Jim Mulvihill: Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to this Road to the Breeders’ Cup National Media Teleconference coming to you today from NTRA headquarters in Lexington, Kentucky. This, of course, is one of our favorite weeks of the year with the Travers for top three-year-olds in training on Saturday, followed by the Pacific Classic for the West Coast’s best older horses on Sunday. Each of these seven figure stakes represents the centerpiece of their respective meets. Saratoga’s $1.25 million Travers, also known as the Midsummer Derby, is one of our most prestigious three-year-old races, with a history of winners including Man o’ War, Whirlaway, Native Dancer, Buckpasser, Easy Goer, and Point Given. Saturday will mark its 145th running. Meanwhile, Del Mar’s $1 million TVG Pacific Classic, now in its 24th year, has become Southern California’s most important annual fixture in the second half of the year with past heroes from Best Pal in the inaugural running to last year’s winner Game On Dude, who on Sunday will attempt to join Tinners Way, Skimming, and Richard’s Kid as repeat winners.
The Pacific Classic is a Breeders’ Cup challenge “Win and You’re In” race, carrying an automatic berth, paid entry fees and travel for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. But here’s a little piece of trivia for you. While both of this weekend’s marquee races usually produce top Classic contenders, no Travers or Pacific Classic winner has ever gone on to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic the same year. With the horses running this weekend, though, 2014 might be the year that changes that.
There’s several other important races this week to mention. Other “Win and You’re In” propositions include three stakes at York Racecourse in England, as well as the Personal Ensign at Saratoga on Friday, the Ballerina at Saratoga, and the Del Mar Handicap on Saturday, and the Pat O’Brien at Del Mar on Sunday.
Now, NBC Sports has the national broadcast of this week’s big races as part of their “Breeders’ Cup Challenge” series. The Travers and Ballerina are on the flagship NBC Network Saturday from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Eastern, and then they’ll wheel back with the “Pacific Classic” show Sunday from 8 to 9 p.m. Eastern on the NBC Sports Network.
You can also find plenty of live coverage of these races on satellite radio. Sirius Channel 93 and XM 208 “Down the Stretch” is at the Travers on Saturday, and the Horse Racing Radio Network will be on the scene Friday and Saturday at Saratoga, and then Sunday at Del Mar. Any chance that you all in the media have to inform your fans as to how they can watch and listen to these races, we always appreciate that very much.
Now, enough of my jibber jabber. Let’s get on to the good stuff. Later in this call we’re going to hear from Ed Stanco. He’s the owner of Princess of Sylmar coming back in the Personal Ensign. Also, Hall of Fame jockey, Mike Smith, who will ride the undefeated three-year-old sensation, Shared Belief, against his former mount, Game On Dude, in the Pacific Classic.
But first, we’re going to start with perhaps the most recognizable name in racing, Bob Baffert, who is all over the big races this weekend. He’s got Fiftyshadesofhay in the Personal Ensign, hopefully Bayern in the Travers—we’ll confirm that for sure in a few moments—and Game On Dude in the Pacific Classic. Baffert, of course, quick intro for you, is a Hall of Fame trainer with wins in nine Triple Crown races and 10 Breeders’ Cup races. He’s trained 10 Eclipse Award champions. Currently he sits at sixth all-time among trainers by earnings, and he’s approaching 2,500 career wins. As for these two feature races we’re focusing on this week, he’s won the Travers once with Point Given, and the Pacific Classic four times going back to General Challenge in ’99, plus the two by Richard’s Kid, and then Game On Dude last year.
Bob Baffert, you’re on with Jim Mulvihill in Lexington. Thanks for joining us.
Bob Baffert: Thanks for having me. I was listening to your trivia. Now I know why I haven’t won the Breeders’ Cup with Game On Dude or any of my other horses.
Jim Mulvihill: Well, if there’s anybody that can do it it’s you, right?
Bob Baffert: I’m going to have to scratch my horses.
Jim Mulvihill: It’s surprising, though, right?
Bob Baffert: I’ll have to scratch my horse if I’m going to win the Breeders’ Cup.
Jim Mulvihill: No, no, hardly. The—it’s kind of amazing, though, right? Like when I figured that out this morning I couldn’t believe it.
