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00:00:00Welcome to another edition of the
00:00:29TVN Writer's Room Podcast.
00:00:31My name is Bill Finley.
00:00:32I'm a correspondent for the Thoroughbred Daily News,
00:00:35also the co-host of the Down the Stretch Radio Show
00:00:37on Sirius XM Radio.
00:00:39Randy Moss here with NBC Sports.
00:00:42Sorry, I kind of lost my train of thought there.
00:00:44I was looking down at my notes.
00:00:46Ready to roll, Zoe.
00:00:48Getting ready to roll.
00:00:49I feel a rabbit hole coming on.
00:00:51That's exactly what I'm feeling here
00:00:53with Randy's already prepping with his notes.
00:00:56All right.
00:00:56Remember, we've got to keep this show short.
00:01:00Careful.
00:01:00We have a limit on rabbit holes, okay?
00:01:04One and a half rabbit holes per show.
00:01:07How about that?
00:01:08We have about an hour on the Saudi Cup, right?
00:01:10Yeah, that would be great.
00:01:12That would be great.
00:01:12Guys, you got me.
00:01:14I was a curmudgeon last week.
00:01:16And the things, I just don't follow
00:01:19non-US, North American racing.
00:01:24If there's a big horse in something like
00:01:26the Dubai World Cup or something,
00:01:27sure, I'll pay attention to it.
00:01:29But the Saudi Cup was really void of American participants.
00:01:34You had Rattle and Roll in the Saudi Classic,
00:01:37and you had Straight No Chaser,
00:01:39who did win the Riyadh Sprint.
00:01:43So I don't, it's just me.
00:01:45I'm not really interested in it.
00:01:48But I got to be the first to admit that was an unbelievable horse race.
00:01:52And maybe now that will get me interested in it.
00:01:55You had two of the best horses in the world,
00:01:57Romantic Warrior from Hong Kong and Forever Young,
00:02:00who was a horse that's raced a couple times in the U.S. already.
00:02:03I've been around third last year in the Kentucky Derby.
00:02:06And Zoe, I'll start with you.
00:02:08I mean, we've seen a lot of horses, you know, they lose their advantage.
00:02:12They fall back by a head and they come on again in the final yards
00:02:16and get the job done.
00:02:20I've never seen something quite like this,
00:02:22where Romantic Warrior went by Forever Young,
00:02:25like he was standing still,
00:02:27opened up about a length and a half of him.
00:02:29The race is over.
00:02:31Absolutely, that's it.
00:02:31Go to the windows.
00:02:32Cash your tickets on Forever Young.
00:02:34Of course, there's no pair of mutual windows in Saudi Arabia
00:02:36because they don't take betting there.
00:02:38But, you know, was it a matter of Forever Young?
00:02:42Is that game and gutsy?
00:02:44Was it a matter of Romantic Warrior getting tired?
00:02:46It was, it really was, you know,
00:02:49thank you for goading me into watching and showing some interest in it.
00:02:53It was something special.
00:02:55It was epic.
00:02:56That is one of the best horse races I think I have ever seen in my lifetime.
00:03:02It was epic.
00:03:02And, you know, the really interesting thing when you look at the Breeders' Cup
00:03:07was an epic race.
00:03:09Oh, look, Forever Young was in there.
00:03:11The Derby was epic.
00:03:13Oh, look, Forever Young was in there.
00:03:15What a racehorse he is.
00:03:17He is absolutely amazing.
00:03:19And let us take nothing away from Romantic Warrior.
00:03:22And Danny Shum and the job he's done with him
00:03:25because this is a turf horse.
00:03:27We know a lot of the time, especially over there in Saudi,
00:03:30their main track is very kind to turf runners.
00:03:33It's got less kickback.
00:03:35It's very soft.
00:03:36Turf runners, for whatever reason,
00:03:37seem to run exceedingly well over that main track in Saudi.
00:03:42So I know probably James McDonald got a little bit of heat for the ride.
00:03:48He put on Romantic Warrior.
00:03:49He was sitting in a perfect spot, just tracking, just tracking Forever Young.
00:03:54He was almost right behind him.
00:03:56And then he made this big, wide, ballsy move on the turn.
00:04:00Now, he knows the horse better than anyone.
00:04:02I think he thought that's what he had to do.
00:04:05But he was five wide, going faster than anyone, and losing ground.
00:04:08So he made this huge, big, turfy, sweeping move.
00:04:13And then Forever Young is just scrubbing.
00:04:15And he likes to be on the outside of horses.
00:04:18He has really grown up over the course of the last year.
00:04:21He switched leads on cue.
00:04:23He got outside.
00:04:24The young jock rode him very, very well.
00:04:27And he just ground him down.
00:04:28And when you watch him come to the wire,
00:04:31Romantic Warrior stride is getting shorter.
00:04:33I think that's where the turf horse came out in him, in the final jumps.
00:04:39And where Forever Young, who is a proven dirt horse,
00:04:42just kept grinding along and just kept going.
00:04:44And Romantic Warrior had his big turf punch.
00:04:48And then he was like, oh, what's this brown stuff I'm running on?
00:04:50Oh, yeah, okay.
00:04:52He made that huge move.
00:04:53And was it to the detriment?
00:04:55Did James McDonnell move too soon?
00:04:58Or did he not?
00:04:59I don't know.
00:04:59I'm not sure I could critique him.
00:05:01He just got beat fair and square by a really tough racehorse in Forever Young.
00:05:06There were no losers in that race.
00:05:08It was absolutely terrific.
00:05:10There are no superlatives, not enough superlatives to talk about that race.
00:05:14But I'm sure Randy will find some.
00:05:16Well, you can't critique James McDonnell.
00:05:19I sure the hell can.
00:05:20I know you can.
00:05:21Let me get back, though, to let's talk about Forever Young for a second.
00:05:26We don't do buyer speed figures for Saudi Arabia officially or Dubai.
00:05:31But we've got a really good line on what they would be based on previous results in American
00:05:36horses and all that.
00:05:38That Saudi Cup comes back a 117.
00:05:42So right now, you can pencil in, until we see further evidence, you can pencil in Forever
00:05:49Young as the leading contender for the Breeders' Cup Classic this fall at Del Mar, pending what
00:05:56we see from fierceness, what we see from Sierra Leone and whoever else might step up this year
00:06:01in America.
00:06:02They've changed his, they've tweaked his running style a little bit to ask him to run a little
00:06:06bit more early and get him into the race more than they, than they used to.
00:06:11And he also seems to be improving dramatically from race to race to race.
00:06:16Having said that, he's not the best horse in the world, because the best dirt horse in the world,
00:06:21because the best dirt horse in the world is Romantic Warrior.
00:06:24And unfortunately, we won't, probably will never get to see him run on dirt again.
00:06:29James McDonnell is a 33-year-old native of New Zealand, for people that don't follow Australian
00:06:35racing.
00:06:35I don't think the three of us really do.
00:06:38He's the leading jockey in Australia.
00:06:41Twice, he's been named the Longines World Champion Jockey, 2022 and 2024.
00:06:48He's regarded as a superstar.
00:06:51And many people in Australia who have very good opinions believe that when his career is
00:06:56over, he will have gone down in history as one of, if not the greatest jockey of all time.
00:07:01You know, that's the esteem with which James McDonnell has held, okay?
00:07:07And he's very familiar with Romantic Warrior.
00:07:09He'd ridden him 12 times prior to the Saudi Cup.
00:07:13Having said that, even the best jockeys in the world will make mistakes.
00:07:17He said he was gutted at Romantic Warrior's loss.
00:07:21He should have been gutted, because he's the one that cost him the race.
00:07:25He's sitting there in a perfect spot.
00:07:28Yeah.
00:07:28Right behind Forever Young.
00:07:30You pointed out there's not a whole lot of kickback in Saudi compared to other racetracks.
00:07:35He was comfortable.
00:07:36And Romantic himself said that the kickback the horse was getting, he was handling beautifully.
00:07:41The three horses up around Forever Young were 66 to 1, 50 to 1, and 70 to 1.
00:07:47They all finished in the back of the pack.
00:07:49There was no doubt that if he had just been patient and sat in that spot, plenty of room
00:07:56would have opened up to swing outside of Forever Young at the top of the long Saudi stretch.
00:08:02Instead, he takes a right turn for Lou's ground five wide.
00:08:08And, Zoe, he made his move at the half mile pole.
00:08:11Oh, he was rolling.
