|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
BREEDERS' CUP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPSNovember 4, 2006Eddie CastrolCharlotte WeberMartin WolfsonCHURCHILL DOWNS, KENTUCKY ERIC WING: We're live in the interview room with the winning rider of the NetJets Breeders' Cup, obviously his first Breeders' Cup victory. Eddie, congratulations, and now we're being joined by Marty Wolfson, the trainer. Such is the Breeders' Cup, I guess, Marty, you go from disappointment with Pomeroy in the space of 30 minutes to the top of the {world}. You came from way back, you swept kind of the kind of trip you tend to see from the Europeans when they come in and steal our money. Were you surprised at how powerful he was underneath you coming around there? EDDIE CASTROL: Yeah. I ride the same horse all the time. Marty told me I got the same time. I take it back. The little push the horse, I take it hard, follow the number 14 horse. I take a chance, you know, that's how it is. ERIC WING: Trainer, Martin Wolfson, congratulations. The Shadwell Turf Mile had to be a bit of a disappointment for you. He was beaten pretty soundly by Aussie Rules, who wasn't even considered one of the top European milers. What was the difference between last time and today in terms of the horse's fitness and preparation? MARTIN WOLFSON: I was saying he wasn't beaten soundly. He was beaten by two links. The plane trip up usually takes me four hours. It took them almost 20, and he couldn't go to the track except for one day, and he was quiet and he wasn't himself. So I told Eddie today, I thought he was a little close in the race, and I just told him to duplicate the Sunshine Mile Race at Gulfstream, where he gets covered up and gets in pockets and can be 12, 14 links back. That's his best race. Then get to the outside and you couldn't have a better rider on him. ERIC WING: Could you comment, Eddie. He's obviously propelled himself up to the upper echelon, but still his name -- recognition value may not be the {same} as some other stars in the sport. You stuck with him and have ridden him the last eight times in a row. Can you tell us about what attracted you and what has kept you two going? MARTIN WOLFSON: He's very relaxed on a horse. He's almost part of a horse, and I've -- ever since the last two years, he's ridden every major race for me with the spinster. I brought him up here for the spinster, and he rode the filly last year for me. Never really makes any mistakes, and if he does make a mistake, he'll tell me. He's pretty flawless in all of his rides when he rides for me. ERIC WING: We're also joined now on stage by Charlotte Weber of Live Oak Plantation. Charlotte, you've won a lot of big races in this game. So has Live Oak. Where does this rate in the pantheon of your highest moments in racing? CHARLOTTE WEBER: I would have to say being at a number of these before, for me it's right up there on the top. I want to thank Eddie and Marty and Johnny Carnes, our farm trainer, who was the one who convinced me to put him back into training, and this team here before you is the team that has gotten the horse where he is. ERIC WING: Any questions from down here in the interview room from upstairs in the press box for our winning connections of Miesque's Approval? Q. A year ago today, this horse was in a 5 claimer at Aquaduct, wouldn't win. What went on that Eddie convinced you to bring him back this year. How close were you to retiring him at all? CHARLOTTE WEBER: We took him home to see how he would do. Usually when a horse isn't performing well, we take him home, reevaluate him. Marty came to me and he was interested, and I thought, freshen the horse, see we're he'll go. We sent him down south, and that's how we put the team together. Q. This question either of you can answer. Given the fact the lines very clearly show it's strictly a come-from-behind horse, at what point did you think you had a pace fast enough for the speed to come back and you would be able to rally, meaning at what point in the race did you start counting your blessings? MARTIN WOLFSON: I knew he was going to be -- make a real race of it. At the top of the stretch, even though he goes wide, his best races are when he's fanned wide, but once they straighten out, he's got a really terrific turn afoot, and I didn't know if he'd get there, and then at the 8th pole I knew he was going win. I didn't know how far he would win by. EDDIE CASTROL: Yeah. I think a lot of heart. He had lot of heart, the front. At that time horse, put it outside, take a {chance}. I take a lot of horse. He punched good and then they -- I pass, I knew I would win. Q. Congratulations. Question for Eddie. How was the turf playing today? It looks {thick}, like there's a little kickback. Is it firm or soft? Can you talk about the condition of the turf? EDDIE CASTROL: I ride it before this -- no, the turf was soft, maybe for the rain back a couple days. The turf is okay. Very good. Q. Marty, why did you want to specifically train this horse and what have you done? Is there anything specific that got him going in this direction where he could win a race like this? MARTIN WOLFSON: I had run against him a few times some of my other horses and I've kind of followed him for the last few years, and I just wanted to change his tactics to where he could just have 3/8s of a mile kick, and I think that's what he's happier doing instead of being in the body of a race early, and then if you just let him run the last 3/8s, it's much more effective. He relaxed a lot the first part of it now. Some of his races that I watched, he was one race with "Bailey Earnings." He was on the lead and he was probably just a little too tough. He learned to relax a lot during the race. ERIC WING: Mrs. Weber, this was his 39th start. He's three years old now. He may very well have been a sire, no matter what happened today, but now he certainly is one as a Breeders' Cup winner. Is there going to be a start No. 40, or is this the curtain call for Miesque's Approval? MS. WEBER: I'm just going to enjoy the moment. I'll tell you about it later. Going to enjoy it. ERIC WING: Anything else either upstairs or downstairs for Miesque's Approval? A day to remember for all three of you with your first Breeders' Cup victory. Mark Wolfson, Eddie Castro, Charlotte Weber, congratulations on a great performance. End of FastScripts |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|