11/4/09
Last updated: 11/5/09 11:16 AM
BREEDERS’ CUP THEY SAID IT
NOVEMBER 4, 2009
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Pure Clan is the fourth choice on the morning-line for the F&M Turf (Lauren Pomeroy/Horsephotos.com) |
“He’s coming out of those one-turn races where he’s stalked 45 and change;
he’s not usually quick coming out of the gate. In a big field like (the
Classic [G1]), you don’t know if they’re standing in the gate longer how they’re
going to break out of there, but once he does get out I expect him to be
forwardly-placed. He’s been stalking in all of his races, albeit at a shorter
distance. Since he’s going from a mile to a mile and a quarter, that last
quarter you’re going to be holding your breath.”
—Rick Mettee,
assistant to trainer Saeed bin Suroor,
on GIROLAMO (A.P. Indy), who will stretch out to 10 furlongs off an easy win in
the one-mile Jerome H. (G2) at Belmont
“If he’s in the lead, I’ll head back to my car. He’s a horse that falls back
and lays off the pace. When he gets a run in he’s got about a good 2 1/2-furlong
move, so pace is going to be a factor. He’s a small horse so hopefully they
don’t jostle him around too much. He’s gotta really step it up in this company.
And you know with those European horses, they’re the X-factor, they came in here
last year and humiliated everybody and they’re good horses this year, too.”
—Bob
Baffert on late-running Pacific Classic (G1) hero RICHARD’S KID (Lemon Drop
Kid), who will enter the Classic off a third-place finish in the Goodwood S.
(G1)
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“You’d like to be a little more inside, but the post isn’t going to get us
beat. The competition is.”
—West
Point Thoroughbreds’ Terry Finley on drawing post 13 in the Classic with AWESOME
GEM (Awesome Again)
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Mushka took in her surroundings on Wednesday (Lauren Pomeroy/Horsephotos.com) |
“He’s been here since October 8, and he loves Santa Anita. He likes warm
weather and he likes a firm turf course, so this is the ideal place for him.
Conduit (Ire) (Dalakhani) has a big late kick, and ‘Presious’ has never met a
horse with a kick like that. But he won’t be looking back, anyway. And he could
take the Europeans out of their game the way he runs, because I don’t think
they’ve ever seen anything like him.”
—Mary Hartman on
PRESIOUS PASSION (Royal Anthem), who ran off to an early 20-length lead when
posting a remarkable victory in this summer’s United Nations (G1); the lone speed in Saturday’s Turf
(G1) exits an easy 2 1/2-length score in the October 11 Clement L. Hirsch Turf
Championship (G1) at Santa Anita
“She’s a top filly at a mile and a half. This is a pretty quick mile and a
half, you know. You run downhill for the first section. And the ground will be
firm. We thought about (the 1 1/4-mile Filly & Mare Turf [G1]), but the problem
with the mile and a quarter here is it rides like a nine-furlong race. You come
straight over the main track and around the flat oval. She’s a mile-and-a-half
filly. I think to be fair to the filly you’ve got to run her over a trip. It’s
as simple as that.”
—three-time
Breeders’ Cup race winner John Gosden on why he opted for the Turf over the
Filly & Mare Turf for multiple Group 1 queen DAR RE MI (GB) (Singspiel [Ire]),
who exits a fifth in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Fr-G1)
“It is a great honor, but I don’t even think about being the only woman. My
gender never helped me or hurt me. I’ve faced the same challenges as any other
trainer coming up through the ranks. It’s nice to be the only woman, but what is
really nice is to have a horse like this one. To have one like her is what I
have dreamed about.”
—Josie Carroll,
who sent out CARELESS JEWEL (Tapit) to an 11-length romp in the Alabama S. (G1),
on becoming the first woman trainer to win the prestigious event at Saratoga;
Careless Jewel, who owns a five-race winning streak, will be the one to catch in
Friday’s Ladies’ Classic (G1)
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“She’s two-for-two on the synthetics, so that’s encouraging. She’s also
three-for-four at the (1 1/8-mile) distance.”
—Hall
of Famer Bill Mott, who won the Ladies Classic with Ajina (1997) and Escena
(1998) when it was known as the Distaff, on Spinster (G1) winner MUSHKA (Empire
Maker), a 12-1 outsider on the Ladies’ Classic morning line
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Dad’s Crazy is on the also-eligible list for
the Juvenile Fillies Turf (Lauren Pomeroy/Horsephotos.com) |
“He lives in the one-hole, that’s his home. I ought to hang a haynet in
there for him.”
—Baffert joking about ZENSATIONAL (Unbridled’s Song), who
has broken from the rail in his last two wins and is listed as the 7-5
morning-line favorite from the innermost post in the Sprint (G1)
“If they hook up they’re gonna go 20 and change and he’ll go with them ‘cuz I
can’t stop my horse. So I’m at the mercy of those other two speed horses, but
that’s one of those things you can’t worry about. He’s got one style, one
dimension, and he just goes. We don’t know what he’s made of for the second part
of it, but if he’s a great horse then he’ll fight everybody off.”
