Belmont Preview
National Thoroughbred Racing Association
June 1, 2023
1:00 PM
Operator: Thank you for participating in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s Belmont Preview National Media Teleconference. I will now turn the program over to Mr. Jim Gluckson. Thank you. Please go ahead.
Jim Gluckson: Thank you very much, and good day, everyone. And welcome to today’s NTRA National Media Teleconference previewing the 155th Belmont Stakes, presented by NYRA Bets, to be held on Saturday, June 10, at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The race looking to draw as many as 10 starters for the 1.5 mile Test of the Champion.
Today, we’ll be joined by NTRA President and CEO Tom Rooney; Hall of Fame jockey, John Velasquez, who is the rider of Preakness Stakes winner National Treasure; and trainers Brad Cox, who has Angel of Empire, Hit Show for the Belmont, and Tapit Shoes under consideration; also joining us is trainer Jena Antonucci, who will be starting Peter Pan Stakes winner Arcangelo for Blue Rose Farm.
I wanted to remind everyone that a recording of today’s call and a transcript will be posted on the NTRA website in the next 24 hours. So at this time, I would like to bring in NTRA President and CEO Tom Rooney for some opening remarks. Tom?
Tom Rooney: Thanks, Jim. And thanks to all of you for joining today’s call. We’ve been hoping these calls have been beneficial for both the media and the connections. And the National Thoroughbred Racing Association plans to continue doing these, moving forward.
It’s been, obviously, a very challenging few weeks in our sport for those of us that love and care for the animals. We have all talked about how horse racing has made significant improvements over the last several years, for safety. And data shows the lowest fatalities since tracking began in 2009. And now, with HISA being fully implemented, as of last week, this is the first time that thoroughbred racing in this country is operating under the same rules in every state.
We, at the NTRA, are dedicated to ensuring that the future of this sport is preserved for future generations, especially as next weekend, we celebrate one of, if not the best race, in the history of our sport. Fifty years ago, Secretariat became the 9th ever Triple Crown winner, when he won the Belmont Stakes by an astounding 31 lengths. That race is remembered by many as the best of all time.
And though we are facing challenges now, it’s important to remember Secretariat, those that came before him and those that have come since, and celebrate these accomplishments of these magnificent athletes. We will be hosting a special, national media teleconference next Wednesday, with Secretariat’s jockey Ron Turcotte, to talk more about his legendary experience.
Good luck to everyone participating in next week’s Belmont. And special shout-out to Jena Antonucci, my trainer down at Gulfstream. Good luck, Jena, and good luck to everybody. Back to you, Jim.
Jim Gluckson: Tom, thanks very much. Good luck, everyone and look forward, next week to talking with Ron Turcotte, as well. All right, now, let’s bring in our first guest of today, Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, rider of one of the favorites in the Belmont Stakes, in National Treasure. John has one two Belmont Stakes, going back a few years, to 2007, with Rags to Riches, and Union Rags in 2012. John, how are you today?
John Velazquez: Doing good. Thank you for having me.
Jim Gluckson: Good, John. And congratulations, again, on winning your first Preakness — another win in your illustrious career — of course, aboard National Treasure. You have ridden him in five of — in six of his starts, including that 4th place finish in the Santa Anita Derby prior to the Preakness. We know that the addition of the blinkers was a factor in that winning performance. But what else did he show you in that Preakness Stakes?
John Velazquez: Well, it seems like he finally put it together, what he needs to do, though. He’s a horse is a little bit spotty. And I think he can, obviously, with the help of the blinkers, can kind of concentrate a little bit better. And he showed that. He showed that in the Preakness.
And we always thought that he was a very talented horse. He just needed to figure it out and put it together. And finally, he seems to have put it together in the Preakness. So he is definitely a very talented horse. So I think he has come into himself now.
Jim Gluckson: All right. Well, you breezed him yesterday — excuse me — on Tuesday, going a half mile in 50.62 at Belmont. What were your impressions of that breeze?
John Velazquez: He went well. He went very well. I think he — it was a good work. It feels like he is pretty fresh. And now, we go from there. We hope to keep him nice and fresh for the Belmont.
Jim Gluckson: I do want to ask one other question, in that National Treasure’s sire, Quality Road, was a horse that you rode in nearly all of his races in his career, which included teaming up with him for four, grade I wins, in the Florida Derby, the Met Mile, the Donn Handicap, and the Woodward Stakes. In what ways does National Treasure remind you of Quality Road?