00:08:12But a half mile from the finish on a tiring dirt track that Romantic Warrior had never been
00:08:19on before, much more tiring than turf, he's asking this horse to make an extended four-fur-long
00:08:25move against one of the best turf dirt horses in the world and Forever Young.
00:08:30It's unbelievable that the horse ran as well as he did, given what James McDonald made the
00:08:37horse do.
00:08:37It's just staggering that the horse ran so well.
00:08:42Randy, everything you said resonates with me, but one thing, are you perhaps not giving
00:08:48Forever Young enough credit?
00:08:50No, he was amazing.
00:08:53Okay, right.
00:08:54Yeah, I mean, Forever Young ran an unbelievable race.
00:08:57The two best dirt races we've seen since Flightline.
00:09:00Right.
00:09:00Right?
00:09:01I mean, they were both unbelievable, but Romantic Warrior was the best horse.
00:09:06I really, yeah, I wanted to hear from the connections afterwards, and I think they were all just
00:09:12a little bit sour, because I thought maybe we might hear from the connections.
00:09:16The coverage was great, but I was like, are we going to hear from James McDonald, or are
00:09:20we going to hear from the losing trainer?
00:09:22And there was like a mute silence.
00:09:26Nothing.
00:09:26Yeah.
00:09:27Crickets.
00:09:27Well, it's a shame that apparently Romantic Warrior is going to run on the turf in Dubai,
00:09:34which is fine.
00:09:35And then the trainer has said that, Danny, that they're going to send him back to Hong
00:09:39Kong and will probably never travel with him again.
00:09:42He's a seven-year-old.
00:09:44So dirt would be out of the question.
00:09:47Yeah.
00:09:47Unless they run him on dirt in Hong Kong.
00:09:49I mean, who knows?
00:09:49But wouldn't it be great to have he and Forever Young rematched in the Breeders' Cup Classic
00:09:55against our best dirt horses?
00:09:57It would be unbelievable.
00:09:58But sadly, apparently, that's not in the cards.
00:10:00But he is the best dirt horse in the world.
00:10:04And he's going to be one and done with an unbelievable second-place finish in the Saudi
00:10:08Cup.
00:10:08It was an amazing race.
00:10:10He's 18 for 24.
00:10:11Forever Young is 8 for 10.
00:10:13And he's got a lot more running left in him.
00:10:16And what about Ushpa Tuzora?
00:10:17Let's give that old man some love.
00:10:19Eight years old, and he come clunking along, looked like he was going to be tailed off.
00:10:23And then he comes running for third.
00:10:25I mean, he was 10 lengths behind the two in front, but still, he still picks up a significant
00:10:31paycheck.
00:10:32One of the greatest races I've seen in a long time.
00:10:34Yeah.
00:10:34Amazing.
00:10:36And another horse that picked up a significant paycheck is Straight No Chaser.
00:10:39Danny, hold on.
00:10:40How about the trainer?
00:10:43What's his name?
00:10:44Yoshida Yohagi.
00:10:46The purple hat guy.
00:10:48Yeah.
00:10:48Amazing.
00:10:48He's only been training for 20 years.
00:10:52Like, he's 63 years old.
00:10:53He started training.
00:10:54He got his license in Japan in 2004.
00:10:57He's done a lot over the course of his short career.
00:11:00Like, you'd think he was a guy who's been training since his 20s.
00:11:04I mean, he's done a marvelous job.
00:11:06His whole team is phenomenal.
00:11:07And the Japanese, of course, they were unbelievable, as always, in Saudi Arabia.
00:11:14I mean, I know, you know, Kuhlmore typically doesn't send their very best to Saudi Arabia.
00:11:18They wait for Dubai.
00:11:20And Godolphin, obviously, runs their best in Dubai and not Saudi Arabia.
00:11:24But still, I mean, the Japanese, again, time and time again, at the Saudi Cup, have been just almost unbeatable.
00:11:31Well, the other American, the only American winner on the card was Straight No Chaser in the Riyadh Dirt Sprint.
00:11:38Well, what a good horse this horse has turned into.
00:11:40It's taken a while, but Dan Blackler's done a terrific job.
00:11:43He's now five of his last six.
00:11:45He's in peak form.
00:11:47I don't know what they have planned for him when they bring him back to the States.
00:11:50But I can't imagine there's another sprinter out there, Randy, that right now, if he stays at the level that is right now, I don't know if anybody can beat him.
00:11:59Well, apparently, the tentative plan is the Golden Shaheen in Dubai.
00:12:03And then after the Golden Shaheen, give him some time off until probably the San Anita Sprint Championship in the fall as a prep for the Breeders' Cup Sprint in the defense of his title there at Del Mar.
00:12:14Dan has done an unbelievable job, Zoe.
00:12:16He's done fantastic with his horse.
00:12:18He's had soundness issues almost his entire career.
00:12:21So knock on wood that he stays sound for these races later in the year.
00:12:25But Dan was trying not to be cocky when he was interviewed before the Sprint in Saudi Arabia.
00:12:30He said, all I want to do, all I want him to do is break well from the gate.
00:12:35If he breaks well from the gate, I don't think they can beat him.
00:12:38And he broke like a shot.
00:12:40Yeah.
00:12:41Yeah.
00:12:41He was a terrific job.
00:12:43$110,000 he cost.
00:12:46A big shout out to Nick Hines and Joe Moran for purchasing this horse for my racehorse, who just pops up all over the place.
00:12:55He's now six years old.
00:12:56Kudos for them for even keeping him in training because he's already won the Breeders' Cup Sprint.
00:13:01He could have easily took down this race and now been retired to stud.
00:13:06So the fact he's going to keep running throughout his six-year-old year is amazing.
00:13:12And he's just a really cool horse.
00:13:14So great job, Dan.
00:13:16Happy for the home team.
00:13:17The TDN Writers' Room is brought to you by Keeneland.
00:13:21It was a Keeneland September exactor in the Grade 3 $1.5 million Saudi Derby on Saturday when Golden Vekoma, $145,000 September grad, led home Shin Forever, $160,000 September grad.
00:13:38That is an exactor for the ages.
00:13:40And speaking of Derby's, tickets are on sale for the Kentucky Derby celebration on Saturday, May the 3rd.
00:13:46Enjoy watching live coverage of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs from Keeneland.
00:13:51Purchase tickets now at tickets.keeneland.com slash racing.
00:13:56We'll be right back after this message from Keeneland.
00:14:29The Fastest Horse of the Week comes to you this week courtesy of Timberlake, one of the fast sires at Windstar Farm.
00:14:37And it's fitting because we'll be discussing last Sunday's Rebel Stakes at Oakland Park shortly.
00:14:42And Timberlake, co-owned by Windstar, won the 2024 edition of the Rebel.
00:14:48That was Timberlake's first start as a 3-year-old following a 2-year-old campaign.
00:14:51It saw him beat fierceness in the Champaign with a 93 buyer speed figure.
00:14:55And before that, break his maiden by 9 1⁄4 lengths over two future graded sticks winners to become a TDN rising star.
00:15:04Timberlake and Practical Joke are the only sons of Intimid's ship presently standing at stud that were grade 1 winners as 2-year-olds.
00:15:11And the TDN's Chris McGrath named Timberlake a silver value sire this year.
00:15:16And here's the value. Timberlake's first-year stud fee at Windstar is just $20,000 and limited seasons remain.
00:15:24Now, we can play a guessing game here. The Fastest Horse of the Week isn't Razorback winner Alexander Helios.
00:15:29It's not Bob Baffert-trained sensational debut winner Corny Copian, who got a 1-0-1, or the up-and-coming sprinter Montalcino.
00:15:36The designation this week goes to Emirates Road, who's Saturday over a deep track at Aqueduct on a first-level allowance with a buyer speed figure of 1-0-5.
00:15:47As you can tell by his name, Emirates Road, bred and previously owned by Goodolphin.
00:15:52He's by Quality Road. His third dam was Breeders' Cup Sprint Winter Desert Stormer.
00:15:56But he wasn't a good racehorse for Goodolphin.
00:15:59They abandoned him, basically.
00:16:01They gailed him, sold him privately.
00:16:02Those owners got rid of him, too.
00:16:04He wound up being claimed for $30,000 last June by Sandy, Goldfarb, and partners turned over to Brad Cox.
00:16:11And now, the six-year-old Emirates Road has three wins in two seconds in his last five starts.
00:16:17Somewhat surprisingly, is our Fastest Horse of the Week.
