National Media Teleconference Transcript and Audio (Baffert, Moquett, Ramsey)

 

 

Jim Mulvihill:  All right, thanks everybody for joining us today on our national media teleconference. Today we’re previewing the final two road to the Kentucky Derby Championship Series races, Saturday’s Arkansas Derby at Oak Lawn Park and the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland.

 

The Arkansas Derby is worth 170 points with 100 to the winner, while the Lexington is worth 17 points, 10 of those to the winner. Keeneland, I would like to mention, is one of the 23 race tracks accredited by the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance, covering nearly all of the Grade 1 races in the US.

 

Note that the Kentucky Derby field is far from set. Consider if you would that if the Arkansas Derby came in with two longshots on top, followed by Dazzling Gem in third and Whitmore in fourth that will still give four horses the chance to vault into the Top 20. So really only those with 40 points or more can confidently say that they’re in the Kentucky Derby gate as of today.

 

Now later in this call we’re going to be joined by owner and breeder, Ken Ramsey. He’s in the Lexington with Pinson who although doesn’t have much of a shot of making the Derby field, Mr. Ramsey does have Oscar nominated the Spiral winner who is already safely in the derby gate with 50 points.

And before that we’re going to get to hear from the trainers of the leading Arkansas Derby contenders. Those are top two from last month’s Rebel Stakes, second was Whitmore, trained by Ron Moquett. And the winner of course was Cupid from the barn of our first guest, and that is Hall of Fame and Triple Crown winning trainer, Bob Baffert.

We should also mention that in addition to Cupid, Bob trains Mor Spirit, second in the Santa Anita Derby, and one of the more highly regarded 3-year-olds throughout this year, as well as Collected, who could have an outside shot of making the derby gate if he wanted to with a win in the Lexington on Saturday.

So now let’s check in with Bob Baffert. Bob, it’s Jim Mulvihill in Lexington. Thanks for joining us.

 

Bob Baffert:  Thank you Jim and last time I saw you was the Super Bowl.

 

Jim Mulvihill:  That’s absolutely correct. If a trainer wins the Triple Crown, they get a trip to the Super Bowl. That’s our new deal at the NTRA. That’s seems….

 

(Crosstalk)

 

Bob Baffert:  Right. Yesterday Cupid broke his maiden.

 

Jim Mulvihill:  That’s exactly right. Well Bob, thanks for being here with us. You know, speaking of Cupid, let’s talk about the Arkansas Derby. You had this incredible run last year with American Pharaoh winning the Rebel and the Arkansas Derby to kick it off. Now Cupid’s on that same path. So if you can just tell us what you saw in Cupid’s Rebel win last month that most impressed you?

 

Bob Baffert:  Well going in we were hoping he was going to run well. And you really don’t know how he’s going to ship. So he handled the ship well and everything.

 

And then he took a little step slow, rushed up, still made the lead. He kept running, almost hit the rail. And still managed to hold off that fast closing Whitmore.

 

So, you know, I think it showed us a different dimension.  And he’s very fast. And beautiful long, striding horse.

 

And so we were like, I knew he was a nice horse, but he just showed us something different. So I was pretty happy with his run. And he’s come back. He’s worked well. He breezed today. He went an easy half mile. And he looks ready. Hopefully he’ll get another decent post.

 

 Jim Mulvihill:  Yes last time Martin really had to ride him to get the lead. Was that part of the game plan? Did you want him to go to the lead at all costs or?

 

Bob Baffert:  Well he didn’t break. And at Oaklawn they load one at a time. So totally, they’re in the gate for over two minutes. So sometimes they can get in there and just get a little stale in there.

 

And he broke a little flat footed for some reason. And when he broke his maiden he broke well, but he’s never really broken really sharp. And he needs to get away from there and his speed is his weapon. So he needs to get in the race early.

 

Jim Mulvihill:  Very good. Well Bob I’m going to step aside and (Nick) can check with the media and get some more questions from them.