—Baffert
on Zensational’s running style
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“You knew the horse had to be good if he could win for me first time out.
We took him to Saratoga because we thought from the start he could be
competitive with high caliber racehorses, but it was the way he won that
surprised me.”
—trainer Ian
Wilkes jokingly said of Sprint contender CAPT. CANDYMAN CAN (Candy Ride
[Arg]), who captured his career bow at Saratoga despite his conditioner having a
reputation for taking his time to develop young horses
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Cost of Freedom had the opportunity to enjoy
the San Gabriel backdrop (Lauren Pomeroy/Horsephotos.com) |
“I think my best chance is to do the ‘Rosie Ruiz.’ We’ve got to jump in
at the quarter pole.”
—Hall
of Famer Richard Mandella tongue in cheek about CROWN OF THORNS’ (Repent)
chances in the Sprint; Ruiz was the distance runner who, after falsely
qualifying for the 1980 Boston Marathon jumped in during the running of the New
England classic and initially was declared the first woman finisher. Her ruse
was discovered shortly thereafter and her title was replaced by an ongoing dose
of infamy
“Very interesting the way the race came up with all the speed down
inside. Zensational is on the fence and I’d hope
to be leaning on him. But Fatal Bullet (Red Bullet) is right next to me in the 3
(post) and he’s likely to be leaning on me. Could be we’re all going to set it
up for Gayego (Gilded Time) (a likely closer).”
—trainer John
Sadler on COST OF FREEDOM (Cee’s Tizzy), who enters the Sprint off just starts
this year following a near 12-month break
“We’re shooting for the moon there. He’s a hard-trying and consistent
horse, but this is a pretty ambitious spot to run him in.”
—a philosophic
Todd Pletcher on the Sprint chances of JOIN IN THE DANCE (Sky Mesa)
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“Right now, he’s ready to roll. Even when Ramon (Dominguez) breezed him
last time, he told me ‘Rick, I’ve never seen this horse like this before.’ It
looks like things are definitely going the right way with this horse. We’re
thinking he’s going to run a big, big race.”
—Richard
Dutrow on Mile (G1) candidate COURT VISION (Gulch), who captured the Shadwell
Turf Mile (G1) last out in his first start for his conditioner
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Father Time is a Group 2 winner at 1 1/2 miles (Lauren Pomeroy/Horsephotos.com) |
“Yes, which wasn’t a very high confidence last year. Handicapping is one
of those things that isn’t my strong point. My philosophy, I suppose, is to
prepare my horses the best I can for the races they’re going to run in and put
it in the hands of the gods. When your expectations are too high, it gets
depressing when you lose, so I just try to get them up to the race the best I
can and not worry about the others.”
—trainer Jonathan
Sheppard when asked if he’s as confident in FOREVER TOGETHER (Belong to Me)
taking the Filly & Mare Turf (G1) as he was last year
“She’s going to light up the toteboard. They’ll think lightning hit it.”
—conditioner
Eric Guillot enthused Wednesday following a two-mile jog from CHAMPAGNE D’ORO
(Medaglia d’Oro), who is headed for the Juvenile Fillies (G1)
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“We’re taking a long-shot, but she’s a good filly and bred to route. She
got ping-ponged three or four times in the Del Mar Futurity (G1) against colts
in her last start and got beat six lengths by Lookin at Lucky ([Smart Strike]
while finishing eighth). (Following Mi Sueno’s career-ending injury) we decided
to get Champagne d’Oro ready for the Breeders’ Cup instead. She was coming back
from a pulled muscle after the Futurity so we didn’t have time to get her ready
for the prep (Oak Leaf [G1]) here.”
—Guillot
on the late decision to enter Champagne d’Oro in the Breeders’ Cup
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Potosina was an easy winner in her only turf race (Lauren Pomeroy/Horsephotos.com) |
“I’m very nervous and excited, but I keep telling myself I need to stay
calm, keep working, and see what happens. I’m not going to think about it
anymore. I’ll think about it Friday when she goes in the gate.”
—24-year-old
Juan Vazquez, who will saddle his first Breeders’ Cup starter when sending MS
VANENZZA (Successful Appeal) into the Juvenile Fillies
“He’s going to stand stud next year so this will either be his
last race, or the Cigar Mile (G1) three weeks from now will be his last race.
Now that he won his Grade 1 (Forego S. at Saratoga), we didn’t think there was
any harm in taking another shot at this race.”
—Rick
Mettee discussing Dirt Mile (G1) candidate PYRO (Pulpit)
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“Winning with that horse would
probably mean the most to me. Either winning with him or Ventura (Chester
House). I haven’t ridden him since then so it should be interesting.”
