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FLORIDA DERBYMarch 31, 2018Todd PletcherMichael WallaceTeo Ah KhingJohn VelazquezHallandale Beach, Florida JOHN VELAZQUEZ: You have to use this horse to get a position going into the first turn, so I was in the right spot where I wanted to be in the first turn going into the back stretch. I was pretty happy. The only thing I didn't like when he got to the back stretch he started backing up a little bit and probably I was over doing it, so I had to give him a little chance in the back stretch to regroup again, and once he got his stride back together and he started moving in the back stretch, I was very happy the way he was doing it. After that it was pretty easy. After that, I mean, it was once he got to the horses in the lead, I mean, just started to keep him busy down the lane, and he did it pretty good. Q. Was he as impressive today? Do you feel any improvement from the last race? JOHN VELAZQUEZ: I'll tell you what, I didn't ride him last time out, but the way he run today was definitely very impressive, yeah. Q. What about distance? JOHN VELAZQUEZ: It doesn't seem to bother him at all. Obviously the farther they go, the better he gets. But like I say, probably I used him a little too much going into the front stretch. By the time he got to the back stretch, had to give him a little break when he got to be comfortable again, and then he started rolling. I was very happy after that. Q. So mile and a quarter? JOHN VELAZQUEZ: I don't see why it would hurt him. Q. Todd, just take us through your thoughts on the race. TODD PLETCHER: I felt the same way Johnny did. The race unfolded with the pace that we were hoping for, and we wanted to get some position into the first turn, which he was able to do beautifully. Just watching the race, I was a little concerned at the 5/8 pole because he started to drop back a little bit, but I could tell Johnny wasn't panicked, he kind of grabbed him up and then sometime midway down the back stretch, he started to pick up horses, and I started to feel better and better. You could tell that the pace up front had developed pretty swiftly, so you felt like those horses were going to start to come back at some stage. TEO AH KHING: My name is Teo Ah Khing, chairman of China Horse Club, and with me is our China Horse Club racing director Michael Wallace. Of course we have other partners who are not here and I'd like to mention who they are. Of course you know we have WinStar, and we have, of course, SF. We had Head of Plains, and we have also Starlight Racing, together with China Horse Club, and we are very honored today for us to have China Horse Club first win in Gulfstream. Q. Could you talk about how this horse was supposed to stay in New York this winter? TODD PLETCHER: Well, the plan was not to stay in New York for the entire winter. We had scheduled him for a race in late December, and when that race got canceled because of poor weather conditions, they weren't sure when they were going to reschedule it. It might be as many as 10 days to 14 days, and at that point we decided that it was best to just bring him on down to Florida and regroup. So it worked out great. Q. [Inaudible]? TODD PLETCHER: It's been pretty fun. It's nice to see when we came down here we weren't really sure where our two year olds and turning three were and then you have a horse Noble Indy break its maiden. And then a few starts later you're able to win the Louisiana Derby. And same thing with Magnum Moon. He didn't break his maiden until January 13th. And he was able to win the Rebel. And this horse we had hopes for, but for him to dominate the Holy Bull like he did kind of took it to a new level. So we've been very fortunate, very blessed. Q. You won last year's Kentucky Derby. Where do you think you sit relatively speaking TODD PLETCHER: We're fortunate to have the ones that we do, but the next one is super tough, and it looks like a really deep crop and some very impressive horses. So the main thing you just gotta hope is you can have a good five weeks from here and everybody stay healthy and get to Churchill and handle the surface there. Q. Can you talk a little bit about how this particular partnership came together? MICHAEL WALLACE: This was a partnership that was born when we developed an interest in in coming to the U.S. racing, and in larger scale through Tom Ryan, a friend and colleague of mine from SF Bloodstock. And he made an introduction to the China Horse Club to at WinStar Farm and that we wanted to participate in some yearling colts. And we found and we shared some like minded ideas of what we wanted to try and achieve. And we formed a good partnership and a good synergy there, and not only with this horse but with a few others obviously. That's how that came about. This is our second crop of doing this. Q. Todd, what does it mean to you and to the ownership to have these prep races? And do you think sometimes the accomplishment is a little overlooked? TODD PLETCHER: No, I don't think it's necessarily overlooked. I mean everyone's, at the end of the day, is going to only remember really the Kentucky Derby winner is going to become the most important horse now. But the one thing that I've seen over the years and we've been fortunate to win a lot of the prep races and two derbies now but I think the excitement level for the owners is, this what really drives them. This is what motivates them. This is what excites them. These are the races they want to win. And to get to Churchill I think is kind of everyone's ultimate goal or ultimate dream. Q. How many horses do you think you'll end up with? TODD PLETCHER: Hoping a couple more after the next two weeks. But, you know, I'm just thankful for the three that we have that so far that what would appear to have qualified on points. And, like I said, the next five weeks is a long time, and you gotta stay healthy. That's the main thing. Q. Speaking of the points thing, you went into this race in kind of precarious spot. How concerning was that? TODD PLETCHER: You know, it's similar to what we did with Always Dreaming last year. We knew that we had to perform well in the Florida Derby or we weren't going to accumulate enough points to get in. But we also all felt like if you don't run well in your final prep then you're probably not going to Churchill anyway. So the most important thing is we thought he ran a huge race in the Holy Bull. We didn't feel there was a benefit to running him back in between that we could hopefully make another move forward by giving him some space between those races. And the fact that the Florida Derby is a grade one is super important to a stallion like he's going to be. Q. This is the fifth win for both of you in this race, what is it about this race that you find so much success in it? JOHN VELAZQUEZ: I don't know, I guess it's worth it for the ones that I messed up. Q. I think you're going to be witness, witness of Churchill Downs this year. And two training forces, it's going to be like a Super Bowl in the Derby. Can you give us a first look of that possible showdown that day? TODD PLETCHER: I don't know. He's a tremendously talented horseman, great trainer and on the big days he's super tough. But there's a lot of other good horses out there as well. And to me already with still some major preps to go, it's shaping up to be a tremendously exciting Derby when you have Mendelssohn winning today in the UAE Derby, if he shows up. This could be one that really gets even more attention than usual. Q. You mentioned a couple of minutes ago you're hoping for a couple more. You've been through the routine before with five in the Derby. What's that like? TODD PLETCHER: Well, it doesn't necessarily mean you're going to win. I can tell you that. But it's sometimes great to it's a different kind of pressure, I think, when you have five. You have a lot more to manage and a lot more to think about and those kind of things. But there's also a lot of pressure when you only have one because if something goes amiss, it's going to be run on one particular day and you won't get another chance. So it's a welcome worry. Q. Riding for Todd and with your preparation do you have a lot of confidence? JOHN VELAZQUEZ: He does give me a lot of confidence, obviously. And I think the trust that he gives me, and I go out there and try to do the best job I can. So it makes it a lot easier, that's for sure. Q. Have you determined shipping plans for Kentucky yet? TODD PLETCHER: We haven't finalized anything. I think I'd like to have all the horses have at least one breeze over Churchill, like we did last year. So we'll start to firm those things up, but sometime after the Arkansas Derby. Q. How about riding sideways? TODD PLETCHER: I think we've got time to sort all that out. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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