 

Operator:  Thank you. If you would like to ask a question, please signal by pressing Star 1 on your telephone keypad. If you are using a speakerphone, please make sure your mute function is turned off to allow your signal to reach our equipment.

 

Lynn Snearson:  Are you training Cupid any differently than you had trained any of your other past Arkansas Derby winners coming into this race?

 

Bob Baffert:  I guess they’re all different. I trained them differently. Pharaoh was trained differently, but a lot – this week and last week I had to work around the weather little bit here. So I worked him a little bit different patterns then I usually would work.

 

But, you don’t want him to get to light. First when you ship and you ship twice can be a little bit tougher on him. That’s what made Pharaoh such a great horse was.

 

They have a small window of greatness, where Pharaoh, he had a window all year long, which is very rare. But so far I haven’t seen him regress. If I thought I saw a little regress, I would have weighed in, you know, and just run him fresh into the Derby.

 

Or maybe I could have taken him to the Coolmore Lexington run and run him we’re getting ready to ship out tomorrow.

 

Lynn Snearso:  Excellent. Are you coming, or is it just a Jimmy?

 

Bob Baffert:  Just Jimmy. Jimmy will be there.

 

Lynn Snearson:  Okay. Okay. And again, with the Arkansas Derby and all of the races in Arkansas, with the incredible success you’ve had, do you think that, you know, this horse is going to be carrying a lot of expectations on its back?

 

Bob Baffert:  Well, anytime we ship – we are hoping to win. And we’re disappointed, or surprised, disappointed when we go. And so, you know, you still need racing luck.

 

All that we can do is just, you know, he’s doing well. He needs to run the same race that he did last time to be competitive.  We just want to be competitive. And that they separate themselves, especially going a mile and an eighth, that’s when they start to separate themselves pretty well.

 

Operator:  Our next question comes from the line of Ed McNamara at Newsday. Please go ahead.

 

Ed McNamara:  I was wondering if you can sense a certain hangover effect after the Triple Crown finally got won and Pharaoh, what a sense of relief to millions of people.

 

It just seems to me that if that hadn’t happened there be more of a buzz about Nyquist who has done some amazing things. Would you agree that there’s maybe a hangover effect for this sport?

 

Bob Baffert:  You know, I think what Pharaoh did,  I think he created more interest in the sport. And I think it will be bigger. I think people are really following it now to see if they can watch another horse. And I think he brought a lot of new fans into the sport. And we’re sort of writing that wave.

 

And then Nyquist, he’s been perfect. And everybody’s thinking maybe we’re going to get another horse like that. So far the way he’s run, it’s exciting. Now for the competitor, it’s not so exciting, but it’s exciting to watch.

Operator:  Our next question comes from the line of Danny Brewer at horseracingscoop.com. Please go ahead.

 

Danny Brewer:  Hey Bob, it’s hillbilly time. Middle Tennessee, you got it man. Hey, what size shirt you wear? Large, right?

 

Bob Baffert:  It depends.

 

Danny Brewer:  There you go.

 

Bob Baffert:  I think was a small – after the San Diego Derby I shrunk to about a small.

 

(Crosstalk)

 

Danny Brewer:  Well what about the mental growth of Cupid after the Rebel? Do you think – has he grown mentally since that? Because he looked like he raddled the green but ran strong.

 

Bob Baffert:  Yes any of that. When he turned for home he sort of dug in a little bit. I think that turn comes up really sharp. And I think he just over probably turned a little bit there.

The crowd on the outside rail were yelling. Maybe he you saw that. But I don’t know.

 

It was probably a little bit of both.  So I think the break is going to be really important. And we really got lucky last time that he was able to – he can’t be doing that. I mean, you know, he has to leave there with a feel.

 

Danny Brewer:  Talk about Martin for just a second. And well I know he rides a lot for you. Talk about him as far as what he brings to the table.

 

Bob Baffert:  Well he’s a very important part because he preps all these horses. He helps prep them. You know, he wears a radio. He knows how they feel. He knows what I expect. Or when we get one ready for a big race we sit down and we talk about what I’m looking for in this horse.

