Guests:
Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer
Horse racing analyst Richie Migliore
Trainer Art Sherman
Jim Mulvihill: Welcome, everyone, to the first NTRA National Media Teleconference of 2015. Normally this time of year we’d be kicking off our Road to the Triple Crown series, but we’re fortunate this month to already be talking about the top older horses in America. Not only are they already kicking off their four-year-old campaigns, but they’re doing it against one another and on national television this weekend. We’re speaking, of course, about California Chrome and Shared Belief meeting Saturday in the $500,000 San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita. It’s the featured event on the season premiere of the “Jockey Club Tour on FOX Sports 1”, which will also include the Donn Handicap and the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap at Gulfstream, as well as the San Marcos Stakes on the turf back at Santa Anita. That’ll be a two hour broadcast with live coverage from both tracks, and it’s 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Eastern on FOX Sports 1.
I’m also happy to pass along that there’s going to be a high profile X-Country Pick 4. That’s a $500,000 guaranteed Pick 4. The host tracks actually write it as the X-Country Pick 4; that’s a capital X and a dash and Country, so just make note of that. I believe that’s probably to evoke Xpressbet. But in any case, it’s the X-Country Pick 4, and that’s a terrific all-graded stakes Pick 4 this Saturday from the Stronach Group on the same four races that are part of the “Jockey Club Tour on FOX” show.
Now on this call we’re going to focus primarily on the main event; that’s the San Antonio. But just so you know, all of these races that make up the “Jockey Club Tour on FOX Sports 1” and the X-Country Pick 4 are worthy of your attention. Defending Champion, Lea, is the high weight for the Donn, which is also going to include some top East Coast four-year-olds like last year’s Florida Derby winner, Constitution, and the Belmont runner-up, Commissioner, plus Sloane Avenue, who is a very interesting one shipping in from overseas. Then the Gulfstream Park is going to have its defending champion, Lochte, and Saturday’s racing is just amazing from coast to coast. Santa Anita has five stakes overall, Gulfstream has six, and there are two Road to the Kentucky Derby point races that afternoon. Those are the Bob Lewis at Santa Anita and the Withers at Aqueduct, so just a tremendous afternoon for our sport.
All of it is topped by what some are calling the rematch, and that features last year’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, California Chrome, and the Pacific Classic winner, Shared Belief. Those two have met once before in the Breeders’ Cup Classic when Shared Belief was impeded at the start and finished fourth, and Chrome was a close third. Later in this call we’re going to talk to Art Sherman, he’s the trainer of California Chrome, as well as retired jockey, Richard Migliore, who is going to be returning for his second season as an analyst for the “Jockey Club Tour on FOX”.
But first, it’s my privilege to welcome in our first guest, and that is Hall of Fame trainer, Jerry Hollendorfer. Jerry has won more than 6,800 races. That’s third all-time. He’s been the leading trainer at Golden Gate Fields 46 times. That’s goes with dozens of other training titles in Northern California and beyond. Last year he won 247 races and earned more than 12.8 million. Nineteen of those wins came in graded stakes, including four with Shared Belief.
Jerry, you’re on with Jim Mulvihill in Lexington. Thanks for being here.
Jerry Hollendorfer: Thank you. Happy to be here.
Jim Mulvihill: Excellent. Well, let’s start with this morning. I understand Shared Belief had a half mile work in 50 and 2. Can you just tell us how that went and maybe describe it a little bit for us?
Jerry Hollendorfer: Yes, I just told Russell Baze worked him for me like he always does, and I just told him to either go :49 or :50, and he went a nice half just to set him up for his race on Saturday.
Jim Mulvihill: Could you talk a little bit more about his condition overall coming into this one; the last few works and just how you feel with his fitness entering the San Antonio?
Jerry Hollendorfer: Well, last week he had a really great workout in 1:11 and 4, which that’s a huge workout at Golden Gate Field; horses don’t work that fast. So that was our main workout in preparing him for the San Antonio. He came out of that very well, and looks well, acting well, and Russell told me after he worked him he was playing going home. So we’re coming down there we feel like in 100% condition.
Jim Mulvihill: When you say that horses don’t work that fast at Golden Gate, can you just explain to everyone why that is? I assume you’re talking about the artificial surface there.
Jerry Hollendorfer: Yes, the artificial surface, especially on Tuesdays, is usually pretty slow, so the 1:11 and 4 was just a very excellent workout.