John Velazquez: Totally different. Quality Road was, right from the beginning, was a horse that knew what he wanted to do, right from a very young age. Though, I think National Treasure is still finding himself — how to understand that. One was really secure of himself and the other one does not know what to do yet, though.
So Quality Road was, just right from the get-go, and he knew what to do. He was a strong horse. You couldn’t mess with him. It’s one of the things that he’s straight — right? — even going to the gate, he didn’t want to be to be man-handled, if you will. And t was on his terms or nothing. So, like I said, he was very secure about himself at a very young age.
And National Treasure is still a baby. He seems like — still finding his ways, basically.
Jim Gluckson: Well, thank you, John. At this time, I think we’d now like to turn over and see if we have some questions from the media on the line. So let’s go ahead and move to the — our question-and-answer portion of the program, please.
Operator: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question and answer session. Should you have a question, please press the * followed by the 1 on your telephone keypad. You will hear a three-tone prompt acknowledging your request. Questions will be taken in the order received. Should you wish to cancel your request, please press the * followed by the 2. Once again, that is * and 1 to ask a question.
And your first question comes from the line of Tom Pedulla, a freelance writer. Please go ahead.
Tom Pedulla: Yeah, John, there’s been some discussion, again, about whether the Triple Crown format should be tweaked. Obviously, there weren’t a lot of horses at the Preakness, and only one starter, the Derby winner, came to the Preakness, out of the Derby. What are your thoughts on that? Are you a traditionalist or do you think maybe some tweaking is in order?
John Velazquez: I love the idea of tweaking things. Every sport out there has changed for the better. And I think we a little bit stuck in tradition and everything else. If this is going to make it for the better of the sport, I am all for it.
And, obviously, for — good for the horses, good for the fans, and good for everybody, I think it would be a really good addition for horse racing to start tweaking a little bit, things that — the way we only do it, for so many years. I think it’s time for us to evolve, with time.
Tom Pedulla: Do you think, then, the horses would benefit from more spacing, and that that’s what should be looked at?
John Velazquez: Absolutely. I think the horses would get — even if you get three weeks between the three races, a little more time is beneficial for the horses. And I think we’ll get trainers and owners to be more involved in the Triple Crown.
Tom Pedulla: Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. And your next question comes from the line of Paul Halloran from Saratoga Special. Please go ahead.
Paul Halloran: Hey, John. You had a pretty favorable pace scenario, the way the Preakness developed. And, obviously, you took advantage of it. Even with the Belmont being longer, would you anticipate, because of that, maybe having a different race flow in the Belmont?
John Velazquez: I’m not sure. But I think everybody is going to be thinking about the same thing, that favorable pace that we had in the Preakness. So, I’m anticipating the pace is going to start to change different things. But, so the one thing I want to do with my horse is I want to get him into the nice rhythm, whatever he is, whether he’s close to the lead or coming from behind.
I mean, he’s done everything, though. I think I’m just going to let him — I think, with the blinkers, he’s focusing on the things he needs to do. And everybody wants to change some — anybody in the race wants to change the pace of the race, I’ll let it be. But I just want to get my horse in a good rhythm, what he’s going to be comfortable.
Paul Halloran: Great. Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. And your next question comes from the line of Tyler Greever WDRB News. Please go ahead.
Tyler Greever: Yeah, hi, John. This is a little separate from the Belmont, but Churchill Downs announced some new safety initiatives today, like pausing some the track incentives. Also, if a horse — limiting them to four starts in an eight-week period, as well as not allowing horses to race that have been beat by 12 lengths of more in five, straight races. How do you — do you think initiatives like that can help? Or just, what’s your initial reaction to those?
John Velazquez: I think anything that we do — protect the horses, obviously. But — and not over overdoing on putting — and obviously, let’s go back a little bit. You just said that they took the initiatives or incentives to run horses, even if they run last, right? So that means that somebody who has put in their horse in the race that probably not fitting up to be in the race, or whatever it may be — physical, or whatever it may be.
So that alone will change people’s mentality. But not just put a horse in the race just because they’re going to get an incentive, or some sort of money, even if the horse finishes last. So that should help a lot, that alone. Giving horses time to recuperate and to be in the best shape to run races, that’s the way it should be, though.
