Guests:
Trainer Todd Pletcher
Trainer Bob Baffert
Trainer John Terranova
Jim Mulvihill: Welcome, everyone, to this week’s national media teleconference. We’re here every Tuesday during this span of final Kentucky Derby preps, bringing you the opportunity to hear from the key players on the Triple Crown Trail. Today we’re thrilled to have the key players so far this spring. The three trainers we’re about to talk to today account for five of the top 10 horses in the current Road to the Kentucky Derby standings, and could conceivably be responsible for half the horses in the gate come May 2nd.
Now before we get to them, a quick reminder on this weekend’s broadcast schedule. Saturday’s three Derby preps will be on national television. The NBC Sports Network will have the Blue Grass, the Wood and the Santa Anita Derby as part of their two hour “Road to the Kentucky Derby” show from 5 to 7 Eastern. That broadcast will also include a replay of the Ashland, which we know is the major Oaks prep at Keeneland. TVG, of course, also has live coverage of those races, as does the Horse Racing Radio Network available on Sirius XM and HRRN affiliates, or online at horseracingradio.net.
Now because we have so much to cover today we’re going to get right to our guests. Later in this call we’ll hear from Bob Baffert and John Terranova, but first we want to welcome in the seven time Eclipse Award winner as the Nation’s Outstanding Trainer, that’s Todd Pletcher. Todd, as you know, won his first Derby in 2010 with Super Saver. This year he holds one of the more impressive hands ever seen this close to the race. Saturday he starts Tampa Bay Derby winner Carpe Diem in the Blue Grass, and 2014 Champagne winner Daredevil in the Wood. Last Saturday he ran first and fourth in the Florida Derby with Materiality and Itsaknockout, and second in the Louisiana Derby with Stanford. Then next weekend it looks like Rebel runner-up Madefromlucky will be running in the Arkansas Derby. So we’ve got a lot to cover.
Todd Pletcher, you’re on with Jim Mulvihill in Lexington. Thanks for joining us.
Todd Pletcher: Thank you, Jim.
Jim Mulvihill: Todd, first I just want to say how sorry I was to read the news this morning that Far From Over suffered a condylar fracture and is out of the Wood and off the Derby Trail. I’m just wondering before we get to the horses that are running this weekend, could you just share with us your thoughts on that development.
Todd Pletcher: Well, it’s very disappointing to say the least, but, you know, it’s a very minor fracture. In fact, the horse was only slightly off. He’s walking very comfortably. It was only noticeable at the trot. We did some x-rays in-house trying to determine what it was. Couldn’t come up with a full diagnosis doing that so yesterday afternoon we sent him over yesterday morning, I should say, to Palm Beach Equine for a nuclear scintigraphy which kind of isolated the area where it was, and we found a hairline fracture. So I don’t want anyone to be concerned that he’s limping around on one leg. He’s totally comfortable, and it’s a very minor injury and I think his prognosis is very, very good to come back 100%, and just mainly disappointed for the connections. Everyone was very excited about the way the horse was training, and the Wood at a mile and an eighth seemed like the perfect spot for him, so while we’re disappointed, we’re looking forward to hopefully a fall campaign and a four-year-old campaign with a well-bred horse that’s a May foal that should only improve with time. So we’ll try to focus on the light at the end of the rainbow.
Jim Mulvihill: Right. Very good. Well, thank you for that update and we’ll look forward to more from Far From Over in the future.
Now related to that, maybe we can talk about just how difficult it is to get a good horse to the Derby. I do think it’s worth noting that both of your Breeders’ Cup Juvenile runners are still in position to make the Derby, and most of these horses that we’re talking about ran as two-year-olds except for Materiality. So what can you tell us after 15 years of doing this about getting a horse from the summer or fall if its two-year-old season all the way to the Kentucky Derby?
Todd Pletcher: Well, I think it’s certainly a challenge, and I think it’s well documented that it’s a demanding trail leading to the Kentucky Derby. I suppose it’s demanding in, you know, in all aspects of the sport, but as trainers, I think we all understand that there’s no way to completely prevent injuries. What we hope to do is to minimize them. You know, I think in this particular case we detected something that was pretty minor that had it been missed could’ve turned into something major, so from that standpoint, that’s really what you hope you can do. But there’s no question, you know, you’re going to see horses on the Trail that are going to be unable to make it for a variety of different reasons, and that’s certainly what makes it so difficult to not only get there, but so difficult to—because you have go through some very demanding prep races in order to get there and then continue to improve as you step into the really big one. So we’re fortunate that we’ve got some horses that came out of last weekend’s races well and coming into this weekend also in good form, so we’ll hope they remain in that type of form.
