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BREEDERS' CUP WORLD THOROUGHBRED CHAMPIONSHIPSOctober 31, 2014Josh KaplanLeandro MoraGlen SorgensteinARCADIA, CALIFORNIA THE MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile for the second straight year is Goldencents. We're joined now by on the left, trainer, Leandro Mora; in the middle, owner Glen Sorgenstein; and on the right, co‑owner Josh Kaplan. Glen, maybe we'll start with you. Talk to us about the feeling of winning this race the second straight year and the heart and determination that Goldencents showed in the stretch? GLEN SORGENSTEIN: Yeah, he just did everything to plan. The hard work to get here, I can't tell you how much it means to have a guy Leandro by my side and Doug O'Neill at the helm. I mean, these guys do an incredible job. They're there for us 100% and for this horse. We just couldn't be happier. I mean, everything just worked according to plan, and we have these guys to thank. THE MODERATOR: I'm sure we'll have questions about Doug, but first we're going to address the race. Leandro, could you tell us about your perception of Goldencents today and what you thought of the way the race unfolded? LEANDRO MORA: Well, during the race I sweat twice as cold, early on at 3/8th of a mile, I didn't see the 1 horse chasing us, and I started getting worried. But that's nervous on any horseman. When Tapiture started coming up, I started to sweat cold again, but then it was all over. But I had so much confidence in this horse this whole week. He's been so kind, so great, so grateful to everything. Has not told us there is anything wrong, so that's when you feel confidence that you may be okay for the race. THE MODERATOR: Out of the gate, Bejarano really had to ride him to get the lead. Were you concerned when you saw how hard it was to get there? LEANDRO MORA: Very, very concerned because he usually is the first one to come out of the gate. This time he was a little tight there, and must have had a little reason that he moved a little bit. And you never know if the handler kind of tried to hold him up a little bit, like to calm him. And it takes like a split of a second for that to happen. But Raffi knows the horse so well that he did the right thing, though. THE MODERATOR: Josh, your perceptions of the race and what are you feeling right now? JOSH KAPLAN: Well, I mean, you want to first talk about the race. Obviously Leandro mentioned hustling out of the gate. You know, this is the reason why we went to the Dirt Mile and not the Sprint because you get out of the gate like we did now, and you're going to have a heck of a lot of trouble in the sprint. We figured just like last year, the Dirt Mile, you can make a few missteps and that's what happened in the very beginning of the race, and then he hustled back out, got the lead. Yeah, are you stressed? Are you a little bit nervous when he's running the 44 flat, basically? Yeah. I think it was faster than last year, but, hey, he did. Like Leandro and everyone said, he showed the heart of a champion, and this horse was just incredible. THE MODERATOR: Leandro, this is the second year in a row he went 44 and change and was able to carry that speed to the wire. Talk to us about his natural ability. How can a horse go that fast and carry it through a mile race? LEANDRO MORA: Okay, well, first of all, it's guts. That's him. He's an old pro, and he takes big longs, and I believe this horse carries the biggest longs, I've seen. This one and I'll Have Another, to all my experience of the horses that can run fast as long as you can and still breathe well. So that's what it takes, 44 and going on. And not every horse has that, and that makes a big difference. THE MODERATOR: Glen, the trainer of record for this horse for every start up until this one was of course, Doug O'Neill who is not here today. Not allowed to participate in the Breeders' Cup due to a medication violation in New York. So could you talk about Doug, his work with the horse, and then also your feelings on him through all of this controversy? GLEN SORGENSTEIN: Well, Doug is a great guy. We feel he's been given a very bad break, very unfair break. He loves this horse. He loves every horse in the barn, and Doug is quite possibly the kindest guy I've ever met. He has such great character, and any of you that have gotten to know him can attest to this. He is a kind, gentle soul, and it's killing us that he isn't up here with us, relishing in all of this. But I know he's back home watching. I spoke to him before I came to the track today. He's close by. So any minute from now we'll have a phone call with Doug and join him in the celebration. THE MODERATOR: Josh, any comment from you on that? JOSH KAPLAN: Not only is he an unbelievable trainer, unbelievable care for the horses, but he's truly a great friend. Like any time a friend, things come into question, you find out who your friends really are. Glen and I are there for him, and Leandro and the whole team. I'm so happy that this happened today, and I wish Doug was here to celebrate it with us. It's unfortunate, but, you know ‑‑ GLEN SORGENSTEIN: There will be other times. JOSH KAPLAN: There will be other times. And we're a team. That's what I'll say. THE MODERATOR: Leandro, what's it been like around the barn not having your leader there? LEANDRO MORA: Pressure (laughing). Because the whole time I'm talking about he's the leader, he's our leader. I know I have experience, but I miss my leader. But I have great support behind us. Glen and Josh and also Mr.Pirrello is a big supporter. So that will make us feel more comfortable and just keep going with the game. They trust us, they believe in us, they believe in Doug. They know we did nothing wrong, so that's what makes a big difference in the friendship between the owners and the trainer. THE MODERATOR: We've covered that, so let's go back to today's race. Goldencents was getting leg weary in the stretch, it's fair to say, and started to drift a little bit. What did you each see there in the final yards and talk about, again, the heart as he was definitely tiring? JOSH KAPLAN: He's drifted ‑‑ he's had a history of drifting. I think there was actually a race, I think the Bing Crosby we put blinkers on him, I think. In one race he raced with blinkers, because he's always had that problem in the stretch. If you look at the last few races that he's had, from the Met