Not because they have an incentive just to put it in the race and just to make some money. So I think it’s — we still have to concentrate on safety, for the horses and riders, obviously. So I think that that’s a good indicator — initiative.
Jim Gluckson: Do we have any follow-up questions? We’re waiting for another question to come in. But John, let me just ask you this — it’s Jim again. I think — you touched on this earlier, before, but just to go back to the natural speed that National Treasure possesses, how does that work as an advantage to you, going over a mile and a half, a race like this — the most demanding of the three, Triple Crown races?
John Velazquez: Yeah, this horse hasn’t gone a mile and a half, so we don’t know how we’re going to handle it. I just know that this horse, every race he runs, he gallops out pretty strong. So I think, if we can manage to get him a good rhythm, that is we try to save the best we can for the last part of the race, we’ll be in good shape.
It’s like everything else, where everybody has to go through the same test, going for a mile and a half. So, it’s whatever can sustain the long distance of the race, basically.
Jim Gluckson: All right. Okay. Well, let’s just check if there are any other questions on the line. All right. I think we have no further questions. So — hold on. We do a follow-up, please. Go ahead.
Tyler Greever: They mentioned that being in the call, it’s obviously been just a rough couple weeks for the sport, with some of the rash deaths and the safety concerns. From a jockey’s perspective, looking beyond some of the initiatives that were announced today, is there anything else that comes to mind for you that you think can help keep the horses safer and help the sport evolve a little as it tries to change?
John Velazquez: Well, I tell you what, I think there’s not many other things that we can do. There are tests of horses tied to races, meaning, where they’re taking in (inaudible) -Scintigraphy or — what’s the name that I’m looking for? — MRIs and before the races.
I think we can ensure that the horses, that they are not showing anything, and the naked eye, basically, or feeling, like vets and everything looking at the horses. But they could have an injury deep in the bones, and if we can catch the thing before races, I think we’re going to minimize on those catastrophic injuries, or even bad injuries on the horses. But that could be one of the things that we could add into everything that we’re doing right now.
Jim Gluckson: All right. Let’s take one, final question for John, please.
John Pricci: Hello?
Jim Gluckson: All right, John, go ahead, please — John Pricci.
John Pricci: I’m sorry, Jim. Johnny, I’ve read a lot of reports that jockeys said that there is — there was no problem with the track surface at Churchill Downs. Can — I’d like to know your impressions of that, and whether that is a true enough bill, in terms of how the surface played out.
John Velazquez: It’s very hard to read, because some horses — it’s like everything. There is some horses that are going to like the track and some are — that just go through the motions, though. All I can say, it was a track that concerns the jockeys, basically. Obviously, being there that whole week, I didn’t think the track was in bad shape at all.
It just, I think, all sequential things that happened with these horses is very hard to fathom and to get your hands around it to figure out what really happened. I think with all the information that we’re getting and everything, hopefully, we get better answers and get to know a little bit better. So I just think that the track was in good condition and it shouldn’t — those things shouldn’t happen, though.
John Pricci: Have a safe trip, you and Reincarnate, on Saturday.
John Velazquez: Thank you. I think that would be National Treasure.
Jim Gluckson: All right. Very good. Thank you, John.
John Velazquez: Thank you.
Jim Gluckson: John, thank you so much for joining us today, for today’s conference call. I appreciate the time that you’ve taken. And best of luck to you next week and all of your racing. Thank you.
John Velazquez: Thank you, guys. Thank you. Enjoy the time.
Jim Gluckson: Very good. John Velazquez, everyone. All right. Let’s move on to our next guest, please. We would like to bring in two-time Eclipse Award winning trainer, Brad Cox. Brad has won the Belmont Stakes, in 2021, with Essential Quality. Brad, thanks for joining us. Jim Gluckson here. How are you today?
Brad Cox: Hi, Jim. How are you doing?
Jim Gluckson: I’m good, Brad. We have for you, obviously, we’re looking to Angel of Empire, who was third in the Kentucky Derby, and Hit Show, who was 5th in the Derby, pointing to the Belmont Stakes. Can you give us an update on both runners, since they’ve breezed at Churchill last Saturday?
Brad Cox: Both did very well. Also added Tapit Shoes to the mix, as well. We will ship with the other two colts on Monday. But they’re all training really well. Tapit Shoes was second in the Bath House Row Stakes last out, and we decided this would be a good opportunity in the Belmont.
