn.
00:36:26We're really looking forward to seeing at what level Nyquist is going to get to.
00:36:33He's had a phenomenal year and then we have some nice horses coming in behind like Cody's Wish
00:36:40and we'll have Maxfield who had a phenomenal sale season.
00:36:45We've had a horse like Speaker's Corner coming in there as well, Mystic Guide.
00:36:50So we have some nice horses coming through and seeing what the Street Sense sons have been doing,
00:36:56especially last weekend with McKinsey.
00:36:59It makes us feel pretty good having two really nice horses in the barn with Maxfield
00:37:05and Speaker's Corner in there as well.
00:37:07So we'll hopefully reap those rewards down the road as well.
00:37:13It's an embarrassment of riches.
00:37:15It really is.
00:37:16Michael, I know you've got to go.
00:37:18You said you only had 15 minutes.
00:37:20I think we've taken up a lot of your time.
00:37:21I've got one final question.
00:37:23OK.
00:37:24After a day like Saturday, you mentioned everyone's in Lexington.
00:37:27Half of your crew's Irish.
00:37:29Where do you go to celebrate?
00:37:30What do you do?
00:37:32Well, I'll tell you one thing.
00:37:34I was boring because I came home and, well, in actual fact, we did spend a little bit of time
00:37:43because Coolmore were sponsoring a race that day as well.
00:37:47So we got plenty of Brendan Walsh's crew to come up and get some of the Coolmore alcohol
00:37:54and celebrate with some champagne and whatnot in their room that day.
00:38:01And then I came home and just wanted to watch the race over and over again.
00:38:06So that was the way I celebrated anyway.
00:38:10Well, that's what you're telling us.
00:38:12That's what I'm going to tell you, yeah.
00:38:15Michael, thanks so much for your time.
00:38:17Congratulations on a great weekend.
00:38:19And it certainly looks like you're going to have a hell of a Breeders' Cup as well.
00:38:22So thanks for joining us here on the TDN Writers' Room.
00:38:24And good luck in the Breeders' Cup.
00:38:26Thanks very much, guys.
00:38:27Appreciate it.
00:38:29The TDN Writers' Room, brought to you by the PHBA, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders' Association.
00:38:35Opening weekend at Keeneland.
00:38:36Good for Pennsylvania breds as well as Kentucky breds.
00:38:39Our shot won the grade two Woodford stakes on the turf.
00:38:44That brings his earnings to more than $570,000.
00:38:47So congratulations to his owners, Mike Gatzis, Steven Schoenfeld, John Terranova, and also to his breeder, Dr. S. Mark Rehberg.
00:38:55Our shot in the Woodford.
00:38:57To find out more about what it might mean to you to own and breed Pennsylvania breds,
00:39:03visit www.pabred.com or call this number, 610-444-1050.
00:39:12PA Bred, I think we've built a brand at this point.
00:39:16It's excitement at every step.
00:39:19Roses for Deborah just set a new track record.
00:39:23On average, for the past decade, Pennsylvania paid over $28 million a year in breeders' awards, restricted races, and owner bonuses.
00:39:31Plus, PA Bred shine on the world's biggest stage.
00:39:34Just three states have bred more Breeders' Cup winners.
00:39:37Learn more at pabred.com.
00:39:40As we mentioned earlier, MartÃn GarcÃa had a banner day at Santa Anita on Saturday,
00:39:46and I caught up with him for this week's episode of First Things First.
00:39:56Martini, welcome home.
00:39:59How does it feel to be back in the winner's circle with Bob?
00:40:02It feels, like always, amazing, but more amazing because to ride one of these caliber horses.
00:40:11And just out of nowhere, he gave me the chance back, and I proved today that he liked me.
00:40:19And two for two.
00:40:22You win at 25% lifetime for Bob.
00:40:2525% of your races have come from Bob.
00:40:28You started here in Southern California.
00:40:30Can you talk about what that means to you today?
00:40:33Well, it means a lot.
00:40:38It means a lot, but you know what?
00:40:40I'm just pretty lucky to be in my boots because there is a lot of really good judges too.
00:40:51To pick any other one, I have the big opportunity.
00:40:55It means a lot.
00:40:57It means a lot, and I mean, I just do what he likes.
00:41:01I mean, like everybody, but the main thing is that he trusts me.
