NTRA Teleconference “Breeders’ Cup World Championships Pre-Entry Teleconference”
Guests:
Trainer Mr. Bob Baffert
Trainer Mr. Richard Mandella
Trainer Mr. Kiaran McLauglin
Trainer Mr. Dale Romans
Breeders’ Cup president Mr. Craig Fravel
President and CEO of Keeneland Assocation Mr. Bill Thomason
Operator: Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships Pre-Entry Teleconference. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question and answer session. At that time, participants are asked to press star, one to register for a question. I’d like to remind the speakers when answering your question to please state your name before answering the question. As a reminder, today’s conference is being recorded.
It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Mr. Jim Gluckson. Please go ahead, sir.
Jim Gluckson: Thank you, Michelle, and good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Pre-Entry Teleconference. Today we have our special guests that we’ll be bringing in a little bit in Bob Baffert, Richard Mandella, Kiaran McLaughlin, and Dale Romans. Here in Lexington we have Breeders’ Cup President, Craig Fravel, and President and CEO of Keeneland Association, Mr. Bill Thomason. You’ll be hearing some opening remarks from those two gentlemen and then we’ll get into the call. At this particular time, we will have at the end of the call if you have questions for Craig or Bill we will field them at that particular time. Also here to answers questions if you have them on the field of the races are—is Tom Robbins, who is the Chairman of the Breeders’ Cup Racing Directors and Secretaries Panel.
So without further ado, I’d like to have some opening remarks here from Breeders’ Cup President, Craig Fravel.
Craig Fravel: Thanks, Jimmy. I’ll be very brief because I know you guys want to get on to talking to the real stars of the show. Since the horses don’t talk, we’ll let their trainers do that for them. But for those of us here at the Breeders’ Cup, we’re very pleased with the outcome of pre-entries on Monday. We had a total of 200 horses entered; 44 of those Breeders’ Cup Challenge winners, 32 international entries, a very deep group of horses and we’re very grateful for the support of owners and trainers in this country and around the world for their support of the Breeders’ Cup. This promises at this point to be one of the most exciting Breeders’ Cups we’ve ever had, and it’s a great pleasure for the Breeders’ Cup to be bringing that here to Keeneland, which is a very unique and will be an extraordinarily fun venue for the Breeders’ Cup.
So with that, I’d like to just give Bill Thomason a brief opportunity to say hello and then we’ll move on to the trainers. Bill?
Bill Thomason: From Keeneland I’d like to say that we have spent the last 18 months preparing for this very special day. We are proud to be hosting our first Breeders’ Cup, and all of our Guest Service people and our staff from the entire grounds have spent this year making sure that we are going to be providing a very special opportunity for all of our patrons and all of our fans and the people who are going to attend this Breeders’ Cup, and it will—and the community excitement that’s been building for the last year, I think everyone who has a chance to participate in this Breeders’ Cup and to be here is going to have a—be involved in a very special time in our history and in the history of Lexington, so thank you all for being here.
Jim Gluckson: Thank you, Bill, and thank you, Craig. We’re going to bring in our guests right now: Richard Mandella, Kiaran McLaughlin, and Dale Romans. Bob Baffert, who is behind, had some work to do and he is going to join us a little bit later, but right now let’s have Richard and Kiaran and Dale join us on the call
Jim Gluckson: Good afternoon. We’ll just bring in Richard Mandella and Dale Romans and Kiaran McLaughlin. Good afternoon, gentlemen. Jim Gluckson here in Lexington. How are you all today?
Dale Romans: Good.
Kiaran McLaughlin: Great day in Kentucky.
Jim Gluckson: All right. Excellent. Let’s start right away here; a question for each of you. Dale, I’d like to go to you first about your decision with Keen Ice not to race over the 8 week period to prepare him for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. What went into the decision and how has his development been over that period of time since you decided not to have a race in between?