Jim Mulvihill: Indeed. Well, just to make sure we’re touching all the right bases here, you have six horses to run in the next two weekends that have Derby points, but then it occurred to me that this time last year a lot of people weren’t even talking about Danza. So are the six that have Derby points right now, are those the only ones we’re going to see in the races this weekend and then next weekend and at Oaklawn and Keeneland?
Todd Pletcher: Yes, that’s correct. I don’t see anyone jumping into any of these late races just yet. But, yes, we’ll focus on those for the moment. Danza was a horse that sort of we weren’t planning last year to run in the Arkansas Derby until only a week or so before, so I won’t say 100%, but unlikely it’s at this stage we’d have anyone else jump into the mix.
Jim Mulvihill: Okay, well we want to touch on as many of them as we can, so I’ll start with Carpe Diem before we turn it over to the media. Second in the Juvenile last year and then gets an extended break before an easy win the Tampa Bay Derby. What does he need to get out of the Blue Grass after just one race that went perfectly as you would hope?
Todd Pletcher: Well, we just hope for a smooth run and another good performance. You wouldn’t say he had to win in order to go on to the next one. I think he’s certainly already stamped himself as one of the leaders of the division. So the horse has trained remarkably well since the Tampa Derby and we’re excited about running him. We just hope for another Carpe Diem-type performance and have him come out of the race healthy.
Jim Mulvihill: Excellent. What have you had to work on with him these past few months? I know he’s had a reluctance to load, but is that a serious concern down the road or is that just a minor thing that you live with?
Todd Pletcher: Well, I think it comes with the pedigree a little bit. I mean part of what makes the Storm Cat line very good on the racetrack and very competitive and a fighting type mentality is that they can be a little hot-blooded at times, and I think he gets some of that personality from Giant’s Causeway in that line. But the interesting thing is we’ve spent quite a bit time schooling him in the mornings and he goes to the gate often in the morning and seldom shows any reluctance to load whatsoever, so it’s sort of one of those things it’s a little bit difficult to correct because he won’t display the problem in the mornings. Then I think from the excitement of the race, and a lot of these races that he’s running in are starting in front of the—two turn races starting in front of a big crowd and I think that excites him a little bit. But, you know, it’s a manageable issue and I think the gate crews that know him know how to handle him, but so far it has not affected any of his performances even though he has displayed some of that behavior in the Breeders’ Futurity last year and Tampa Derby this year. So but based on what we’ve seen in the mornings he’s been so good, I’m hoping that that’ll carry over to Saturday afternoon as well.
Jim Mulvihill: Excellent. Well, we’ve got Todd Pletcher here talking about Carpe Diem and Daredevil and his other Derby prospects, so I’m going to turn it over to Nick and we’ll see what the media has for Mr. Pletcher.
Art Wilson: Good afternoon, Todd. Hey, of all your Derby hopefuls, any in your mind that are maybe flying in under the radar and you think are maybe a little bit underrated with the horses that people are talking about?
Todd Pletcher: I can’t say that I would say that. I think that, you know, they’ve all gotten a fair amount of attention, and, of course, Carpe Diem and Daredevil were Group 1 winners at two so they’ve sort of been on everyone’s radar screen for a little while. You would’ve certainly said that Materiality was under the radar a bit until three and a half weeks ago when he won the Islamorada and sort of jumped into the mix in a big way when he was able to handle the mile and an eighth in only his second start. So I don’t know that anyone’s really under the radar and certainly because of the two-year-old status of Carpe Diem and being a Breeders’ Futurity winner and second in the Breeders’ Cup he seems to have been the one that all along has been highest upon everyone’s radar screen.
Art Wilson: How about some of the other top three year olds in the country; Baffert’s duo of Dortmund and American Pharoah and some of the others you’ve seen back east? What are your impressions of them, Todd?
Todd Pletcher: I think the West Coast group is very, very strong, and, you know, you couldn’t help but be very, very impressed by American Pharaoh, and, you know, he came back with a big race off the bench and seemed to run every bit as well as he’d been training. He looks like a super horse. Dortmund is also undefeated and was flattered by Firing Line’s win in the Sunland Derby, so, you know, I think those three horses look awfully strong for the West Coast.