—jockey
Garrett Gomez speaking of Dirt Mile entrant MIDSHIPMAN (Unbridled’s Song), who
he rode to victory in last year’s Juvenile (G1)
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Diamondrella will try her luck against the
boys in the Turf Sprint (Lauren Pomeroy/Horsephotos.com) |
“It’s kind of odd not having him
here. We were actually toying with the idea of running him in the Breeders’ Cup
Marathon, but everything since ’04 when he won the Breeders’ Cup has been a
bonus. Certainly we miss having him around, but we’ve been lucky having him
around the last couple of years. He’s the reason I got here the first time, and
I kind of feel like he gave me the momentum to come back the last four or five
years. Now I’m spoiled. It would be hard to not come back. To me, this is my
Derby. Everybody loves to go to the Derby, but it means more to me to be here
with three serious contenders. There’s nothing like it.”
—trainer Graham
Motion discussing the personal impact of Better Talk Now, the recently retired
10-year-old who he trained to victory in the 2004 Turf
“We started from
scratch. We did a lot of jogging and trotting exercises for about six weeks. We
have a nice rolling countryside at the farm and thought hill exercise would be
good for him. We have some nice quiet dirt roads, one of which is downhill to
the bridge. When you come up, it’s about three-eighths of a mile of a good
steady incline. When we let him jog up, he gets a good conditioning without
putting strain on the legs at all.”
—Sheppard explaining how he got Marathon entrant CLOUDY’S KNIGHT (Lord Avie) back
into racing shape following a layoff of more than a year due to a soft tissue
injury in a hind leg
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“The
outside (13) post is a bummer. I was pretty disappointed with that. One thing’s
for sure, Garrett Gomez is going to have to put on a Hall of Fame-type of ride
to get him there. He’s gonna have to have a lot of luck. He knows the horse,
it’s not like he’s getting on him for the first time. He can turn him on or shut
him off, and when he’s been riding one a lot, I don’t have to tell Garrett
anything. So we’ll see how it goes, it’ll be interesting to see what he’s made
of.“
—Baffert on 8-5
morning-line Juvenile (G1) favorite LOOKIN AT LUCKY (Smart Strike) drawing the
far outside
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Noble’s Promise has captured his last three
for McPeek (Lauren Pomeroy/Horsephotos.com) |
“In
my opinion, (D’ Funnybone) has been the most impressive two-year-old so far this
year. Even though Baffert’s horse has won four, it didn’t look like he was
winning as impressive as our horse did. He’s had the right kind of time between
his last (race) and the Juvenile. We like going into the big races with a fresh
horse, and we’ve got that. If he likes the track, they’re going to be in
trouble.“
—Dutrow
on his Juvenile contender D’FUNNYBONE (D’wildcat), who enters the race off two
easy graded wins for his conditioner
“I
like to call him the little engine that could. He was a modest purchase
($10,000) and has just exceeded all expectations. He’s very fast and loves his
work.“
—conditioner
Kenny McPeek, who will saddle NOBLE’S PROMISE (Cuvee) in the Juvenile
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“This
is not a jockey’s game. It’s about the horses and good horses make good jockeys.
I’m not interested in having a Hall of Fame rider making a mistake because it’s
the first time he’s on one of my horses. Willie (Martinez) knows Noble’s
Promise, (Robert) Landry knows just how he got Bridgetown (Speightstown)
(Juvenile Turf starter) to rate last time and (Mike) Luzzi has ridden House of
Grace (Limehouse) (Juvenile Fillies Turf starter) to perfection twice. To me
that’s more of an edge to have a rider that knows the horse.“
—McPeek
when asked about his tendency to remain loyal to riders when he may have the
option of switching to a bigger name jockey
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Biancone is hoping Pulsion lives up to his name next year (Lauren Pomeroy/Horsephotos.com) |
“This
is the Breeders’ Cup and the difference between this and other races is that
most of the time, there will be there will be three or four dominant horses in
the field in those other races. But in the Breeders’ Cup there will be 11 or 12
very good horses in the race. So you need to be lucky. That’s just the way it
goes and that’s what’s unbelievable about the Breeders’ Cup.“
—trainer
Patrick Biancone, who will saddle ZIP QUIK (City Zip) in the Juvenile Turf (G2)
and PULSION (Include) in the Juvenile
“His
mother is Spring (Stravinsky) and the Derby is run in the spring, so that’s how
I came up with his name.“
—Biancone
describing how he named Pulsion, whose name in French means “spring fever”
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“We
had a little hiccup. We’ll see how it goes for 24 hours, and then take it from
there.“
—trainer Jeremy
Noseda with no elaboration on STRIKE THE DEAL (Van Nistelrooy), who drew post 12
for the Turf Sprint