Jim Gluckson: All right. Well, talk just for a second, again, about Angel of Empire, who made up significant ground in that final quarter mile, to finish third. Any problem he may have had at the Derby, or — your confidence in him, just, as of right now.
Brad Cox: Yeah, I kind of thought all winter and into the spring, that he was a horse that would get better with distance. I thought he ran a great race in the Kentucky Derby, just nipped there, being second and galloped out, on even terms with the winner. And, given another quarter mile at Belmont next Saturday, looking forward to the opportunity to works.
His two works since the Kentucky Derby has been very good. He always stays on, and probably the most impressive part of (inaudible) gallop out his ability, his stamina that he was born with. And just — very excited about giving him an opportunity.
Jim Gluckson: All right. Brad, and just repeat again, the work-out plans, or exercise for the horses before they do show up to Belmont.
Brad Cox: Yeah, all three colts will breeze this weekend at Churchill. Right now that’s penciled in for Saturday. If all goes well, they will ship Monday evening, to Belmont from Churchill.
Jim Gluckson: All right. Very good. Well, let’s now open it up again for questions. And, Ina, can you please identify the questioner and the affiliation for that questioner, please?
Operator: Thank you. And your next question comes from the line of Byron King from BloodHorse. Please go ahead.
Byron King: Hi, Brad. How are you?
Brad Cox: Hi, Byron. How are you doing?
Byron King: Good, man. First — I’ve two questions. First, talk a little bit more about Tapit Shoes, if you would, and his participation in the Belmont. He’s obviously, by the right sire, in Tapit. But who’s going to ride him? And talk to me about what unfolded that made you want to put him in the mix?
Brad Cox: Jose Ortiz will ride him. He’s, of course – well, once again, like you said, he’s a Tapit. He’s actually half to Cyberknife, as well, the colt we had last year. He’s a horse that’s defiantly gotten better the more he’s done it. He’s paced his races a good bit. He responded very well last time.
He was being pointed toward a first level allowance that came on the first weekend of the meet. It didn’t go. Kind of had him cranked and ready to run, kind of shopping for a spot. I didn’t want to run him in the Lexington against First Mission. Ended up at Oklahoma with him. Very happy with the race.
And immediately after the race — he was just narrowly defeated — immediately after the race, our group sat down and thought, let’s just see how he trains. (Inaudible) immediately to the Belmont. But we’ve been happy with the horse’s training over the last month or so. And it’s been the confidence to give it an opportunity, going a mile and a half.
Very good looking horse. Actually, an amazing looking horse. And, we’ll see if he can handle this mile and a half. He’s defiantly bred to be on top. So being a Tapit and I think, given the right set-up and some racing luck, he could be a factor, for sure.
Byron King: And then, I’m also curious to get your feedback from today’s meeting with horsemen and Churchill Downs and the changes that they decided to implement. Give me your thoughts, Brad. I’d presume you were at the meeting today?
But if you could kind describe the environment, I — and there were some people that were a little bit upset. And then, things got a little bit sensitive, at times. But give me your thoughts on the changes and what shook out in the meeting today?
Brad Cox: Listen. I did a lot of listening. I’m going to leave it at that. Look. I think Churchill is trying to turn over every card and dot every T and cross every I. And, it’s just kind of been like a — I guess just a lot of stuff happening over the last few weeks, or — since the meeting began. And then, hopefully, we — we’re kind of coming to the end of this.
It’s tough to comment about. I tell people, I have enough on my plate in regards to the horses I’m training. I’m very happy with our stack and what — the program we have in place. And we’ve had no injuries — knock on wood — and, hopefully, we can keep it that way, and keep marching forward.
Byron King: So I would assume, based on what you just said, too, that you feel very comfortable in the Churchill Downs service?
Brad Cox: I have no issues.
Byron King: Great. Thanks.
Operator: Thank you. And your next question comes from the line of Tom Pedulla from — a freelance writer. Please go ahead.
Tom Pedulla: Yeah, Brad, it seemed, by the turnout for the Preakness that trainers really don’t like that two-week turn-around from the Derby. And there has been sort of renewed talk about changing the Triple Crown format. Where do you stand on that issue?