Danny Brewer: The decision to run Carpe Diem at Keeneland, did the switching back to dirt, does that play any factor in that or was he going there because WinStar is so close, and that’s (inaudible)?
Todd Pletcher: No, actually I think the decision goes back to the Breeders’ Futurity actually, and there’s no question in my mind that that decision was made at that time because Keeneland had moved to a dirt surface. I think had it been on a synthetic surface we’d have probably looked for a different option leading up to the Breeders’ Cup. But once he ran so well in the Breeders’ Futurity, we’ve kind of always felt like that the Blue Grass would be a natural fit for his final prep, and, you know, he’s done nothing along the way to make us think any other way.
Danny Brewer: When you saw the Breeders’ Futurity, was it just like whoosh, because I mean that was a heck of a performance? Did you know then that this horse was what you really thought he could be?
Todd Pletcher: Well, you know, we knew the horse from the OBS March sale where WinStar and Stonestreet purchased him, and he would’ve been a high round—high first round draft choice at that point. He was sort of on everyone’s radar screen, and was the sale topper there, and a great pedigree, beautiful horse, had a sensational breeze at OBS. So we were well aware of his capabilities early on and he came into Saratoga and trained accordingly for us. What probably surprised me more than anything was as we were training him the amount of speed that he showed that he had. You know, normally with a horse of his pedigree you wouldn’t necessarily think you would start them off at five and a half furlongs in their first start, but because of the timing of it and just where he was in his training we decided to run him late in the meet at Saratoga going five and a half, and I think when a horse like him is able to win from the one post in that type of situation and show speed from gate to wire, stamped his quality, and then, you know, to be able to stretch out to a mile and a sixteenth in his second start, you know, it’s pretty exceptional; you don’t see that very often. So just, you know, with the exception of kind of getting lost a little bit in the far turn and acclimating to the dirt in the Breeders’ Cup, he had a remarkable two-year-old season and then he’s done all the things you’d physically want one to do from two to three, so we kind of—he’s the whole package.
Danny Brewer: Last one from me, East versus West, you said that West Coast horses seem strong. Do you put a lot of stock in the whole East versus West thing? I know it’s been going on for years. What’s your thoughts on that?
Todd Pletcher: Well, it’s not so much, you know, that it’s an East versus West thing, I think it’s just trying to kind of get a line on the ability levels on both coasts, and you would certainly look at the West Coast and they seem very, very strong. Of course, any time Bob Baffert has a couple of Kentucky Derby horses you have to give him a lot of respect. He’s certainly tremendous at getting horses there and having them perform well, so I’ve got a lot of respect for the horses on the West Coast. I think it’s a very strong group from out there.
Don Jensen: Can you explain the achievement in the Tampa Bay Derby how that has led to basically his progress as a racehorse right now?
Todd Pletcher: Well, it was the—timing-wise it was the perfect prep for him. We felt like based on the little bit of freshening he was given at WinStar following the Breeders’ Cup that we were sort of going to land around that March 7 date before he’d be ready. He wasn’t quite ready for the Fountain of Youth, and we didn’t want to start him off at seven eighths; we wanted to get a two turn race under his belt. So timing-wise it was just kind of a good fit for him, and I think historically is a great place to prep horses, and safe surface, and we’ve had success there in the past with quite a few horses, but in particular Super Saver made his first start back there and that led to his Kentucky Derby win. So, it was kind of a no brainer really for us, and, you know, once we got him back in training and kind of saw where he was in his development, we never really considered any other race.
Tom Pedulla: Todd, we see the Grade 1 races and sometimes it almost seems like they go to the same group of riders, and then this weekend we have C.C. Lopez riding a long time trying to get his first Grade 1. What—is it a fine line that separates these riders, and is a lot of it opportunity?
Todd Pletcher: Oh, I think 100% it’s opportunity. You know, I think if you’re a jockey or a trainer, and, you know, a lot of times you’re only as good as the product you’re given, and very similar to being a basketball coach or something like that where you could be terrific at it, but if you don’t have the right athlete, you know, you’re going to have a tough time winning. So a guy like C.C. Lopez is a veteran rider; he’s won a lot of races. He’s a very talented jockey, and I think he’s getting the opportunity to display that, you know, when he’s found a quality mount like El Kabeir.
