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00:00:00For the love of the horse, for generations to come.
00:00:28Welcome to another edition of the TDN Writer's Room Podcast.
00:00:31My name is Bill Finley.
00:00:32I'm a correspondent for the TDN and I also co-host the Down the Stretch radio show with
00:00:36Dave Johnson on Sirius XM Radio.
00:00:38How y'all doing?
00:00:40I'm Randy Moss with NBC Sports.
00:00:42I am not at my normal location with Lucy behind me.
00:00:46I'm actually on my balcony at a hotel in the Big Island of Hawaii where I was here for
00:00:52a wedding this past weekend.
00:00:53So things could be a lot worse, Bill and Zoe.
00:00:57And yeah, it could.
00:00:58The weather looks a lot nicer there.
00:00:59That looks absolutely fabulous.
00:01:01It is positively pissing down here.
00:01:03We were actually supposed to do this earlier and the Wi-Fi went out at Dan Ross's house.
00:01:09So Sue was like, I'll just nip home.
00:01:12I'm like, Sue, it's raining and it's LA traffic.
00:01:15There is no nipping home to do anything about it.
00:01:18So I'm sorry if I missed your interview with Brooke Smith a little bit earlier.
00:01:22Well, Zoe, we're glad to have you.
00:01:24And Randy, thank you for taking some time out from your fabulous stay in Hawaii to take
00:01:30part in the show.
00:01:31All right, guys, let's get right into it.
00:01:34Last weekend, a big weekend of Derby and Oaks preps, highlighted by the Risen Star Steaks.
00:01:40I think the story here is that after fierceness didn't run well in the Holy Bowl, after the
00:01:47Baffert debacle, we're all looking for who the heck is the horse to beat or who the heck
00:01:52is the favorite in the Kentucky Derby.
00:01:55I think after the Risen Star, we have that horse now.
00:01:59It's Sierra Leone.
00:02:00Will he win the Derby?
00:02:01I have no idea.
00:02:02But, you know, I think he belongs at number one on everybody's list.
00:02:06Fabulously well-bred.
00:02:07The Coolmore team, et cetera, sat behind a slow pace, came from back and, you know, didn't
00:02:13blow away Track Phantom by 10 lengths, but he beat a horse, Track Phantom, who actually
00:02:18had a pretty soft trip, I thought, on the front end with slow fractions.
00:02:22About a 90-buyer.
00:02:23Yeah.
00:02:24You know, he's number one on my list, Randy.
00:02:26Yeah.
00:02:27I mean, I would agree.
00:02:29We'll see if anything really steps up in some of the other prep races.
00:02:32It's not the kind of performance that would, you know, sort of blow you away or anything
00:02:38like that.
00:02:39But, you know, given the way fierceness ran and the way some of the other Derby preps
00:02:45or the Nysos have popped up, I mean, this horse would, I think, will probably have to
00:02:49be the so-called leader in the clubhouse right now.
00:02:53He's got the Bluegrass Stakes coming up next, according to the current plan.
00:02:58We'll hear from Brooke Smith, the co-owner, a little bit later.
00:03:01What I liked about him the most is what you just mentioned, Bill, the slow pace.
00:03:0549 and something for a mile and an eighth on a sloppy racetrack.
00:03:10He finished in about 23 and two-fifths seconds for his final quarter mile, which is racehorse
00:03:16time to close.
00:03:17And, you know, I mean, he's going to be the kind of horse that is going to be vulnerable
00:03:22to traffic and things like that, given his running style.
00:03:26But I mean, Zoe, there's not really much you can nitpick about that performance.
00:03:32Absolutely not.
00:03:33I mean, the blinkers worked a treat.
00:03:34They didn't get him any closer.
00:03:36He was still a long way back.
00:03:38And like you said, with bigger fields, he's going to have to overcome the traffic.
00:03:42Is he fast enough?
00:03:44I don't know.
00:03:45I mean, the 90 and the 91 buyer speed figures don't really jump off the page.
00:03:50You know, everyone's just going to be wanting to know about Nysus.
00:03:53He's not as quick as Nysus.
00:03:54His numbers aren't as flashy as Nysus.
00:03:57Does he look like he'll get a mile and a quarter?
00:04:01Absolutely.
00:04:02But every horse in the world can get a mile and a quarter.
00:04:04Is he fast enough to get a mile and a quarter?
00:04:06He's a good looking horse, that is for sure.
00:04:08I still stand by the fact he's the best looking yearling that I've ever seen.
00:04:13And I hope he goes on to prove it and do big things.
00:04:16Chad Brown has mapped out a plan that has worked.
00:04:19I actually read TD Thornton's piece in the TDN, and he said about going to the bluegrass
00:04:25and the success that Chad Brown has had with two wins, three seconds and one third.
00:04:31But it just begs me to wonder, Chad was so sure this horse needed 11 weeks, okay?
00:04:37So he had 11 weeks off and that worked.
00:04:39And then he's going to run in the bluegrass, which is what, a month, five weeks to the
00:04:45Kentucky Derby.
00:04:46Now the 50 points is probably going to garner him a position already, so the pressure's
00:04:50not on.
00:04:51But you don't want to run last in the bluegrass or have a really hard race if you're used
00:04:56to running with 11 weeks between your races.
00:04:59That is the only thing that jumps off the page.
00:05:01And then according to TD Thornton, horses with only two sophomore starts going into
00:05:07the first Saturday in May since 2017 are a combined 0 for 39.
00:05:13So TD went down the rabbit hole.
00:05:15You didn't have to, Randy, because you were in Hawaii, you know, sipping pina coladas.
00:05:22All those rules are going to get blown up, though.
00:05:24Horses aren't campaigned the way, you know, every year it seems like they're campaigned
00:05:28a little more sparingly, a little more sparingly, much to Bill Finley's chagrin.
00:05:33I say you can't really nitpick Sierra Leone, but he's obviously going to have to run a
00:05:40lot faster than he ran in the Risen Star if he's going to be a Kentucky Derby winner.
00:05:46Now, the pace of the Risen Star doesn't really lend itself to a fast speed figure, whether
00:05:52it be Byers or Ragusins or Thoregrafs.
00:05:55He's not going to jump off the page in that respect.
00:05:58So he's going to have to step up his game there.
00:06:02But so far, I mean, he looks like the kind of horse that will improve with extra distance.
00:06:06We just don't know how much.
00:06:07We'll find out later.
00:06:08Randy, what you just mentioned, though, you know, the 90 Byer is fine, but it's not, as
00:06:14Zoe said, is an eye opening.
00:06:17But with no Nysos or any of the Baffert horses being involved in the Kentucky Derby and,
00:06:22you know, the jury's still out on fierceness, who's faster?
00:06:26You know, I mean, yeah, I think.
00:06:29I mean, right now, nobody, right?
00:06:31I mean, Track Phantom had everything his own way on the front end, had an off track, you
00:06:36know, controlled the pace, nice slow pace, ran well.
00:06:40But you can't really be confident as the distances stretch out, given the way he ran against
00:06:44Sierra Leone, that he's going to be able to, you know, to be as good.
00:06:48Locke is supposed to run in the Fountain of Youth.
00:06:51Dornach is supposed to run in the Fountain of Youth March the 5th.
00:06:55So we'll see if those horses step up.
00:06:58But right now, even though he's only got mediocre speed figures, that's why he's the future,
00:07:05you know, the future favorite for the last round of future wagering for the Derby.
00:07:09So on the same card was a Rachel Alexandra for the three-year-old fillies getting ready
00:07:13to head down the road to the Kentucky Oaks.
00:07:16The winner was Tarifa, who scored a mild upset over Intricate.
00:07:21She also got a 90 Byer, so she got the same figure as Sierra Leone.
00:07:25I thought she looked really good.
00:07:27And I think that she is going to be very strong going forward.
