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BREEDERS' CUP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

October 31, 2015

Lexington, Kentucky

THE MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint was Wavell Avenue, and we are very glad to be joined by, in the center, Michael Dubb, as well as David Simon on our left, and Sol Kumin on the right of Head of Plains. Congratulations to you all. Incredible run there.
Michael, I think I'll start with you and just ask you to tell us how you saw the race from your perspective and how you felt when you saw your filly charging on the outside like that.
MICHAEL DUBB: Well, the dream trip for her is seven furlongs with pace in front of her and no trouble. We clicked on all three cylinders today and it worked the right way. So we're just over the moon.
THE MODERATOR: A little bit more about Joel's ride from your perspective.
MICHAEL DUBB: Perfect wouldn't be a good enough adjective to describe it.
THE MODERATOR: We'll go with perfect then. That sounds great. And then in the Winner's Circle, you said with Chad all things are possible. So when you look at this filly's campaign, this is her first stakes win and she gets it in a Breeders' Cup race.
Talk about the job that Chad did getting her ready for today.
MICHAEL DUBB: We bought her a year ago last July at the Horses of Racing Age Sale from the Melnyk disbursal.
Steve Young had seen her breeze. Steve Young pointed her out to us. We discussed it with Chad, and we went ahead and bought the horse. The nice part is she was slow getting started, a little confused out there. And we ran her for $40,000 one day and none of us wanted to go to the Winner's Circle until we knew she wasn't claimed. It's all great.
THE MODERATOR: Thankfully, nobody took a chance on her that day. I'd like to hear from the other two gentlemen about the campaign this year and what gave you confidence coming into this race that you had a big shot in the Breeders' Cup.
DAVID SIMON: Her last three races have been dynamite, including this one. She ran second to La Verdad closing and another few steps, she would have beaten her. She just has improved almost like day to day. Really, you could tell from Chad and from the workout she was really getting better from over the last month or so.
She really came to blossom today. It's been quite a dream. I've been an owner since 1978, so it's been a long time for me to get back to a situation like or to get to a situation like this. It just feels wonderful.
THE MODERATOR: Fantastic. Now we have also been joined by Michael Caruso of Bethlehem Stables. Thanks for joining us here.
Mike, if you wouldn't mind, tell us a little bit about how this partnership came together.
MICHAEL DUBB: Mike and I met several years ago at the track. We owned some horses in common together. And more importantly than winning races together, we are best of friends, became best of friends over time.
When you look in the dictionary under class, you see Mike Caruso's picture. That's what I tell people.
THE MODERATOR: Anybody else?
MICHAEL DUBB: Sol's been an owner now of just about 30 years less than David. But Sol is very, very smart, very, very successful, very, very cagey. Sol approached us about buying into the horse recently and here he is. So don't underestimate Sol Kumin of Lady Eli fame.
THE MODERATOR: Sol, can you tell us if you all have been communicating with Chad over the last few weeks what you've been hearing and your expectations coming into today.
SOL KUMIN: Chad said the horse has been training great and felt like she was really alive coming into this race. Again, these guys have been on a ride with the horse. I'm the new guy to the table. Obviously, thanks to all of them for allowing me to buy in. Mike and I own a bunch of horses together. It's a treat to be partners with these guys.
Chad's liked the horse for a while and I watched the last race and felt like the horse easily could have won the race and felt like if we got a little bit of pace, we'd have a shot here. I approached him to try to buy some and they were great. We couldn't be happier. Great cast.
THE MODERATOR: How recently, are we talking about?
SOL KUMIN: Oh, less than a month, yeah.
MICHAEL DUBB: We'd been talking about it for quite sometime. We're all family up here. We really are. It's not about who owns what. It's just about sharing the experience together.
THE MODERATOR: Well done. Do we have questions in the room?

Q. You made the statement she's very good when she has a pace to run at. Before the race, analyzing the race, did you think the pace would be quick and she'd be able to come on this strong, this late?
MICHAEL DUBB: We did think the pace would be awful quick. There were a lot of horses in there that were suspect at seven furlongs, we thought. And we thought seven furlongs hit her right between the eyes.
So a horse is‑‑ I'm a huge fan of La Verdad, a fellow New Yorker. Suspect at seven furlongs, Taris, the California horse. There seemed to be a lot of speed. I was even somewhat suspect of the three‑year‑olds in the race because I watched those races in person at Saratoga and they were favoring the tracks there.
DAVID SIMON: No three‑year‑old has ever won this race, so that gave us a lot hope.
MICHAEL DUBB: The other thing about her, she's versatile. She can run on turf. She can probably go long.
SOL KUMIN: Poly.

Q. Michael, did you expect to be wrestling with La Verdad inside the 16th pole or did you think she would be done by then?
MICHAEL DUBB: Oh, I expected to be wrestling with La Verdad every inch to the wire. No question about it. La Verdad is a special horse. So it was our day today.

Q. You race a lot of horses in a lot of different partnerships with a lot of different configurations. You don't own, I think, any horses strictly on your own. What do you see is the appeal of partnerships, other than the minimizing of financial risk?
MICHAEL DUBB: Well, one thing we're clearly not into is syndicates. I mean, we're not a syndicate. We're just three or four guys, usually, that partner up on a horse when something comes along. You might own 25 percent, but they put 100 percent of you in the Winner's Circle picture.
We're in this first and foremost to have fun, to be with friends, to be social. I think if you said to me would you rather own horses alone or own horses with friends, it's a no‑brainer.

Q. How many horses do you all have together?
MICHAEL DUBB: Total, in different configurations?

Q. In this particular group, I'm sorry.
MICHAEL DUBB: Sol and I probably have 10, 15 horses together. We'd have to count it up. Mike and I probably have 80 horses together.
MIKE CARUSO: Try a hundred, Mike.
MICHAEL DUBB: Sol and Mike, by virtue of that marriage, probably have 15 horses together. David and I and Mike and now Sol have a handful of horses together. So it's‑‑
DAVID SIMON: Maybe some more after this.
MIKE CARUSO: Mike never met a horse he didn't like.
THE MODERATOR: Very good. Congratulations, gentlemen. Thanks for joining us down here.
MICHAEL DUBB: Thanks for having us.
THE MODERATOR: Wavell Avenue, winner of the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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