00:41:05That's one of the biggest things in here.
00:41:08And when he links you up, you trust him, right?
00:41:10Yeah, he just says, just go do your job, and that's what I do.
00:41:14Martini, good to have you back. On to the Breeders' Cup.
00:41:22Many thanks to Martini Garcia, and he's right, guys,
00:41:25that when him and Bob get together, they truly do mean business.
00:41:30All right, we have a four-day race weekend coming up at Santa Anita.
00:41:34Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and special holiday racing on Monday,
00:41:38which means only one thing.
00:41:40My favorite day is dollar day.
00:41:43Dollar beer, dollar hot dogs.
00:41:45You come out, Randy, I'll buy you a hot dog, I promise.
00:41:48I'll buy you two, and I'll buy Bill one as well.
00:41:51I'll be more interested in the beer.
00:41:55Me too.
00:41:58Well, guys, we talked about the two-year-old males.
00:42:00Let's talk about the two-year-old females that ran over the weekend,
00:42:03and the Frizzette, the Alcibiades, and the Oak Leaf.
00:42:06Start off with Frizzette.
00:42:08They had a horse in there that everybody was excited about called Senza Parole.
00:42:11Horse had to be scratched.
00:42:13Chad Brown said a minor problem.
00:42:15She'll be fine and back next year.
00:42:17But what was left over was really a weak field.
00:42:20And this horse, Scottish Lassie, though, however,
00:42:22put everything together one by nine over Snow White.
00:42:25They were both coming out of the same race, a maiden race,
00:42:29which neither one of them won.
00:42:32Scottish Lassie was third in there, and Snow White was second.
00:42:36You know, congratulations to the connections,
00:42:39and I'd go out to Santa Anita or, excuse me, Del Mar
00:42:43if I had these horses as well.
00:42:45But the Frizzette, I think, is not going to prove to be a very strong race.
00:42:49You want to bet?
00:42:52Yeah.
00:42:53Oh, to me, Scottish Lassie's hands down the winner on paper
00:42:58of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.
00:43:00Wow.
00:43:01Look, I mean, her final quarter mile in that race, 24.97 seconds, okay?
00:43:09Faster than Chancellor McPatrick finished.
00:43:12Yeah, I mean, it was a weak race definitely, a weak race on paper.
00:43:17The one-two finishers were maidens coming in.
00:43:19Snow White held on to finish second.
00:43:21But the way Scottish Lassie ran in that race, oh, my gosh.
00:43:24I mean, she's up close to a decent pace,
00:43:27just sitting there waiting under Jose Lascano,
00:43:30and then just leaves the field for dead.
00:43:32She wins by nine lengths.
00:43:34I was not overly impressed by the West Coast two-year-old fillies.
00:43:40Again, it's the same thing that you said about the two-year-old Colts,
00:43:43you know, Citizen Bull, Baffert horses.
00:43:45When we talk about the fillies, I kind of feel the same way,
00:43:48if not more so.
00:43:49And I thought Immersive, we'll talk about her,
00:43:52I thought she looked good in the Alcibiades,
00:43:54but not nearly as good as Scottish Lassie looked.
00:43:57We kind of joked, Jerry Bailey and I, when we were watching this race,
00:44:01and I looked at the speed figures,
00:44:04the perspective speed figures for the races.
00:44:09Scottish Lassie runs two points slower, that's all, than Chancellor McPatrick.
00:44:13So I said, you know, this horse is going to get like a 90 by her.
00:44:16And we're like, how could this horse get a 90 speed?
00:44:18Well, it was only her second lifetime start.
00:44:20Obviously, in her first start, she either wasn't quite as fit
00:44:26as where Gayabru, the trainer, thought she would be.
00:44:29Maybe she just needed one race for the light bulb to go on.
00:44:32I don't know.
00:44:33But for whatever reason, what we saw from Scottish Lassie in the frisette
00:44:40was very impressive.
00:44:42And to me, she's hands down the leading contender for the juvenile fillies.
00:44:47All right.
00:44:48So we need to come up with some sort of bet for our juvenile fillies
00:44:51to settle our differences.
00:44:53Randy, everything you said is true,
00:44:54but I can't get excited about a horse that beat a dreadful field, that's all.
00:45:00You know, she's going to run against much better horses
00:45:02than the juvenile fillies.