Brad Cox: I think it needs to be changed. Look, I like history, but it’s just — for the — for a year-old colt to run a mile and a quarter — and keep in mind, it’s not just running a mile and quarter. You had to do something very demanding and be very good at it in order to quality to run this mile and quarter, the first Saturday in May, and to turn around, 14 days later, and basically ask the horse to do almost the same, exact thing.
I’m not certain these horses are built for this, these days, now days. That’s my take on it. Some people agree, some people don’t. That’s my take. And that’s, really, kind of all I can say about it.
Tom Pedulla: So, do you have any thoughts on what kind of format might make sense?
Brad Cox: I — look, I think maybe just a little bit — I mean, longer between races, more time. I mean, from a trainer’s standpoint, it puts us in a little bit of a tough spot. It’s very tough. First and foremost, you have to watch your horse. And anybody that has a comment on it, or, there’s a — probably not actually watching the horse or — and — so that has a lot to do with it.
But I — the two colts that we had perform the best in the Kentucky Derby, I thought, with Hit Show and Angel of Empire, I thought they were — they — it took a little something out of them. And it’s supposed to. They ran very hard, physical races. And to try to rev them up and have them ready to again in two weeks, just seems to be a tremendous amount.
Tom Pedulla: If it was a three-week gap, does that extra week make a difference, or training really needs —
Brad Cox: I would like more time. I mean, can I ask you a question? How often do you see horses run in the Breeders’ Cup with two-week preps?
Tom Pedulla: Right. It doesn’t happen, obviously.
Brad Cox: It doesn’t happen, no it doesn’t happen. You’re coming up to — I mean, yeah, the Breeders’ Cup, I would say, the biggest stage we have in racing for, obviously, all of our divisions, colts, fillies, short, long, dirt, thatch, whatever.
And, just — it’s almost unheard of at four weeks now. Now, you’re seeing people back up to five and six weeks. We talk about what’s best for the horse. I think that’s probably what’s best for the horse.
Tom Pedulla: I’m sorry, I missed that. It — was it four weeks, did you say, or more?
Brad Cox: I’m sorry, Tom, what was the question?
Tom Pedulla: No, I missed what you said. Were you saying a four-week gap or more than that, you’d like?
Brad Cox: I’m saying, often times, now you see five and six weeks prior to a race, or a prep race prior to a big performance or a Breeders’ Cup race. So, I think four, five, six weeks. Listen. It’s — they’re — it’s all different and each horse responds in a different way, and it depends on what they got out of their race as to what they need, moving forward.
So listen, it’s not no set, oh, it’s got to be four weeks, five weeks, six weeks. It’s just — it depends on the individual.
Pedulla: All right. Thank you.
Brad Cox: Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. The next question comes from John Pricci from horseraceinsider.com. Please go ahead.
John Pricci: Yes, it was — a question was asked and answered. Thank you very much.
Operator: Thank you. Once again, ladies and gentlemen, if you do have a question, please press * 1 at this time. The next question comes from Tyler Greever of WDRB News. Please go ahead.
Tyler Greever: Yeah, hi, Brad. I know you said earlier that you did a lot of listening in the meeting today. But do you have any personal thoughts or feelings, from a trainer’s perspective, about how to either improve safety or respond to what has happened over the past month or so?
Brad Cox: Yeah, listen, I think Churchill’s got — has a pretty good team in place. Will Farmer’s, obviously, the head medical director there. And, listen, that’s their job in collecting all the information. But from a trainer’s standpoint, no, not really. I mean, like I said, I have been very fortunate.
And, once again, it comes back to our team and our horses. I mean, we do a pretty good job — I know we do a good job of evaluating our horses, breezing them when we feel like they need to breeze, inspecting them before they breeze, they train every day, and when they race. So I don’t really leave it up — put it in the hands of the regulatory vets, often times, or our own vets.
I mean, we’ve got a, like, we go back and forth with our private vets on things, we question. And, no, I feel comfortable at Churchill training right now. Once again, we’ve made, I don’t know exactly how many starts. And I couldn’t begin to tell you how many horses we’ve breezed on the mornings.
But we train a tremendous amount there and we have a lot of horses there. And I feel it’s a safe surface. And we have had no serious issues.
Tyler Greever: And how do you feel about HISA’s overall involvement, the job they’re trying to do so far? What has been like to hear from them or see them go to work, as this progresses?