Bob Baffert: I tell you what, the worst trivia thing—question I ever got was the year that Point Given when we were drawing slots and it was between the 18 and the 2. I wanted to go in the 2, but Gary Stevens wanted to go in the 18. Right after the draw Jennie Rees asked me, Bob, does it bother you that there’s never been a winner in the 18 hole? I said I wish somebody would’ve told me before the draw. There still has never been a winner in the 18 hole.
Jim Mulvihill: Well, maybe we’ll get more trivia from Jenny in a little bit. I’m sure she’s with us today. Let’s talk about three-year-old horses. You had said that Bayern would only get on a plane and go to New York if you liked his workout this morning. So tell us what you were looking for there and what you saw.
Bob Baffert: Well, yes, he didn’t really do a lot. He went a half a mile in 48 and galloped out like in a minute; just really a maintenance work. He looked good doing it. He went over the ground really well. His energy level looked great. So far everything looks positive to send him. You know, we’ll look at him again this afternoon and make sure. I always wait until the last minute and you have to look. I can change my mind or whatever, but what I’ve seen so far I didn’t see anything there. I’m always looking for an excuse not to get on the plane, but so far I haven’t found that yet.
Jim Mulvihill: Terrific. Well, let’s talk about his year overall. You know, after the way he started the year at Santa Anita you might call his few starts in the spring a bit disappointing because of the promise he showed in the wins at Santa Anita. Was he regressing a bit or did he just keep having bad luck in those races?
Bob Baffert: Well, I think he had the big win going long, and he looked like a superstar that day. Then I I was going to run him back and I had a setback with him with a bruised heel, quarter, and then it was sort of like trying to play catch-up. So when he went to Arkansas, I kept waiting for him to open up and just keep going, and he wasn’t going that fast. He got a little tired. So, you know, we understood that. Then I ran him back in the Derby Trial, and the track was, I don’t know, sometimes it can be a little funny in the spring, I was certainly disappointed he just couldn’t get away from those horses. I don’t know if we just didn’t let him run or what, but we were trying to rate him a little bit. In the Preakness he just got completely destroyed leaving the gate. , I don’t know if he would’ve run that well that day anyway. But we got him back at Churchill Downs and he started really working strong. I think he just needed to catch up. He just wasn’t caught up to those horses. Then he finally had the foundation under him, and once he got the foundation then he was just—when he exploded at New York, that was really—that was the race we were waiting for; we were hoping that he had.
Jim Mulvihill: Right.
Bob Baffert: I was still a little bit cautious I wasn’t really sure about the two turns. I thought, well maybe he’s a one turn mile or mile and a sixteenth, whatever. What he did there in the Haskell was pretty impressive, so that gave me a little bit of encouragement there. So I wasn’t really thinking Travers. I thought I’ll get him back here and maybe go for the Philadelphia – PARX
Bob Baffert: So I was debating but I didn’t want to take him to Saratoga because then I’d be tempted. I wanted to bring him back here where I could actually watch him train every day, and I wouldn’t have that extra pressure if you’re there you’re going to run, which I’ve done before in the past, so it’s hard to pass it up when you’re there. But everything that I’ve seen so far is——will he take a step backwards, I don’t know, but he looks good and he’s not a really big horse, but he’s just fast. He’s a handy horse and he’s got a lot of speed, and a mile and a quarter still I’m not totally convinced yet he can get a mile and a quarter. But he’s pretty fast, so, you know, what I’ve seen so far, you know, it looks pretty good.
Jim Mulvihill: Well, one of the points that you made after the Haskell was also the importance of—and you even mentioned it a minute ago just briefly, but just letting him roll as opposed to when he hits the lead a rider trying to slow him down as they might normally want to do. Is it better and can we expect to see this weekend that you just let him get in the clear and let him run his race as he wants to?
Bob Baffert: Yes, I think the faster the better for him. If he goes too slow I think we were trying to conserve his speed. But he’s just a fast horse. He just wants to go. He’s like Game On Dude. He’s the same way. Every time I try to grab a hold of him, and (inaudible). You just have to let him go and, you know, what happens happens. You just can’t worry it about it, and go onto the next one. But, utilize your speed. They’re just fast, brilliant horses, and when you have a brilliant horse with that kind of speed, you’ve just got to use it.
Jim Mulvihill: Let’s talk about Game On Dude then. He had a work yesterday. What can you tell us about that final prep for the Pacific Classic?