Dale Romans: You know, Jerry Crawford and I with Donegal talked about it for a long time. It’s a little bit different for a three-year-old, the path that we have to take to end up at the Classic. You have to run several times in order to get enough points to get into the Derby and then you have to run in—well, we ran in two Triple Crown races, which were very difficult races back to the Haskell and then back to the Travers, and it just squeezes you a little bit if you’re going to work the Jockey Club or something in there. Our horse is a horse that I’ve never seen tired; that he just has a great engine that just keeps on going, and I felt like we could keep him sharp, keep him fresh; that he had turned the corner at the Haskell and showed us a turn of foot we hadn’t seen, but became mentally a little more aggressive even to the point of arrogant. You know, he brought his A game to the Travers and we just felt like we could maintain that right into the Breeders’ Cup, and so far I haven’t seen any signs of him backing up at all.
Jim Gluckson: Excellent. Also, Dale, I’d like to have you comment on Brody’s Cause, who is an outstanding winner—in winning Claiborne’s Breeders’ Futurity here at Keeneland, and his development?
Dale Romans: You know, Brody’s just a machine. You know, two years ago, again, Jerry Crawford and I had discussed that we should probably leave our two-year-olds behind, because if they’re as good as we want them to be then nobody’s going to care where they broke their maiden, and if they aren’t that good they can’t win at Saratoga anyways. So we started leaving horses behind and running them at Ellis Park and getting the good experience. If you look at Brody’s chart, it might be one of the worst races any one of my horses ever ran, and I don’t know where that came from. But he came back and ran a huge maiden race at Churchill, and then just—we thought as we would stretch him out he would improve, but we always felt like he was ahead of the curve for his pedigree and ran a great race at Keeneland. It shows he likes the racetrack and has done nothing but show me that he’s going to run his A race come Breeders’ Cup; he and Unbridled Outlaw. Unbridled Outlaw I think is a very talented two-year-old we have in the race also that if you go back and watch the Iroquois, I’ve never had a horse get in trouble so many times and still keep fighting back to hit the board and run third. I was very happy the Selection Committee decided to let him in, and he’ll be a horse to be heard from.
Jim Gluckson: Richard, I wanted to ask you to give us an update on Beholders’ condition, please?
Richard Mandella: Yes, she’s doing very well today. Yesterday morning, the first morning after she got here, she had a temperature and just was suffering what we would call shipping fever. I think it was brought on by the fact she was really tense in the flight. When I walked her off the plane and walked her a little bit and put her in the stall she urinated what seemed like 20 minutes. I’m sure she did not urinate on the plane or I don’t think she drank much water because she drank a bucket right off, and I think that is what kicked, you know, triggered this. Consequently, with a little bit of treatment she’s doing great. Her blood has corrected itself; her temperature has been good since yesterday morning, so I’m thinking I’m probably going to gallop in the morning. So we’ll see how that goes, but I think we’re back to normal.
Jim Gluckson: All right. Richard, knowing that you beat males once with Beholder and a different group of horses here in the class, how does the race set up for her strategically?
Richard Mandella: I haven’t really thought that much about the race; picking it apart. You know, we know it’s full of good horses. I’m more concerned right now just getting here there in the best shape she can be in, and we’ll pick the finer parts apart closer to the race.
Jim Gluckson: Excellent. Thank you. All right, Kiaran, I want to ask you about Frosted and his development here since winning the Pennsylvania Derby in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Thank you for joining us.
Kiaran McLaughlin: Yes, thanks for having me. Frosted has done very well since winning the Pennsylvania Derby. He just seems to be getting better with each race and each day of training. We ran him back three weeks after the Travers, which was unusual for us as a team. We usually like to have a little more time between starts, but he came out of the Travers so well and he just was tearing the barn down and we decided to go ahead and run him. He ran a huge race and he’s come out of this race great, and he’s, you know, worked twice and he’s going to work again Friday morning, and he’s just doing extremely well, so we’re happy to have him, although, you know, we’re ready to go; it’s just a tough race.
Jim Gluckson: Excellent. Also, Kiaran, in the Longines Distaff with Wedding Toast, she was very impressive in winning the Beldame after not having raced since June. Can you comment on her development, please?