00:07:30Just one other thing I'd like to add, you can't escape, just that you can't escape this.
00:07:35Tarifa goes into the gate at 6 to 1, crosses the wire at 5 to 2.
00:07:42Thank you, computer guys.
00:07:43Thank you, horse racing for making a winning bet a sour experience for anybody that bet
00:07:51on her.
00:07:52But, you know, that's a problem we've been talking about forever, and I don't know if
00:07:55we're going to come up with any solutions.
00:07:57Brad Cox is such a good trainer to begin with, but he is really good, really, really good
00:08:02with three-year-old fillies.
00:08:04This was the second straight win in the Rachel Alexandra, he's won three of the last four.
00:08:08And he's got more in the tank, too.
00:08:10He's got a couple other really nice fillies going down the road to the Kentucky Oaks.
00:08:14So Tarifa, two thumbs up for me.
00:08:18An embarrassment of riches for the Brad Cox barn.
00:08:22She looked good.
00:08:23Pratt rode her well.
00:08:24It was Flo who took off her to ride Alpine Princess, who really didn't run at all.
00:08:31She didn't really run her race.
00:08:33So you feel for that.
00:08:34We'll see if Pratt manages to keep them out on Tarifa.
00:08:38But she looked good.
00:08:39I don't know if she's the Oaks winner, but she certainly looked good.
00:08:42Yeah.
00:08:43I mean, sitting here on my balcony in Hawaii, if I had had a computer hookup and they were
00:08:49going to the gate and I saw she was six to one, I would have hammered her, too.
00:08:54I mean, she was coming off a race at the fairgrounds, an allowance race, I think it was, where she
00:08:59got an 86 by her speed figure, three wide on both turns.
00:09:04OK, so you got to boost it a little bit given the ground loss.
00:09:08And now she's got the number one post in the Rachel Alexandra.
00:09:12So she's going to save ground at least on one turn.
00:09:15As it turned out, she saved ground on both turns.
00:09:18So that's why a horse like that can go from an 86 by her speed figure to a 90 and win
00:09:23convincingly.
00:09:24I mean, I figured it was going to take a big effort to beat her.
00:09:27I thought Intricate was possibly probably good enough to do it.
00:09:31It turns out she wasn't.
00:09:34But I mean, just like Sierra Leone right now would be the early favor as we sit here taping
00:09:39this for the derby until somebody else jumps up.
00:09:42I think you can say the same thing about Tarifa and the Kentucky Oaks.
00:09:47Randy, we haven't seen a run yet this year, but just FYI, is obviously a big part of the
00:09:53conversation. I've had her at number one on my road to the Kentucky Oaks list for the
00:09:58TDN. I'm going to put Tarifa ahead of her this week because, you know, again, we're
00:10:03talking about figures. Just FYI, as accomplished as she is, she didn't run fast.
00:10:08I mean, we're talking about the 90 by her isn't a huge deal.
00:10:12Well, she I don't think she's broken out of the 70s.
00:10:15So, you know, that's why I think Tarifa, I agree with you.
00:10:18Tarifa deserves to be considered now the favorite for the derby.
00:10:22I would have done exactly the same thing.
00:10:24Definitely. All right.
00:10:26Let's head to Sunland Park, where on Sunday they had the Sunland Derby.
00:10:30They moved this race, didn't they?
00:10:31Didn't it need to be later on in the year?
00:10:33End of March, March 26.
00:10:36So they moved it.
00:10:38Yeah, right. So the winner is Stronghold by two and a half lengths.
00:10:42A couple of storylines here.
00:10:43Phil D'Amato, don't think of him as ever having a horse on the road to the Kentucky
00:10:48Derby. A matter of fact, he has never run in the Kentucky Derby as accomplished
00:10:53trainer as he is because he's a grass guy.
00:10:57This horse was good enough to finish second behind Nysos in the Bob Hope, but was
00:11:01beaten eight and three quarter lengths.
00:11:03And Zoe, you say that the owners, Rich and Sharon Waller, are pretty cool people.
00:11:08Tell us about them. They are so much fun to be around.
00:11:12They've been breeding horses for 20, 30 years.
00:11:15This is a third generation through this family.
00:11:18Now, I was very familiar with Spectator, who was a very quick filly for trainer Phil
00:11:23D'Amato, and she actually died foaling Stronghold, which was a terrible shame.
00:11:29Stronghold, a big, massive, big, hipped foal by Ghostzapper.
00:11:34If you you should try and like search out a picture of him as a foal.
00:11:38He looked like a baby Clydesdale.
00:11:39He was so thick.
00:11:41I can see exactly why they named him Stronghold.
00:11:43But Rick and Sharon comes to track every weekend.
00:11:45She bakes cookies.
00:11:46She brings cookies.
00:11:48She's got a red lipstick on all her rings.
00:11:50She's just absolutely fabulous.
00:11:52And they actually came to Santa Anita on Sunday.
00:11:55And how do I put this?
00:11:57I asked them, why did you not go to watch your homebred run at Sunland?
00:12:04Because it was early on.
00:12:05And I'm like, why aren't you at Sunland?
00:12:07They're like, we're going to watch him here.
00:12:09She said, because both of us last night couldn't get off the toilet
00:12:12and we weren't getting on a plane this morning.
00:12:15She didn't quite phrase it as that.
00:12:17It kind of ended in SH1T.
00:12:20Those were her exact words.
00:12:22And I was just dying.
00:12:23I was sitting on the set.
00:12:24I said, OK, so that's why you didn't get on the plane.
00:12:26She's like, no, we feel much better today.
00:12:28Here's some cookies.
00:12:29And they watched it from the track.
00:12:31Absolutely delighted to see this horse win.
00:12:34Is he going to win the derby? I don't know.
00:12:36He needs to run a bit more of a straighter line than he's done
00:12:39in each of his two starts, but he was best of the rest in there.
00:12:42Zoe, that story you just told us goes under the category of too much information.
00:12:47Oh, hold on. And I got one more.
00:12:49Hold on, there's never too much information.
00:12:53No such thing, Bill, for Zoe, right?
00:12:55There's no TMI in her world, right?
00:12:58So this is?
00:13:00This is Kelly Leake, who I owned a piece of,
00:13:03winning the Sunderland Derby in 2009 when he beat who?
00:13:08Randy Moss.
00:13:10Mind that bird.
00:13:11Randy Moss needs to know this because he got it wrong.
00:13:15Mind that bird.
00:13:18Ten points to Randy Moss.
00:13:19All right, you would have got it anyways.
00:13:23And just like Kelly Leake, if the Kentucky Derby were run this weekend,
00:13:27Stronghold would be about 35 or 40 to one, right?
00:13:31And we did not take Kelly Leake to the Kentucky Derby
00:13:34because we did not think he was that kind of horse.
00:13:37So that just goes to show you.
00:13:39I also love the name Kelly Leake, because, of course, that's named
00:13:41after the character in the Bad News Bear.
00:13:43So whoever came up with that, that name for that horse.
00:13:48A good job.
00:13:49Yeah, he's in Soho to be retired running around in the snow.
00:13:53So big thumbs up to Maggie Moss for sending him to me after he retired.
00:13:59The TDM Writers Room is brought to you by Keeneland.
00:14:02Keeneland ticket sales kick off today for the upcoming spring
00:14:05meet to be held April the 5th through the 26th.
00:14:08We have a variety of ticket options for dining, a grandstand,
00:14:12reserve seating and general admission are all available.
00:14:15All tickets are required to be purchased in advance
00:14:18via Keeneland's official online ticket office at tickets.keeneland.com
00:14:24slash racing.
00:14:26This year, Keeneland will award a record.
00:14:28Listen to this guy's eight point one million dollars for 19 states
00:14:32headlined by the hundredth running of the one million dollar
00:14:35Toyota Bluegrass Stakes, a grade one event on Saturday, April the 6th.