Bob Baffert: Yes, he looks good. I really think he’s training like he was prepping for it last year. He likes the surface here. He gets over it really well. He had a great work. His last two works were really great. He’s really getting over the track well, and so it’s exciting. You know, last year I didn’t think I could have him back here at at this level again, when he brings his A game, it’s just there’s nobody can beat him. You know, and I really think he’s doing well, so if he throws that A race, he’s just he’s tough to beat.
Danny Brewer: Hey, Bob. How’s life on the West Coast?
Bob Baffert: Well, it’s beautiful here in Del Mar. It’s been a funny summer. We had rain and we’ve seen a lot of things here, but it seems like everything’s turned the corner and everything looks peachy now.
Danny Brewer: Outstanding. Okay, so Bayern, he seems to fit the mold of some of the runners you’ve had—three-year-olds you’ve had recently with Bodemeister and Paynter. Do you groom these horses to be just front running speed horses, or are you just cultivating what their natural talent is?
Bob Baffert: Well, I think it’s—a lot of them it’s their natural talent. You know, you really can’t teach a horse to run fast. So they’re just born with it. It’s just their style. Once you figure out their style, you’ve got to stick to it. It’s like Point Given, we didn’t know his style until after he got beat at the Kentucky Derby, unfortunately. But once you have their style figured out you just stick with it.
Danny Brewer: There have been a lot of really good times at Del Mar this year based on the surface. Do you think that plays into Game On Dude’s hands as far as the Pacific Classic?
Bob Baffert: Del Mar, every day it’s like you don’t know what you’re going to get. This meet’s been very difficult. It just really changes every day. It depends on the heat; the weather. You know, and they put some wax on it and it sort of made it sticky, so you just don’t know—you don’t know what you’re going to get. It was totally different than it was at the beginning. So they’re trying to keep it together. You just don’t know what you’re going to get.
Danny Brewer: Last one from me, Fiftyshadesofhay, she has been a warrior. She’s been East Coast, West Coast, all over the country. Is that a testament to how talented of a filly she really is?
Bob Baffert: She’s a filly that shows her talent. When she shows up, we don’t know what shade shows up. She’s running well in New York. That’s why I thought of taking her back there, and Johnny seems to get a lot of running out of her. Her last race here was sort of dismal on the synthetic, like she was never comfortable. It was one of those races where it was all speed and nobody changed position. She’s a filly we’re always hoping that one of these days maybe she’ll get lucky and win one of these major good Grade 1s; with her, and show us something. But she’s pretty honest; consistent. She’s right there every time.
Jennie Rees: Yes, Bob, and the good news is I have no trivia for you, so—but I do have questions. How tough a decision was it to decide to go in the Travers versus the King’s Bishop where you know he’d be the one to beat, and he would look so brilliant in the Woody Stephens? I mean are you just—like you said, you’re not even sure about the mile and a quarter. Is it just, well, let’s find out? I mean are you thinking—you know, I’m just thinking if you went in the King’s Bishop he would be sort of on the path for maybe Champion Sprinter, but are you thinking, well if he knocks off the Travers and some other races, he’s maybe on the path for Three Year Old. I don’t know. Just what are the factors that went into it?
Bob Baffert: Well, I was waiting—that’s a good question because I was—oh, by the way, I saw you at the big golf tournament.
Jennie Rees: Oh my gosh. That was so embarrassing.
Bob Baffert: You were big time. I’m saying I know her. So I was really—I was waiting to see what he did in the Haskell, because I thought if he runs like he’s been training, he should win; you know, I think he’ll win if he gets the lead. But after he ran in the Haskell, I didn’t see any really reason not to maybe try him a little further, because it wasn’t really taxing on him. He handled it pretty well. He reminded me a little bit of like Paynter. Paynter—if I could’ve run him back in the Travers he would’ve been so tough. I was thinking like if he was a Roman Ruler-type, or Roman Ruler; he won it. But, you know, he wasn’t. He would’ve been better going in the King’s Bishop. But I really think this horse the way he finally put it all together, he’s a fast horse, and two turns, it was his weapon. I think he really—he liked that better.
Jennie Rees: Will you come into this race with the same feeling as you had before the Haskell that if he runs this race they’ve got him to beat?