00:16:25Well, if you don't like Cole Battle, you don't like good stories and you don't like horse racing.
00:16:29I don't know if Cole Battle is this year's best three or only – probably isn't.
00:16:33We'll find out down the road.
00:16:35But he's definitely the best story.
00:16:37That's the reason why Robbie Norman is our guest this week on the Gainesway Guest of the Week segment of the Thoroughbred Daily News Podcast.
00:16:44Robbie, welcome to the show.
00:16:46And before we get into other questions, I'm going to let Randy and Zoe – let me just get the two simple ones right out of the way.
00:16:55Are you going to the Arkansas Derby, and is anybody calling you and trying to buy this horse?
00:17:01Okay, the first one, I've spoken to Lonnie, the trainer.
00:17:06And so, you know, it's going to be, you know, the Arkansas Derby or the Kentucky Derby.
00:17:12And as Lonnie has already answered on, you know, it's on social media, he's going to let Cole Battle tell us.
00:17:19So if Cole Battle is ready for the Arkansas Derby, we will point there.
00:17:23If he's not, you know, 100% there, we will wait and just go to the Kentucky Derby.
00:17:29So we're leaving all that up to Lonnie.
00:17:33And then has your phone been ringing, you and Lonnie, are people saying, hey, I'd like to buy in or maybe even buy 100% of the horse?
00:17:41Okay, the phone is definitely ringing.
00:17:44We just got back – we're about an eight-hour drive, and we spent the night – we spent some time with Cole Battle yesterday morning.
00:17:51And then we drove, and we got tired, so we spent the night at a hotel.
00:17:56And then, you know, I had probably three phone calls.
00:18:00And then I got another phone call this morning that was a very substantial offer.
00:18:06And so the phone is definitely ringing.
00:18:09So what are your thoughts about substantial offers?
00:18:15As of right now, we've just – I told Lonnie to be polite, and I've told everybody I would keep their telephone number.
00:18:25But as of right now, we are not going to sell.
00:18:27So we're going – we're going forward.
00:18:30So – and we're happy with that, you know what I'm saying?
00:18:33So, you know, we like what Cole Battle's doing.
00:18:37The offers are great.
00:18:38And, you know, I try to be as respectful to the people and appreciative.
00:18:42But at the same time, you know, what is money versus the Kentucky Derby, you know what I'm saying?
00:18:48So, you know, you know, so we're just enjoying that ride.
00:18:51And right now we're going to, you know, keep Cole Battle and everything, so.
00:18:57It's obviously a fantastic story.
00:18:58You said something a second ago that kind of confused me a little bit.
00:19:01We also looked at getting your trainer, Lonnie Briley, on here.
00:19:06We're told that Lonnie doesn't have an email and doesn't have a computer.
00:19:11But you mentioned Lonnie and social media.
00:19:13What's the story there?
00:19:15Well, you're right.
00:19:17When we go to sales – I've been with Lonnie for 12 years.
00:19:21Technology is not his thing.
00:19:23He sort of leaves that up to me.
00:19:25And I had a hard time just getting ready for this podcast today, you know what I'm saying?
00:19:29And so I'm not technology either.
00:19:31But Lonnie has no email.
00:19:33Well, they have interviewed him.
00:19:35When I say social media, they have come by the barn and interviewed him before he left to go back to Louisiana.
00:19:40He's done made it back to Louisiana this morning and everything.
00:19:44So, you know.
00:19:46He sounds like a real throwback.
00:19:48So, Robbie, how does this story begin?
00:19:56Because you're a grocery store owner.
00:19:58You didn't know Lonnie.
00:20:00You weren't in the horse business.
00:20:01You were getting divorced.
00:20:03Can you take us back in time and tell us how this all started?
00:20:07Because I think it's very interesting.
00:20:09Now, I, you know, son of a Baptist minister, you know what I'm saying?
00:20:14So, you know, when you're in Alabama, the main sport is going to be Auburn versus Alabama.
00:20:21If y'all land in Alabama, you're going to have to declare Roll Tide or War Eagle, you know.
00:20:27And I've got a lot of family members that are Roll Tide, and they're screaming Roll Tide when Cold Battle wins.
00:20:33But at the same time, we're War Eagle, you know what I'm saying?
00:20:36And so, you know, Alabama is dominated by that.
00:20:40And so, you see yourself sometimes as a workaholic.
00:20:44And I was, went through the divorce, and I was moved into an apartment before I was going to look for another home.
00:20:53And you ask yourself one night, you know, how did I get myself into this?
00:20:58You know what I'm saying?
00:20:59It was something that wasn't planned or wanted.
00:21:01And I said, I need to find me a hobby.
00:21:04Well, I don't like to hunt.
00:21:06I don't like to fish, you know what I'm saying?
00:21:08So, you know, I was struggling for that idea.
00:21:11And one night in that apartment, I was flipping through the channels, and the horse racing channel was on.
00:21:18And I guess they were showing horse races, and then they went into a documentary on Union Rags.
00:21:24And I said, you know, I'm going to do something.
00:21:28I had two young sons.
00:21:29I said, we're going to change the negativity, and we're going to go out and win us a victory, you know what I'm saying, and change the narrative.
00:21:36And so I started researching, and it led me to Bill Kaplan in Florida, you know, and so this was probably around the end of the year.
00:21:47And by the time OBS April, the Ocala Breeder Sale in Ocala come around in April, I was all ready to go, you know, and everything, and thought I was going to go down there and buy a Kentucky Derby winner first time out, you know.
00:22:01But I did buy some good horses, and the first one I ever bought won Louisiana Champions Day, and since then, we've just been hooked.
00:22:10You know, we like to do all aspects of racing, and as I've told other people, it took a while to accept you've got to take the good with the bad, you know.
00:22:22And so you've got your highs and lows, and, you know, I've taken my two small boys to fairgrounds to night racing.
00:22:30And we get down there, it's a four-hour drive, they were real young, they done about drove me crazy, and then we're the favorite in the race, and the jockey falls off coming out of the gate.
00:22:43And then we actually ended up winning the race with no rider, and it's like, I come all the way down here for this, and we've got to go back another four hours, you know.
00:22:53But we learned to accept the good with the bad, and we always try to make a vacation around a lot of the major races.
00:22:59So we really, as a family, we really enjoyed a lot and everything, so.
00:23:06How's your derby fever?
00:23:08You got a temperature coming yet?
00:23:11Not yet.
00:23:12I thought it would hit me harder than what, you know, and I've just been realistic about it.
00:23:18And because every race, you're thinking, hmm, you know, I'm a numbers man.
00:23:22I'm going to count it by college degree.
00:23:24Now, I let all the horsemanship go to Lonnie.
00:23:27I like looking at the numbers and studying the numbers.
00:23:30And really, we never have had the numbers, and you read that in a lot of the articles.
00:23:34And so, you know, Cole battle every race.
00:23:37He just keeps showing us a different, you know, aspect of him that, you know, he keeps surprising us.
00:23:43I was very worried in the Rebel.
00:23:45But I did like, you know, the pace fractions and where he was at, and Juan Vargas, the jockey, has done an outstanding job with him and everything.
00:23:55But the fever's starting to creep in now that we got the points.
00:23:58I didn't want to celebrate without the points.
00:24:01But we're talking about it a whole lot more now that we got the 70 points.
00:24:06So we're excited.
00:24:07Robbie, you bring up an interesting point.
00:24:09Two starts back, he wins wire to wire.
00:24:12And there was a quote from Lonnie saying, halfway through the race, I was ready to kill the jock for putting him on the lead.
00:24:19In the next stage, in the Rebel, he comes from mid-pack.
00:24:23What's the difference?
00:24:24Why do the lead in one race, why is he a stalker, a mid-pack horse to the next?
00:24:30Do you guys just give that up to Juan to figure out or what?
00:24:33Yes, I think Juan did a great job in the Smarty Jones.
00:24:37Now, I was standing beside Lonnie.
00:24:40And Lonnie just was, you know, we wanted to come off the pace.
00:24:45And old Lonnie was upset.
00:24:47I'll promise you that.
00:24:48And I said, Lonnie, look, it's 49-1.
00:24:51I said, the pace is slow.
00:24:53And by the time I saw 49-1, I knew the pace was in our favor.
00:24:58You know, I done got so excited and started hollering.
00:25:01I never saw the 115.
00:25:03I done got cranked up.
00:25:04And so, but, you know, when I noticed that it was 49, I knew being on the lead was going to be in our favor that day and everything.