Tom Pedulla: Okay, thank you. If I could do one other follow-up, Todd, you never seem to—the history of the Juvenile winners going on to win the Derby obviously is not good, but yet you never shy away from the Juvenile. Could you talk about your philosophy there?
Todd Pletcher: Well, I think it depends. I mean there have been situations where we’ve chosen not to go, and most of the time it’s really about the horse and how the horse is doing. But we’ve felt like over the years that sometimes I think you can’t put all your eggs in the Kentucky Derby basket and you can’t believe in jinxes and streaks and that sort of thing. If you have a good two-year-old that’s doing well that’s in a position to compete in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile I think that’s what you’re supposed three-year-old do, and who knows six months from then what’s going to happen. So I think we might see a string where three or four Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winners will win the Derby at some point, but it’s—I think it’s real easy to find all of the horses that don’t win the Derby. There’s a lot of them every year and there’s only one successful formula, so it’s certainly a lot easier to come up with all the stats on the ones that don’t.
Tim Wilkin: When the year starts out and you’re starting to sort your horses out and who’s going to go where and such, do you start feeling—putting pressure on yourself to get as many as you can to Churchill on the first Saturday in May?
Todd Pletcher: Honestly, no I don’t think about anything along those lines in terms of numbers. What I generally do is some of these horses you’re developing we’ll start to look at some of the prep races and try to decide which horses might fit which preps, and we’ll try to plan some of those things out a couple of months in advance. In other situations like Materiality, who won the Islamorada and the Florida Derby, really the Islamorada was not a race that was even on the stakes calendar; it just came out as an Overnight Handicap in the Condition Book. So it was something that we really weren’t planning on. When the race was there we decided to take a look at it, and when he—Materiality and Stanford both breezed well we decided that that might be an opportunity for both of them to kind of get a two turn race and put themselves in a position to maybe come back in of the later preps. So there’s some cases where you plan things out months in advance and it doesn’t work, and there’s other ones that do work out, and there’s other ones that just sort of you’ve got to play it as it comes and see when the horses are telling you they’re ready to do something.
Tim Wilkin: What’s the status of Blofeld right now?
Todd Pletcher: He’s here at Palm Beach Downs training very well and ready to go for five eighths, so he’s probably in the neighborhood of a month or so away from being ready to run.
Tim Wilkin: So I take it you’ll probably be at Keeneland this weekend?
Todd Pletcher: I’m thinking so, yes. I’m still in Florida at the moment.
Ron Flatter: Todd, how set are you with riders for the Derby for your six horses? Javier be on Daredevil, will Luis be on Itsaknockout, and then where does Johnny wind up?
Todd Pletcher: I think, you know, a lot of that’ll be clarified after next weekend’s races and probably after the Arkansas Derby then we’ll solidify all those. So we’ll have to see how Carpe Diem runs and how Daredevil runs and how Madefromlucky runs, and we’ll start making some of those decisions after that.
Ron Flatter: To what extent can you tell us who gets what choice and how much you have to say about it?
Todd Pletcher: Well, I think most of these situations, for example, if Johnny wins the Bluegrass on Carpe Diem, and he’s three for three on Materiality and he’s ridden Carpe Diem in every one of his starts then, you know, obviously that’s going to be his choice.
Ron Flatter: Should we put much stock into which choice he has? I mean if you were a player, would you say, well, if Johnny took that horse that’s the horse I should be looking at?
Todd Pletcher: I’d say historically you should bet on the other one. But no, those are tough decisions, and decisions that nobody wants to have to make, and they’re not easy ones, and there’s a lot at stake, and, you know, a lot of times there’s not a right or wrong one. I’m sure he’ll want as much time to sort it out as he can, and, you know, it’s fortunate for a trainer you can run more than one in a race like that and unfortunate for as guy like John Velazquez that he can only—he has to choose one. So we’ll see. Like I said, hopefully these horses continue to run well and have those decisions to make which aren’t easy ones.
Ron Flatter: Just one other thought on that. Would Florent be in the mix for Stanford or would you be looking to go with somebody with more Derby experience?
Todd Pletcher: Oh, I think he’s definitely in the mix. I think he’s a very good rider, an up and coming rider, and, again, some of that stuff will be sorted out over the next couple weeks, but he would be in the mix.
David Grening: Hi, Todd. Could you assess—two questions. Could you assess Daredevil’s Swale