00:14:40Most likely the next place we will see Sierra Leone.
00:14:44Other grade one races for the spring meet include the Central Bank
00:14:47Ashland, the Madison, the Maker's Mark and the Jenny Wiley,
00:14:51each worth six hundred thousand dollars each.
00:14:54We'll be right back after this message from Keeneland.
00:15:01At Keeneland, a horse will always be measured in hands.
00:15:08Hands that see.
00:15:11That sense.
00:15:13That speak.
00:15:16Hands that hold our sport to a higher standard.
00:15:20Not for our sake,
00:15:22but for theirs,
00:15:24for the love of the horse, for generations to come.
00:15:29This week's fastest source of the week is brought to you by Audible,
00:15:31one of the fast sires at Windstar Farm, who had another six
00:15:35winner this past weekend at Aqueduct in the Maddie May Stakes.
00:15:39They will be affiliated by the name of my main squeeze,
00:15:42who is winning her third straight.
00:15:44Audible's now leads all second crop sires in twenty twenty four by earnings.
00:15:49Black-type winners, graded stakes winners, winners and wins.
00:15:53Of course, Audible was one of the more consistent three year olds of his
00:15:55generation, never off the board in five stakes races, including three stakes
00:16:00wins, Florida Derby and the Holy Bull.
00:16:03A couple of those Audible stands at Windstar for fifteen thousand dollars.
00:16:08This week's fastest horse of the week.
00:16:11It took place at Laurel on Saturday in the General George Stakes
00:16:15at Seven Furlongs.
00:16:16Four year old Colt by the name of Post Time,
00:16:19who has already racked up a pretty remarkable record.
00:16:22He won the General George by three lengths.
00:16:24Buyer's speed figure of one oh three.
00:16:28Post Time is the son of Frosted, owned by the Hillwood Stable,
00:16:31trained by Brittany Russell, who has now won seven of his eight lifetime
00:16:37starts all in one turn races and now back to back buyer's
00:16:41speed figures of one oh four in the Jennings at Laurel in January.
00:16:45And now the one oh three in the General George that makes him
00:16:48this week's fastest horse of the week.
00:16:53So there's still about two and a half months left before the Kentucky Derby.
00:16:57So we're going to try to do the impossible.
00:17:00Pick the Derby winner right now.
00:17:02I don't pick the Derby winner on the first Saturday in May.
00:17:04How am I going to pick the Derby winner on the third Tuesday in February?
00:17:09But a couple of things.
00:17:10So you look at these Derby future wagers and I can't say this enough.
00:17:14That is the worst bet in the history of horse racing.
00:17:18How anybody can bet that thing is nuts.
00:17:21Sierra Leone's a perfectly good horse.
00:17:23I understand he's six to one in the future wager.
00:17:27I think if the race will run tomorrow, he'd be six to one.
00:17:30And then he's got about a 50 50 chance that any of these horses get hurt.
00:17:34So save your money, folks.
00:17:36I don't really get it.
00:17:38OK, after saying all that, I am going to pick out one horse, though.
00:17:42If you like Sierra Leone, how do you not like Dornach,
00:17:46who beat him in the Remsen and also did it very gamely,
00:17:51came back at the end when it looked like Sierra Leone had the race won.
00:17:55Danny Gargan has been before this horse ever even ran,
00:17:59said it was the best horse he's ever trained.
00:18:01So I reserve the right to change my mind at least 25 times
00:18:05between now and Derby Day.
00:18:07But OK, on February 20th, if I called it right,
00:18:11we're going to give me some credit after the derby.
00:18:13Dornach, my derby winner right now.
00:18:17Do you think the derby gods will allow that
00:18:20to have brothers to win the derby?
00:18:22That's right. Yeah.
00:18:23Well, that would be really cool if that were to happen.
00:18:26Yeah. Yes, he's a full brother to mage. Yeah.
00:18:31Gosh, it's a hard one.
00:18:32I mean, right now I'd have to go with Sierra Leone
00:18:36just because I can't really think of anyone else, to be perfectly honest,
00:18:40other than the ones that can't run in the derby.
00:18:43So I'd have to go with him and be terribly boring at six to one.
00:18:47What about you, Randy?
00:18:49I'm not sure if he's good enough
00:18:52and he was well beaten in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile,
00:18:55but I liked him kind of right off the bat last year at Saratoga,
00:18:59Todd Pletcher was called locked.
00:19:01So I'll see if he's going to move up in the Fountain of Youth.
00:19:06It's he's going to he's going to need to move up.
00:19:08Timberlake was tempting.
00:19:10I'm not sure he wants to go a mile and a quarter.
00:19:13So out of all the ones we've seen so far,
00:19:16then there may be some others lying in the bushes right now.
00:19:18But I'll feel locked out there and maybe he'll be 10 or 15 to one right now.
00:19:25All right. So how about the Kentucky Oaks?
00:19:27I think we talked about the most likely winner already on the show.
00:19:31Again, you know, all things being equal, it's all relative
00:19:33trying to do this on February 20th.
00:19:35But I think I like really like Tarifa's race in the Rachel Alexandra.
00:19:40And again, I talked about how good Brad Cox is with these three year old fillies.
00:19:45Just FYI is slow.
00:19:49I haven't seen anybody else this year that really took my breath away.
00:19:51So maybe I can hit the daily double of Dornach and Tarifa.
00:19:55How about that, Zoe?
00:19:59I am going to go against everything I just said about Sierra Leone
00:20:02and him having slow by a speed figures and stick with just FYI.
00:20:07And the reason I'm doing this, because as a three year old,
00:20:11I think she'll finally get the chance to grow into that big, beautiful frame of her.
00:20:15She's a big filly.
00:20:17She should never have won at first, asking going five and a half or six furlongs,
00:20:21whatever it was at Saratoga that day.
00:20:24And I believe that the slow by a speed figures are just purely
00:20:28for the fact that she wasn't ready for them.
00:20:31I think we are going to see a bigger, stronger version of just FYI,
00:20:36who's by a speed figures are going to improve
00:20:40dramatically when we see her come to the fray.
00:20:43She's already had five or six works down there at Payson.
00:20:46She's been training really, really well.
00:20:48And I does anyone know where she's going to run next?
00:20:51Yeah, the Devonah Dale.
00:20:53OK, I can't wait to see her.
00:20:55I would love to be down there and see her in the flesh just to see how she looks,
00:20:59because she's always had that huge frame and it's just sheer guts
00:21:04and determination and some class and some elasticism
00:21:08that got her to win when she won last year.
00:21:11So I'm sticking with her.
00:21:13I absolutely love her.
00:21:15All right.
00:21:15And I know I just said that Sharifa, you know, belongs
00:21:19as the early Kentucky Oaks favorite based on what she did at the fairgrounds.
00:21:23You know, I mean, she did everything the right way.
00:21:26She said inside.
00:21:27She probably took a little bit of kickback on a sloppy track day.
00:21:31She did get a good trip.
00:21:32Nice turn of foot turning from home.
00:21:35But look, if right now, if we would say
00:21:38that Kinza would be a pretty solid favorite for the Oaks,
00:21:42if she were allowed to run, trained by Bob Baffert, I thought Copion,
00:21:47Richard Mandela source ran admirably chasing Kinza last time out at Santa Anita.
00:21:53So right now I'll take Copion as my is my Kentucky Oaks horse.
00:21:59Even though I thought Sharifa looked really good.
00:22:03Right. So some sad news this week.
00:22:05Just yesterday, it was announced that Echo Zulu had to be put down.
00:22:09Remember, she was injured while preparing for the Breeders Cup.
00:22:13She got cast in her stall and injured herself when she tried to get back on her feet.
00:22:19And Randy, I'll let you take take this one away, because I mean,
00:22:22I think more than so than than anybody else, you really appreciated
00:22:27how good this Philly was.
