2018 BREEDERS’ CUP JUVENILE FILLIES TURF
Friday, November 2, 2018
Chad Brown
Seth Klarman
THE MODERATOR: Okay. Well, that was certainly an above-the-fold performance by Newspaperofrecord, 6 3/4 lengths, the margin of victory according to our friends at Trakus. We’re now joined on the left by trainer Chad Brown. This is Breeders Cup win number 11 for Chad, moving one past Bill Mott to fourth place on the all-time standings.
And on the right, Klaravich Stable owner Seth Klarman, known by some to be one of the world’s most foremost investors, and now today known by all as Breeders’ Cup winning owner. Congratulations, Seth.
You’ve had some really nice horses. Is this the best one you’ve ever had?
SETH KLARMAN: We’ve never won a Breeders’ Cup race. So that’s special. I think she’s our most spectacular horse. We’ve never had somebody that emerged so quickly in her career, showed so much promise, and has fulfilled it.
As soon as she broke clean, we were both, I think, pretty excited that she was going to do very, very well today.
THE MODERATOR: Chad, I don’t know if you felt any anxious moments at all during the race, and I don’t know what Irad Ortiz might have told you post race, but have you ever won a race of this magnitude with seemingly that easy?
CHAD BROWN: No, that’s the easy answer, no. I felt like, when she broke cleanly and off the first turn was in control of the race, well in hand, was behaving, wasn’t trying to run off or get too keen or anything like that, I felt really, really good.
You know, you get to the point training horses like this where all you can do is get them in the position they’re supposed to be in and it’s up to them. I just wanted to make sure she broke clean and got position, and from there, if it was meant to be and she was good enough, she’d do it. If not, then so be it.
Irad executed our plan perfectly. I’m so proud of the filly. We’ve educated her, trained her, developed her to get to this point, but she’s doing all the work. She’s a remarkable talent, and at this point, we just stay out of her way.
THE MODERATOR: I’ll ask one more before I throw it open. Kind of a two-parter, one for each of you. When I think of a Klaravich Stable horse, I don’t necessarily think of an Irish bred coming over. Chad, would you kind of run down how the horse was acquired.
And then, Seth, the other thing that makes it seem not a Klaravich horse is that it doesn’t have a financially related name. Maybe the dam’s name Sunday Times you just found irresistible to find of veer from the Norm. But after Chad’s done talking about how you were lucky enough to get this horse, maybe you could discuss the name.
CHAD BROWN: Well, Seth’s given me an unbelievable amount of trust to really make the final call when we acquire horses or sell horses, and we have a team that helps us, led by Mike Ryan. He’s our chief bloodstock adviser, and we’re really partners in deciding ultimately what gets purchased for Klaravich Stable.
And we decided to go over there and try new market because we’re always looking to change our model a little bit, and studying the races over here, yes, I’ve had success in this race before with the American bred horses, but I also have a division of my stable where I get a lot of imported horses that we try to buy or owners just send to me from Europe.
Just thinking forwardly, talking to Seth, would you be open to buying some yearlings? Seth’s really not in the — part of his business model is not buying horses that are racing already. We try to buy our own horses unraced, a yearling or 2-year-old almost exclusively, and developing them ourselves. So if we want to have some of these European bred horses that I feel on the average just have better blood for running on turf courses like this today and at a high level all over the world, then we’re going to have to go in and buy some unraced ones. He said, sure, we’ll go over there and try it.
Lucky enough, Mike Ryan was on my short list when I got there, and we went over it and narrowed it down to the horses that really fit for Seth, and we purchased the horse.
SETH KLARMAN: I’ll answer your question, but the first thing I want to say is we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Chad Brown. Chad Brown picks out our horses. Chad Brown trains our horses. Chad Brown figures out how to spot the horses, and he is truly first class, world class in everything.
I’ve never met somebody who is so determined and keeps getting better and can figure out ways to get better. He’s just a unique person that way. He would be successful whatever he set his mind to.
