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BREEDERS' CUP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

November 2, 2018

Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky

THE MODERATOR: We're joined now by the happy owners of Game Winner, who was the race winner in the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Congratulations to, on the left, Gary West, and on the right, his better half, Mary West. This is not their first Breeders' Cup juvenile winner. They won the race in 2013 with New Year's Day. That was their other Breeders' Cup winner, just happened to come in the same race with the same trainer, Bob Baffert, who this is coincidentally Breeders' Cup win number 15. Congratulations to you both.

My question, when you first won the Breeders' Cup juvenile in 2013, it did not ultimately result in an Eclipse Award. This victory will undoubtedly do so. Can you comment on the excitement of having a Breeders' Cup -- excuse me -- an Eclipse Award championship all but locked up?

GARY WEST: Well, that will be determined by the voters, but it would be pretty hard to deny a horse who's won three Grade 1s and a Breeders' Cup from being the Eclipse Award winning horse. It's a pretty special experience to be involved in this sort of thing, to be involved in racing at the highest levels. All the thanks goes to Ben Glass, our racing manager, who helps me pick out these horses, and Bob Baffert and Jimmy Barnes and his entire team who trains them.

We just pay the bills. They get all the credit. They really do.

THE MODERATOR: As you pointed out just a few minutes ago before we started, Mary pays half of those bills. Mary, that means you get half of the purse. So congratulations on that.

MARY WEST: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: Although whether you were going to get the purse or not, the winner's share was certainly not a foregone conclusion throughout the run of the race. Can you comment on your feelings just watching your colors go around the track, kind of taking the scenic route around Churchill, if you will.

MARY WEST: I was really quite nervous at first. I didn't think he broke quite sharp, and then he went wide. That far back, I just didn't think he could catch up probably with the first horse, but he did, and he passed him. I think he won by about maybe three lengths.

THE MODERATOR: Yeah. Gary, you've been in the game 40-some-odd years. You know a lot can get lost at the starting gate. It wasn't a disastrous start for Game Winner by any means, but it wasn't an ideal one either. Sometimes things just go from bad to worse at that point. Can you talk about his journey around the track, as you saw it through your eyes.

MARY WEST: Here comes Baffert.

THE MODERATOR: Very good.

GARY WEST: Here's the real genius.

Yeah, the track has been playing -- especially in two-turn races, the track has been playing as a pretty speed-favoring racetrack. We did not -- the plan was not to be that quite far out of it, and he broke a little bit squirrely in the -- at the gate and didn't get a start, was wide around the first turn, was wide down the back stretch, and going into the far turn, I knew he was going to run, but I didn't know if he was going to be able to run fast enough to catch all the leaders on things. It really was not a very good trip, I didn't think.

THE MODERATOR: We're now joined, obviously, on the far left by Bob Baffert. Bob, congratulations. Breeders' Cup win number 15 for you, Breeders' Cup juvenile win number 4 for you, and as we mentioned earlier, your second for Gary and Mary West.

Can you talk about his preparation coming in? The race looked like it would set up nicely for him with speed in front of him, but it didn't seem like probably the way you drew it up on the blackboard. Would that be fair?

BOB BAFFERT: The only thing, I didn't like our post. I would have liked to have been running 6. When you have a short run to the first turn, when you didn't break as sharp -- the 10 horse, he was pretty fast. He was pretty impressive the way he won the race at Keeneland. But he was pretty wide, and I was a little bit worried about the half mile pole, you know. I was a little bit concerned because it looked like Complexity was running on a really easy lead, had his ears pricked and just cruising along. You don't know how far these horses want to go.

But apparently, Rosario, he wasn't concerned. He said when he -- he kept him in there behind horses a little bit, just sitting there. He knew he had a lot of horse. You know, I did tell him that he had a full tank, so he could -- at the end, I had him prepared for a really tough fight just in case he were to get a trip like that.

So he couldn't have trained any better coming into this race. I feel we were really confident the way we prepared him, and he was working with older horses in Santa Anita, with good, older horses.

I've been telling Gary all along I think he's special, but I didn't want to get him too excited because there's nothing in -- they'll break your heart coming in here. But of all the Breeders' Cup races, this is the one I really wanted because there's nothing like having a 2-year-old when you're thinking, you know, spring classics and everything else, and Gary's program is all about young horses and developing them and hopefully get a stallion prospect like West Coast.