Brad Cox: Well, I mean, I didn’t sit in on any of those meetings that they just had. So I don’t really know what they — what exactly — where they’re coming from or if they’re — just, they’re listening, or if they’re recommending things. So I really don’t know if I can answer that.
Tyler Greever: That’s all I got. I appreciate you, Brad. Thank you.
Brad Cox: No problem.
Operator: Thank you. The next question comes from David Grening from Daily Racing Form. Please go ahead.
David Grening: Hey, Brad, I’m just wondering, what gives you some confidence that Hit Show can see out the mile and a half?
Brad Cox: Tapit. Plain and simple. That’s really all I can give you. Listen, I thought his last race in Oklahoma was very good. He set close — a little bit closer than he had in some of previous races. I think he is a horse that is getting better the more he does it — a little bit like his brother, Cyberknife.
It took him a while to kind of get everything to click and put it all together. He opened (inaudible) two grade Is. I do think this horse — I do know — I know this horse is improving. I’m not saying he’s definitely up to running the race of his life in the Belmont, because I think he will be in three, four months from now, than he is — moving forward, than he is now. But, he is a nice colt.
David Grening: Were you talking about Tapit Shoes, because I was out there by Hit Show, just in the Derby, it seemed like Hit Show got a really nice trip, considering it — it’s okay. It seemed like Hit Show, from the rail anyway, got a really nice trip in the Derby. And then, when he maybe needed a little bit more, it may not have been there. I was just wondering what your take was on that?
Brad Cox: Yeah, no. I could agree with that. I thought he got a very good trip from the rail. I think he’ll be — I obviously, don’t know exactly who is all is running in the post positions and the assignments in regards to where they’re going to come out or from. But I think he can stay on. (Jockey) Manny (Franco) made the comment, when he got off of him, this could be a Belmont horse.
I thought, well, let’s send him to Belmont. And if he runs well, let’s take a swing. He is a horse that handles the aqueduct surface, kind of the deeper, maybe sandier tracks, the aqueducts of Belmont, so I’m hopeful that he would be able to handle that Belmont track.
He actually trained at Belmont, on the training track a little bit this winter. So he has been there. And listen, I thought he ran a good race in the Derby. And I think, since the two moons since, I think he will — needs to move forward. And if he does, we’ll definitely be a factor.
David Grening: Very well. Thank you.
Brad Cox: Thanks, David.
Jim Gluckson: Brad, I wanted to thank you very much for your time today, to come on and give us a few minutes to talk about your horses for the Belmont Stakes. So, good luck to you over the weekend. And good luck to you next week, with your horses running at the Belmont and all the other races that you will be planned for. Thanks very much, Brad.
Brad Cox: Very good, Jim. Talk to you soon. Bye.
Jim Gluckson: Thanks. Thanks, now. Brad Cox, everyone. All right, let’s bring in our third guest for today. This is trainer, Jena Antonucci, trainer of Peter Pan Stakes winner Arcangelo, for Blue Rose Stable. Jena, welcome today’s call — to today’s call. And thanks very much for joining us.
Jena Antonucci: Thank you.
Jim Gluckson: Great. You had an interesting career for yourself. You’ve been riding and working with horses since early childhood, first in the equestrian world. And now, for the past 13 years, with thoroughbreds. Now, can you tell us what it is like here, what it means to be starting a horse in the Belmont Stakes?
Jena Antonucci: Definitely doesn’t fall on deaf ears, the historic and grandeur of what it is here, to having the ability to participate in a Triple Crown event. So, exciting for all the connections and just be able to step back for a minute and just appreciate that means, is neat. It’s — yeah — it’s kind of hard to wrap up in one, little sentence. But just trying to really enjoy the opportunity the horse is affording us.
Jim Gluckson: Very good. Yesterday, he breezed five furlongs in 1:02.81 at Belmont under Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano. How would assess that breeze, please?
Jena Antonucci: We were super pleased with how he did the work. The breeze times aren’t a huge focus for us, as the horse has just a natural cadence and rhythm to him. So for us it was more how he did it, his mindset, looking to educate him with that second turn, which went very well, settled lovely in the middle of the breeze and just tried to mimic that opportunity best we could.
And most importantly, Javier was super happy and pleased with what he had and that he could have pushed the go button more if he needed to. But the horse got everything he needed out of it and very happy with what we saw.