Kiaran McLaughlin: She’s doing very well out of her race. She will have her final work tomorrow morning and she’s doing great. Obviously she loves one turn at Belmont. Keeneland happens to be two runs. But she has won two turns before, and she’s just been better this year than last year. She’s gotten better and better. She drifted a little bit as a three-year-old. Now as an older filly she doesn’t drift at all. She’s just training great and running very well and we think that she will run very well on Friday.
Jim Gluckson: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you, gentlemen. At this time, Michelle, let’s open it up to questions now from the media on the line.
Danny Brewer: This is for Richard Mandella. When you look back at the Pacific Classic, you know, time can always lend perspective. Your thoughts on Beholder and that performance; still a jaw dropper or even more of a jaw dropper now?
Richard Mandella: It still is. It’s sort of hard to believe that any horse could run a race like that. You know, I truly expected her to run a great race or I wouldn’t have started her there, but to be honest, when she made that move and just left the colts, I thought, boy, they must’ve stopped battling. But then when I looked at the timer, it wasn’t them stopping it was her running. So nobody was more impressed than I was.
Danny Brewer: Next up for Dale on Keen Ice. The light bulb, is it screwed in tight enough or do you think that you need to screw it in a little bit tighter, because he’s just really taken off and the light bulb seems to be illuminating quite brightly right now?
Dale Romans: Well, you know, he’s a horse that, if you’ve kept up with him and you’ve kept up with his press all year, which you have I know, I’ve said he’s a horse that gets better every day with training. He’s one of the few horses that I’ve had that the more work you do with him, a lot of them can maintain themselves, but he’s one of the few the more work you do the better he gets. We saw him getting better every day since the beginning of the year. But the big leap was in the Haskell and then the big leap to back it up was in the Travers. You’re not going to see those big leaps anymore I don’t think, but we just keep seeing a steady horse that is so happy with what he’s doing; that he’s figured the game out, and just mentally and physically improving daily.
Danny Brewer: Dale, I appreciate it; Richard, appreciate it. You guys, I wish you the best of luck, okay?
Dale Romans: Okay, thank you, Danny.
Debbie Arrington: Hi. Thank you very much for coming on here and congratulations for all you guys getting to this point. This question is for Richard. Richard, you’ve won the Classic before. How does this race shape up to your prior ones and what do you think of this field?
Richard Mandella: Well, it’s a great field. I mean, for one, it’s got a Triple Crown winner, and we haven’t seen one of those in 30 some years. So it couldn’t get much tougher than that along with the rest of the field that’s very nice. So it’s exciting to be a part of it.
Debbie Arrington: You’ve had Beholder a lot of years now and you’ve been through an awful lot with her. How have you seen her develop over that time and mature, and what sort of personality does she have?
Richard Mandella: She’s very sweet 95% of the time. The other 5 she makes up for it. She’s very aggressive and strong. But we wouldn’t have it any other way. It turns out pretty good.
Debbie Arrington: Does she remind you of any other mares or colts you’ve been around?
Richard Mandella: No, she’s unique in her own. I can’t say she’s similar to anybody I’ve had. I mean I’ve had some very good horses, but her character and personality is just a very special one, and she does bring her—the best of it all to the race and that’s the important thing.
Debbie Arrington: Very good. Best of luck.
Richard Mandella: Thank you.
Louisa Barton: Yes, Richard, thank you all by the way for joining us. I had a chance to interview Gary Stevens yesterday, who, by the way, speaks extremely highly of you, Richard. He commented that he feels that Beholder is one—probably the most intelligent horse that he’s ever had the privilege to ride. What would you comment on that about Beholder?
Richard Mandella: Well, she’s smarter than I am, put it that way. If she was any smarter I’d be in real trouble.
Louisa Barton: He also commented on the benefit of her running style in this particular race, and that, you know, post position might not play that much into it because she can run any way she really needs to run. What would you say about that?
Richard Mandella: She has become a true professional, and I would agree with that. I’ll ask for luck in the race not a particular position.
Louisa Barton: (Inaudible). Then one question I have for Dale. Dale, I just wanted to ask you what your thoughts were about the Travers after the race if you felt that Keen Ice’s win was due to the situation between Frosted and American Pharoah, or if you felt that he had just improved so much that that was the credit for the win in that race?