And, of course, Chad also has relationships with the best jockeys. So to have Irad Ortiz and Javier and Jose and Joel on our horses really does help.
We named her after Sunday Times, the dam, but I also think it’s an important time for journalism that the world is struggling with what is the truth, and I grew up, my dad was a local subscriber to “The New York Times” for his whole life, and to name a horse Newspaperofrecord, which is what “The New York Times” is, is just such a privilege, and I hope it’s also a statement that we believe in searching out facts and that society needs to get back to facts and truth.
THE MODERATOR: Well said. With that, we’ll throw it over to the media to see what questions they have for Chad and Seth. By the way, Chad Brown won this race exactly one year ago with Rushing Fall. So as he said, he’s had good luck in this race. We’ll start with Tim.
Q. Chad, the other day when I was in your office, I asked you if this horse, if she could be a superstar, and you were a little bit not ready to say that. Are you ready to say it now?
CHAD BROWN: She’s well on her way. I think that today she showed really the world would be tuning in to a race like this today with an international event like it is, how good she really is. And for her to win as easy as she did is remarkable. So I’d say right now she’s well on her way.
I’m more reserved about saying superstar and such until they’re a little deeper into their career and seeing how far they can really go. Obviously, this is a horse that’s done everything we’ve asked and she’s done it really easy. I don’t think I’ve ever trained a horse that after their first three starts we never let her run. I don’t believe the horse has been let to run yet.
Q. Obviously, the weather was a bit of a topic of conversation this week, and the way it’s turned out for her, she does quite well on the softer going. But do you think that’s what she actually prefers, or do you think that’s just what she’s been dealt in her career?
CHAD BROWN: That’s a great question. Based on the way she trains, I feel like she can run on any kind of ground. Maybe I’m biased. But when we — we rarely ever breeze on soft ground, they don’t let us out there. So when I’ve trained this horse as an unraced 2-year-old, and some on the turf since she’s run, she’s breezed terrific on the firm ground. I don’t think she’ll have a problem. It’s nice to have a horse that can do both because that’s normally a limiting factor in America when they can’t run soft.
Q. Chad, I know you said the horse hasn’t really run yet, so does anybody know how good she is? Do you know how good she is yet?
CHAD BROWN: Yeah, we have a good feeling how good she is, and it will be interesting to see when she eventually meets a challenge — you know, it’s inevitable in this sport. Somebody’s going to come along or something’s going to happen, she’ll have an adverse situation put her away, or some other horse is going to develop and try to catch up to her. But up to this point, I really don’t think she’s been challenged, and when she’s crossed the wire, she’s really had a ridiculous amount of horse left.
Q. Seth, the horse presents some fun, if somewhat agonizing decisions. Have you given any thought to what the future might hold next year? Not just in terms of which races, but in which continent these races might take place?
SETH KLARMAN: I let Chad make those calls. We try not to plan too far ahead because things happen, but she has great promise ahead, and we’ll look forward to some more big races on the weekends with her.
Q. Would it be fair to say, Chad, that at this stage of the game, you wouldn’t rule anything out for her?
CHAD BROWN: Absolutely. I know everyone is going to be asking about the coronation at Ascot, and I’ve had some really good fillies before, namely Lady Eli and Rushing Fall would have been good candidates for that — but in the end, I didn’t feel it was right for those two horses for whatever reason.
This filly is pretty unique. She has good speed from the gate. She handles soft ground. The weather won’t be an issue. She’s very, very sound. She has a good head on her. This will be the first horse that I have that discussion with Seth when the time comes, but we have a lot of times between now and then to concentrate on her health and make sure she’s really in good form if we’re going to try something like that. This is something I’ll consider more than I ever have.
THE MODERATOR: We’re just two races into the 2018 Breeders’ Cup and already a memorable performance by Newspaperofrecord. Chad Brown and Seth Klarman, congratulations. Can’t wait to see what the future holds.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