Bob Baffert: Well, when you go to the Haskell you sort of know what you’re going to get. Like the track, they’re going to run (inaudible). Saratoga, I don’t know; I’ve been watching. It’s a little bit like Del Mar; you don’t know what you’re going to get. The surface, what’s it going to be like that day, with the rains and everything, if it’s deep, loose, whatever. It’s a different beast. What do they call it when the saying….champions are—buried or whatever?
Jim Mulvihill: The Graveyard of Champions.
Bob Baffert: The Graveyard, yes, I don’t want to come in here with a Graveyard horse, you don’t know what you’re going to see there.
Jennie Rees: Well, is it safe to say this is a pivotal race? You know, if he runs great you maybe look at the Breeders’ Cup Classic? Is—do you think you need to—he don’t want to go a mile and a quarter you’d look at the sprint or the (cross talking)?
Bob Baffert: Yes, after watching the Haskell, I think he can get a mile and a quarter. It depends, but I think that with these three-year-olds, maybe if he did it with them—I don’t know if he can get it with the older horses, but you never know. Basically you really don’t know until you try it, Jennie, and so just like you never know if they’re going to go two turns until you’ve had them two turns. Nobody ever knows anything until you do it. So we’re going to find out. Can he get it? He should get it. If he can get the Travers, and Saratoga, it’s still demanding there, and I mean horses have had to race over it and I think the Jim Dandy’s probably the best way to prep your horse for the Travers. I’ve won it with Point Given. I took him there because if you’re the best, then you can get it done. If you feel like you’re bringing the best, you can get it done; if he can’t—he’s not (inaudible) the best. So we’ll find out.
Jennie Rees: Game On Dude, quick question, not to hog you, but did you have a feeling that maybe you were going to be in a situation looking for a rider? I mean did Mike, you know, looking at the tea leaves with Shared Belief that Mike would be going for the younger model?
Bob Baffert: When Shared Belief won the Los Alamitos Derby or the race down there I thought—when he crossed the wire I thought, oh, I’m going to need a new jockey (inaudible). I really can’t blame Mike. Mike’s been great. He’s helped out. He’s taught me a lot of things about this horse when he first got on him that we didn’t know about that he really helped us with, so he’s been a big factor in the success of Game On Dude. And he knows we have Martin backed up. He rode him here last year, and I don’t have a problem with Martin. So I just feel fortunate that Mike, , he’s a real classy gentleman, and he’s, going with the younger gelding, which I really can’t blame him. Nobody knows how good Shared Belief. This is going to be probably going to be the toughest test that he’s ever had. So I really can’t blame him for maybe trying something else. He knew that if he did it, that I wasn’t going to throw a fit about it or anything like that. I understood, and so I really don’t blame him. I don’t have a problem with it.
Tom Wilkin: Hey, Bob. How much of a concern is the shift going to be for you going back across the country again?
Bob Baffert: Well, it’s always a concern if it doesn’t go smooth. Things can happen; you know, planes can break down, they can do this, get stuck or whatever. This horse ships really well. He’s shipped back and forth, if he got there and if he didn’t ship right or was something, you know, just because I’m there doesn’t mean I have to run. We could wait for the next one. But hopefully everything will go smooth.
Tom Wilkin: You said that you’re always looking for an excuse not to get on a plane. Why is that?
Bob Baffert: What I mean by that is I want to make sure when I ship we want to ship to make sure that it’s going to be a winning ship. We put him on the plane to win. We don’t want to run just be part of the race. But I just want to make sure that, they’re going to make a good showing of themselves. I want to make sure they’re going to fire—you know—if I feel they’re going to fire then if he gets outrun he gets outrun. But we like to ship— I don’t want to ship them unless I have a really good chance.
Tom Wilkin: Any horses here you’re worried about more than any other?
Bob Baffert: I worry about just keeping the horse sharp, and it’s basically I really don’t look at the competition that way. I worry about my own horse being sharp, because if he’s not sharp, it doesn’t matter who I’m in with.
Tom Wilkin: You’ll ship tomorrow?
Bob Baffert: Yes, he leaves tomorrow.
Tom Wilkin: Great. I’m sorry we won’t be seeing you, Bob.
Bob Baffert: Yes, if I didn’t have the Pacific Classic I would’ve probably come, but I’m staying here, and only one of us can go, so Jimmy’s my shipping guy. He does a fantastic job for me and he loves it. He loves to be away from me for a few days.