Mile to the Santa Anita Sprint, he's opened up the rail and he's kind of drifted out. We were a little bit nervous, but, hey, that Tapiture is a heck of a horse. You've got to give‑‑ what were they? Like five or six lengths clear of the field, right? THE MODERATOR: At least. Probably eight. JOSH KAPLAN: Eight lengths clear of the field. That Tapiture is a great 3‑year‑old and probably has a real promising career next year. We wish we were thereto ‑‑ GLEN SORGENSTEIN: Maybe we will, you never know. THE MODERATOR: That was going to be my next question. So what happens now for Goldencents? GLEN SORGENSTEIN: Goldencents goes off to Spendthrift on Sunday, two days from now, at 2:30. Everybody who has been associated with him is invited back to the barn. We're going to have a little barn party at 1 o'clock and walk him to the van. I know speaking for myself, there will not be a dry eye in the backstretch, but he's going to spend his second career at Spendthrift Farm. And all the guys at Spendthrift have been absolutely great, from Ned and Barb, Wayne, they've all spoke spoken so highly of the horse, and he's going to be fully booked for next year as a first‑year sire, and we think he's going to be a great one. So you're going to see a lot of Goldencents babies in years to come. THE MODERATOR: You've all been associated with some very good horses, but could you talk about Goldencents in the context of your careers in racing and more about what he's meant to you? Maybe, Leandro, you can start with that one? LEANDRO MORA: Well, actually, I have no words. I'm a positive person and anything that comes after Goldencents, we have to treat him just like him. If we're lucky to have another champion, it's more than welcome, but it's hard labor, and Goldencents is going to be missed. Definitely be missed. He's been a nice, nice horse to be around, including around the gentleman who was grooming the horse since day one. He's been, along with his son, Giro, and their exercise boys, Johnny Garcia. We're all going to miss the horse, but hopefully we have a replacement, but it's not going to be easy. GLEN SORGENSTEIN: We do, Papa Kade. LEANDRO MORA: There you go. We have a new champion. THE MODERATOR: Josh, for you guys as owners, what has Goldencents meant over the last few years? JOSH KAPLAN: You really can't put it in words. Glen and I have been involved, obviously not the ownership, since we were kids. You always dream of that brass ring, and let's get in. This horse has just opened our eyes to a brand new world of what horse racing could be like. Look, it's not like we paid millions of dollars for this horse when we first started out. It just goes to show you that any horse at any time can be a champion, and that's what we ended up with. There are no words to describe that. Q. Leandro, from the beginning, was the game plan for Goldencents simply andale? LEANDRO MORA: Yes. Yes, it was, actually. That's the way he likes to run though. He has won a couple races from off the pace. Santa Anita Derby, he was not on the lead. But his style has changed a little bit, and he likes to fight. So that was the idea from the beginning. Q. As far as the Heart of a Champion, the final furlong really exemplify that you feel like? LEANDRO MORA: Well, yeah. GLEN SORGENSTEIN: What was the time? THE MODERATOR: 1:35. GLEN SORGENSTEIN: Beautiful. We can't ask for anything more. You know, when you talk about a 44 half, he's now set the barometer for half miles in this race. If any other horse can run a 44 and win, good luck. LEANDRO MORA: We need to change a little bit. Last year was different from this year. Last year was a fast dirt track, which in one way was easy to handle it. And of course, it doesn't take nothing against him. This is clay, the one we're running on this year, so 44 is a tiring 44. So it takes a big thing for a horse. JOSH KAPLAN: Yeah, no one's going to speed by us this year because last year, you know. THE MODERATOR: Do you do anything different to prepare when you know it's a horse's last race and you can just leave it all out there, there is nothing more in the future? LEANDRO MORA: When a horse is a champion like that, you don't want to do any changes. Just try to keep him fit as long as you can, and make him feel comfortable. He was actually getting ready with those past races. We followed same path as last year, thanks to our connections over here. We followed it exactly what we thought it could have been better for him. So this is the pay off for it. Q. Can you just talk about what made you want to do what you do? And maybe your early days with horses and what made you love them and get involved in racing? LEANDRO MORA: What made me love racing? Oh, boy, that's a tough one. I came here back 1977, and I saw the majestic horses here when I was a kid, and I started to get in love. That's not going to change in me. I love these horses. When we lose a horse, it's like losing a kid, family, so that's not easy for all of us, especially like Goldencents. It's a good thing he's going to go have a good life. But if we go to Kentucky, we'll go to visit him all the time. So we didn't lose him. Actually, we have him still. Q. When you do not want to be a trainer anymore, you can turn to professional handicapping. The comment you made after the post positions were drawn. We won out of the 12 hole last year, and we drew number 1 today. Now my question to you is when you drew post 1, in your mind, was the deal signed and delivered? LEANDRO MORA: Actually, it was a better sign than last year. We were hoping to have like an inside number, but not number 1. But once we got number 1, we saddled for it. We were worried about being load first, which usually number 1 loads first. And here they load 1 through 5, and 5 to 10. So usually the 1 goes in and the 5 goes second, and on. So it worked out really good. The horse handled pretty good when they were loading him, and we took it from there. Q. How do you guys do it? What's the secret? LEANDRO MORA: They put the money, we work. GLEN SORGENSTEIN: Yeah, simple mathematics, we write the check, and he goes to work. JOSH KAPLAN: It's a little piece of paper, has a bunch of numbers on it and a signature. THE MODERATOR: The last two years you guys have made it look very simple here on Breeders' Cup day. Congratulations. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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