00:45:03I see she's always shaking her head.
00:45:06Am I going to have to make the bet?
00:45:09If she beat a dreadful field by a length and a half and didn't run all that,
00:45:14you know, okay, I got you.
00:45:15I have total agreement with you.
00:45:17But the dreadful field was nine lengths behind her.
00:45:22And the time was almost as fast as Chancellor McPatrick ran.
00:45:25And the closing quarter was faster than Chancellor McPatrick ran.
00:45:28And if Chancellor McPatrick is one of the leading contenders
00:45:30and maybe the favorite for the cult race for the Breeders' Cup juvenile,
00:45:34what does that make Scottish Lassie against a pretty ordinary looking
00:45:37bunch of two-year-old fillies?
00:45:38That's my opinion.
00:45:39All right.
00:45:40Fair enough.
00:45:41McKinsey just continues to roll, by the way.
00:45:43He's the sire of her, the sire of Chancellor McPatrick.
00:45:47She was so good.
00:45:49Now, we all thought she would do that in her maiden race
00:45:52because I bet a fair bit amount of money on her in her maiden race.
00:45:57Scottish Lassie, I watched her train all summer at Saratoga.
00:46:00She's a good filly.
00:46:01Jorge Ebru, Georgie, Titi, whatever you want to call him,
00:46:05his first grade one race, his first graded stakes race,
00:46:08former assistant to Chad Brown a long time ago.
00:46:10He's a horseman that I would be very confident giving a horse to.
00:46:14He owns this filly in part with Steve Weston,
00:46:17who owns a lot of horses with a lot of people.
00:46:19There are a bunch of them.
00:46:20They purchased this one post-sale off Gene Recio
00:46:23out of an OBS two-year-old sale.
00:46:26I went back and looked at my notes.
00:46:27I'm like, why didn't I love this filly?
00:46:29She's just this big, long, leggy, kind of backward filly.
00:46:33For her to do what she's done this early in her career is amazing.
00:46:37She was fantastic.
00:46:39And the filly behind her, Snow White, is a good filly as well.
00:46:42In fact, I bet them in there an exactor in their maiden race,
00:46:46and they were second and third.
00:46:47I was counting my money before the race even went off, and it didn't happen.
00:46:52So two very good fillies going forward there, very good fillies.
00:46:56Sorry, Bill.
00:46:57You're outnumbered.
00:46:58Right.
00:46:59We'll see.
00:47:00We'll see what happens come Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Day,
00:47:02and we can settle this argument that we've been having.
00:47:05I already owe Zoe a bottle of wine, so I might have to buy you a bottle of wine as well.
00:47:09Okay.
00:47:10All right.
00:47:11So the other races were the Oak Leaf at Santa Anita and the Alcibiades at Keeneland.
00:47:17We've already talked about the Alcibiades with Michael Banahan,
00:47:20and a big win for Immersive would likely be the favorite in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile filly.
00:47:25The Alcibiades is a race that brought together a good field.
00:47:30She won the spin away beforehand.
00:47:31She's obviously very, very solid.
00:47:34And the Oak Leaf, it's like a broken record.
00:47:36Baffert, okay.
00:47:37It's not even a man.
00:47:39These races don't turn into who's going to win.
00:47:42It turns into which of the Baffert horses are going to win.
00:47:46And the betting public got it right.
00:47:48They made Noncompliant the favorite.
00:47:50And also Juan Hernandez got it right as well.
00:47:53He took off Noonie to ride Noncompliant.
00:47:56But anyways, Baffert, one, two, three, Noncompliant, Noonie, and Tenmo was third.
00:48:01Randy, okay horses, but nobody that really took my breath away.
00:48:05No, I didn't think so either.
00:48:08Visually watching, honestly watching both the races, in my opinion, the Alcibiades and the Oak Leaf.
00:48:15And by the way, three cheers to Santa Anita to go back to the name Oak Leaf.
00:48:18They should go back to the Norfolk for two-year-old Colts as well,
00:48:22instead of the Forerunner and the American Pharaoh.
00:48:25Nothing against the American Pharaoh, but both races.
00:48:28Noncompliant, she looked okay.
00:48:30I mean, she looked decent.
00:48:32But Immersive, she looked okay.
00:48:34She looked decent.