00:22:28She was a four time grade one winner, won stakes at two, three and four.
00:22:33But I think a lot of the reasons why you put her in such high esteem
00:22:37was going back to the buyer figures.
00:22:40I mean, she was a very, very fast horse.
00:22:43And I know you said that you voted for her over Goodnight Olive
00:22:47in the female sprint division.
00:22:49But, you know, Randy, I mean, she had an abbreviated campaign this year.
00:22:53And I don't know if they were to run her next year, if she can get injured or not.
00:22:57So we didn't see, you know, well, I shouldn't say that.
00:23:00We got a nice two, three and four year old campaign out of her.
00:23:04But, you know, and, you know, put it all in perspective.
00:23:06How good was this Philly?
00:23:08Very, very fast.
00:23:10In fact, Steve Asmussen has said that it might be
00:23:14just in terms of sheer speed, the fastest horse that he's ever trained.
00:23:18And he's had some some pretty darn fast horses over the years. Right.
00:23:22And I just feel so sorry for the connections of this horse,
00:23:25the horse itself, obviously.
00:23:27But I mean, when when she got hurt preparing for the Breeders' Cup,
00:23:32Asmussen was pretty emotional about it, not just because she's a fast race horse,
00:23:37but because her personality around the barn, apparently very kind, very sweet,
00:23:43just a fantastic horse to be around, an easy horse to like.
00:23:47And you try, you know, these these trainers try not to get attached to the horses,
00:23:51but, you know, sometimes it's just impossible.
00:23:54And even after her injury, when he talked about her recovery,
00:23:59he would start to get a little bit emotional talking about it.
00:24:02It's just the nature of her injury. Right.
00:24:05I mean, no one ever felt comfortable.
00:24:07We talked about it. Right.
00:24:08So far, so good. But it's a long road.
00:24:11So many things can happen.
00:24:12These horses are so fragile.
00:24:15And it's just sad that she got as far as she got.
00:24:19And then, Zoe, something like this happens, she gets cast in her stall
00:24:23and then it all just goes up in smoke.
00:24:25It's really, really a sad thing.
00:24:28Absolutely gut wrenching.
00:24:30When I heard the news yesterday, I've got to be honest, I shed a tear.
00:24:33It was just gut wrenching because, you know, I'm based out here.
00:24:37I went and visited her when she was in her stall before she went to Chino,
00:24:42which did a marvelous job down there.
00:24:44Dr. Ryan Carpenter, the best in the game, did the surgery on her
00:24:47right here at Santa Anita.
00:24:49And they took her down there and she was just just a wonderful patient.
00:24:54I mean, love him or hate him.
00:24:55Scott Blasey has lovers and haters everywhere.
00:24:57But he went down every single day after training
00:25:01while they had those Breeders' Cup horses here to go and see her,
00:25:05to give her carrots, to go and visit her.
00:25:07When Steve came out, he went down.
00:25:09They spent hours with her.
00:25:11She got the best care possible.
00:25:14And just just gut wrenching.
00:25:16And, you know, you made such a compelling case.
00:25:18I had not submitted my Eclipse Award votes
00:25:22before we did that podcast.
00:25:24I was going to wait till after just because I wanted to take one
00:25:27final look and be sure I changed my vote and voted for Echo Zulu.
00:25:33There were 70 votes for her for champion sprinter and 142 for Goodnight Olive.
00:25:38And I'm pleased to say I was one of the 70.
00:25:41She was just a true champion in every single sense of the word.
00:25:48The TD Writer's Room, also brought to you by the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders
00:25:51Association. Big news this week for the biggest PA bred stars of 2023.
00:25:57First of all, Angel of Empire was named the top mid-Atlantic bred of 2023.
00:26:03Congratulations to his breeders.
00:26:06Forgotten Land Investment, Inc.
00:26:08and Black Diamond Equine and owner All Boss Stables from Iowa.
00:26:13Then you've got Caravelle and Nimitz Class, who made three
00:26:16out of the top four horses, Pennsylvania bred.
00:26:19So speaking of Caravelle, the TDN's Katie Petruniak has reported
00:26:24that she has now been purchased by John Stewart's Resolute Farm.
00:26:28Remember when he was the Green Group guest of the week?
00:26:30And Caravelle will now be headed overseas for a date
00:26:34with none other than Frankel.
00:26:37We'll be right back after this message from the PHBA.
00:26:41The state of Pennsylvania has the best breeders program
00:26:44in the entire United States.
00:26:46When you buy a yearling, it's a little bit like buying a lottery ticket.
00:26:49And we are trying to provide the lottery ticket
00:26:51that the likelihood is to hit the jackpot.
00:26:54Angel of Empire wins the Arkansas Derby and wins it clear.
00:26:58Uncle Heavy late, it's a photo finish!
00:27:02Pennsylvania and the PHBA have the best state bred program
00:27:06in the country, bar none.
00:27:07The winner, Uncle Heavy.
00:27:08He's a three-year-old bred in Pennsylvania.
00:27:11Every sire hopes to have a son to follow in his footsteps.
00:27:15An impressive debut for Munnings.
00:27:18That son is Jack Christopher.
00:27:20Jack Christopher to win the champagne!
00:27:22Unbeaten grade one winner at two.
00:27:25Dual grade one winner at three.
00:27:28And he is pouring it on here.
00:27:30It is Jack Christopher winning the grade one H.
00:27:34Alan Jerkins Memorial.
00:27:36Jack Christopher.
00:27:41It's time for the Coolmore Stallion of the Week.
00:27:43And this week, that is Jack Christopher.
00:27:45Last week, we had some of Cornish's first foals to show you.
00:27:48Here are some of Jack Christopher's.
00:27:50First, a filly out of court dancer.
00:27:52The mayor is a stakes winner and earner of just under 500,000.
00:27:56Here is a filly out of honest outlaw.
00:27:59First foal out of a gun runner, half sister to two graded stakes winners.
00:28:03Then we have a colt out of Laurel Canyon, the first foal out of a stakes place mayor.
00:28:07And here is a filly out of my fast one, who's two year old by Justify
00:28:12sold for 400,000 last year.
00:28:14And finally, a filly out of second coming
00:28:17was now a half sister to champion.
00:28:19Are you kidding me?
00:28:20The foal was bred by G.
00:28:21Watts Humphrey, the breeder of many a grade one winner.
00:28:24Hey, Zoe, any thoughts on these foals?
00:28:26Well, honestly, Bill, I'm I'm looking at them right now.
00:28:29And I have to tell you that I am really liking what I'm seeing.
00:28:33Jack Christopher was kind of a bull of a racehorse.
00:28:36If you saw him on the racetrack, he was a very muscular, big, good looking horse.
00:28:41And these fillies that I'm looking at right now got a little bit of length,
00:28:44got some scope and got some leg, which is the thing that I am really looking for
00:28:48from the Jack Christopher babies.
00:28:50Looks like we've got a bunch of long legged fillies here,
00:28:52which gives me a big thumbs up for Jack Christopher babies.
00:28:56Jack Christopher, the multiple grade one winner, stands at Coolmore for $40,000.
00:29:03It is now halftime in our weekly podcast, and every week
00:29:07that means it's time to tell you that the TDN is also brought to you
00:29:10by the Green Group, a tax accounting and advisory firm
00:29:14specializing in the thoroughbred industry.
00:29:18And we welcome in now the Green Group guest of the week.
00:29:20It is none other than Brooke Smith, also goes by the name of Bourbon.
00:29:24Brooke will talk about why he calls himself that very nice person
00:29:28who donates tons of money to charities in horse racing.
00:29:32But he was in the news this weekend as or this past weekend
00:29:36as one of the co-owners of both Sierra Leone and Hall of Fame
00:29:40who went in the Risen Star Stakes. Brooke, welcome to the podcast.