 

I’m looking for something like this. We need to sharpen him up or we need to go easy or whatever. So he knows the way I think and he knows my style. He’s a great little athlete, he was pretty excited today.

 

Operator:  Our next question comes from the line of Tom Pedulla at America’s Best Racing. Please go ahead.

 

Tom Pedulla:  Yes hey Bob. I wanted to ask if there was any kind of emotional letdown for you after you did finally win the Triple Crown. You know, did you have to work at all to get the competitive fires burning again?

 

Bob Baffert:  What it was with retiring Pharaoh is that usually at the end of the year, they’re usually starting to tail off or whatever, and they go to the farm. But with him, I was giving up a horse that was just going to start getting better and better.

 

And we got so close to him. But – because he was a sweet horse. He’s a horse that I could share him with so many fans. Let them touch him and everything. But he’s the only horse I’ve ever been able to do that with because he was a kind, sweet, intelligent horse.

 

So we all fell in love with him. And to see him leave, it was sad because it’s like watching your child leave. You’re wondering is he sleeping at night. Is he going to be okay? Is he going to miss us? And so we went through about 60 days of pretty, I would say we were a little bit depressed about it, , not being able to know he was in the barn and go see him.

 

But at that the same time we have some great memories, from when my wife, Jill, and my kids that we got to be a part of it. And my kids will be able to tell their kids about that wonderful part of their life. They’ll always be remembered.

And so it was tough, you know, when he left. But now we’re always looking at those young 2-year-olds coming up. Just like now I’ve got my new 2-year-old coming out. We’re getting excited about them. So we always have our mind thinking about other things – about the future.

 

Tom Pedulla:  Okay. And just if I may follow up. Would you say you’re as driven to win these Triple Crown races as when you started?

 

Bob Baffert:  Well I think that when I first started I was just more into winning the Breeders’ Cup’s Sprint.. I thought that would be really great.

 

And then when I ran second with Cavalier in the Derby, which was just most – the most brutal loss of my career. That really, really got me going on the Kentucky Derby.

 

I think the Kentucky Derby that the classics are really – will keep us geared up and keep that competitive – those juices flowing if you can have a horse good enough to run in those races.

 

Really, you know, we work hard trying to get there. And so, you know, you get to the point where you were sort of expected to get there. But, you know, it’s not easy. It’s hard – so when you have a horse like Mor Spirit and Cupid that look like they’re going to be competitive, it’s like, it’s an honor to be saying hey, you know what? Maybe there’s a little hope, a little dream there

 

Operator:  Our next question comes from the line of Ron Flatter at RS in Australia. Please go ahead.

 

Ron Flatter:  Bob let me just follow up at what Tom was going with in terms of American Pharaoh. Just bluntly put, do you regret not seeing him race at age 4?

 

Bob Baffert:  Well not really it would have been – what he had accomplished, it was an incredible feat. And so it’s way too much pressure for – the economics of it, what he’s doing at Stallion, it’s like – it’s just way, you know, the insurance.

 

There is an economics part of it too. You can’t take a chance with these horses when they’ve been so much. And that’s why, you know, the Breeders’ Cup going into it I was a little bit- pretty sad about it.

 

You know, I knew he was going to run well, but we knew that was going to be it. But he went out the right way. And I’m glad he’s a stallion because, you know, I’d like to have him around to pet. But if he was a gelding he would have been great. Then, you know, we could have had him around, the rest of his life. I’d just keep him at the barn until he’s 25-years-old.

 

But he, you know, he needed to be rewarded, like he’s being rewarded right now. And what better way.

 

Ron Flatter:  I want to ask you about Collected. He’s one of eight horses still on the derby trail theoretically that has won a prep race. And finds himself behind two maidens that one of which would be in the derby field right now.

 

Does Collected belong? And is there something wrong with the system when two maidens could be ahead of eight prep winners?

 

Bob Baffert:  You know what? The point system is mainly for the owners they’re worried about points. I figure if your horse is good enough, you’re going to get the point.