Jim Mulvihill: Okay, now talking about this race on Saturday, this is typically a prep for the Big ‘Cap, but with California Chrome in here, obviously the stakes are a little bit higher than just the purse money. Can you just tell how you all are approaching this race, and what’s the significance of it to you beyond, you know, beyond $300,000 for first?
Jerry Hollendorfer: Well, you know, this was the race that we were pointing to as our next race, so, you know, no matter who is running in it, you know, we want to try to beat everybody, and, you know, this is just the next race that we pointed to for this year. Then when that one’s done, we’ll find another one that we want to run him in. You know, of course we’d like to beat California Chrome, but we’d also like to beat all the other horses that enter in there. So we’ll see what happens when entries come out and post positions and try to make a plan. You know, I think that the significance of the race is that this is what the fans wanted to see, and they would’ve been even happier if Bob’s horse would’ve been in there. So the fans want to see it and we want to put it on, and I’m sure Art’s looking forward to it as well as I am.
Jim Mulvihill: Well, and that’s a really beautiful thing. So we’ve known for a few weeks now that at least California Chrome if not California Chrome and Bayern would be in this spot. Was there never any thought to looking around? I mean you guys found—you guys picked this race based on the conditions and the spacing, and is that how you’re going to do the rest of the year as well?
Jerry Hollendorfer: Well, yes, you know, you can ask Art, but I mean I think he feels the same way. You know, this was the race that was coming up that was timely and so this is the one that you have to run in. You know, there’s no point in trying to duck anybody.
Jim Mulvihill: Excellent. Well, we can’t wait for it. Jerry, I’m going to turn it over to Nick, the Operator, and he’s going to check and see if any of the media on the call have questions.
Jon White: Jerry, Art has talked about how California Chrome seems to be even better now as a four-year-old, and maybe bigger and stronger. I was wondering if you see a difference in Shared Belief or maybe as he’s turned four now physically and/or mentally?
Jerry Hollendorfer: Well, you know, Shared Belief has been remarkably consistent. You know, I would say that he’s carrying a little more weight than he used to. So are we improved? A little bit. I think so. You know, and then as far as California Chrome goes, the Derby Trail is a difficult trail to follow, and the fact that he’s still around and running makes him to be a tough competitor.
Art Wilson: I’ve been talking to some historians who are pretty in tune with what’s gone on in the Southland the last 30, 35 years, and this appears to be the first time in quite awhile, over 30, 40 years, where two three-year-olds that had such accomplished three-year-old campaigns have returned as four-year-olds and faced off against each other. Can you feel how special this is?
Jerry Hollendorfer: Well, yes, you know, but I mean that’s the way racing is supposed to be. You know, the races are supposed to be very competitive. Of course, California Chrome and Shared Belief are going to get the top billing, but there are other horses that are going to run in there and you have to plan on beating them as—from our camp, we have to plan on beating them as well as California Chrome. So it’ll be interesting to see. You know, post position will be important. I think it is special, and if it’s special for the fans then everybody’s all for it.
Art Wilson: Now there are a lot of obviously big races throughout the year in California, and I know you’re going to take each race one by one and see how he comes out of each race and whatnot, but are there any plans right now as far as sticking in California, or are you thinking of going and venturing outside California? Is—or has stuff like that not even been decided yet?
Jerry Hollendorfer: Well, no, but I—you know—a lot of where a trainer places his horses is the races that are available. You know, here we have a race, the San Antonio, with a big purse, 500,000, and a nice distance, mile and an eighth, so we’re training here in California so we might as well run in this race as well as the Donn or some other race. Now if this race wasn’t available, then both maybe California Chrome and Shared Belief would’ve been looking at the Donn in Florida. So, you know, as long as you don’t have to travel and you can run for the same money at home, then I think that that’s what you do. Later on in the year when you run into those big purses in New York that they’re putting out, then you have to look at those races and give a little bit more stronger consideration for getting on the plane and going there.
Mike Tierney: Do you believe Shared Belief would be retired working not a gelding, and do you consider it an extra blessing to have such a high quality horse that is gelded?
Jerry Hollendorfer: Well, I consider it a blessing to have this kind of a quality of horse. I’m very grateful to have him. Would he be retired? I have no idea. You know, Art’s not retiring his horse and he’s accomplished as much as most horses ever accomplish. So I think as long as my partnership wants to run this horse, and I think as long as Art’s owners want to run their horse, you know, I’ll keep running, and hopefully both will run well all year long.