00:29:44How did you get into involved with Coolmore?
00:29:46I can't imagine that they are someone who are out looking for owners or,
00:29:50you know, how do you get into the fold with them?
00:29:54Great question.
00:29:55So I've been in horse racing.
00:29:58I don't know. I guess time flies.
00:30:00Maybe the last 15 or 20 years, more so in the last five or ten.
00:30:04And I've been in the insurance business,
00:30:07kind of an unusual facet of insurance called surety.
00:30:10Short story is I met some
00:30:14some younger folks, but younger to me, mid thirties,
00:30:17who were working in the event insurance space
00:30:20and the sports and entertainment space, a group called 1783, based in London.
00:30:26And one of my old business partners said, hey, these guys are doing
00:30:29some interesting things, you should meet them.
00:30:32And we ended up becoming their partners and funding them a little bit.
00:30:36And it just so happened that one of the kind of three principles in that
00:30:41was a guy named Charlie Pearson, who is the son in law of John Magner.
00:30:46So after we spent some time together,
00:30:50we got to know each other.
00:30:52They're great folks, good friends and started doing some business together
00:30:56and had this success.
00:30:57One thing led to another.
00:30:59And I kind of was introduced to the cool more ecosystem,
00:31:02I guess the best way to put it.
00:31:04First through Kentucky.
00:31:05I've been to Ireland.
00:31:07They're they're they're breeding farming operation in Ireland.
00:31:11Second to none.
00:31:13And, you know, just amazing people.
00:31:16They're wildly successful.
00:31:19And somewhere along the way, they said, well, you know,
00:31:23would you be interested in maybe becoming one of our partners?
00:31:26And I said, wow, that's an opportunity.
00:31:29I know you guys, you know, play the top.
00:31:32And maybe it's an opportunity for something myself to to,
00:31:37you know, take a bite of some of a horse, a yearling, perhaps,
00:31:40that I wouldn't normally even think about.
00:31:42And so I remember I was actually flying to Europe
00:31:46and I was on a plane right at the right as this Saratoga
00:31:50September sale was going on, the select sale 22.
00:31:54And Adrian Wallace, there was texting me saying, OK,
00:31:56we're going to look at a couple of these yearlings.
00:31:58And the first one I think that maybe came up was Sierra Leone.
00:32:02And he's texting me, you know, this horse could be a million dollars or more.
00:32:06And then, you know, and then I'm getting texts like, you know, a million six,
00:32:09million eight, you know, are you in?
00:32:12And I'm hitting, you know, yes, you know.
00:32:15And so that's kind of how it started.
00:32:19And then then at that same sale, of course, they also bought
00:32:22what is today Hall of Fame.
00:32:25And to have to two horses come out of one sale,
00:32:28you know, spending money on these nice horses, obviously,
00:32:31because of their breeding and their confirmation and their athleticism
00:32:34and everything you would hope to see.
00:32:36But to have two of them that were purchased in one sale like that
00:32:41and to have them in the middle of everything is quite amazing, to be honest.
00:32:44So there's there's a short version.
00:32:47Well, Brooke, before we dive into the nitty gritty on the horses,
00:32:50give us a little bit of your personal background, how you got involved
00:32:54in the sport to begin with, why, how your interest in it first got piqued.
00:32:58I know you run horses under rocket ship racing as well.
00:33:01Tell us about all that.
00:33:03Yeah, you know, it's anything that has like such history to it.
00:33:09These horses, they don't run but a minute or two.
00:33:12But everything that happens around the track, the farms, the people,
00:33:16the history, you know, I'm just I marvel at stuff like that.
00:33:22When I was in my in my 30s, you know, 20 years ago.
00:33:25Plus, I had a friend whose father bought into a syndicate,
00:33:31had a filly that was actually running and I think it was the humanities staff
00:33:35at the time.
00:33:36Horse's name is Loris Pistolet, went off at like 30 to one.
00:33:39And of course, you know, the storybook wins the race.
00:33:43There's, you know, 50 people in the winner's circle, high five.
00:33:46And I happen to have probably, you know, $20 to win in place.
00:33:48And, you know, felt like I was on top of the world.
00:33:51And so I was like, hmm, that's that's different and pretty exciting.
00:33:57And I think I'd like to try to, you know, get around that again.
00:34:02So a good friend of mine that I graduated
00:34:05from high school with in Oldham County outside of Louisville, Bill Denzik.
00:34:10He was trained a few horses.
00:34:12We got reconnected.
00:34:13I bought a few horses with him before that.
00:34:15I actually bought a few horses with a guy named Danny Hut,
00:34:17who was one of my dear, dear friends.
00:34:19Unfortunately, I had a heart attack and left this way too early.
00:34:24But then as you get in and around this type of thing,
00:34:26I mean, you guys know that's why you're on this podcast.
00:34:29This stuff gets in your blood.
00:34:30There's just no other way to say it.
00:34:33Very interesting.
00:34:34Brooke, didn't you also because I remember I've interviewed you a couple of times.
00:34:37What's your background in the bourbon industry?
00:34:40Yeah, I mean, again, it's kind of like I say this a lot, but, you know, save Ferris.
00:34:46I should never watch that movie when I was in middle school.
00:34:48But Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
00:34:50But you're in Kentucky and you want to get in the middle of something
00:34:53that's interesting.
00:34:54That generally doesn't mean it's a great business.
00:34:56But fortunately, bourbon's booming.
00:34:59And I had an opportunity to buy into Castle of Key Distillery there in Frankfurt.
00:35:04I still own a small piece of that
00:35:07and then was involved in a few other bourbon brands, a brand called Barrel Bourbon.
00:35:10It's highly acclaimed and good folks.
00:35:13They're buying some barrels and kind of act as a middleman here and there.
00:35:17So in and around bourbon
00:35:19and, you know, the short version is,
00:35:23you know, a nice bourbon neat ain't so bad.
00:35:27Well, tell us a little bit now about your experience on Saturday.
00:35:30How did you feel going into the Risen Star with Sierra Leone and Hall of Fame?
00:35:35And what was that whole experience like?
00:35:39Well, I mean, it was it was a long time
00:35:42between the Rims and the Risen Star, as you can imagine.
00:35:46So there was a lot of conjecture.
00:35:48And, you know, how good is this Sierra Leone and this crazy move
00:35:52that the horse made from the back of the field and
00:35:56and then Hall of Fame coming right off a bomber maiden victory at the track.
00:36:05You know, it was surreal.
00:36:06Like Caden was asking me a question or two in the paddock.
00:36:09And I just kind of got tongue tied because you really know what to say.
00:36:13I mean, what can you say when you have,
00:36:15you know, a couple of top ten derby contenders going in a prep race?
00:36:21It was great because I was around all the folks that I know from Coolmore
00:36:25also had some other friends and my two youngest sons were with me.
00:36:30So even though it was the wind was blowing, the rain was blowing a bit sideways.
00:36:34It was it was just surreal. Amazing.
00:36:38Yeah. And then to have Sierra Leone kind of run the same type of race,
00:36:42you know, impressive, considering all the slow fractions
00:36:46and coming through the mud and all that,
00:36:49you know, it's just.
00:36:52Yeah, I mean, again, I usually watch these types of moments
00:36:55on TV, but to be a part of one,
00:36:58you don't quite know what to think, to be honest.
00:37:01But it's exciting.
00:37:02And I think Sierra Leone is a type of horse that could develop a following
00:37:07because of the running style and and those types of things.
00:37:12So, Brooke, what you do with your earnings is very commendable.
00:37:16For anything that you make on the racetrack, you donate a percentage
00:37:20to the Backside Learning Center Purses for a Purpose program at Churchill Downs.
00:37:24Tell us about that program, what it does
00:37:28and why you decided to get on board as a benefactor.
