2018 BREEDERS’ CUP FILLY & MARE TURF
Saturday, November 3, 2018
Chad Brown
Peter Brant
THE MODERATOR: We’re now joined in the interview room by the winning trainer and the owner of Sistercharlie, winner of the just concluded Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. On the left is Chad Brown. This is his second Breeders’ Cup win of the weekend, 12th lifetime, which moves him into a tie for third place with Aidan O’Brien. And, Chad, this is your fourth win in the Filly & Mare Turf, specifically. Previous winners coming from Stephanie’s Kitten, Day at the Spa and Zagora.
And next to Chad is winning owner Peter Brant, who was in the Churchill Downs winner’s circle about 30 years ago in 1988 with the great Gulch turning back and winning the Breeders’ Cup Sprint that year. Congratulations, Peter. And back in the ’80s your stable was like a who’s who of Thoroughbred race horses. You had the great Waya, just a game, I mean these are horses that have races named after them now, Gulch, Mogambo. What was — can you describe the journey of exiting the sport for 20-some-odd years and then the process of building it back up to the point where you are here today in the winner’s circle of a Breeders’ Cup race?
PETER BRANT: Well, yes. I left in 1994 and I actually had — was very fortunate to be with a lot of great people in the sport at that time for a period of 20 years and they taught me a lot. And I always tried to work hard to study about the breeding and the raising and watch what a lot of the great trainers, how they campaigned their horses. And I — when I departed after that period of time doing other things, I don’t exactly know why but I did, and so coming back now I learned so much back then it really helped me, not, specifically not to make some of the mistakes that I had made. And of course you’re going to always make mistakes in a game like this because so much of it has to do with — you have to have good fortune. And I see that the game has changed somewhat and you try to make the necessary changes in your program to do that, and I think first and foremost was to associate with Chad who is a great trainer and focused on his stable and his operation and spending a lot of time with him I see it so clearly. He’s a really great trainer and one of the greats ever.
So I was also very fortunate to still be involved with Claiborne and Seth Hancock and he certainly has always guided me along from the very beginning. And a lot of respect for him and other — I had great trainers like Wayne Lukas and LeRoy Jolley and then of course, Frank and David Whiteley. So I’ve been very fortunate and I’m just happy to be back. And I guess comparing this win, I mean this is the greatest win I’ve ever had. This mare has had so much bad luck and she’s overcome it and she is out there today and she hasn’t always been able to make the schedule because of weather or because of a spider bite or because of a fever that she had. She had a bout of pneumonia earlier. And she’s just overcome everything and she’s very special, very special to me and very special to my family and I’m sure very special to Chad.
THE MODERATOR: I’m sure. And Chad, John Velazquez couldn’t be with us, but you saddled the winner, of course, in Sistercharlie. You had four others, including the third place finisher, A Raving Beauty, who ran a very gallant third in the race. Can you comment on Sistercharlie’s trip and also if you would something on your other four.
CHAD BROWN: Well, Sistercharlie had a really good trip. When the gates opened it was — our game plan changed a little bit because Thais was in there to ensure a solid pace and her standing in the gate that long must have just caused her to break bad and she never did see the front.
So then, of course, A Raving Beauty, who was probably going to be laying second the whole race, inherited the lead and set a softer pace, which worked well for her, but not as well for say Sistercharlie and Fourstar Crook. But both horses, Sistercharlie, Fourstar Crook, did get good trips from there.
As far as Sistercharlie goes, she was never too wide, but out of trouble too, I thought. And Johnny, midway through the race, found the eventual runner up, he said, and just followed her. And his plan was to stay off the rail and in good ground, not lose too much ground on those turns and then try to come down the center of the track and get there and that’s exactly what he did. He showed once again why he’s one of the all time great riders. And he was aboard one of the great fillies that I’ve trained, for sure, up to this point. And I just want to say that she ranks way up there, especially in terms of her heart. This horse, when you watch the replay, she really lunges at the wire, I don’t think like any horse I’ve ever seen. She knows exactly where the wire is and if she’s anywhere close to that lead near the wire she’s going to win.
Like Peter said she’s overcome a lot. She had a bout of pneumonia last year that was quite serious. She was in the clinic awhile where we were just hoping just to save her, thought maybe she wouldn’t run again. She came back in really top form. I mean, she ran at a mile and a 16th and won a great one earlier in the year and then also at a mile and three eighths. It would take me a long time to think if I have a horse that could do that ever that I’ve trained.
THE MODERATOR: Peter, is Sistercharlie going to keep racing or is she going to go to the breeding shed soon? What does the immediate future hold for her.
PETER BRANT: Well, we would like to see the way she comes back from this race, but we plan on running her next year if she’s okay, that’s what Chad wants to do and I think that’s what I want to do, so I think this that’s what we’re going to do.
THE MODERATOR: I don’t think the fans will be disappointed in that earlier. Questions in the room, please?
Q. Chad, the changing conditions of the turf course with the rain, how did it affect any kind of strategy for your team of horses?
CHAD BROWN: The biggest way it changed it was just figuring that you didn’t want to be right down next to the rail, in my opinion. Yesterday you certainly didn’t want to. Today I can’t be sure until we really evaluate the races I guess when they’re over with, but I still wasn’t comfortable with any of my horses being right down on the fence. Other than that it’s out of our hands. It’s another compliment on Sistercharlie, she really prefers firmer ground than she ran on today and for her to overcome that and run on ground that is not her favorite and still have the heart and determination and the class to prevail is just another remarkable feat of hers.
Q. Peter, was there a specific reason you decided to come back into the sport or was it many reasons all together?
PETER BRANT: Oh, you know, I think the first time I went in raising I know that our race had kind of inspired me at the time was the great filly Ruffian and unfortunately the end that she met was not the best, but that, how great she was and how she performed really affected me and that, I wanted to go into raising, I had always been interested in racing since I was a kid. I used to go to the racetrack at Aqueduct and watch all of the great horses like Kelso and Carry Back run. But I guess it was that that got me in and I think the second time around was probably American Pharoah. I went out for the Triple Crown, I just had a feeling he was going to win that day at Belmont and I saw, went out with my son Chris and he, we saw a lot of people that we knew and I just felt like, wow, this horse, after so many years won the Triple Crown and I just that kind of inspired me to get back in and then my cousin Joe Allen, who has always been in racing, was originally in it with me, he was always kind of trying to persuade me to go back in and he finally did.
Q. I actually know the answer to this question but I think a lot of people would like to know how you got a hold of Sistercharlie and like what you paid for her and how you the story?
PETER BRANT: I’ll tell you later.
(Laughter)
Basically yeah it’s a very good question. I have always liked French horses, I think that the way they train the horses there kind of leaves some juice in the lemon, you know and basically they, I’ve always been successful with horses that I’ve got there like Waya, for instance, was a French horse that the Wildenstein’s had so I had some people looking in France and Michel Zerolo and Paul Nataf and Alan Leonard, they were looking for me and they said, this is a filly that we really like and so we bought her before the French Prix de l’Arc and she ran great she almost got knocked down in that race and still finished second, very impressively, so we bought her and then gave her to Chad right after the race and brought her back and she’s been right there every race we have run her and she’s very special.
THE MODERATOR: Peter Brant, I think I speak for almost everybody in saying we hope this time you stay in the sport for good.
PETER BRANT: I will. I will.
THE MODERATOR: Congratulations today. Terrific performance by your filly, Sistercharlie. Congratulations also to you, Chad, well done and continued good luck the rest of the day.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