Mike Tierney: There seems to be a high percentage of horses that are continuing to campaign this year as opposed to previous years. Do you think there’s a reason for that?
Jerry Hollendorfer: Well, you know, if there—there could be a reason. The stallion business is very tough nowadays. You know, there are a lot of stallions and it’s hard to get them placed, and so on and so forth. So I think maybe that’s—maybe I’m wrong on that, but I mean that would be one of the thoughts that came to me first off.
Tom Pedulla: You know, Jerry, because of the way the Classic was run, I think a lot of fans may be having trouble getting their hands around how good or great Shared Belief is. Could you address that for us?
Jerry Hollendorfer: Well, everybody that watched the race, you know, saw what happened. I’m not going to go through and analyze the whole thing again. We didn’t have good luck in that race and that’s just the way that it is. We quit talking about it two or three days after it happened, and we just decided to look forward and go forward. Now, we have a situation where we’re going to run a big race against good horses and we’re happy to be there.
Tom Pedulla: I mean do you feel that you do have a great horse and we’re going to see that?
Jerry Hollendorfer: Well, I certainly think that if he runs like he has in the past I think that you should have a good horse race on your hands. The same goes for California Chrome. He ran really good last time, and I don’t think Art expects him to run any different this time.
Jennie Rees: Yes, Jerry, I just wondered, Shared Belief is nominated to the Dubai World Cup, and you mentioned if there’s races, you know, usually it seems like the Big ‘Cap’s the one that maybe pays a price if horses go to Dubai. But I mean what would be the considerations on—I know you have to get past this race, but, you know, $10 million (cross talking).
Jim Mulvihill: We talked briefly about this among our partners, and I think we haven’t totally ruled it out, but I think the interest level there is not very high for our particular partnership. We’re enjoying running the horse here in the United States, and I think that’s where our preferences will lie. I mean if some situation came up where we just couldn’t stand it I guess we’d go, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.
Jennie Rees: Is part of the tradeoff I mean it’s a lot of money and he is a gelding, but on the other hand you want to have him around a long time, and certainly there’s a lot of examples of horses that went over there and maybe weren’t quite the same when they came back?
Jerry Hollendorfer: Well, yes, a lot of horses went over there and weren’t quite the same, and I think if the makeup of your horse is such that they could make that trip and come back and run well, so be it, but a lot of them don’t. You know, I would never criticize anybody for wanting to go over there and run for the big purse and run in the World Cup race, but I think for us, I think we’re not thinking in that direction.
Jennie Rees: Yes. To take advantage of you on the phone, you did nominate a lot of horses for the Triple Crown. Could you just kind of give us an update on some of your better three-year-olds and where they might show up next?
Jerry Hollendorfer: Well, we have horses in Northern and Southern California. We have a nice colt that hasn’t broken his maiden yet, Cyrus Alexander; very well bred. We like him. You know, I have Cross the Line and Stand and Salute up here in Northern California that are going to run in the El Camino Real Derby. I have a horse that’s out right now that is very promising; Bronze Star. We have another horse that we worked today, Kentuckian; a very well bred horse that could come along. You know, we nominated horses that we think could possibly have a chance to get on the Derby Trail. As you well know, it’s very difficult to get on the Trail, and then once you get there it’s difficult to get to the Derby and then run in it and be successful. So we’re just doing what a lot of different trainers are doing now; making nominations and hoping that horses are going to come along in time enough to run in the Triple Crown races.
Jennie Rees: Okay. One final thing getting back to the Dubai thing, is it safe to say because you were talking about if, you know, looking at purses and if, you know, there’s comparable purses now that maybe New York down the road, but is it safe to say that if he gets past this race fine, a million dollars in the Big ‘Cap is a nice enough purse to think about, you know, like you said, not going overseas?
Jerry Hollendorfer: Well, yes, it’s just the logistics problem with the World Cup, and going there and coming back and then, you know, a lot of horses would need time off. I think we would enjoy more just running our horse here in the United States. I’m not saying we would never get on the plane and go elsewhere, but I mean we enjoy running in California and that’s where all of us live, and so we want to enjoy that as much as we can.