So this is our plan, and it worked out. I just feel fortunate that Gary and Mary, they send me their best ones, and I go through them. Not all of them are stars, but we come across one like this, and today, I mean, the way he won and the way he did it is pretty impressive. It's a good feeling. At the eighth pole I started thinking some roses, you know.

THE MODERATOR: Bob, to what degree, if any -- you can't dictate where a Breeders' Cup is held in a given year. So what degree, if any, is it bonus points or a plus for next year that this year's juvenile was at Churchill?

BOB BAFFERT: You know what, I think -- it depends on the horse. Those good horses, they'll -- they could have had it at Santa Anita, and I think he would have won. He's just a good horse. Breeders' Cup, you have to step it up. It's championship racing. You have to show up. You have to have a good horse, and you have to be lucky, and we were -- the horse, in the paddock when I saddled him, he couldn't have looked any better. There's some other horses in there. It looked like a good field. There's some nice horses in there.

So you can't take anything for granted. One thing about it, I knew at the eighth pole, you know, he's a fit horse. He's a big, strong horse, and the further, the better. I knew that we had that going for us. But I thought he was a good horse, but he's a lot better than I thought he was. For him to do what he did that last quarter mile and for him to give that horse a head start like that, being that wide, that's a serious horse.

And I think that's what made it more exciting for me, that he won and he came back. First thing I asked him, Is he tired? He goes, No, he actually handled that pretty well. So it's a good feeling, but we know we have a long way to go. We've got to keep him healthy and all. We know what can happen.

We're going to enjoy today, and we can dream about tomorrow. But I'm just -- this is a huge win for me. I mean, I really -- this is -- of the races, this is the one, if he hadn't have won, I was going to be -- I said, How could I be that wrong about this horse? I told Gary earlier, he's worried about the track. I said, don't worry about it. We've got the goods. We've just got to get away with him just close.

But I was concerned down the back side. I thought, oh, boy. I'm glad I wasn't watching the race with Gary because we both would have been saying, We're done, we're done. But any other horse, he would have been done, but that's how good a horse he is.

Q. Bob, just to pursue the speed bias angle a little bit more, did you guys change strategy at all before the race? And does the fact that there was a speed bias on the dirt today make this that much a sweeter win to come from behind to get it?
BOB BAFFERT: I think, the thing about Rosario, he knows this horse really well. He's not a speed horse. He doesn't want to -- he ran up close at Santa Anita because it was -- it's a different kind of track. I think this track is starting to dry out. When it dries out, it starts getting a little heavier. I think it's getting a little heavier. I could tell, but when I walked out there, it's still pretty wet.

He rode him like a good horse is what he did. He rode him with a lot of confidence. He couldn't be doing any better riding with confidence. That's what Rosario does. He fits -- that's the perfect type of horse for him. But he said he was happy where he was, and if he could have been talking to us and saying, hey, don't worry, boys. We're good. But training for home, I could tell he's a big horse, he's a strong horse. I mean, he's a really strong horse, and he's just changed so much.

When I worked him, I remember calling Gary, you know, I think I found a good one. I didn't think he could win first out, and he won going away. I didn't think he'd show that much speed, and he really fooled me that day.

When he won the Futurity, I knew right then. We talked about it. I said, he's two races away from a championship maybe. So I'm just glad that the way he ran today, and hopefully he sewed up a championship, Gary. That's -- you don't know how -- it means a lot to me. It's so satisfying to win for Gary and Mary because they have so much passion for the sport, and he knows there's a punch right around the corner in this game, and he's doing great. We have West Coast tomorrow, and I told him, we're going to have a big weekend. He couldn't be training any better also. We're looking forward to it.

Q. Bob, you said it was the Mookie Betts of your lineup. Lots of different kinds of talent. Do you still feel like that with the win today?
BOB BAFFERT: Coming in here, to me, he was my -- people ask me, who's your best chance? I said, I think it's him. So -- because the way he's trained, the way he's been showing me things that I like to see from something extra. He was -- he couldn't have been working any better, and he shipped well, came in here. I was just -- I had a lot of horses getting sick. Every day, first thing, How's Game Winner doing? Because that sickness, you saw what happened to Sherrod (phonetic). He had a good horse in there and got sick. We're never safe until we put that saddle on that horse.