00:48:35But she didn't watch either of those races and kind of go, whoa.
00:48:40So, I mean, they'll be up there among the favorites.
00:48:43But I just prefer the New York horse.
00:48:48Fourteen winners of the Oak Leaf Stakes, formerly the Chandelier Stakes,
00:48:52have gone on to win the Eclipse Award.
00:48:54I'm not sure noncompliant is going to be one of those.
00:48:57But congratulations to Bloodstock agent Nick Hines for purchasing this filly for $150,000.
00:49:04She looks like a bargain.
00:49:05Noonie was $1.8 million.
00:49:07Bob still can't believe she couldn't go two turns.
00:49:09He was a little bit gutted off that performance.
00:49:12I still think she can, but I don't know.
00:49:15She'll probably back up in distance.
00:49:17And Tis the Law, picking up another graded stake on the day.
00:49:20He had a great weekend with Cynthia and taking down the grade two Miss Grillo as well.
00:49:24So, we got some freshman stallions really starting to make a mark.
00:49:28But, yes, they did crawl home.
00:49:30They did crawl home.
00:49:32So, won't be on my ticket most likely, but you never know.
00:49:36And one thing before we – we'll talk about this when we get to the Breeders' Cup as well.
00:49:42Back in the day, and really not all that long ago,
00:49:46when the Breeders' Cup was in Southern California, horses based in Southern California had a huge advantage.
00:49:51Sure.
00:49:52And it made sense and it bore out statistically as well.
00:49:57Not so much nowadays because of – and I think we've discussed this on the podcast before –
00:50:03because of the horse safety initiatives, especially out on the West Coast,
00:50:09the racing surfaces in California are much safer, much deeper than they used to be.
00:50:15They're much more like East Coast racetracks than the old hard and fast sun-baked Southern California racetracks that we all sort of grew up with.
00:50:24So, the difference shipping East to West is not as pronounced as it used to be.
00:50:29And now we're seeing New York horses, Kentucky horses, ship into California for the Breeders' Cup and more than hold their own.
00:50:36And so, that applies to the two-year-old races especially.
00:50:40The TDN Riders' Room is brought to you by XBTV.
00:50:44This week's Work of the Week is the Chosen Brawn.
00:50:47Is this one of Randy's favorite horses? I can't remember.
00:50:50It's one of everybody's favorite horses.
00:50:53All right. Watch this work then, Randy.
00:50:55This cowbred will come into the Breeders' Cup Sprint riding a seven-race winning streak,
00:51:00including a head victory in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby last out in July.
00:51:04He'll train up to the Breeders' Cup, as seen here, working a half mile in 48 and 1.
00:51:09Now, check out the horse behind him.
00:51:11That's Bob Baffert's Silent Law, an impressive first out winner at Los Al, who worked four furlongs in 48 flat.
00:51:22Be a smarter, better with XBTV.
00:51:25The best horses.
00:51:29With thousands of exclusive morning workouts.
00:51:36All at your fingertips and delivered right into your inbox.
00:51:41Everything you need to be informed.
00:51:44Be smart, bet smart with XBTV.
00:51:51With some of the fullest fields in the country and quality racing year-round,
00:51:56there's never been a better time to reap the rewards of breeding and racing in Kentucky.
00:52:03Purse money in Kentucky is at an all-time high,
00:52:06as is average purse per race, outpacing California, Florida, and New York.
00:52:12Kentucky Breds.
00:52:13Breed them.
00:52:14Raise them.
00:52:15Race them.
00:52:17We all win.
00:52:21The TD and Riders Room, brought to you by Kentucky Breds.
00:52:25This weekend, as is the case with many weekends, a testament to the global power of breeding in Kentucky.
00:52:31Start with Friday, opening day at Keeneland.
00:52:33The Alcibiades won by immersive.
00:52:35Saturday, four of the five grade one stakes in America went to Kentucky Breds.
00:52:40Citizen Bull, American Pharoah, Chancellor McPatrick's Champagne,
00:52:43East Avenue, Claiborne Breeders Futurity.
00:52:45We talked about those.
00:52:46Gina Romanica won her second consecutive First Lady stakes.
00:52:49And then on Sunday, Idiomatic in the Spinster.
00:52:52Rama Tui won the Group 1 Prix de la Forêt on the Arc Day car.