 

But Collected actually running, he’ll run this week in the Coolmore Lexington Stakes. So he worked today. I like the way he worked. So he’ll be headed there. And we’ll see what he does.

 

I don’t know about a mile and a quarter for him. We’re not really sold on the idea of him running that far. But, if he were to run well there, the Preakness might be, you know, if we were thinking something, maybe the Preakness for him. But one race at a time. But we’re being realistic on here on distance on him.

 

Operator:  Our next question comes from the line of Art Wilson at the Southern California Newspaper Group. Please go ahead.

 

Art Wilson:  Hey Bob. You’ve always compared the road to the derby to March madness. And now we’ve kind of hit the final four, on the verge of the national championship game, the derby.

 

What’s your feelings right now? How do you feel about the national picture? Is it Nyquist and everybody else? Is it kind of a grab bag underneath him or what’s your feelings about it right now?

 

Bob Baffert:  Well I think right now it’s Nyquist, definitely. He hasn’t done anything wrong at all. You know, he’s been handled great. He’s all race horse. We keep waiting for him  that he’s not going to get the distance. But he’s so good that he just keeps on going.

 

The pedigree now in America, it’s so diluted now. Pedigree doesn’t really matter anymore. But it’s how good you are. So I think you have Nyquist and that you have a lot of horses underneath,  it’s like going to be like the Masters.

 

You know, you’re going to need some luck. And so everything – there’s so much. I mean we have a 20 horse to deal with. There’s so many things that can go wrong. But you need a nice horse. So we still have a long way to go.

 

Art Wilson:  And my second question. Could you kind of give us an update on two of your older stars, Dortmund and Hopportunity?

 

Bob Baffert:  Yes, Hopportunity, he actually just went back to the track today from Dubai. He came back. Looks good. And then Dortmund, he’s still at the farm. And he’s going to come back probably next week.

 

Bob Baffert:  He gives me the impression he was just getting burned out a little bit.

 

Art Wilson:  Right. Would either of those be on the – either one of those horses be on the radar for the Gold Cup at Santa Anita or?

 

Bob Baffert:  No not at all. No.

 

Art Wilson:  No, okay.

 

Bob Baffert:  I mean not Dortmund. Not Dortmund.

 

Art Wilson:  Okay but maybe Hopportunity?

 

Bob Baffert:  Maybe, yes. Maybe.

 

Operator:  Our next question comes from the line of Debbie Arrington, Sacramento Bee. Please go ahead.

 

Debbie Arrington:  Well, Cupid he was a late foal. And he seems to be developing a lot this spring. Do you see him growing up? And what kind of horse is he around the barn?

 

Bob Baffert:  He was named right, Cupid. He’s got that little look to him. I’ve had Indianapolis, who is really fast. One turn, he was a sprinter.

 

And his little brother, Green Team, he’d run here. He looks totally different. He’s just a different – he’s just a horse that he’s shown that he’s definitely not a sprinter. You know, I ran him his first out, he’s not that quick. But he’s come around quickly in the last – since January.

 

And he’s really matured a lot. And he’s handling it. He can be a little bit of a handful because he’s like most Tapits, they can get a little bit excited. We’ve put a lot of work into him just to keep him focused and relaxed a little bit.

 

Debbie Arrington:  And he looks like a pretty big horse. How big is he?

 

Bob Baffert:  Yes he’s a tall horse. He’s not a small horse. He’s probably, I want to say he’s around 16, 2 maybe, 16, 1, 16, 2. But he’s a good size. Sort of a narrow horse. He’s not a real big wily horse. He’s narrow. So it’s easier on him.

 

Debbie Arrington:  And how did Mor Spirit come out of the Santa Anita Derby?

 

Bob Baffert:  He actually came out very well. He actually went back to the track. He didn’t run his race the track surface really threw whole race upside down.

 

And so we were wanted to be near the lead, but when the, you know, (Gary) said that everybody left there all in shock. They left there like their hair was on fire. And so he  hung there in the middle.