00:25:13But now Lonnie always prefers for him to come off the pace.
00:25:16And I think when I saw the pace yesterday and where he was at and knowing that he can make that quick move, I was very happy.
00:25:24And like I say, Juan has done an outstanding job of reading the paces in all these races and everything.
00:25:31So, Robbie, he first caught my eye, Cole Battle, when he won the Jean Lafitte at Delta Downs, a race that when you watch the video, he had no business winning.
00:25:40He blew the first turn, drifted out to the middle of the racetrack, down the stretch, and he manages to just draw off and win anyway.
00:25:47But I find it interesting reading the articles about you giving instructions to your two trainers to go to the Texas Thoroughbred sale, and you wind up with not just Cole Battle, but another good horse as well.
00:26:03Tell us about that.
00:26:03Oh, that was, you know, it's a once-in-a-lifetime story, that is.
00:26:08You know, I bought four this year, but, you know, racing is, can be expensive, you know.
00:26:14And so when they win, I said, I'm only going to be able to get two, one each.
00:26:20And I said, you know, y'all have got, and we're all good friends.
00:26:23So when I say pressure, I really don't put the pressure.
00:26:26But I say, you know, if we're going, let's get the two best horses there, you know what I'm saying?
00:26:32And so we had the brother, the half-brother to Secret Faith.
00:26:36So the Gellners, they landed on her.
00:26:40And then Lonnie, he got it to three.
00:26:44And all three have turned out to be good horses.
00:26:48And the ironic thing is that where we almost didn't get Cole Battle is because he was Kentucky bred.
00:26:54And we really like the regional market.
00:26:57We like the Oklahoma breds, the Texas breds, and the Louisiana breds because sometimes when we're, being a small stable,
00:27:06we don't think it's hard to compete with the end of mischiefs and the justifies and that type of thing.
00:27:14And winning a trophy means a lot, you know, whether it's in a small regional market or, you know, the Kentucky Derby.
00:27:22So we like to put our horses in spots where we can compete for trophies.
00:27:26And so the almost did not get Cole Battle because we wanted the Louisiana bred.
00:27:32And I bid on him online, actually, right here where I'm sitting now.
00:27:37And that was the major dilemma is that do I really want to go after this Kentucky bred?
00:27:44But now Lonnie kept coming back to him.
00:27:48And we have missed out on so many good horses where I just didn't go for it.
00:27:54And I said at this time I was going to go for it.
00:27:57And now we were thinking the price was going to be $30,000 to $40,000.
00:28:02And it was late in the sale, so there was no other horse of Lonnie's that he had on his list to go to.
00:28:09So it was going to be Cole Battle or nothing.
00:28:11And so here I am clicking, and I'm like, will those people please stop bidding, you know?
00:28:16And so next thing you know, I clicked up to $70,000.
00:28:21And I promise y'all, when I got off, I said, I went to this sale to look for the best Louisiana bred.
00:28:29And I've just bought probably the most expensive cold front ever, you know, for a Kentucky bred.
00:28:35And it went everything against our plan, but sometimes, you know, the plans don't work out in the beginning, but they work out in the end, you know?
00:28:44So it's been, you know, it all has been good.
00:28:48And your Louisiana bred Philly, Secret Faith, is quite a star herself.
00:28:53Oh, absolutely.
00:28:53You know, and now it's not 100%, but, you know, she's seven out of eight.
00:29:00And we just skipped the Louisiana bred race that was going to be the first, March the 1st.
00:29:07And we're hoping, or the plan is, is to go the 22nd into the Louisiana Oaks.
00:29:13And so what the dream is right now is to get one into the Louisiana Oaks on Friday,
00:29:19and then one into the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.
00:29:22And that will be.
00:29:23For small people like us, that is the ultimate dream, you know?
00:29:29Well, Robbie, it sounds like you're living the ultimate dream, no matter what happens from here on in.
00:29:34It's a cool story.
00:29:35Everybody loves the underdog.
00:29:37And between you, Cole Battle, and Lonnie Briley, that's certainly a trifecta of underdogs.
00:29:42Hope to see you in the winner's circle soon, maybe in the Arkansas Derby, maybe in the Kentucky Derby.
00:29:48You never know.
00:29:48These things happen.
00:29:49Thanks so much, Robbie, for joining us.
00:29:51And good luck in the Kentucky Derby, wherever you're at.
00:29:53Thank you so much.
00:29:55War Eagle.
00:29:57War Eagle.
00:30:01Robbie Norman, our guest of the week, was brought to you by Gainesway.
00:30:04Bill here is always complaining about the abbreviated careers and the infrequent starts of today's racehorses, and rightfully so.
00:30:11But Gainesway stallion, Raging Bull, ran 22 times over four seasons, which nowadays qualifies as a robust career.
00:30:1915 of those 22 were in grade ones.
00:30:21He won three of them, the Hollywood Derby, the Shoemaker Mile, and the Makers Mark Mile.
00:30:25Well, placed in six others, earned $1.7 million, and he's by Dark Angel, a perennial leading sire of sprinters and mindlers in Europe.
00:30:33Here's a Gainesway alert.
00:30:35You can watch later this year for Raging Bull's first crop, which are now two-year-olds.
00:30:41Gainesway.
00:30:42Power.
00:30:43Passion.
00:30:43Performance.
00:30:44Introducing a stallion, as top class as they come.
00:30:50In 22 career starts, he won or placed in 12 graded stakes, competing in 15 grade ones, earning over $1.7 million.
00:31:01His undisputed speed is evidenced by seven 100-plus fire speed figures, a three-time grade one winner, Raging Bull.
00:31:14This week's edition of First Things First is all about the Corgis.
00:31:20Yes, they did run last week, but we were too busy catching up with John Sheriffs talking about Baeza.
00:31:26So this week, we have Corgis, Corgis, Corgis.
00:31:30Emmett is a four-time winner.
00:31:31Will he or won't he win?
00:31:39Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the Corgi Nationals.
00:31:44And there they go!
00:31:45And Emmett's got a big, strong lead on the outside.
00:31:48Here comes Banana!
00:31:50Emmett, Banana, and Rigatoni in the top three.
00:31:55Down here with our winning dog from our semifinals here.
00:31:58Emmett, no stranger to the winner's circle.
00:31:59How's it feel to be back on top?
00:32:01So incredible.
00:32:02There are so many incredible dogs that Emmett loves to race, and we're so happy to be here.
00:32:06He was super happy.
00:32:08He got the job done.
00:32:09Look at him right here.
00:32:10Emmett, good job!
00:32:11And there they go!
00:32:16And it's going to be a runaway for Captain!
00:32:19Captain wins by a country mile!
00:32:22Number six, Cassie.
00:32:23Got the place, though.
00:32:24But no question about the winner.
00:32:27The Captain!
00:32:28Here with the winner of the second heat.
00:32:30This is Captain!
00:32:31What a great run from him!
00:32:32Yeah, he did great.
00:32:33Stayed focused.
00:32:34He veered a little bit, but he came back where he needed to come back.
00:32:36How hard was the training to get him to go straight?
00:32:38We work on it all the time.
00:32:40Wave a towel, give him good treats.
00:32:41So he's always ready.
00:32:42What's his favorite treat here?
00:32:43We have Lamb Pate.
00:32:45Oh, Lamb Pate.
00:32:46Good job, Captain, my captain.
00:32:47We'll see you back in the finals.
00:32:51Come on, Banana!
00:32:51And they're off.
00:32:52Emmett takes a big lead.
00:32:54Emmett's going to be tough to beat.
00:32:55Here comes Emmett to win!
00:32:57By a nose over Arlo, last year's champion.
00:33:01Emmett turned the tables on Arlo to get the victory.
00:33:05Five-time champion, Emmett.
00:33:08I'm right here with the winner of the Corgi Dog Championships.
00:33:11Another win for Emmett.
00:33:13How many of these do you guys have now?
00:33:14We're not sure.
00:33:16What do you want to say?
00:33:18Tell me.
00:33:18Say hi.
00:33:19Just tell him what you think.
00:33:21Just tell him.
00:33:22And he is the old man.
00:33:23How old is Emmett?
00:33:24He's eight now.
00:33:25And how many times has he competed here?
00:33:27Eight or six?
00:33:28Yeah, at least five or six times.
00:33:31What's it feel like to have him victorious again?
00:33:33I mean, he is just, he went out there and never looked back.