00:52:57That's a lot of Kentucky Breds.
00:52:59As usual, Kentucky Breds.
00:53:01Breed them.
00:53:02Buy them.
00:53:03Raise them.
00:53:04We all win.
00:53:06Well, let's wrap up last weekend's racing.
00:53:08And Zoe Cadman, you are our European expert.
00:53:11So I'm just going to throw it to you.
00:53:13The Arc won by Blue Stocking, Judd Monthorse.
00:53:16Zoe, tell us the rest of the story.
00:53:19I bet on that.
00:53:20Did you bet on that, Randy?
00:53:21I thought she was a shoe-in.
00:53:24Do I have to admit?
00:53:25I forgot the race was even being run.
00:53:29I was sitting in my hotel room prepping for the rest of the races that day at Keeneland.
00:53:34And then I realized too late.
00:53:37Not that I would have bet on the horse anyway.
00:53:39I'm like, Bill, I didn't know enough about any of those horses.
00:53:41You're our expert.
00:53:43Ross O'Ryan, Rafe Beckett.
00:53:45Blue Stocking, a record seventh win for Judd Mont.
00:53:49Just really cool to see the Judd Mont silts winning for the seventh time after Enable and everything.
00:53:54Blue Stocking was just absolutely terrific.
00:53:57And as always, you know, it's a little bit softer turf over there, especially this time of the year.
00:54:02I believe there was one horse.
00:54:04I can't remember the name of him, but they wanted to withdraw him.
00:54:08And apparently it was going to cost 55,000 euros to withdraw him.
00:54:14Could you imagine if this happened stateside?
00:54:16That you had to pay to withdraw your horse.
00:54:18So they wound up having to run the horse rather than pay the 55,000.
00:54:23Yeah, I know.
00:54:24I see how you're looking, but it's true.
00:54:26That's exactly what happened.
00:54:27You can look it up when we're done with this.
00:54:29But Blue Stocking was terrific.
00:54:31I don't know if Blue Stocking is going to come over here or not.
00:54:35There are a couple of others that are likely to come over here from the Big Carter Racing at Longchamp.
00:54:40Camille Pestero, a two-year-old for Adenau-Britt.
00:54:44Brian took down the Jean-Luc Lagardère.
00:54:47That horse is liable to come over.
00:54:49Good to see Kieran Schumacher for John and Thaddee Gosden finally get his first Group One win.
00:54:55For them, because people have been knocking him all year long.
00:54:59He won on Friendly Soul.
00:55:01That horse will probably come over for the filly in Mare Tuff for trainer John Gosden.
00:55:07Ram Tuel for Tony Parker, the former NBA player.
00:55:12That filly will likely come over here.
00:55:14So it was a terrific day of racing at Longchamp, highlighted by Blue Stocking and Godolphin.
00:55:21Well, I can tell you this.
00:55:23Nick Luck, after the ARC, texted with...
00:55:27I'm trying to look up his name right now on my phone, but I can't find it.
00:55:30It's the guy that helps coordinate for Judd Mott, their European racing team.
00:55:38And he said no to the Breeders' Cup turf.
00:55:43He said that is not in their plans.
00:55:45But still, the ARC is one of the great races in the world anyway.
00:55:49Yeah.
00:55:50All right.
00:55:51So let's move back to this side of the Atlantic Ocean.
00:55:54And Idio Maddox had kind of a strange year.
00:55:57She wasn't nearly as dominant as she was last year.
00:56:00She was running well, but a horse with her abilities.
00:56:05I was a little bit surprised she just didn't run ramshot over the rest of this division.
00:56:10Maybe she's back because she looked awful good in the spinster.
00:56:13Again, going right to the lead.
00:56:15But Randy, I didn't think there was a bias on Sunday at all.
00:56:18No.
00:56:19At Keeneland.
00:56:20So let's not chalk that up to her.
00:56:22It's good to see because, you know, the Breeders' Cup, Philly Mayor turf, lost a dare manner.
00:56:27And you don't want it to be...
00:56:28The distaff.
00:56:29The distaff.
00:56:30That's right.
00:56:31I'm sorry.
00:56:32The distaff lost a dare manner.
00:56:33You don't want it to just be a walkover for Kenny McPeak's horse.