Tom Pedulla: Bob, with Mike Smith, how much—could you talk about how he helped you with Game On Dude, and, you know, maybe how he has helped you with horses in general? I guess that’s part of what he brings to the party, so to speak.
Bob Baffert: Well, there are certain riders that I’ve known through the years that they can ride a horse for you and they can come back and they can tell you, oh, I rode him wrong. He wants to do this, this, and that. He’s one of them. Gary Stevens, he’s another one who’s been great. It’s amazing some of these guys they can—you can have somebody riding your horse the whole time and they don’t—and one guy gets on him and says, boy, this horse does not want to run this way. So he’s one of those jockeys that can tell you that. We’re all students of the game. You know, I’m still learning to this day. I learn more about horse racing, training, and, you have to adapt to certain situations. So just like when a horse gets older you can’t train them the same as—I can’t train them like I did when he was a three-year-old. You know, as they get older you’ve got to know when you can lean on them and when not to Mike has passion for the game and just the way he works out every day to keep himself, he knows he’s old and he’s getting up there in age, he knows, the minute people see that when you’re that old and you can’t come out of the gate anymore or you’re not doing very well, people, they’ll drop you in a heartbeat. He knows that so he makes sure he stays as sharp as he can and he has a lot of confidence in himself, so that’s very important.
Tom Pedulla: Okay, and then just secondly, with Bayern, do you feel like there’s still a time and an opportunity for him to maybe be still the top three-year-old, maybe even a horse of the year if he were to win out?
Bob Baffert: I really haven’t visited that thinking yet. I’m just trying to keep him healthy and trying to knock off a big race with him and give Kaleem Shah the opportunity of a lifetime to have a horse like that and really enjoy him, and just that’s why we’re all in it. That’s why we spend money on these horses trying to sit in the front row and enjoy a big horse like that and the excitement of it all. So it was very exciting just winning the Haskell. It was so exciting for all of us, and it was just a great feeling, you know, any time you win any of those major races like the Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Haskell, Travers, it’s huge, with a three-year-old. So it’s fun and we have the passion for it and that’s why we work so hard and put so much time and energy into it because this is what we all live for.
Tom Pedulla: I mean I guess like to Jennie’s question, most of us think you have a sensational sprinter, so I think we’re a little puzzled why you’re venturing into the unknown, so to speak, with a race like the Travers?
Bob Baffert: The sensational sprinter, his name is Secret Circle. He’s in the barn.
John White: Bob, you were talking about Kaleem Shah, and, you know, how meaningful it is for you and him to have a horse to win the Haskell like Bayern. How was it you came to train for Kaleem Shah? How did you guys get together?
Bob Baffert: We hooked up through Hill n’ Dale Farm. He got a hold of somebody there; it was either (inaudible). Actually his son, Armand, who loves the horse, he’s 15 years old now and he was a big fan of mine and he wanted his dad to—he wanted me to train for him. That’s how we hooked up. He bought the horse and met him at a sale and we just (inaudible) buying horses. We’ve had some good luck and we’ve had some bad luck like anybody has, but he’s really enjoying it. The thing about Kaleem is his father was a big-time trainer in India, but he never let Kaleem get involved in any of the horse racing. He wanted him to go to school and get educated. He did, and so now he’s just enjoying something that he really couldn’t be involved in when he was younger. Kaleem and his son, Armand, they have a passion for it which you need to have anyway. So, Kaleem, he loves the competition, and owning a really good horse, and, just he excitement of it all. It’s just it’s a great feeling when you have a good horse and it’s just the biggest picker upper anyone can have.
John White: And also if you could give us a Midnight Lucky update?
Bob Baffert: Well, she’s actually in training. She’s down here in Del Mar training, and she’s’ going to go straight right into the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.
John White: How close is she to a breeze would you say?
Bob Baffert: Probably at the end of the month here.
David Grening: Bob, what gave you the confidence to run back in the Woody Stephens after the Preakness?
Bob Baffert: Well, he’d worked well for all of his races. That’s why we were so puzzled by his performances. So I thought, well, maybe he’s a one turn horse; maybe I’m running him too far. So I thought we’ll run him back in the Woody Stephens. Then he drew the insi