00:33:37The field is, like, better than it's ever been.
00:33:40The dogs are amazing.
00:33:41I can't believe it's meant to win again.
00:33:43I'm so excited for you guys.
00:33:45Congratulations to Emmett.
00:33:46He is our Corgi Winter Nationals champion yet again.
00:33:56And yes, he did.
00:33:57He is now a five-time winner.
00:34:00Emmett, he's just so stinking cute.
00:34:03At 10 years old, he's now won the Winter Championship five times.
00:34:09All right, let's get back to Santa Anita.
00:34:11The first racing tour does continue.
00:34:14We do have a 12 o'clock post time on Saturday for a 10 race card.
00:34:18There'll be four graded stakes, including the Big Cap, the grade one event that will feature locked in there.
00:34:24We'll have Festa de Santa Anita, Luce Libre.
00:34:28I know Randy will like that.
00:34:30As well as a party in the chandelier room to celebrate the Big Cap.
00:34:34We'll have the San Felipe and many other great races.
00:34:38So do join us on Saturday at Santa Anita.
00:34:42So looking back on what happened last week, the big races over the weekend were being run at Oaklawn.
00:34:48They actually had to postpone them by a day because of the track, just extreme cold.
00:34:54Randy, have you, in all your years in and out of Arkansas Hot Springs,
00:34:57have you ever seen a situation like that where the track was closed and the temperatures got down in the teens and something?
00:35:03I grew up in Hot Springs wanting a winter like this and never getting one.
00:35:07And now I get to watch it from Minnesota, ironically.
00:35:11Well, you get a winter in Minnesota, that's for sure.
00:35:13What's the temperature there today, Randy?
00:35:15Oh, whoa, it's shorts weather.
00:35:17It's like 45 degrees.
00:35:19Oh, wow.
00:35:20It's going to be 80 here today.
00:35:22So anyways, the biggest race so far as the three-year-olds go is the Rebel Stakes.
00:35:29And we already talked about so much about Cole Battle.
00:35:33So a couple of little more things about trainer Brister Briley.
00:35:38So he's been training since, Lonnie Briley, he's been training since 1988.
00:35:43He's won only 341 races.
00:35:45And the win the other day at Oaklawn was his first ever in his career.
00:35:50So that's, what, 36 years it took him to win his first grade one race.
00:35:55Again, the type of guy that you really want to root for.
00:35:58Cole Battle doesn't get a lot of respect because he's not trained by – he's trained by Lonnie Briley.
00:36:03If he were by Intimist, if trained by Chad Brown and had those two races, everybody would be raving about him.
00:36:09And he'd be in everybody's top two or three for the Kentucky Derby.
00:36:12But that's the way it goes.
00:36:14He probably won't get much respect where he runs next.
00:36:18Lonnie said that's either the Arkansas Derby or maybe he'll just go right to the Kentucky Derby.
00:36:24The horse, Zoe, that I was disappointed in was Sandman.
00:36:27He didn't run terrible, but he ran kind of a modest third.
00:36:31His race beforehand was so good with all that trouble.
00:36:35He didn't run back to it.
00:36:36Was it just really good because the jock almost fell off?
00:36:41Well, in hindsight, maybe, yeah.
00:36:43Yeah.
00:36:43So he ran his race.
00:36:45I thought – I didn't think he had an excuse.
00:36:47He certainly had the pace up front, 22-2, 45-3.
00:36:51They were rocking and rolling on the lead.
00:36:53I thought Madacat Road, the Bob Baffert kind of C-stringer or B-stringer, ran a very good race in defeat because he was up there on a very, very solid pace.
00:37:04Juan Vargas simply must have a good clock in his head because we've seen that horse win on the lead in 49, and then we saw him come off the pace in a very hot pace.
00:37:14And we're talking about an early move from James McDonnell.
00:37:17I think that Juan Vargas timed this just perfectly because it looked to me like he caught Irad Ortiz napping maybe a little bit on Madacat Road because he caught up to him so quickly and went on by him.
00:37:32And if you watch the body language on Irad, all of a sudden he looks over and he's like, oh, my God.
00:37:37And then he starts riding.
00:37:39And, you know, he went fast early.
00:37:41Madacat Road actually ran a much better race than I gave him credit for.
00:37:46He ran a huge race, but Cold Battle was better.
00:37:49He's just a gritty horse that just keeps getting better and better with every start.
00:37:54It was the first time Madacat Road had ever been on the early lead.
00:37:58It's only the fourth start of his career, and obviously I think he kind of likes that running style.
00:38:03It seemed to agree with him.
00:38:04I thought Vargas rode a great race as well.
00:38:06You know, I mean, he sits seven lengths, eight lengths back in a perfect spot given the early fractions.
00:38:14Gets bumped a little bit going into the turn by Speed King and Rafael Bejarano.
00:38:19Didn't bother him.
00:38:20Makes this huge move around the turn to the top of the stretch, like you said, maybe catching Irad Ortiz by surprise.
00:38:26The horse not to Madacat Road so quickly.
00:38:30And this just looks like a cool little horse.
00:38:32And you hear this all the time, and it's overdone, but he seems to be the kind of horse that rises to the level of his competition.
00:38:41Right.
00:38:41Right?
00:38:42That speed figures can't necessarily quantify.
00:38:46He didn't, you know, he was well behind the others in terms of, you know, best lifetime speed figures and all that going in to the Rebel.
00:38:54And he clearly, clearly was the best horse in the Rebel.
00:38:59Sandman.
00:38:59Okay.
00:39:01Makes this.
00:39:02He's six, about six lengths behind at the quarter pole.
00:39:05He's about five lengths behind at the eighth pole.
00:39:08He's about four lengths behind at the 16th pole.
00:39:10And he gets beat a little less than two lengths.
00:39:12And then he gallops out in front.
00:39:15Okay.
00:39:16But it's Sandman.
00:39:18It's Sandman's MO.
00:39:19We'll get him next time.
00:39:21Right?
00:39:21It's been that way his entire career.
00:39:24He leaves you thinking that next time out is going to be different.
00:39:28That he's now going to develop even more.
00:39:31And he just seems to run kind of the same race.
00:39:34What was the horse's name Asmussen trained him?
00:39:36He was second in the Derby at huge odds and always kept running second and galloping out in front.
00:39:42Oh.
00:39:44We always thought next time, next time.
00:39:46Looking at Lee.
00:39:46Looking at Lee.
00:39:47Yeah, looking at Lee.
00:39:48Yeah.
00:39:49He's here looking at Lee.
00:39:50Yeah.
00:39:51And obviously, Sandman's a really nice horse.
00:39:54But the buyer of this race comes up a 91.
00:39:57Okay?
00:39:57It's the best career by Cole Battle.
00:39:59But it's not the kind of number that it's going to take to win the Kentucky Derby.
00:40:05So Sandman, again, is going to have to make a big step forward in the Arkansas Derby.
00:40:11And he'll probably make this huge closing run and wind up second or third and make people think that he could win the Kentucky Derby in a mile and a quarter.
00:40:18We'll see.
00:40:18So far as the Phillies are concerned, Muhima, who was my number one on my roads to Kentucky Oaks top ten for the TDN, ran an okay third.
00:40:31The winner was Quiet Side, who kept finishing second, third, second, third, et cetera.
00:40:36So good cheer will go back to where she should have been all along, number one, on my chart for next week.
00:40:42I thought it was a good race.
00:40:44Okay, so Quiet Side wins the race.
00:40:46Let's just go from the beginning of the race.
00:40:495G broke like a shot.
00:40:51The daughter of a coma, just her second lifetime start.
00:40:54The thing that really struck me about her was how relaxed she was on the lead after breaking like that.
00:40:59She's going to be a good filly.
00:41:00I love the way she relaxed down there.
00:41:03Muhima was caught in a place that she's never been in and didn't look like she liked it.
00:41:08It was a very uncomfortable position with flow aboard her, kind of feet on the dashboard.
00:41:13She never looked happy.
00:41:14She got out at a good point in the race and made kind of a winning move down the lane.
00:41:21But Quiet Side, it was her day to shine.
00:41:23I thought she ran a very good race.
00:41:25But mark my words, 5G came on at the end, and just because she's by Vekoma, don't kind of peg her as a one-turn type of horse.
00:41:34For her second lifetime start, first time going two turns, the way she relaxed, and the way she finished after setting the pace, I thought she ran terrific.
00:41:44Look, let me talk about Muhima first.