00:56:36So it's good that the spinster, that Idio Maddox came out of the spinster with a big win
00:56:42and see what she can do in the Breeders' Cup.
00:56:44Yeah.
00:56:45I probably had a little bit of a different opinion about this, I think,
00:56:47than most people going in.
00:56:49I mean, a lot of people thought Idio Maddox had lost a step, maybe a quarter of a step, you know.
00:56:55But in her two defeats this year, both photo finish losses, she had very legitimate excuses for both.
00:57:02One of them, she didn't break very well, and she was four wide around both turns
00:57:07and still lost in a photo to randomize with a 99 buyer speed figure.
00:57:12That was actually one of the best races she's ever run.
00:57:14And then the last time out in the personal ensign, she gets involved in a suicidal pace duel with the same horse with randomized.
00:57:22They went a half and 46.66 going a mile and an eighth at Saratoga.
00:57:27That was the fastest half mile and a nine furlong dirt race in Saratoga in five years.
00:57:32And she still spit out randomized and opened up four links and just barely got run down by raging sea.
00:57:38I thought that was a fantastic race for Idio Maddox as well, given the pace situation.
00:57:42So I thought she was an absolute cinch on Sunday.
00:57:45And it doesn't surprise me at all that she runs off and wins by six links.
00:57:48Now, does that make her better than Torpedo Anna? I don't know.
00:57:53I would probably give Torpedo Anna the edge right now.
00:57:57But it's going to be a fantastic staff because you've got a horse named Awesome Result coming from Japan.
00:58:05That's a daughter of Justify. That's seven for seven lifetime.
00:58:11It's going to be an interesting race.
00:58:14Very interesting race. And it was a good ride by flow just to go.
00:58:17And he conceded prior to the race that, you know, went too fast last time.
00:58:23But that's what she needs to do. She needs to go.
00:58:25She's going to turn a foot. You watch her come down the lane.
00:58:28She looks like she's a three mile chaser in soft ground.
00:58:32Those old knees come up. She almost bashes herself in the face and she just glops along.
00:58:37She can knock off 12s all day long. So just let her roll and see what happens.
00:58:43But I don't feel that she's lost much either.
00:58:46She's just got one way to go. She's one paced for sure, but she can carry that speed a long way.
00:58:52Right now, you're looking at Torpedo Anna, Idiomatic, Awesome Result.
00:58:56Who's by Justify out of a deputy minister mayor, by the way.
00:59:00She's been raced in Japan, but she is a Kentucky bred.
00:59:03And she won her most recent prep by five lengths going a mile and a quarter.
00:59:07You got Raging Sea, who won the Bell Dame, but who was life and death to win the Bell Dame.
00:59:11But she beat Idiomatic before that. Gun Song, beating in a photo in the cotillion.
00:59:16Musical Mischief that won the Locust Grove, maybe Candied Sugarfish.
00:59:21You know, it's a solid race.
00:59:23But the top three, the Japanese Philly, along with especially Torpedo Anna and Idiomatic.
00:59:28It's going to be a very, very competitive distaff, I think.
00:59:32All right. Let's turn our attention to the Jockey Club Derby Invitational.
00:59:36And I wanted to bring this race up because, you know, we're all.
00:59:39Randy has his favorite horses.
00:59:41Zoe has his favorite horses. I have my favorite horses.
00:59:44I think Carson's run belongs on our list.
00:59:47All of our list is our favorite horses for the story that, you know, we've talked a lot so much about over the years.
00:59:53And over the last couple of years with the young man having the same affliction that Cody Dorman had.
01:00:00I talked to Terry Finley afterwards.
01:00:03They're delighted that the horse won, but they are not going to the Breeders' Cup.
01:00:07They are going to run in the Hawthorne Derby, etc.
01:00:11Instead, he said he doesn't think the horse at this point in his career is fast enough to win the Breeders' Cup turf.
01:00:17So hopefully at four, he'll be four or five lengths faster.
01:00:20Then they'll go to it.
01:00:21So he's headed off to Hawthorne, which should be a pretty easy payday for him.
01:00:25And then we'll see what he does in 2025.
01:00:29It's one of the things that makes West Point so successful is that Terry Finley is a very pragmatic, very intelligent owner when it comes to spotting his horses.
01:00:36I was just going to say, has anyone talked to Terry Finley or talked to Christophe Clement about the Breeders' Cup?
