BREEDERS' CUP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

October 27, 2001

David Lanzman

Desiree Lanzman

DAVID LANZMAN: Desiree, Legend, Destiny, Johnny, Jeff, Cherish, Blair, Ben and Al, and I think we lost half our entourage coming down here. It was about twice this size.

DAVID LANZMAN: That's Blair right here.

BLAIR LANZMAN: Yes.

BLAIR LANZMAN: Hippo Chan Chan.

DAVID LANZMAN: I had confidence, because that was what Jerry told me he was going to do before the race. He didn't want to go head to head. Four of us all go out, none of us without a shot. He said he was going to take back, make a run at the top of line. He did let us know in advance that's what we were going to do.

DAVID LANZMAN: Yeah.

DAVID LANZMAN: Actually, I did select them. We were at the Barett sale in March. I go through the book beforehand, write what I think they're going to sell for it. He went for a sixth of it. Everybody at the sale knew he had a chip in his right knee except me. I think that's why I ended up with him.

DAVID LANZMAN: It was actually Bobby all along saying he wanted to run the horse a little longer than the Breeders' Cup Sprint. So when it came up he would be fit. When you're running a shorter distance, seemed like it would be a break. It was over. All along we thought 7 was stretching it and Bobby knew that and he let me know. If we don't win here, it's not the ultimate goal. That was his plan all along, getting beat in the Vosburgh didn't set us back a bit.

DAVID LANZMAN: Absolutely.

ERIC WING: Questions for David.

DAVID LANZMAN: Thanksgiving last year he was out. The surgery was done last October. We were shooting for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last year. He came up with a chip training for that, after last year. We decided the switch was better for everybody involved. He actually came from the farm in January from the surgery.

DAVID LANZMAN: I own a small mortgage company in Los Angeles. Presidental Loans, that's it. Maybe not anymore, but ...

DAVID LANZMAN: Actually the horse was supposed to be named Squirtle, but the jockey club turned that down. Somebody already had that name. So we named it Squirtle Squirtle because that's the only Poke'Mon can say his own name. When I faxed it to the jockey club, the "l-e" got cut off. Squirtle Squirt, I told them I like that better than my own name. Keep it.

DAVID LANZMAN: I got in about 1991 in a real small way, like having a quarter of a horse, half of a horse. All claimers. It was about '97 that I realized owning was a lot more fun. I got serious about 1999. I got serious now.

DAVID LANZMAN: I don't know. I always told myself the most I would own is ten. I found two I liked and it became 12 and 15. Now it's 20. So I hope I don't buy anymore.

DESIREE LANZMAN: He's smart when it comes to buying horses. He sees their pedigree and he's very educational about it. He does pretty good.

DAVID LANZMAN: Absolutely.

DAVID LANZMAN: The truth of the matter is I figured he was the only man on the planet that wanted a Breeders' Cup win more than I did. And it was a goal since back then it was down to Bobby and one other trainer. And the combination of Breeders' Cup streak and Bobby the sire Marketry. If Squirtle had any secrets. Maybe Bobby would have insights since he trained Marketry for so long. Those two things.

DAVID LANZMAN: Because he already won four straight stakes. We didn't find the chip out till he won four stakes in a row. He came walking out of the stall a little off at Del Mar. You notice those were the two bad races he ran in his life Del Mar. They thought it was a problem. They realized it was a chip. End of September, beginning of October I got notified it was a problem.

DAVID LANZMAN: I talked to -- somebody called me from the east coast after he won the Fair Place Stake which was his fifth win last year and they said I was in love with that horse. I sent my vet to check him out and he told me absolutely, this is a dead no. He's got a chip in his leg. If I believe that, yeah.

DAVID LANZMAN: What we were saying to each other, you're making an assumption there. I said hello. I don't remember if he said it back. That was about it.

DAVID LANZMAN: I was looking forward to it real big. Without getting into a shoving match or anything, I read plenty of articles how we were going to get at 3/8 of a mile and he was going to bury us. Is this fun? Yeah. We sat back and let him call us name. Do I take pride in that? Absolutely.

DAVID LANZMAN: Legend, Destiny, Cherish, Blair, and Jeff.

ERIC WING: What about the little one?

DESIREE LANZMAN: Legend.

DAVID LANZMAN: No, he's got just the one right now and I've got 7 yearlings that aren't with anybody yet. Doug O'Neil and Armando Lage in northern California.

DAVID LANZMAN: Whole different ballgame then. Said plenty after the race. Obviously, everybody was estatic. After the race was great.

DESIREE LANZMAN: It was nice to see him with a smile.

DAVID LANZMAN: Thank you very much.