00:41:46I got two words about her.
00:41:48Learning experience.
00:41:49Yeah.
00:41:50On more than one level, okay?
00:41:51For her, for the horse herself, yes, learning experience, first time she'd ever been in that kind of situation.
00:41:58For horse players, it should be a learning experience.
00:42:01She went off at 4 to 5.
00:42:03And any time you're betting the horses and you have a horse that goes off at 4 to 5 that you can reasonably predict, especially an inexperienced filly, is going to be in a position unlike any she's ever had before,
00:42:15then it's a bet against.
00:42:18Now, whether you can pick the right one to bet against her, that's one thing.
00:42:22But you knew going in she was going to be beaten to the lead and she was going to have to sit in the pocket, which she'd ever had to do before.
00:42:29And she didn't run quite as well in that scenario.
00:42:32She got Ortiz'd.
00:42:34Not in a perfectly legal, perfectly race-riding way.
00:42:42Irad sends 5G even more than he sent Mataket Road a race later or two races later.
00:42:49And then Muhima is getting ready to flip outside of 5G in a nice stalking spot.
00:42:54And Jose Ortiz on quiet side sees that and niggles on quiet side to quickly get her up next to Muhima and force Muhima back down into the pocket.
00:43:08Right?
00:43:09Didn't really force her, but took that option away from flow to flip outside of 5G and forced Muhima to do something that she never had to do before.
00:43:19It was a winning move, I thought, by Jose Ortiz, who won four races on the day.
00:43:24And I thought 5G ran great as well.
00:43:28So there was some off-track news made this week.
00:43:31And it's good to see Haiza once again being able to write positive press releases, mainly about how much the breakdown rate has changed.
00:43:42And in 2009, when the Jockey Club started the Equine Injury Database, the amount of fatalities in a race was 2.0 per 1,000 starters.
00:43:55In 2024, at the Haiza tracks, that wouldn't include the non-Haiza tracks, which are Texas, West Virginia, and Louisiana, it's now down to 0.9 per 1,000.
00:44:09So you've had a decline of 55% since the Jockey Club first started taking these numbers down.
00:44:19And, you know, Haiza has had such a rollercoaster existence in its first year and a half or however long it's been.
00:44:27And I think they've done a horrible job of some of the things they've done, mainly suspend trainers early on in the game that anybody with a brain knew did absolutely nothing wrong.
00:44:40But they've gotten that act together now.
00:44:42There's no more of these provisional suspensions.
00:44:44But we've been talking, and the racing industry has been talking over the last seven or eight years, that the very number one threat to the future of this industry is the animal rights activists getting their ire up, getting into the state capitol buildings, and getting legislatures on their side.
00:45:01If Haiza can pull this sort of thing off, then everybody needs to support them.
00:45:07And the hell with whatever else is going on, because this is a super important statistic.
00:45:14Yeah, I mean, I'm going to sound like a broken record here, but you can go back to when Haiza was first enacted, and we started talking about it on this podcast.
00:45:21We said then that this was an incredibly complex and difficult initiative, that mistakes were going to be made, expect mistakes to be made, and the future of Haiza would depend in part on how they responded to those mistakes and if they were willing to listen and willing to correct those mistakes.
00:45:41And I think for the most part, that's what Haiza and Hai Wu has done.
00:45:46They are critics.
00:45:49They've done things wrong.
00:45:51They have corrected a lot of those wrongs along the way.
00:45:55They've won over some of their harshest critics, not all of them.
00:45:58But if Haiza could put one accomplishment on the marquee and flashing lights and on billboards, this horse safety thing would be it.
00:46:09Because like you said, Bill, it's the single biggest threat right now to the survival of thoroughbred racing, even more so than the value of real estate that the racetracks sit upon.
00:46:24And it's great news that it's come down that much.
00:46:29Saving lives one step at a time.
00:46:32Terrific.
00:46:32Well, yeah.
00:46:36And it'll be interesting, too.
00:46:38I didn't see in this press release, and I don't know if we're going to get them, what are the breakdown numbers that the non-Hais attract?
00:46:44Maybe the Jockey Club will have that information a little bit later.
00:46:47But that'll be very interesting.
00:46:49I believe at other times they have reported that.
00:46:51So I'm not quite sure why that was.
00:46:53It's not great, I don't think.
00:46:54I don't think the numbers are great.
00:46:56No, because the non-Hais attract can just say, we're not telling you.
00:47:00Go away, leave us alone.
00:47:02It's our business, is the way we run the business.
00:47:05All right, Hall of Fame.
00:47:06Who's got Hall of Fame fever?
00:47:08All right.
00:47:08There were 16 nominees came out this week.
00:47:14Only one jockey, Jorge Chavez.
00:47:17Then the rest were, of course, trainers and jockeys.
00:47:20I tend to be a very hard grader on this.
00:47:23I am of the belief that it's not the Hall of the very good.
00:47:28It should be the Hall of Fame.
00:47:31So I'm inclined to vote for fewer people than I think the average voter.
00:47:36But I will be voting for three horses and or people this year.
00:47:41John Sadler, who not only the work that he did with Flightline, but just the consistency that he's shown over the years,
00:47:49and especially his ability with older dirt horses, just tremendous.
00:47:54Smarty Jones.
00:47:55How is it that he's never been on the ballot before?
00:47:58If there was Smarty Mania going on in 2004, they got him on the ballot.
00:48:02I will vote for him as well.
00:48:05And I'm also going to vote for Hava de Grace because I think that any Philly who was named Horse of the Year should be in the Hall of Fame.
00:48:16There's been seven different Phillies in history to be named Horse of the Year since it started back in the 50s.
00:48:23One of them is Torpedo Anna, where she's not eligible yet.
00:48:27All the others are in the Hall of Fame.
00:48:29I think Hava de Grace deserves to join them.
00:48:32Zoe?
00:48:33I believe Kona Gold should be in there.
00:48:37I'm glad Kenny McPeak's on there so he gets his first trip down memory lane.
00:48:42But Kona Gold's the one I think is missing.
00:48:46I mean, what horse runs in six Breeders' Cups in a row?
00:48:50I mean, seriously.
00:48:52That's my beef.
00:48:53That's all I have to say.
00:48:54I'm going to sound like a native Californian here, which I'm not.
00:48:59But there are so many, so many deserving trainers on the list and horses.
00:49:06And fortunately, some of them will make it to the Hall of Fame, even if they don't get in this year.
00:49:11The ones that jump out to me, Kona Gold, right?
00:49:15Game on, dude.
00:49:17I'm sorry he didn't win on the East Coast or at least any big races on the East Coast.
00:49:22But the sport is not only conducted on the East Coast and in New York.
00:49:27We're not like we used to be, where you have to win in New York to be considered a champion.
00:49:32And Game on, dude, had an unbelievable career on the West Coast.
00:49:38Kind of similar to Lava Man in that respect.
00:49:42And also Smarty Jones.
00:49:43And for trainers, Doug O'Neill has better stats as far as Triple Crown wins, Breeders' Cup wins, career wins, than most of the other, almost all of the other trainers on the list of nominees.
00:50:00And so Doug O'Neill is going to be my trainer vote for the Hall of Fame as well.
00:50:05But remember now, you can vote for as many as you want.
00:50:11And the rule is if a horse and or person gets 50% plus one of the total amount of votes cast, they're in.
00:50:19So do you guys both vote then?
00:50:21I do, yes.
00:50:22Isn't there only like 14 people that vote?
00:50:26No, I was told it was 170.
00:50:30Oh.
00:50:31I think there are a very limited number of people, Zoe, that are on the Hall of Fame nominating committee.
00:50:35That's probably what you're thinking about.
00:50:37Yeah, all right.
00:50:37That's what I'm thinking of.
00:50:38Yeah, decide who gets on the ballot.
00:50:41Okay, that's where I got the number from.
00:50:43I was like, oh, wow.
00:50:45Two of the 14 were just, I'm about to start bowing down to you.
00:50:49Blessed to have you here.
00:50:51I was on the nominating committee at one time.
00:50:53And then a couple of years in a row, I forgot to send in my ballot.
00:50:55So I got booted.
00:50:58Likefully so.
00:50:59The TDN Riders Room is always brought to you by the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association,
00:51:06the PHBA.
00:51:07And speaking of Smarty Jones, they're throwing Smarty parties in Pennsylvania this week because
00:51:12Smarty Jones has been placed on the ballot for possible inductions.