 

The horse just came back, basically just passed Pirate horse at the end, the winner. Ran a great race. And so – but he looks great. It was disappointing, but we’ll move on. And, you know, he runs – he’s first or second every time, so you need that.

 

Debbie Arrington:  And is the – you still going on to Kentucky with him?

 

Bob Baffert:  Oh definitely. Oh yes.

 

Debbie Arrington:  Good.

 

Bob Baffert:  For what happened I don’t like to make excuses for my horses. But he didn’t get the trip we were hoping to get. But Gary, he came back with a lot of mud. And it went well. So he got a good schooling out of it.

 

You know, he still ran second. I don’t know if we would have beat the winner that day. That winner he is a freak. So nobody was going to beat him that day. So it’s just one of those days you have to be really good on that one day.

 

Debbie Arrington:  Yes. And how has Mor Spirit matured this spring?

 

Bob Baffert:  Well he’s a big horse. You know, I measured him yesterday. He’s like 16,  big, strong horse. And tries, he doesn’t like mud. He’s, just really just runs all right in it.

He didn’t really like to go in there. But he still ran an incredible race. You know, he ran a good race.

 

Debbie Arrington:  Considering those conditions, he did…

 

Bob Baffert:  He’s a big, beautiful, black – he’s a beautiful horse.

 

Bob Baffert:  And he’s silly a little bit. He’s funny. He’ gets a little spooky, the paint. He sees things and so, you know, when that mud hit him in the face, he did not like that at all, but he handled it. At least he took it.

 

You know, it looked like he wasn’t going to run anywhere. He looked like he was going to be out for it. And then he just kept moving right along. So I think it was better than it looked.

 

You know, we would have liked to have won it. We survived it. The horse came back great. So that’s the main thing.

 

Operator:  Our next call comes from the line of Jonathan Litner at the Courier Journal. Please go ahead.

 

Jonathan Litner:  Hi Bob. Thanks for taking the time to do this. I was wondering if you’ve gotten to thinking about shipping plans yet for Mor Spirit. When we could see him at Churchill Downs?

 

And then as far as Cupid, if you’d think you’d take him straight there after the Arkansas Derby assuming all goes well?

 

Bob Baffert:  Yes the plan is after the Arkansas Derby they ship to Churchill. And Cupid will ship there and then Mor Spirit will ship next week after the next plane out, whenever that is. So he should be there probably the middle of next week.

Operator:  Our next question comes from the line of Mike Kane of Thoroughbred Daily News. Please go ahead.

 

Mike Kane:  Hi Bob. Could you – Michael Long-Peterson has been one of your owners for a few years now. Could you describe his enthusiasm? How he approaches the sport in the years that he’s been working with you?

 

Bob Baffert:  Yes – he’s learning little by little. And he’s been very patient, very patient. And he was getting excited. You know, we were all a little bit disappointed the other day that he got beat.

 

We were hoping to win the San Anita Derby go into the Kentucky Derby is one of the big guns. And, it was a little bit disappointing for all of us. But, you know, I explained to him sometimes the mud, whatever. But,he understands that it’s tough, it’s a tough game.

 

, I just told him, you know, go to the Derby and enjoy yourself. And we still need a lot of luck, so.

 

Mike Kane:  Is he your first European kind of owner? A guy that was born and raised in Europe? And if so, is he – does he – might he have a different approach to things than Americans that you’ve been dealing with through the years?

 

Bob Baffert:  Well, I think he’s lived here in the states for a while. I don’t consider him like a foreigner. I mean he lives in Maryland, it doesn’t make any difference.

 

Operator:  Our next question comes from the line of (Tom Dersha) at Horse Race Insider. Please go ahead.

 

Tom Jicha:  Bob, this is the second year in a row, and actually many years you’ve come to the Arkansas Derby. It’s three weeks out from the derby. That’s contrary to the way our trainers seem to be thinking now.