So I just feel fortunate that, luckily, he was -- and he is in Justify's stall, by the way. He has the same groom.

Q. Which was Arrogate's stall before --
BOB BAFFERT: American Pharoah's stall, excuse me.

Q. Gary, Bob has said multiple times that he feels happiest to get this victory for you and Mary. Say how that feels to you for him to say that.
GARY WEST: It means a great deal to both Mary and I. Bob knows we've been in the game for about 40 years and we've had our share of disappointments. There's more disappointments in horse racing than there are really euphoric moments, and you just have to kind of accept that. Over a 40-year period of time, you understand full well that there's good times and bad times, and I tell everybody, there's a lot of things that can happen in a horse race, almost all of them bad. That really is the truth.

When you suit up 11, 12, 13, 14 horses, there's only one winner at the end of the day. So 13 people, and we're one of the 13 that goes home many days very disappointed in the way our horse ran. It's real good, and Bob and I have developed a good personal relationship over the years. We try and send him our best horses, and I tell Bob, Bob, if this is not a California-type horse, send him back. He understands the way that we think, and we're on the same page with just about everything.

Q. Bob, now that you have as many wins as the Dodgers, what does that do to your Breeders' Cup experience this year comparing it to last year where you had a lot of seconds?
BOB BAFFERT: Well, I mean, it's difficult. It's hard to win because everything has to go right. You have to -- first, you have to have a good horse, and he has to get the trip. Last year we just came up short. We ran all the seconds. If you don't win, it's all about trying to win these big races. You've just got to forget about it, turn the page, look forward, and go on to the next. There goes (inaudible), number 2. He's had a long one. He's going to be so mad at me when he finds out he's got another turn to go around.

It's fun. This is why we work seven days a week. Gary puts a lot of time and effort. He's got a great team. This is what we work hard for. This is our payday. It's the thrill of victory. I'm so proud of that horse. When he came down that stretch, I just knew it, when he came up to that horse, that he's going to get by this horse. If he's as good as I think he is, we're going to find out right here. There's nothing like the satisfaction of knowing that your kid just, you know, he got it done.

And there's Dabster on the lead going -- 24, that's pretty fast. He's got to go around again. Poor guy. He doesn't know he's got to go around again.

GARY WEST: He's got another couple minutes to go.

Q. Pharaoh, Arrogate, West Coast, Justify, none of them ran in the juvenile. How do you get this horse moving forward from here? Is it different running in the juvenile and looking forward to next season, kind of what races you pick, what the spacing might be?
BOB BAFFERT: You know what, I haven't really thought about it. He's not going to run again this year. Back off. One thing about him, he's a glutton. He'll eat everything. He'll finish everything tonight. Justify was that way, just a big, strong horse. Keep him halfway conditioned. Can't let him be a couch potato. We've been through this so many times, we know what we need to do. Just keep him happy. That's the way it is. He just needs to stay the way he is.

There goes Dabster. He's still in the lead.

Q. Gary and Mary, your trainer has reached heights you can only dream of. How does it make you feel to hear how excited he is and almost emotional he is that your horse won today, given how much Bob has experienced in the past? He's not the type of guy that gets excited all that easily.
GARY WEST: Like I said, Bob and I have developed a good relationship over the years, and to have Bob be so personally invested in the success of our program means a great deal to both Mary and I.

BOB BAFFERT: Come on, Dabster. Oh, poor guy. He's trying to win. Come on, do it for me. Oh, that rider came over on him. He got outridden.

GARY WEST: Lots of trainers claim a foul, if you wish, from the interview room.

Q. I'm sorry, Gary, you were saying. You have a great relationship. He seems very invested in Game Winner.
GARY WEST: Bob is invested in Game Winner. I think he cares about all of our horses. Bob has often said he's an equal opportunity trainer, and he is. We sometimes have to run against Bob's other good horses, like we're going to be doing tomorrow. That's fine with us. He will put the right rider on the right horse, get him in the right race, and that's all, as an owner, you could possibly ask for.

THE MODERATOR: Bob Baffert, Gary and Mary West, figuratively and in this case probably literally, a championship performance for Game Winner today. Great job all around. Good luck going forward. Not just tomorrow with West Coast, but in the future with Game Winner. Well done.

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