Jim Mulvihill: All right, Jerry, just one follow-up from me. You know, thinking back to last year when you all had one chance against the best horses in the country and got wiped out. It was really the only chance to show that Shared Belief might’ve been the best horse in the country last year, which a lot of people I think would still believe. So when you think about this campaign in 2015, do you and the partners think about taking it to the other best horses and leaving no chance for doubt should anything go wrong towards the end of the year or leaving it up to one race?
Jerry Hollendorfer: No, I don’t think we’re thinking that way. I mean at least I’m not. I don’t want to talk for Jim Rome and all my other great partners that are in on this horse, but I think we’re just taking—we’re trying to do as good as we can in the races that we pick out. We’re going to do the best that we can in the San Antonio and go in with positive feelings and thinking that we’re going to be successful and go from there. There are a lot of nice races coming up; Santa Anita Handicap, you know, there’s always the Pacific Classic to look forward to, so a lot of nice races and a lot of nice races to look at in New York. So, you know, we’ll just try to take them one at a time and not worry too much about what everybody thinks but do the best that we can.
Jim Mulvihill: Excellent. Well, Jerry, thank you so much for joining us today, and best of luck on Saturday and beyond.
Jerry Hollendorfer: All right, thank you. I appreciate it.
Jim Mulvihill: All right, thank you very much. That was Jerry Hollendorfer. He’s got Shared Belief in Saturday’s San Antonio Stakes where he’s going to face California Chrome. Before we get to California Chrome’s trainer, Art Sherman, we’ve also invited Richard Migliore to join us on this call. Richie’s is coming back for a second season as the racing analyst on the “Jockey Club Tour on FOX Sports 1”, and we just wanted him to kind of help set the stage for this big race this weekend and help to put it in context of its significance. So before I welcome in Richie, let me tell you a little bit about him. Richie retired from riding in 2010 with nearly 4,500 career wins. He was born and raised on Long Island where he went to work on a horse farm at age 12. He began riding in 1980 and won an Eclipse Award as the nation’s top apprentice of 1981. He earned eight New York Racing Association riding titles, and tied for two others. In addition to his FOX Sports duties, he’s also an on-air analyst for NYRA and HRTV.
Richie, thanks for joining us.
Richard Migliore: Thanks for having me. How are you guys?
Jim Mulvihill: Doing well. So we’ve got this awesome day of racing on Saturday, and I’d just like you to help us set the stage for the big event. Maybe I’ll ask you how unusual is it to have two horses of this caliber meeting this early in the year; their first races of the year? This is pretty exceptional for February, right?
Richard Migliore: It’s outstanding. I haven’t done all of my research yet for Saturday’s show, but I started looking last night trying to remember when was the last time you had two colts out of the same crop, one that was a Two-Year-Old Champion, and then one that was a Three-Year-Old Champion and Horse of the Year meet up as four-year-olds, and I hadn’t come up with anybody yet. So just the fact that you have two champions out of the same fall crop hooking up this early in the year is remarkable.
Jim Mulvihill: Now with these two horses specifically, I mean we’ll talk about the rest of the field a little bit, but, you know, they’ve both been off since the end of last year, but tell us what kind of condition you would expect them to be in for this race? I mean they’re both sharp and they weren’t off for very long, but they also have larger goals down the road, and presumably the Big ‘Cap or the Dubai World Cup. Are both these horses going to be on top of their game for this?
Richard Migliore: You know, I think so. I was looking at, first, Shared Belief’s work camp since the Malibu, and it looks to me that he’s trained with much more purpose towards the San Antonio. His works have picked up in speed; he’s thrown those consistent 6 furlong works. It almost appears to me that the Malibu was used as the springboard to get him ready for this, and I expect him to be at 100% as well. California Chrome, he just ran the end of November so it’s not like he’s coming off a long layoff, and he’s gotten those old school works in there with Art Sherman; you know, 7 furlongs, one mile.
Jim Mulvihill: Right.
Richard Migliore: I think both horses are sitting on their A races.
Jim Mulvihill: Now let’s go back to the Breeders’ Cup Classic. That race obviously didn’t unfold the way that any of us would’ve expected, and that is, of course, the only time these two horses have met. What did that race actually tell us about how they stack up against one another, or did it at all, especially with Shared Belief and the trouble that he had?