 

Doug O’Neill said he came to Florida to face ((inaudible)) because it was five weeks. I think there might have been a million other reasons. But if you could schedule the races, the derby preps, how far out would be your ideal?

 

Bob Baffert:  I think three weeks is fine. I mean the ((inaudible)), the Blue Grass is three weeks. They change them because of some of these trainers feel, they feel like they need an extra week. I think it’s everybody has their own. But to me, really, I think three weeks is fine.

 

I mean I’ve seen the Derby run in two weeks out. It’s the sheet guys sort of tell them you don’t want to run a big number this close. Your horse is going to bounce. So they go by that. So I don’t really go by that.

 

Tom Jicha: And in fact, American Pharaoh wound up running four races in eight weeks as it were with the Triple Crown. Was he – he was none the worse for wear I take it?

 

Bob Baffert:  No. If you have the right horse, he can handle it. He was a special horse. I’ve been training horses all my life. And, most of these horses, they’re getting better.

 

Like Real Quiet was getting better at that and then Charlie. You know, some horses they can’t handle that close of a  window. Like Dortmund couldn’t. And a lot of horses, they’ve have a short window of being great.

 

And Pharaoh had a window that was open all year long. That’s what made him – that’s what separates him. That’s why he was so great. I’ve had a lot of horses that were just as fast as Pharaoh, but their window was only open for a few races.

 

Tom Jicha:  Yes, and probably ((inaudible)). But if all goes well with Cupid, he’ll run four weeks – four races in eight weeks too.

 

Bob Baffert:  Yes. I don’t have to train him that hard. You get a race under him, and you’re going a mile and a quarter. So, you know, it depends.

 

You know, they still have to be tough. First they have to be a very good horse and they have to be tough to be able to handle it. We just go race by race. I mean it was timing wise, with him, you know, that – we’ll probably still have time would help him. But we were in the situation where, you know, right now we’re just thinking Arkansas Derby.

 

Jim Mulvihill:  All right, Bob. Thanks as always for giving us so much time today. I tried not to root too hard for any individual trainers. But if you were to win another Triple Crown, I’d look forward to another Super Bowl in February.

 

Bob Baffert:  I just want to win another Kentucky Derby.

 

Jim Mulvihill:  Fair enough. Fair enough. All right, Bob, well thanks so much.

 

Jim Mulvihill:  All right, thanks Bob. All right, always glad to be joined by Bob Baffert. He, of course, is a two-time winner of the Arkansas Derby with American Pharaoh last year of courses, but also Bodemeister in 2012.

 

Our next guest trained to the horse that ran second to American Pharaoh in the Arkansas Derby last year. That was Far Right. Last weekend Far Right been really loved the cut back to sprinting at Keeneland, but Far Right is also relevant to the road to the Triple Crown conversation because the weekend before that he was training with Whitmore, who is Ron’s Arkansas Derby contender, the Rebel runner up of course.

 

Ron Moquett, you’re on with Jim Mulvihill in Lexington. Thanks for being on with us.

 

Ron Moquett:  Thank you very much for having me.

 

Jim Mulvihill:  It’s our pleasure. We always appreciate the time. But you know, Whitmore’s Rebel was still impressive. When he made that move and then he swung wide into the stretch, you had to think you were a winner at that point, no?

 

Ron Moquett:  Yes. I knew that we still have a very good horse in front of us who was able to control the pace after the first quarter. And it would be kind of hard if he had very much left in him. And he did. He ran well.

 

And, you know, Leader horse backed up. They both kept going forward, but he had more in his tank that day.

 

Jim Mulvihill:  Indeed. And, you know, just to clarify for folks that are writing about the race this week, will Irad be back on him on Saturday?

 

Ron Moquett:  Yes.

 

Jim Mulvihill:  Okay, okay great. Now just a little bit of background. These are the same owners as Far Right, Bob LaPenta, Harry Rosenblum. But this time you’re a co-owner as well. So I’m hoping maybe you can give us a little bit of the background on how you three acquired this horse and how you came to be one of the partners.