00:51:15Can you believe it's been 21 years since Smarty Jones won the Kentucky Derby in the Preakness
00:51:21and very nearly swept the Triple Crown at Belmont?
00:51:23The final start of his career, his only defeat in the PHBA since.
00:51:28His Hall of Fame good luck wishes to Smarty Jones.
00:51:32Meanwhile, we've been introducing you to one Pennsylvania stallion a week.
00:51:36And this week it is Capo Cain, who was on the Derby Trail back in 2021, winning the Jerome
00:51:42and finishing third in the Withers Stakes at Aqueduct.
00:51:45Now Capo Cain is standing in Pennsylvania's Bonner Hill Farms for a fee of $2,500 in his first
00:51:53two-year-old's race this year.
00:51:56You can learn more about the benefits of breeding and racing in Pennsylvania.
00:52:00Just visit PABread.com or call the number 610-444-1050.
00:52:06PABread, I think we've built a brand at this point.
00:52:14It's excitement at every step.
00:52:17Roses for Debra just set a new track record.
00:52:20On average for the past decade, Pennsylvania paid over $28 million a year in breeders awards,
00:52:27restricted races, and owner bonuses.
00:52:29Plus, PABread shine on the world's biggest stage.
00:52:32Just three states have bred more Breeders' Cup winners.
00:52:35Learn more at PABread.com.
00:52:39Be a smarter bettor with First TV, the best horses.
00:52:46With thousands of exclusive morning workouts.
00:52:53All at your fingertips and delivered right into your inbox.
00:52:58Everything you need to be informed.
00:53:01Be smart.
00:53:02Bet smart.
00:53:03With First TV.
00:53:05The TDM Writers' Room is brought to you by First TV.
00:53:11Sunday at Santa Anita, Barnes worked in company with fellow three-year-old Melon Camp.
00:53:19Barnes has entered in the DK horse San Felipe and was clocked going six furlongs in 1-12-1.
00:53:25He's buying into mischief.
00:53:26Barnes is a perfect two-for-two, including a win in the Grade 2 San Vicente,
00:53:31going seven furlongs on January the 4th at Santa Anita.
00:53:35He sure looks good here.
00:53:36Gout out like a freak.
00:53:37Well, San Felipe will be Barnes' first time racing around two turns.
00:53:42Well, it'll be another big week of racing with the Triple Crown races, then Kentucky Derby, etc.
00:53:48Just right around the corner.
00:53:49Let's start at Gulfstream Park, where Coolmore are the sponsors of the Fountain of View.
00:53:54This came up really tough, this race.
00:53:56A lot tougher than I thought it would.
00:53:59Burnham Square, who won last time out on the Holy Bull, will be my pick.
00:54:03He just looks like he's a new horse.
00:54:05We talked to Ian Wilkes about this.
00:54:07Ever since they put the blinkers on, he's improved so much.
00:54:10And he looks like a horse that is still improving.
00:54:13But this is no easy spot.
00:54:15You have River Thames.
00:54:16How about him?
00:54:17Coming off a big win in a mile allowance race.
00:54:21And by the way, if he doesn't run a big race, we may be looking at Todd Fletcher not having a Kentucky Derby starter.
00:54:29The horse he has with the most points is that Bassimo horse who ran up the track the other day in the Risen Star at the fairgrounds.
00:54:39So River Thames is obviously interesting.
00:54:42I think the other pletcher horse, Gate to Wire, although the horse has only been sprinting, got a shot.
00:54:47I want to see if he can stretch his speed out.
00:54:51And I think you two guys are both big sovereignty fans, aren't you?
00:54:54Don't forget about Keep It Easy, the son of Hardspun, draws towards the outside with Corey Lannery.
00:55:02He's a pretty good horse, and we've not seen him since taking the Ed Brown at Churchill Downs last November.
00:55:08River Thames, like you mentioned.
00:55:11Obviously, Burnham Square.
00:55:13Sovereignty, to me, is the most interesting of all coming out of the street sense.
00:55:17Now, I looked up one of his most recent works this morning on First TV, and it was a gate work.
00:55:24And he worked in 49 and change with a horse called Chillax.
00:55:27And I'm watching, and I'm like, Jesus, he's going to get beat here going 49.
00:55:32And I had to go back and look up some of his other works.
00:55:35He's not the most generous workhorse in the morning.
00:55:38So I'm not really quite sure where to gauge because I thought maybe he would have grown up over the course of the winter.
00:55:44So he's a big, good-looking horse, but mentally, you've got to ride him.
00:55:48Like, it really wasn't a very pretty work to watch.
00:55:51Now, the horse he worked against, Chillax, remember that name?
00:55:55A good dolphin, Bernardini Colt, runs in race six on Saturday at Goldstream Park.
00:56:01You're going to hear big things from him.
00:56:03He's a good horse.
00:56:04So I'm not sure what to think about Sovereignty coming off of kind of a funky work,
00:56:09but I'm not sure he's a great workhorse.
00:56:11What do you think, Randy?
00:56:12You'll have to look it up.
00:56:14No, I don't think he is.
00:56:15And Bill Mott was quoted as saying that he's running him in the Fountain of Youth
00:56:19because he needs to get started,
00:56:22which kind of leads you to believe that he's been waiting on the horse to show a little more in the morning
00:56:27before he enters him, and he just hasn't done it.
00:56:30So, I mean, we'll see how he runs, but he is a fascinating horse.
00:56:35I agree with you, Bill, that Burnham Square is definitely the horse to beat.
00:56:38We talked before the Holy Bull about how the configuration of the mile on the 16th
00:56:42with the exceptionally short stretch at Gulfstream would play to his disadvantage.
00:56:46It didn't in the Holy Bull.
00:56:48It might on Saturday.
00:56:52What's going to happen, I think, is that you're going to have Gate to Wire
00:56:55sprinting to the early lead from post position number one.
00:56:59He'll probably get a clear early lead.
00:57:01And if things go according to plan, River Thames would be sitting just behind him stalking.
00:57:08They've worked together in the morning several times, River Thames and Gate to Wire.
00:57:13And every time, River Thames just basically kicks the stuffings out of him.
00:57:17But Gate to Wire, again, sort of like sovereignty, has never been a good workhorse,
00:57:23which is why Todd Pletcher started him off on the turf, because he was working so poorly on dirt.
00:57:28And sure enough, he put him back on the dirt for a workout after he wins the swale,
00:57:32and he doesn't work very good.
00:57:34So it's just the way he is.
00:57:35I think he's got a good chance to go wire to wire at the short stretch distance.
00:57:39He's going to be a sprinter later in his career, I think.
00:57:42But it's a fascinating race on a lot of different levels.
00:57:47I doubt we'll see a Kentucky Derby winner coming out of the Gotham Saturday's feature at Aquila.
00:57:52But then again, you never know.
00:57:53So it's the Battle of the Undefeated in New York Reds, Sacrosanct, trained by Brad Cox,
00:57:584-for-4 Lifetime, and Sand Devil, trained by Linda Rice, 3-for-3 Lifetime, of course, both New York Reds.
00:58:05Sand Devil was kind of the buzz horse for the, you know, if there is such a thing as a buzz horse
00:58:10during the wintertime at Aqueduct.
00:58:12But I thought his last race was a little bit pedestrian.
00:58:16He only won by a neck.
00:58:17I know he got a good figure.
00:58:19Matter of fact, man, you guys gave him the best figure of his life, but I really didn't like the race
00:58:24and I didn't like the way he finished.
00:58:26Sacrosanct trained by Brad Cox, why not?
00:58:29But, you know, can one of these horses graduate and be even a top horse in the Wood Memorial?
00:58:37Maybe, but when it comes to Kentucky Derby, boy, unless somebody really jumps out at their skin,
00:58:42I sure don't see it, Zoe.
00:58:44Watch out for Flood Zone.
00:58:45First time in the barn of Brad Cox.
00:58:47So this is a private purchase.
00:58:49He just broke his maiden by five down there at Goldstream Park.
00:58:52Wathman Racing take over the ownership of this son of Frosted.
00:58:56I think he's a pretty nice horse.
00:58:59Yeah.
00:58:59Sand Devil, Flood Zone.
00:59:00This is pretty much a third-rate prep, which the Gotham has kind of turned into now most years.
00:59:07So we're going to get to the real good prep here now.
00:59:11Huge day at Santa Anita as well with the three-year-olds with the San Felipe.
00:59:14And Bob Baffert, who else, of course, would be out there front and center with two very good horses, including Barnes.