00:37:32Well, I mean, anything that I ever do,
00:37:34because, again, I feel like I want extended play, to be honest,
00:37:37just have had some good fortune and had a lot of great, amazing people around me.
00:37:42But it has to have some kind of a mankind or social component to it.
00:37:47I mean, what's the point otherwise?
00:37:49So as I started to learn more about the Backside Learning Center,
00:37:53and I say this a lot when people ask me about it,
00:37:55but the Backside Learning Center is the backbone of the industry.
00:37:58Those are the workers that get up early and, you know,
00:38:02it's tough, it's tough duty.
00:38:04But again, they have the business and the industry in their blood.
00:38:07And the budget that the Backside Learning Center has or has had
00:38:11is kind of anemic considering, you know, all the money that flows
00:38:16through the industry.
00:38:17So when I sat down with Sherry Stanley and a few of the folks there,
00:38:21I said, you know, there's got to be a program where, you know, these these owners,
00:38:26they should contribute a percentage of their purses
00:38:29to, you know, elevate the foundation of the business
00:38:33and take care of these folks that are out there every day,
00:38:35taking care of their horses, sacrificing that with their families.
00:38:39And so as I was looking at kind of what the Backside Learning Center's
00:38:43programming is and how they ran their their nonprofit,
00:38:47I thought, wow, this this deserves a few more logs on the fire.
00:38:50So we came up with this purses for a purpose.
00:38:53You know, owners can contribute, you know, one percent of their purses
00:38:57or one percent of their wind purses.
00:38:59I decided that I was going to, you know, contribute 10 percent
00:39:02any purse that I want through rocket ship racing or otherwise.
00:39:06And, you know, the budget's increased.
00:39:09There's been a lot of great programming done.
00:39:10I wouldn't be surprised to see them in a in a new building
00:39:14in the next year or two that really will help their population.
00:39:18So, you know, I mean, that is that is horse racing the backside.
00:39:24Oh, that's really commendable.
00:39:25And obviously, we all hope there's a lot more left
00:39:29to be made with Sierra Leone and Hall of Fame on that topic.
00:39:32I mean, you've been around racing, you said, 15 or 20 years.
00:39:35Now, you know, you've got a horse that's Kentucky Derby quality.
00:39:40How do you keep yourself on your feet on the ground
00:39:43between now and the Bluegrass and the Kentucky Derby?
00:39:48Great question.
00:39:51Maybe you let yourself revel in the moment like 10 or 15 minutes a day,
00:39:55because otherwise you won't get anything done, I guess.
00:39:58I'd say, you know, just like great things in life,
00:40:02even things that are a challenge.
00:40:04I think you have to keep them in perspective.
00:40:05I used to hate this saying, don't let your highs get too high
00:40:08or lows get too low.
00:40:10But as long as you have trajectory, right,
00:40:13that's not the worst thing in the world.
00:40:14So we all know, everybody on this podcast
00:40:17knows that these things can change in a step.
00:40:21So I'm just hopeful that
00:40:25the horse stays sound and healthy.
00:40:28He seems the type.
00:40:29But again, knock on wood and then,
00:40:34you know, allow that allow that mind to kind of think about what could be.
00:40:39It's pretty tough when everybody in the world is texting you about it.
00:40:41That's one thing I have to say.
00:40:45Not not a bad problem.
00:40:46I never had somebody text in my phone after that race.
00:40:50But yeah, and have fun.
00:40:51Just have fun with it.
00:40:53Enjoy it.
00:40:55You know, use the opportunity maybe to get the voice for places
00:40:58like Persons for a Purpose and maybe a few other nonprofits.
00:41:02And then just it's not like coveting the moment, but reveling in it
00:41:07and reveling in it with everybody that's reveling in it.
00:41:09Not. Oh, wow.
00:41:10You know, I own part of this horse.
00:41:13Brooke, now that you've tasted this amount of success,
00:41:16whether you win the Kentucky Derby or not, you know, you're already on a great ride
00:41:20with having won the race at the fairgrounds.
00:41:22And, you know, you're the favorite in the Kentucky Derby future wager.
00:41:26Now that you've got a taste for this, do you think this is something
00:41:28you'll start pursuing?
00:41:30You know, will you go to the sales with partners and look for horses
00:41:33that might have the pedigree and the ability to get into the Kentucky Derby?
00:41:38Do you have, as they say now, Kentucky Derby fever?
00:41:41No, I had it a long time ago.
00:41:43I guess I now I know I can at least point to the symptom of it.
00:41:48But but absolutely.
00:41:49You know, it's it's worked great with Coolmore.
00:41:52I love how they operate.
00:41:53Amazing folks, you know, very disciplined.
00:41:57And as I've said to them, you know, whatever happens here,
00:42:01I'll be kind of a parlay in a sense.
00:42:03Just, you know, if there's great success and there's some financial outcomes,
00:42:08then, you know, that'll be the seat for the next kind of journey
00:42:12back to some of these sales and bits and parts and pieces
00:42:15of some of these potentially great horses.
00:42:18So we know Sarah Leone, the plan right now is for him
00:42:21to run in the Bluegrass Stakes for his next start.
00:42:24What about Hall of Fame?
00:42:25How did he come back out of that race?
00:42:26I know it was a little bit of a different experience for him
00:42:30in his second lifetime.
00:42:31Started down on the inside, got a little keen at one point early in the race.
00:42:35Tell us about how he's doing and what might be next for him.
00:42:39Yeah, I mean, actually, the first thing that I thought about
00:42:42after Sierra Leone was crossing the finish line was, you know,
00:42:45hope Hall of Fame's OK.
00:42:48You know, didn't run the greatest race atop the stretch,
00:42:51kind of flared out coming off the turnoff.
00:42:53I thought, well, here we go.
00:42:55But he'd been kind of weaving in and out, probably not the greatest trip,
00:42:59not to make excuses.
00:43:00And I don't know how any horse could get out there in that cold, wet, windy,
00:43:04dark slop, to be honest.
00:43:07And several of them in the race, I think, will probably,
00:43:09you know, as we say, throw that race out.
00:43:11There's a few others in there that I think will come back and be more formidable.
00:43:15I think, you know, he's he's one that,
00:43:19you know, again, you got to trust the trainers and the connections
00:43:21and just say, hey, what do you think?
00:43:25Is he still on the track to Louisiana Derby?
00:43:29I guess time will tell.
00:43:30Or is there another route he can go?
00:43:33I think after the next few days, we'll get a sense.
00:43:35I don't feel like he came out of the race in a bad form.
00:43:39But as you all know, a horse that goes through something like that,
00:43:43you know, there's only so many squeezes in a lemon.
00:43:46Brooke, either last year or the year before, I don't remember.
00:43:48But as again, part of your charitable endeavors,
00:43:51you made a large future wager on a horse in the Kentucky Derby that year.
00:43:56You didn't have a horse in there and you were going to donate the profits
00:43:59to the Backstretch Learning Center.
00:44:01That didn't work out.
00:44:02The horse didn't win.
00:44:03Might you do something similar with Sierra Leone?
00:44:06Well, yeah, I mean,
00:44:08beyond a 10 percent of the purses, which could be formidable.
00:44:13I'm sure I'll be digging in my pocket a little bit deeper
00:44:15for the Backstretch Learning Center.
00:44:17I have snuck a few future wagers in there along the way.
00:44:22But absolutely anything's on the table.
00:44:24I'm no Mattress Mac.
00:44:25I can tell you that.
00:44:26I don't know where Brooke came from, but it's
00:44:29fun to kind of shoulder up with him.
00:44:32You know, great stuff he's doing.
00:44:33And so, you know, we'll see.
00:44:35I'm looking forward to the handicap and seminar that the Backstretch
00:44:39Learning Center sponsors.
00:44:41I can't remember the date this year, but it's usually a few weeks out
00:44:43from the from the Derby.