Dale Romans: Well, if you’re a believer in the numbers then you would say that everyone ran their race, and (inaudible) number, a Beyer number, everything leaped forward. His did not—Pharoah’s did not back up. You know, there’s no bigger fan that I am of American Pharoah, but I think he had his A game. I think that our horse had just—has just matured. Where Pharoah was much more mature than the rest of the crop, our horse has matured and ran the best race of the day. Personally, I think everyone ran their A game. I don’t think Bob Baffert or the Zayat’s would’ve brought American Pharoah into the Travers if they didn’t think he was going to run his best. I think that Frosted did go after him and I thought he showed great determination to hang in there, and when you’re a Triple Crown winner and you have the accomplishments of American Pharoah you do have a bull’s eye on you, and that—but that’s a—that’s endearment; I mean you’ve earned that. But, you know, we’ve seen him put horses away before and keep right on going, and I think that, like Dick said earlier, was it the horses stopping behind him? I feel like our horse was just outrunning. They ran a fast time. All of them ran well. The top three ran super races. It takes nothing away from the Triple Crown winner and his accomplishments; I just think that we were the better horse that day.
Louisa Barton: I agree with you. Thank you all very much and best of luck to all of you.
Dale Romans: Thank you.
Jennie Rees: Yes, this is for Richard. Richard, she was also pre-entered in the Distaff. Are there any circumstances at which you’d run her in the Distaff and not the Classic?
Richard Mandella: You know, I’ve said all along if I didn’t think she was at the top of her game I would not try the Classic. I would go for the more—I’m not sure of the right word, but the race that’s written for her. But my intention is to go to the Classic. But, you know, if I had a feeling that she wasn’t up to par because of the little fever we had, then I might be conservative and go the other way. But I don’t see it. I’m standing here and she’s driving me crazy for a carrot in my hand. I don’t see any signs of what we saw yesterday, and I think she’s going to be fine.
Jennie Rees: This is (inaudible) message that is it the kind of thing you think that she—I mean as great as she is in the Distaff, she maybe wouldn’t have to be 100%? She could be 99% and get the job done versus the colts?
Richard Mandella: That’s what I’m talking about. I mean I think you all know me well enough that if she wasn’t good enough to run I wouldn’t run her.
Jennie Rees: Right.
Richard Mandella: If I’m in the Classic, you’ve got to be at the best of your game. And horses aren’t always there, but, you know, this was early enough I think we’re fine, and I’m not looking for an excuse today.
Jennie Rees: Well, for all those women who have never wanted to pee on airplanes, we can really relate to her I suppose. But she’s only flown three times. Has she had this kind of nervousness before when she shipped for the Oaks and then when she shipped to Belmont or…?
Richard Mandella: She’s excitable. You know, I can’t say that, you know, each one’s been quite, you know, a little bit different. She’s happiest at home. That’s the best I could say. But she’s here and we’re here long enough I think she’ll think this is home pretty quick.
Jennie Rees: Well, it’s very exciting. I have a question for Kiaran. I want to ask you about Cavorting and the Filly & Mare Sprint and her development this year. She came up from Florida, but, you know, a disappointing race and then she’s just been gangbusters since.
Kiaran McLaughlin: Yes, Cavorting’s—she had two bad races back to back in the Frizette on a sloppy track and then in the Davona Dale at Gulfstream on a funny track that day. Frosted ran poorly that day also, and several other horses did. But since that time she’s trained great and has run outstanding in all three of her races. She’s working weekly and she’s scheduled to work tomorrow morning and then on Monday, and she couldn’t be doing better. But it’s the first time facing older fillies and there’s some tough ones out there, but she’s doing well and we anticipate her running well. Richard is making me feel bad either way. Wedding Toast or Frosted, I have—both of them will face her one way or the other; Beholder. You don’t have to bring that up to me, but, yes, so.
Jennie Rees: Yes, well speaking of Frosted, can you articulate the assignment that Frosted is facing and the other horses are facing in this Classic?