00:59:23And, Zoe, right now, I think Baffert's got the two best three-year-olds in the country.
00:59:28I mean, most people would agree with me.
00:59:29I'm not stepping out.
00:59:30Citizen Bull and Barnes.
00:59:32I was a little surprised he didn't send one of them to Oak Lawn last week.
00:59:36But probably the weather was the issue there because, you know, you couldn't train there and it was freezing cold and whatnot.
00:59:42But Barnes, in his second career start in the San Vicente, that's when he did that, gave us that electrifying performance that we're used to seeing from a Bob Baffert-trained three-year-old.
00:59:55His race before that, when he broke his maiden at church, it was okay.
00:59:59There was nothing about that race that got you too excited.
01:00:01You know, boy, Bob Baffert with a $3.2 million two-year-old purchase.
01:00:08The rich get richer.
01:00:10Yeah, he was actually a yearling purchase at the Fazek sale.
01:00:13But Barnes is a good one, and we'll see how he can spin around two turns.
01:00:18He's going to get some company probably up front.
01:00:21Rodriguez ran a bang-up race in the Lewis.
01:00:23He's got a lot to learn.
01:00:24He's very green.
01:00:25I actually love that Pratt gets to ride him for the first time because this is a horse with some tremendous upside, the son of Authentic.
01:00:33And then you've got Journalism, who will get bet down.
01:00:36He's coming in with a terrific work tab for trainer Michael McCarthy.
01:00:40We saw Getaway Car come back to win the Sunland Derby last week.
01:00:44He's the horse that nobody's really talking about and they should be talking about, is Journalism.
01:00:49Yeah, this is another one of these preps with six horses in the race.
01:00:55Three of them are Bob Baffert, where it can almost be orchestrated a little bit in terms of who goes to the lead, who takes back.
01:01:03Bob doesn't tell his riders what to do.
01:01:05He'll tell you that.
01:01:07He just lets them go and do their thing.
01:01:09You saw that with Rodriguez and Citizen Bowl, right?
01:01:12Citizen Bowl was drawn inside of Rodriguez.
01:01:14Rodriguez has good speed.
01:01:15But they're not going to send Rodriguez after Citizen Bowl, and he's not going to be fast enough to beat him to the lead by a length and a half and clear him.
01:01:24So they eased Rodriguez back, and it was a learning experience for him.
01:01:27And now, lo and behold, again, Barnes is drawn inside of Rodriguez.
01:01:33And in his most recent workout with Rodriguez, they put him behind his workmate, a length and a half or two lengths, and he seemed to take it very well.
01:01:43That was probably a dress rehearsal for what they're going to try to do here in the San Felipe.
01:01:48One of the interesting things about this race, six-horse field, okay?
01:01:52One of the three that Baffert entered is a maiden named Mellencamp.
01:01:57And the reason that the Avengers and Bob Baffert entered the maiden in this spot is because if they hadn't, and it was a five-horse field, by rule, Churchill Downs reduces the derby points available by 25%.
01:02:15So instead of 50 points to the winner, it would have been 37 and a half.
01:02:20Now, there's also another maiden, a California-bred maiden entered in the race, Bertelin Wall.
01:02:28If somehow it becomes a four-horse field, then you're talking about 50% drop in points available from 50 to 25 to the winner.
01:02:37So they're trying to make sure that there's enough horses in this race to keep it a 50-point prep race for the winner.
01:02:45And, you know, that's why they put Mellencamp in there to try to guarantee as much as they could that it was going to be at least a six-horse field.
01:02:52Zoe, I'm not hearing a lot of love from you guys about journalism.
01:02:57Oh, I think he's got a big shot.
01:02:58I gave him some love.
01:02:59I gave him lots of love.
01:03:01It's a horse nobody's talking about.
01:03:03I think he's a super horse.
01:03:07I think he's better than the Los Al Futurity speed figure would make him look.
01:03:13I like visually.
01:03:14I love the way he looked in that race.
01:03:16He's by Curlin out of a really good race mirror named Mopetism.
01:03:20He's got a lot.
01:03:20There's a lot to like about journalism.
01:03:22We'll see how good Barnes is because journalism is a pretty decent horse.
01:03:25Yeah.
01:03:26All right.
01:03:26So let's turn our attention to the big cap.
01:03:28And we all know it's not the race it used to be because of what's going on in the Middle East.
01:03:34You have a $300,000 purse.
01:03:36How do you compete against a $20 million race?
01:03:39Having said that, I thought this big cap came up really strong this year, especially when you get a horse like Locked in there.
01:03:46And Drainer, Todd Pletcher, and Eclipse Thoroughbreds, they could have run in Saudi Arabia off that big effort against White Iberio, where he had trouble to start and wound up running a distant second.
01:03:57And I think we've talked about this before.
01:04:00But there's a school of thought now is that even with $20 million on the line, is it worth going over to Saudi Arabia and probably meaning that's the one race you're going to get until the summer?
01:04:13Or do like what Eclipse Thoroughbreds is doing and running in a race like the big cap.
01:04:19I wish the big cap was a million dollars again like it always used to be.
01:04:23But at least you've got one horse in there that has a little bit of sizzle.
01:04:28And now Frank Miramati, the track announcer, he's still going to be happy if the horse Miramati wins.
01:04:34Trained by Bob Baffert, certainly got a shot.
01:04:37Randy, why don't you take it away with the big cap?
01:04:39Well, Miramati is going to be in a tough spot because one of the things we've been seeing in these older horse stakes in California recently,
01:04:48the Lafitte Pincai, the Day After Christmas, the San Piscual, very, very hot early paces.
01:04:54And these horses are all coming back in the big cap.
01:04:57They are going to be rolling the first part of it.
01:05:01And Miramati is a one-dimensional speed horse, and he's going to be in a pretty tough spot just from a pace perspective,
01:05:07which the pace is going to help tremendously.
01:05:10Locked, who's a closer, and also I think Hitshow, who will be ridden by Flavian Pratt.
01:05:18And Hitshow is the kind of horse that can be a little closer to the lead, I think, than Locked.
01:05:22But he's a closer as well.
01:05:24I think those are the two to beat, the shippers from the East Coast.
01:05:27I'm right with you there.
01:05:29I love Locked in the Pegasus World Cup.
01:05:32Get some blinkers on.
01:05:33Now, that's not going to help him if he's not facing the right way when the gate opens.
01:05:37It might actually hinder him.
01:05:39But he's going to be a little bit closer with the blinkers on there.
01:05:43And, yeah, Hitshow is a very interesting horse coming in.
01:05:47He's kind of a grade two, grade three horse at best, in my opinion.
01:05:51But he's certainly going to have the pace to run at.
01:05:53There is going to be pace aplenty in here, like you mentioned.
01:05:57And now for our weekly West Point update, brought to you by our sponsors at West Point Thoroughbreds.
01:06:03West Point was hoping for a win with Sandman and the Rebel, but at least his third-place finish netted him 15 more Kentucky Derby points.
01:06:10He now ranks sixth on the list with 29 points before this weekend's action, which, as we mentioned, includes the Fountain of Youth and another West Point runner that would be Keep It Easy.
01:06:20The horse that Zoe mentioned looks so good in the Ed Brown stakes at Churchill Downs, November 30th, one by five and a quarter.
01:06:25That was six and a half furlongs.
01:06:27Keep It Easy will be running two turns for the first time at Gulfstream.
01:06:31But he's by hard spun out of an English Channel mare, so theoretically, distance shouldn't be a problem.
01:06:36Here's more now from West Point Thoroughbreds.
01:06:41All the thrills.
01:06:45Fraction of the bills.
01:06:50Experience the power of the partnership.
01:06:55Change your life, make new friends, and compete at the highest level of thoroughbred racing.
01:07:03West Point Thoroughbreds, the gold standard in racing partnerships.
01:07:07Visit westpointtv.com.
01:07:09That's a wrap on this week's show.
01:07:16I want to thank my partners, Randy Moss and Zoe Cadman.
01:07:20And I want to thank course owner Alex Bregman for signing with the Boston Red Sox.
01:07:24And I'd also like to thank our guest of the week, Robbie Norton, who's the owner of Pole Battle.
01:07:31And, of course, the people that work behind the scenes for us, Katie Petruniak, Anthony LaRocca, and Aliyah LaRocca.
01:07:36Thanks so much, guys.
01:07:38Everybody have a great weekend of racing.
01:07:39See you next week.
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