Jim Gluckson: Great. I just want to jump back on the Peter Pan, where Archangelo’s tremendous performance to get by Bishop’s Bay at the end. And I just wanted to talk to you about that race and what that performance told you about him.
Jena Antonucci: I think it told the world more than it told us. Not being coy, but we’ve thought he was pretty special for some time, and just letting him develop into that. The grit and determination, deep stretch is the horse. That can’t be taught.
And to watch him want it and battle for it — clearly he learned what winning meant, the previous race. And to watch him fight for it and want it, obviously, is just special. And it’s hard to put all those feelings and moments in a thimble. But it’s — to be on his journey, like I said, is pretty remarkable.
Jim Gluckson: All right. Very remarkable, I would say. I think now, we can see if there are any questions on the line from the media, please, for Jena?
Operator: Thank you. As a reminder, ladies and gentlemen, if you do have a question, please press * 1 at this time. The first question comes from Lynne Snierson of FOX sports. Please go ahead.
Lynne Snierson: Thank you. Hi, Jena. Congratulations and lots of good luck to you. Can you tell me a little bit about John (Ebbert), your owner — who he is? All I seem to know is that he has a farm in Pennsylvania and he named the horse for his worker, Arcangelo. So if you could fill me in on like what he does for a living, who he is, that would be really helpful.
Jena Antonucci: Hi, Lynne. Thank you for that. John’s a pretty private individual. So, I respectfully will let him — he’ll be around in the coming week. And what he wants to share about his life, and this and that, I’m going to let him do that. And I’m going to talk about the horse and try and do that focus.
John’s an exceptional human, a wonderful horse owner and a steward of any horse that comes into his hands. We’ve been able to retire horses for him that just weren’t going to be competitive race horses, and they go on to have spoiled, show horse lives. And the kind of owner that wants to go sit out in the field and play with his foals and engage with the horse and really enjoy what horses bring to his life and what he can do for them and their lives.
Lynne Snierson: Thank you. Also, then, in history — we sort of looked this up — there have only been — one, two, three, four, five, or — seven horses, dating all the way back to the start of the Peter Pan in 1940, that have done the double, the Peter Pan-Belmont double. The last, of course, was Tonalist in 2014. So, can you just articulate, like what it would mean for you to pull off this Peter Pan-Belmont double?
Jena Antonucci: I think, historically, statistics and odds are always made to be broken. Definitely appreciate the opportunity to only be the eighth woman to participate as a trainer in the Belmont Stakes, the first woman to win the Peter Pan is special. I’ve always been careful not to define my career on that.
But obviously, statistically, we have less opportunities and have had less opportunities and with, just what history is. So to A, have the opportunity as the eighth female to do it is very special and meaningful, just the groundbreaking work that was done prior to me is invaluable. And I’m forever grateful for what women before me have done to help pave the path.
And to steward this horse through his career, and to do my absolute best to make sure listening to him is a gift and one that we won’t take lightly.
Lynne Snierson: Thank you so much. And, yeah, girl power. Good luck.
Jena Antonucci: Thank you, Lynn. I appreciate it.
Operator: Thank you. The next question comes from Paul Halloran of Saratoga Special. Please go ahead. Paul, you line is open. Please go ahead.
Paul Halloran: Sorry. I was on mute. Jena, congratulations, following-up on what my friend, Lynn, said. You touched on her question, but I just wanted to follow-up a little further. You talked about how special it is for the horse and the owner and, perhaps, the angle of you being the woman in this situation.
The fact that you, frankly, don’t get the type of horses, or as many horses as some of the other big trainers get — have you allowed yourself, yet, to think about what the opportunity means for you, Jena Antonucci, on addition to all these other entities?
Jena Antonucci: Thank you, Paul. It’s — as much as it’s about me, it’s not about me. It’s about the horse and it’s about the team. And someone has to be the ultimate insurer and run a business and do their thing. So we’ve had some pretty fun successes prior to this.
Obviously, this is an eclipsing type of experience, with having the opportunity to participate in a Triple Crown jewel. And that definitely isn’t falling upon deaf ears. I’m hoping that the body of our complete work, over the last decades-plus speaks more than just one event. I think those are better questions for owners to have to answer.
We’re here, we’re available. There’s a lot of phenomenal horse women and men out there that are middle and smaller sized that would welcome the opportunity to share what they can do and, obviously, we’re in that position now and people just get to see more, first-hand what we get to do and who we are. And I am immensely grateful for that opportunity.