Richard Migliore: Yes, I think it’s hard to assess, you know, what that race means because of the trouble that Shared Belief encountered at the gate, and then certainly a sixteenth of a mile later. But if you think about how badly he was bothered at the start, and then he’s only beaten three and three quarter lengths, and actually about three and a half lengths to California Chrome who is your Horse of the Year, most horses wouldn’t have even gotten back in the race let alone put themselves in a position to get a check and be within calling distance. I think we learned more about Shared Belief in defeat than we did in victory. A lot of horses can throw a punch but not that many horses can take a punch. Well, he certainly took a punch and he still kept trying.
Jim Mulvihill: Very interesting. Well, I’m always interested in the way you seem to pick up on the tendencies and habits of the horses that you watch, and it’s great getting to hear you offer that sort of in depth analysis on the air. So when it comes to these two horses, is there anything you’ve seen that handicappers and fans should know about, you know, things that might pertain to the draw or where they like to be in the race or the way that the pace will unfold and so on; just little things about these horses that might impact how things go on Saturday?
Richard Migliore: Well just looking at the horses, Shared Belief to me is a horse that it’s always very hard to determine how much horse that—well, Mike Smith obviously has been riding him—has underneath him, because he’s not a horse that really travels in the bridle. He’s kind of constantly having to niggle at him a little bit; keep him going forward. He doesn’t seem to run the turns as well to me as he does the straight-aways, so there’s been a few races where I’ve said, well, he’s empty today, and then he keeps finding. So, you know, I think that’s interesting.
California Chrome’s never won a race that he wasn’t in front turning for home. He seems to have that kind of turn of foot coming off the quarter pole and he basically stamps the race right there. Tactically I think he needs to be in a position to make use of that turn of foot at that point and put as much separation as he can between him and the rest of the field, and in particular, Shared Belief. So maybe tactically California Chrome’s going to have a bit of an edge.
Jim Mulvihill: At the finish, what do we think? I mean are you ready to make a call on this race yet?
Richard Migliore: Well, I’m a big fan of both horses. I probably am leaning towards Shared Belief because there is some other speed in the race, and I think you’re going to have—you know, California Chrome might get his right trip stalking and being able to pounce, but the pace might be strong enough to set it up for Shared Belief’s late run. You know, you have a horse like Alphabird if he runs. Tyler Baze is expected to ride him, and Tyler’s a pretty aggressive rider, so I think you’ll get a legitimate pace in there, and, again, California Chrome has to make use of that turn of foot, and hopefully doesn’t use too much of himself doing that, because you know that Shared Belief is a horse that just keeps coming.
Art Wilson: I was wondering what your thoughts are—a lot of times—I can think of three or four times in particular last year where Baffert kind of came into a big race under the radar where his horse wasn’t the focus of attention, and that’s kind of the way it looks for Hoppertunity going into the San Antonio on Saturday. What do you think of that colt and what do you think of his chances in the race?
Richard Migliore: Well, he’s obviously a very nice colt. I think last time in the San Pasqual he was very Hoppertunistic I think would be a good way to put it. He, you know, just got a dream trip up the rail; fairly strong pace for the distance, and I think he fell into the right trip. But he is ultra consistent, and you can never count Bob Baffert out, particularly in big races and at Santa Anita. So I think he has to improve to handle the likes of California Chrome and Shared Belief, but it’s a distinct possibility; he very well could.
Art Wilson: So in your way of thinking, do you think it is primarily a two-horse race?
Richard Migliore: Yes, I mean I’ve been going back and forth about this, and you’re always trying to find the fly in the ointment so to speak, and I just haven’t seen it. I really think that we’re talking about two superior colts; you know, two a gelding and a colt—that are just a bit better than what they’re running against Saturday. You know, if Bayern was in there, obviously you’d have to add him into that trilogy, but it’s a pretty impressive thing to have three of the best three-year-olds I’ve seen in a long time; Bayern, Shared Belief, and California Chrome returning at four, and hopefully we’ll get to see the three of them match up at some stage.
Art Wilson: You’ve been around the game for the last 35 years or so, and, you know, other than the three you just mentioned, Bayern included, you’ve got three or four other really top three-year-olds from last year coming back. Hopefully Wise Dan will make it back; you’ve got Untapable. Can you remember a time when there was so many good horses coming back?
Richard Migliore: You know, I really can’t. I mean when we’ve got a really impressive sprinkling of different kinds of horses.