01:00:43Because if it was my horse, no way would I run.
01:00:45He is not fast enough right now.
01:00:47If he's good enough, okay.
01:00:50But he's not fast enough right now.
01:00:52And he's a three-year-old, so he'd be facing a really tough bunch of older horses.
01:00:57So I think they're doing the right thing.
01:00:59But what a great story and what an easy horse to pull for.
01:01:02Yeah, and he's very cool.
01:01:04Dylan, again, so glad to have him on last week.
01:01:07And he's just a consummate professional.
01:01:10Good kid, good rider, doing everything right and making all the right moves.
01:01:14And it looks like we'll see Christophe Clement coming to Del Mar, but towards the end of November.
01:01:20He'll bring some turfers out for the Del Mar Derby, Hollywood Derby, right?
01:01:24Hollywood, what's it called?
01:01:26The grade one at the end of the meet, the Matriarch.
01:01:29I think it's the Hollywood Derby, right?
01:01:31Hollywood Derby, yeah.
01:01:33So one last thing I want to get to before we bid adieu.
01:01:37The Breeders' Cup announced their race schedule on their TV format for the week.
01:01:43And we're only going to get two and a half hours on the network on NBC.
01:01:47The rest will be on the USA Network, and then you can find it a couple other places.
01:01:52But this year they're going to make, because they want the Breeders' Cup Classic to be part of the session that's on NBC.
01:02:00They made it the fifth race on the card.
01:02:02So there's going to be four Breeders' Cup races before the Breeders' Cup Classic and four afterwards.
01:02:08And it's a shame, it really is.
01:02:10I know, Zoe, you told me last year that, and they only had two races after the Breeders' Cup,
01:02:14that it looked like all the electricity left the building and the other ones were just an afterthought.
01:02:20There's no one to blame here, and I'm certainly not blaming NBC.
01:02:23This is the world we live in.
01:02:24College football is king.
01:02:26Remember that.
01:02:27College football is always going to take precedence over horse racing.
01:02:30And they have this contract with the Big Ten to show Saturday night games.
01:02:33So as long as the races are run in the West Coast, get used to it.
01:02:37This is what we're going to do.
01:02:39However, sooner or later they'll get back to Belmont and then Keeneland, maybe Churchill Downs someday as well.
01:02:45Because of the time difference, you won't have that problem and you can run the Breeders' Cup as the last race on the card.
01:02:51So it's one more reason to get that Belmont Park back up and running, make it the Breeders' Cup, get it in the Breeders' Cup rotation.
01:02:59But yeah, it's a little, I'll watch all the races, of course, but how many people, it's like they play the Super Bowl
01:03:07and then afterwards they're going to have a girls flag football for you to watch.
01:03:13It really is going to be, I think, anticlimactic.
01:03:19I can give you a little bit of inside information.
01:03:22It's not just a football issue.
01:03:26There are two issues on the Saturday card as it pertains to NBC.
01:03:33Number one issue is that that Saturday of the Breeders' Cup, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, is three days before the presidential election.
01:03:43And NBC very much believes that they do not need for horse racing to preempt the Saturday evening news,
01:03:54which will be very, very, as you might guess, election centric.
01:04:00So they want to get off, I believe it's six o'clock Eastern in time to hit the NBC news right there.
01:04:07They could back it up to make that happen.
01:04:11But the Breeders' Cup does not want to begin running Breeders' Cup races as early as 11 a.m. Pacific time.
01:04:20They want a few races leading up to the Breeders' Cup races on Saturday, at least two of them, I think they're going to have.
01:04:27They don't want to go any earlier than that.
01:04:29So that sort of compresses the window at which Breeders' Cup races can be run on NBC.
01:04:34Now, is it that important?
01:04:39Zoe can speak to this in England.
01:04:41I mean, in the United States, we're accustomed to running our major, major stakes races as either the next to last race on the card,
01:04:50sometimes the second to last race like the Kentucky Derby.
01:04:53Nowadays, we're seeing more and more making them the last race of the day, sort of like a boxing card, right, where the main event runs last.
01:05:01But in Europe, it's never that way.
01:05:03In Europe, it's very common for the most important race of the day to be run in the middle of the card.
01:05:09And I don't know, betting wise, I don't think it's really going to matter because people are still going to bet on the Breeders' Cup races.