Kiaran McLaughlin: Well, it’s, again, first time for older horses; the older mares and older boys for Frosted. We think that we have had an outstanding three-year-old crop, like Dale said. They all ran their race in the Travers; ran well. Frosted is just, you know, he just is like a throwback horse. He just doesn’t miss a note. He stomps around and wants to strike the hot walker in the morning. He’s happy. He never seems to get tired. The more we do with him the better he does. When we won the Pennsylvania Derby, my brother Neil, who has him up at Greentree said, I don’t know if we’re going to be able to keep him on the ground for the six weeks. But he’s just doing extremely well. It’s a tough, tough race with American Pharoah, and Beholder, Honor Code, Tonalist; Keen Ice beat us already. So it’s a great group of horses, but we feel like we’re up for a big race ourselves.
Jennie Rees: Great. Thanks so much. Oh, one final question. Have you looked up the PPs and looked to see what other speeds in that race that maybe you’ll, you know, settle a little bit more behind the speed this time like the plan was and didn’t happen interest he Travers?
Kiaran McLaughlin: I don’t see a lot of other speed to be honest, but, you know, Beholder could be close to American Pharoah and not, you know, pressing him, but she’s just so naturally a talented filly she could be close. There’s not a lot of—there’s pace like a Liam’s Map or something else. But we will be not too far away also I think that we’ll leave it up to Joel whether we’re second or fifth in early running. You never know, as I found out in the Travers. I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen when the gates open.
Jennie Rees: Yes. Thanks so much.
Operator: Thank you. The next question comes from Art Wilson, Los Angeles Newspaper Group. Please go ahead.
Art Wilson: Yes, this question is for Richard. Richard, Beholder, of course she ran big in the Kentucky Oaks. She had a—she got injured in the race last year at Belmont so you can throw that out, but the fact remains she still hasn’t won outside of California. Does that concern you at all going into the race?
Richard Mandella: Any time you’re running a race like this you’re concerned about everything, so no more than everything else that concerns me. So my only concern right now is just to get her in the best shape I could get her for the race and what happens happens.
Art Wilson: Have you noticed any difference when she shipped for the first time as a three-year-old last year and this year? Have you noticed any difference in her demeanor when she ships?
Richard Mandella: Well, it’s too early to tell. We didn’t get to do anything yesterday, the first morning, because she had a temperature from shipping. Today she’s jumping out of her hide and we’re just getting ready to actually ride her under the stable here this afternoon just to do a little something with her, and then we’re going to gallop her tomorrow morning. I won’t really know how she’s accepting everything for a couple days. But in the Oaks the problem was that the pony that took she didn’t—there wasn’t a familiarity with the two, and I—this time to change that we brought our own pony that takes her every day and the pony boy that handles him. So, you know, we’re trying to surround all our problems and head them off.
Art Wilson: My last question is we all know the great year that American Pharoah has had, but if Beholder should win the Classic she’ll finish the year 6-0. She’d have won two Grade 1 races against the boys. In your mind if she wins that race is she Horse of the Year?
Richard Mandella: Well, she beat a Triple Crown winner. Why wouldn’t you be? I’m just kidding. That’s not for me to decide. That’s for whoever the group is that does it. I’m just here to do the best I can.
Art Wilson: Okay, good. Good luck to all of you.
Richard Mandella: All right, thank you.
Tim Wilkin: Yes, this is for Dale. Dale, do you have a rider yet?
Dale Romans: Well, we’re not locked in, but, you know, we’re going to wait and see what happens with Javier, and—but the backup is Irad Ortiz, which we’ll be very happy to have; two great riders. It’ll be one of those two.
Tim Wilkin: When do you think that’ll be decided?
Dale Romans: You know, I don’t know. A week ago up to the last minute. It’s, you know, we know that we’re going to have one of the two, and so it’s—the pressure’s off of looking for a rider. They’re both, you know, arguably the best two riders in the country right now; the hottest two riders, and we’ll just wait and see how things unfold. You know, every day is a long day for horses and horseracing.
Tim Wilkin: For Kiaran, Kiaran is Frosted scheduled to go out at 9 o’clock on Friday?
Kiaran McLaughlin: Yes, he is.
Tim Wilkin: Are you going to be there for that work?
Kiaran McLaughlin: Yes, I̵