Paul Halloran: Great. Thank you.
Jena Antonucci: Thank you, Paul.
Operator: Thank you. The next question comes from John Pricci with horseraceinsider.com. Please go ahead.
John Pricci: Good afternoon, Jena. After his impressive win in the Peter Pan, you were on the fence a little bit, as to whether you would run him or not? Can you tell me when you made that decision in the aftermath? And also, what is, or what was the deciding factor that made you think to run him in this race?
Jena Antonucci: Thank you for that, John. We made the decision this morning, when he was well and didn’t have all four feet on the ground and couldn’t get him to jog in hand without wanting to be his normal, playful self. And we’ve been super, laser-focused on staying in the moment, not putting the cart before the horse, and allowing him the opportunity to tell us all systems go.
We were a couple pegs closer yesterday to a yes, with Javier being pleased. His grin across his face wasn’t hard to read, by anybody. So that was, obviously, very necessary, on my behalf, for him to be pleased with what he felt underneath him. And, obviously, the horse’s health and well-being paramount.
So, came out of his work in very good order, eating every — continued, ridiculous amount of grain and feed. And once he gave us the “hoof’s up” this morning, we were able to commit.
John Pricci: Thanks for that. And good luck to you. Have a safe trip a week from Saturday.
Jena Antonucci: Thank you, John. We appreciate it.
Operator: Thank you. Once again, ladies and gentlemen, if you do have a question, please press * 1 at this time. There are no further questions at this time. I’ll turn the conference back to Jim Gluckson.
Jim Gluckson: I think we have one that may just have come in, from Tom Pedulla, please.
Operator: Yes, we do. I apologize. From — a freelance writer. Please go ahead.
Tom Pedulla: No problem. Jena, could you talk about what led you to decide to become a trainer?
Jena Antonucci: Hi, Tom. Thank you. Probably just complete insanity. I’m just kidding. Growing up riding and having an opportunity to ride thoroughbreds being young. Everything was extremely thoroughbred driven in the sport-horse world. And so, having such exposure throughout my life to thoroughbreds, it was a bit of a natural, unorthodox progression.
I literally wanted to go and understand why and how thoroughbreds were broke and trained the way they were, so I could re-train them better in their second careers. And it led me on this journey we’re on now. And super grateful for it, for sure. I would have never expected it to be to this point.
But it literally came out of a hunger and desire to better understand to learn and to educate myself to get into the thoroughbreds as a race horse instead of a show horse. And got bit by the bug — loved it — the speed, love their brilliance, their intelligence, loved the athleticism and just the sheer animal.
Tom Pedulla: Is the career everything you want it to be, to this point?
Jena Antonucci: I think it’s really important to assess that, with a matter of perspective. I think there’s a lot more to life than winning races. And so, it’s finding balance to me, Tom, to be very honest. And tending to family and life and the bigger picture and trying to make sure that whatever opportunities were given, we steward them responsibly and enjoy each moment.
So the wonderful moments it has provided have been nothing that you could ever imagine or dream about or expect, because they’re unique in all nature. The difficult times, you learn a lot about yourself and life, but that’s in any business. And I’m grateful for all of the opportunities.
Tom Pedulla: Okay. Thank you.
Jena Antonucci: Thank you, Tom.
Jim Gluckson: All right. Very good. Well, Jena, I wanted to thank you for this — your time today, to discuss Arcangelo in the Belmont Stakes with us. Best of luck to you, coming in — coming late next week, in the Belmont Stakes. Have a great day.
Jena Antonucci: Thank you, Jim. You, too. Bye-bye.
Jim Gluckson: Thank you. All right, Jena Antonucci, everyone. That concludes our conference call today. I wanted to remind everyone, we will have a transcript up on ntra.com of this conference and audio replay tomorrow. And, just as a follow-up for next week, June 7th, there will be — we’ll have a conference call at 1 o’clock with the jockey of Triple Crown winning horse, Secretariat, Ron Turcotte, the 50-year anniversary.
Look forward to that next week. Also, if you have any follow-up with Tom Rooney, please contact Meghan Rodgers of the NTRA, if you have any follow-up with Tom. Thank you, very much, everyone. And have a great day.
Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude the conference call for today. We thank you for your participation and ask that you please disconnect your lines.
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