00:44:45Oh, Brooke, thank you.
00:44:46And thank you for what you're doing for the Backstretch Learning Center.
00:44:49I know these charities are very important.
00:44:52Like you said, let's take good care of the people that take good care
00:44:55of our horses.
00:44:56Good luck with Sierra Leone and Hall of Fame on the road to the Kentucky Derby.
00:45:00And we'll maybe catch up with you again after the Derby.
00:45:02See how things are.
00:45:03No, you always take it at risk if you stick a microphone in my face.
00:45:07All right.
00:45:09Thanks so much for joining us today.
00:45:11Yeah, that was a great one.
00:45:13As this week's Green Group guest of the week, Brooke T.
00:45:16Smith will receive a free one hour tax consultation
00:45:20from Lynn Green and Company at the Green Group.
00:45:23For more information on how the Green Group might be able to help you
00:45:26with your taxes and save you a little bit of this,
00:45:28log on to www.greenco.com.
00:45:58His DJ stable competes at the highest level
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00:46:34In this week's edition of First Things First,
00:46:36I did not catch up with the Corgis.
00:46:38I am wearing the T-shirt, though.
00:46:40Maybe we'll get to show the Corgi National Finals next week.
00:46:43But I actually did catch up with Craig Lewis to talk about
00:46:47the brilliant Calbred, the recently retired Rick Housewright.
00:46:56All right, let's talk about your old stalwart, Rickyard Ride.
00:46:59Now seven years old, you just retired him.
00:47:01He won 13 of 31 starts.
00:47:04Tell us a little bit about this brilliant Calbred of yours.
00:47:08Well, as everybody knows, he had wicked speed
00:47:12and he stuck around for a long time.
00:47:15I first got him when he was two.
00:47:18He's being retired at seven
00:47:20and he just was a whole lot of fun to train.
00:47:22And we're going to miss him.
00:47:23What was one of his biggest assets?
00:47:25Speed. Speed.
00:47:28And he loved to train and he loved the competition.
00:47:31Just like his daddy.
00:47:33Probably the best stud in California now, Clubhouse Ride.
00:47:36Now Clubhouse Ride's been on a tear of late right here at Santa Anita.
00:47:40He had at least two winners this past Thursday.
00:47:44You trained him.
00:47:45Like, what does it feel for you to have all of these horses
00:47:49going through your program and then going on to the finals?
00:47:52And then going on to the breeding shed?
00:47:55It's great.
00:47:57Couldn't couldn't feel more fortunate.
00:48:00He was a very good racehorse.
00:48:02He won a million three and he appears to be even a better stud.
00:48:08I looked at his stats yesterday.
00:48:10He's currently the leading stud in California
00:48:13and already at the Santa Anita meet.
00:48:15He's had 11 winners and more to come, I'm sure.
00:48:18And what are the plans for his son, Brookyard Ride, moving forward now?
00:48:22Brookyard Ride is, as I stated, retired.
00:48:25He's going to get the rest of the year off, which is well-deserved
00:48:29because he laid it down every time he ran.
00:48:32And then he's going to go to stud.
00:48:35A lot of interest in him from various places throughout the country.
00:48:39So no final determination has been made yet as to
00:48:43what farm or what state people even end up standing in.
00:48:48Oh, so I just assumed he was going to be a cowbred, sir.
00:48:51Don't know. People are very interested in him
00:48:53and people are very interested in his sire clubhouse ride.
00:48:58That's awesome. Yeah.
00:49:00Brookyard Ride.
00:49:01What was one of his favorite races that he won for you?
00:49:03One of your favorites?
00:49:05Well, I really enjoyed the San Carlos because that was seven eights.
00:49:09And at the time,
00:49:10several people thought that he couldn't go that far.
00:49:14But he was brilliant that day, won the race pretty easily.
00:49:18And subsequent to that, he even was able to negotiate two turns.
00:49:23One won a stake at two turns and competed against the grated horses at two turns.
00:49:29So he was very, very talented horse.
00:49:32Fortunately, he came my way.
00:49:34Wish me the best of luck. Thank you.
00:49:42Do you want to remind you that while it is still raining here
00:49:44in Southern California, it will stop very soon, indeed.
00:49:49And racing will continue on Fridays, Saturday and Sunday with a 1230 post time.
00:49:54We will see you then.
00:49:57This week's Derby prep action will take us to Oaklawn Park,
00:50:00where the rebel bodies purses at Oaklawn.
00:50:03Unbelievable grade to purse of one million two hundred and fifty thousand.
00:50:07That's for the Colts heading to the Kentucky Derby.
00:50:10The honeybee is the prep for three year old fillies on their way to the Kentucky
00:50:14Oaks. A couple of things that I noticed right off the bat about this race.
00:50:19Last week, we were talking about the Risen Star being just loaded.
00:50:23And usually the trainers that are racing at fairgrounds will look at Oaklawn
00:50:28and the Oaklawn trainers will look at fairgrounds.
00:50:31This race did not come up that tough, and it has a much bigger purse
00:50:34than the Risen Star, which I think just goes to show you how popular
00:50:39that New Orleans route to the Kentucky Derby has suddenly become.
00:50:43You know, with so many top horses
00:50:46vying in that race last week, where you get a much, much better race.
00:50:51Randy, you mentioned earlier Timberlake was a horse that you were a little bit
00:50:54interested in. He's I guess he'll be the favorite.
00:50:58He won the champagne in grade one.
00:51:00Didn't run great in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile or he ran fourth.
00:51:04But if he runs back to his best start in the champagne, he should be tough.
00:51:09So I want to ask you a question.
00:51:11Where is Muth? Wasn't he supposed to run in this?
00:51:14I think that may be a reason that we just have kind of 12 horses plus Timberlake,
00:51:18because Hall of Famer Bob Baffert doesn't go to the fairgrounds for prep races.
00:51:23He was pointing Muth to here.
00:51:25He actually worked on Sunday.
00:51:27Now, if you look at the work on XBTV, the work looks good.
00:51:31Muth is a little bit keen.
00:51:33He's a little bit just running through the bridle, running a little bit free.
00:51:37And I asked Bob, I said, why didn't you go?
00:51:39And he said there was there was an incident on the racetrack.
00:51:43They they broke off at the half mile pole.
00:51:45The sirens went off.
00:51:47The rider pulled him up at the quarter pole.
00:51:49Then they had to wait.
00:51:50They brought the harrows back out.
00:51:52They had to wait even longer.
00:51:53And he just got really riled off and pretty much ran off at the beginning of the work.
00:51:58And when they got to the wire, Bob just told his rider, just just take him home,
00:52:01pull him up. There was no like mile long gallop out.
00:52:04And he said he was not happy with that work
00:52:07to put him on the plane and send him.
00:52:09So that that's the reason why Muth is not there.
00:52:13Yeah, and his presence will definitely his absence
00:52:17will definitely be felt in the rebel.
00:52:19Look, I mean, we all we talked about Oakland and how they reinvest
00:52:23their casino money in horse racing more than any other track in America.
00:52:27Just look at the purses for a race like this.
00:52:31But I mean, at this point, a million three for the rebel,
00:52:35they may need to reconsider
00:52:39how much they're putting into a race like this
00:52:41because you got 13 horses in the race.
00:52:44Twelve of them made their most recent starts at Oakland.
00:52:49The only horse they got that didn't make his most recent start at Oakland
00:52:53was Timberlake, trained by Brad Cox, who has a big stable at Oakland.
00:52:58And Brad has been saying right from day one
00:53:02that this is the race the Timberlake was going to be pointed to.
00:53:05So since Muth didn't come, there's really no other horse out there
00:53:09that a million three was able to attract,
00:53:14which is mind blowing when you think about, you know,
00:53:17how much money is being put into a race like this.
00:53:20Timberlake is six to five in the morning line.