01:05:14Most of it's done online anyway nowadays.
01:05:17So, yeah, I mean, it's unfortunate.
01:05:20I wish it was, you know, I wish the classic was the grand finale.
01:05:27And it'll be much more likely to happen when it goes back to the Eastern time zone.
01:05:31But that's what's going on.
01:05:32That's why it has to be the way it is for this year.
01:05:37So that's this year.
01:05:38But why can't we run the Breeders' Cup Saturday on a Sunday?
01:05:44NFL.
01:05:46Still?
01:05:47Oh, yeah.
01:05:48Oh, yeah.
01:05:49Not going to knock out the NFL.
01:05:52I don't know what the answer is.
01:05:54I do know I don't like running it in the middle of the card.
01:05:57I also don't love having it on the East Coast because you've got to deal with the weather.
01:06:01It's November in New York.
01:06:03You never know what you're going to get.
01:06:05At least in Southern California, we know what we're going to get.
01:06:08We're going to get sunshine.
01:06:10So that's my only problem with the East Coast Breeders' Cup.
01:06:16Well, it should be coming back to Belmont, I guess, 2027.
01:06:20They say they're going to reopen the track in 2026.
01:06:22I'm sure the Breeders' Cup wants them to make sure that everything goes right
01:06:26and that they don't have to change their plans.
01:06:28So we shall see.
01:06:30But, Zoe, I'm an East Coast guy, so I want to see it back in the East Coast.
01:06:34You're a West Coast gal.
01:06:35You'd like to have it in the West Coast.
01:06:37That's fair enough.
01:06:38Well, as soon as Belmont gets remodeled, we will definitely have the Breeders'.
01:06:41There's one more little ancillary thing about running the Breeders' Cup Classic this year,
01:06:47where it's going to be at.
01:06:49Obviously, there's going to be a tremendous amount of global interest in City of Troy
01:06:54in the Classic, especially in Europe.
01:06:57Well, because the Breeders' Cup Classic is run when it's going to be run,
01:07:01in mid-afternoon West Coast time, it makes it a little bit more palatable.
01:07:08It's prime time, really, in Europe for people to watch City of Troy
01:07:13and bet on City of Troy over there.
01:07:16So it's bad over here, but it's kind of a fringe benefit over there
01:07:22as far as the global betting market is concerned.
01:07:26Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more.
01:07:29And talking of Breeders' Cup, in this week's Breeders' Cup Connections feature,
01:07:33our own Katie Petruniak profiles Taylor Canberra, Richard Mandela's assistant trainer,
01:07:38who works with Sub-Sanador, whose win in the inaugural California Crown
01:07:43has earned him a starting berth in the Breeders' Cup Classic.
01:07:47Sub-Sanador in between horses. Here's the line. Sub-Sanador.
01:07:51That's all heart right there.
01:07:54My hands are sore from high-fiving each other after the race.
01:07:58The Breeders' Cup, it's our Olympics. It's the end goal.
01:08:03As long as he just keeps improving the way he's doing right now,
01:08:06I think we'll have a pretty good shot at either, whether he runs in the mile or the Classic.
01:08:10We used to watch the great horses on TV when I was a kid.
01:08:14Never did I ever think that I would get to be around them,
01:08:18let alone ride a horse like Omaha Beach or get to work with a horse like Sub-Sanador every day.
01:08:24It is a dream come true.
01:08:29TDN Riders Room also brought to you by West Point Thoroughbreds.
01:08:33That win by Carson's Run in the Jockey Club Derby was West Point's 20th stakes win of 2024.
01:08:40And Christophe Clement, the trainer of Carson's Run, will now send out
01:08:44Don't Look Back at All for West Point in Sunday's Grade 2 Franklin stakes at Keeneland.
01:08:49Also, Ohana Honor will run Friday in the Grade 3 Sycamore stakes.
01:08:56Well, guys, that's a wrap on this week's show.
01:08:58I want to thank my partners, Randy Moss and Zoe Cabin, our Guests of the Week,
01:09:02Michael Banahan, and of course, our editors and producers who work so hard behind the scenes,
01:09:06Katie Petruniak, Anthony LaRocca and Aliyah LaRocca.
01:09:09Thanks for tuning us in. We'll see you next week.
01:09:25You