00:53:22He may even go off a little bit less than that.
00:53:26This race didn't even get the best horse at Oakland,
00:53:29which is Mystic Dan, who won the Southwest stakes by eight lengths
00:53:33with a one on one buyer speed figure.
00:53:36And the decision was made to skip the rebel for Mystic Dan
00:53:39despite the one point three million dollars and just point him directly
00:53:42for the Arkansas Derby.
00:53:44So in the absence of Mystic Dan, you've got Timberlake.
00:53:48It's probably going to be four to five or even money.
00:53:50And you've got just steel trained by Wayne Lucas, who was right behind
00:53:55a long way behind, but behind Mystic Dan in the Southwest
00:53:58is really the two horses to me that kind of stick out on paper.
00:54:02It I think it really just goes to prove Bill's point
00:54:05when we were talking about the Derby, now the purse has been up to five million.
00:54:08Bill put his hands up and said, listen, if the Derby was $100,000,
00:54:13people would still run in it.
00:54:15I think the fact that it's worth so many points, right.
00:54:19And they all thought the Bob was bringing Moose or one of his giants.
00:54:23And they're not going to garner those points.
00:54:25People didn't get on the plane when they thought Bob was going
00:54:27because they need the points.
00:54:29They don't care about the money.
00:54:30They don't care about the money.
00:54:32Now, D. Wayne Lucas cares about money and he's got just that just
00:54:36deals going to dance probably every single dance and have to be just
00:54:40still leading up to the first Saturday in May.
00:54:42So he's in there and everyone else is in there.
00:54:45But you're not garnering those magical horses
00:54:48because the points are oh so important at this time of the year.
00:54:52And everyone knows that Bob sends his horses, his good ones to Oakland.
00:54:57The other big action in horse racing this weekend,
00:55:00of course, will be taking place in Saudi Arabia, where we have the Saudi Cup.
00:55:04Twenty million dollars.
00:55:06How about staggering amounts of money?
00:55:08Twenty million dollars.
00:55:09And that was enough to get people to run for sure.
00:55:14And, you know, it's interesting.
00:55:16I think we're going to find out who the best horse in America is
00:55:20by running a race in Saudi Arabia, because right now it looks like
00:55:24that's between National Treasure and wide a burial.
00:55:26Maybe even Saudi crown gets into the mix.
00:55:29And I know Randy Moss has got to be extra excited
00:55:32because both Dermis Sotokaki and Senior Buscador are in the race.
00:55:37If two fills hadn't been retired and if he were in this race,
00:55:41then I wouldn't even know what to do with himself.
00:55:46I know I haven't had a chance to look at the PPS.
00:55:50It won't be out for a while, but I like National Treasure's race
00:55:53in the Pegasus World Cup enough.
00:55:54I think I probably would pick him over wide a burial.
00:55:57But, you know, and it's not a two horse race either.
00:56:00You got Dermis Sotokaki, like I mentioned, a couple other Japanese horses.
00:56:04It's going to be a fantastic horse race.
00:56:06And but again, it's also sad that how it has hurt so many American races.
00:56:12You know, the big cap, which is just one of the great historic races
00:56:16in the history of American racing, this is obviously not what it used to be.
00:56:20And this is the reason why.
00:56:22Yeah, I mean, this is just a sensational race on paper,
00:56:26Zoe, but the the racing surface in Saudi Arabia can be pretty quirky.
00:56:31And so you don't always get the most form for race,
00:56:35but it sure is interesting on paper, don't you think?
00:56:38It's a really interesting race.
00:56:39And people actually been raving over the racetrack over there.
00:56:43And the lack of kickback, which makes it conducive
00:56:46to having some tough runners run well on the dirt there.
00:56:50Don't forget, defunded is going to be in there as well.
00:56:52He's already beaten White Abario and National Treasure when he's good.
00:56:56He's very, very good.
00:56:57It's going to be a good race.
00:56:58But Bill, you didn't mention your favorite horse.
00:57:02Come on, Bill.
00:57:03The PA bred Bookham Dano.
00:57:07No, no, not PA bred Jersey bred.
00:57:10Sorry. Yes.
00:57:11He'll be going in the Saudi Derby Bookham Dano.
00:57:15And I don't think he's a Kentucky Derby horse, but good management.
00:57:18They can go over there and will be the biggest win for a Jersey bred
00:57:23since Open Mind won the breed, one of the Breeders' Cup races.
00:57:28So my poor Jersey bred program, they're doing their best with
00:57:33with a lot of obstacles in their way.
00:57:36But yeah, let's go get them Bookham Dano.
00:57:39So you got the J horse, you got the Jersey horse,
00:57:43but then you got the Japanese horses as well.
00:57:45I mean, there's more than just Dermisota Gakke, as you pointed out.
00:57:48He was a really good second, obviously, in the Breeders' Cup classic
00:57:51behind Wada Mario, but he's not even the top ranked Japanese dirt horse.
00:57:57That would be a horse called Lemon Pop,
00:58:00who is going to be in the Saudi Cup as well.
00:58:02He won the Champions Cup last year in Japan.
00:58:06So the Japanese have dominated in recent years
00:58:11in some of these races in Saudi Arabia.
00:58:13So they're going to be pretty formidable, not just Dermisota Gakke,
00:58:17but Lemon Pop as well.
00:58:20Ushba Tesoro.
00:58:23Him too. Yes.
00:58:25There you go. Yes. To my World Cup.
00:58:28I want to remind you that each and every week the TDN is brought to you by XBTV.
00:58:33And this week's work of the week is Nyso along with Winstock.
00:58:38As we watch them go around here, Nysos is on the outside of Winstock.
00:58:41This was passed Saturday for Hall of Fame of Bob Baffert.
00:58:45Nysos, of course, was the dominant winner of the Robert F.
00:58:48Lewis stakes in his last start, and Winstock took down the Los Alfajores.
00:58:52Now, things didn't go his way when Winstock shipped to the southwest
00:58:56stakes at Oak Lawn, but it looks like he's coming back,
00:58:59but probably doesn't need to work with Nysos in the future.
00:59:02But nevertheless, an extremely good work by Nysos.
00:59:06And we'll have to see where he shows up next for Bob Baffert.
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01:00:07Visit westpointtb.com.
01:00:11TD and Writer's Room also brought to you by West Point Thoroughbreds.
01:00:14West Point's Jackson Traveler won the Bob Thomas Memorial.
01:00:19That was on the Sunderland Derby undercard at Sunderland Park Sunday.
01:00:23And this is pretty cool.
01:00:24Jackson Traveler has now been a stakes winner at ages two, three, four, five,
01:00:31and now six for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen.
01:00:34Steve Asmussen, West Point, and bloodsucker advisor David Angordo found Jackson Traveler
01:00:38at the OBS April sale of two-year-olds in training way back when, 2020.
01:00:44They got in for $140,000, and Jackson Traveler has now earned a touch more than $741,000.
01:00:52If you're interested in getting in on all of this with West Point
01:00:55and vaulting into the world of instant camaraderie, visit westpointtb.com.
01:01:04Well, that's a wrap on this week's show.
01:01:06I want to thank my partners, Randy Moss and Zoe Cabin.
01:01:09And Randy, there'll be a little bit extra in your paycheck for getting up at five in the morning in Hawaii
01:01:15to do this with us.
01:01:17You're dedicated.
01:01:18That's terrific stuff.
01:01:20So I also want to thank our Green Group Guests of the Week, Brooke Smith,
01:01:23our producers, Katie Petruniak and Anthony LaRocca,
01:01:26and also our editors, Aaliyah LaRocca and Nathan Wilkinson.
01:01:30It should be a great weekend of racing, folks.
01:01:32Enjoy the races at Oakland.
01:01:33Enjoy the Saudi Cup.
01:01:34We'll check in with you next week.
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