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BREEDERS' CUP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPSOctober 27, 2007Bob BaffertMike PegramKarl WatsonPaul WeitmannOCEANPORT, NEW JERSEY ERIC WING: We are live in the interview tent with the winning connections of TVG Sprint Midnight Lute. And Bob Baffert, win number two on the day. I guess you are indeed back. And if you would do us the favor of introducing the panel. BOB BAFFERT: First of all, I don't want to hear this, back, I've always been here. I've just been a little quiet. This is Carl Watson from Arizona, Paul Weitman, best of friends and everybody knows Mike Pegram. So go ahead. ERIC WING: It has been very well documented that Midnight Lute had some breathing problems necessitating more than one surgery. If you could just run through that for us. BOB BAFFERT: He's a big horse, and for some reason, one of his air breathing flappers went bad, so we had tie-back surgery when he was young. The first one didn't hold very long. He had a second one, and it held and he had ran that bad race at Keenland, and came apart, so he didn't run well. So we redid it, brought him back and that's why he was off for a while. Then he started training totally different, this horse. He's been a totally different horse. Ever since, he's been training like a bear. I mean, this horse is just an incredible horse. What he did today, that's a great horse, what he did. Getting left, I was afraid -- the whole key to the Sprint was to have him break well, and I told Mike, you know, I had him ready to go six furlongs. If he could breathe, he could be in the Classic today. He's that kind of horse. He can do short, long, whatever it takes. But he's a totally different horse than he was last year and he's been working like no horse I've ever had. Just ridiculous times he works in the mornings, and he shows an effort and today he showed -- that had to be -- I knew if he got left, it was going to take an inspirational move like that to win. That was incredible what we just saw. ERIC WING: Bob, I'm going to ask you two questions I asked you earlier. Were you concerned about mud for Midnight Lute, given that the race might be a tad short for him on paper and talking about leaving Del Mar. BOB BAFFERT: I just didn't feel comfortable running him there, so I went to Saratoga, and I wanted to put him on a racetrack I felt confident about. I felt good about either place but I'd rather follow the dirt or whatever. It's one of those things where this horse has just come around at the right time. And the mud, you always worry about the mud, but one thing about the championship Breeders' Cup I've learned through the years, the good ones always come through. You'd better let a good one up there, because you're running against the best and they shine. Unless your horse is tailing off and I've brought horses here that I probably shouldn't have run, but you're trying to squeeze that one more race out of them. But this horse, the timing, we waited, we waited two months and we did the same thing with 30 Sloughs and it's just great to win it with my old pal, Mike, here, and we're back in the saddle with a great horse and my boys here. I had them upside down for about six, seven years and they stuck with me. Now they know the feeling of winning -- when we're here to win at the major level. ERIC WING: Mike, you've enjoyed your share of success over the years at Kentucky Derby with Real Quiet, the Dubai World Cup with Captain Steve, fillies winner with Silver Bullet Day, and this horse, like Captain Steve for one, not all that expensive, I believe, 70,000 at auction. Where does this win rank up there among some of the other great moments you've had? MIKE PEGRAM: Well, any time you win a Breeders' Cup, you know how hard it is to get to the Breeders' Cup. And to be lucky enough to get here, and the one thing that's great about racing is when you can enjoy it with your friends. And my relationship with Bob has been well documented, but to have two partners like Carl and Paul, I mean, it just makes it that much more sweeter. Got somebody else to pick up the check tonight. (Laughter). ERIC WING: And Mr. Watson, Mr. Weitman, we saw today he was shot out of a cannon it looked like turning for home, despite the less than ideal start. Bob spoke earlier in the year about this horse being potentially a classic type horse, he's not a straight sprinter who cannot go beyond; are you planning to campaign the horse next year, and do you see him going beyond the sprints and miles and maybe trying the longer distances as he kind of started out early on that path this year? CARL WATSON: We hope so. We have to go there to see for sure. But we've talked about the potential possibilities for the horse, and, you know, like Bob said, and Mike, the last couple races, you know, the way he's stepped up, I wouldn't count anything out at this point, but you can't take anything for granted. It's a tough business. We'll take it a week at a time and a day at a time. BOB BAFFERT: If you give him your number, he'll text you at about 2:00 in the morning and let you know what he's done. (Laughter). PAUL WEITMAN: I think the thing to do is just enjoy this race, hopefully he comes out of it good and let the coach decide where he goes next. ERIC WING: And Coach, I was bragging about Steve being a good bargain and he was expensive compared to Real Quiet. How did you get Midnight Lute? BOB BAFFERT: He cost 300,000. I bought him after a two-year-old on sale, I liked him, I called Mike up, I said, I like this horse, I think we should take a chance with him. And brought the boys in with him, so it's worked out fine, you know. Q. Bob, if you could think back to when you were purchasing him, what attracted you? BOB BAFFERT: I like the fact, I've always liked the fact that I trained Real Quiet, he was so good to us and he was a good horse himself and he reminded me of Real Quiet the way he came down the stretch with his ears flopping around. I liked his stride and movement and I was caught by him on the video. Went back and told us what they wanted 300 for him and we bought him. The throat issue, that was a shame, he was going to be my Derby horse, I was excited about him. That came up but that's part of the game. I think the reason I've had so much success here, the whole secret to Bob Baffert at Monmouth Park, you've got to eat at Miss Max's Hot Dogs, that's the whole secret. ERIC WING: A couple things, this is the fourth straight Breeders' Cup winner that had his last prep in New York, for whatever that's worth, so your move has certainly paid off two times already. Q. For Coach Baffert, now the last quarter of a mile came in 25 seconds and when Idiot Proof looked like what took a commanding lead, your horse must have been 12, 15 lengths off the leader. At that point, did you think he could close so ferociously and be able to win going away? BOB BAFFERT: When he left the gate, I told my wife who was next to me, oh, we didn't break, and he was way back there. I thought, I don't know, we're done. All of a sudden I was waiting to see if he picked the bit up and I was waiting for him to grab and finally about the 3/8 pole he picked the bit up and started make that big move and at the quarter pole when he swung wide, then I thought, now we have a chance, and I was looking at those horses on the lead, they were still running hard but then when I saw he was within five and six lengths, I felt that he had a really good chance to run them down and he was just pouring it on at the end. Q. He was like a silver arrow going through a dark sky, the only thing was the arrow was painted in red. (Laughter)? BOB BAFFERT: All I know is that was -- it was really exciting, but the way he did it, it's always shown that we've thought great things of this horse and today he really put in a performance. I remember going to the Breeders' Cup and watching the Arazi move, and now we're going to call it the Midnight Lute move. ERIC WING: Speaking of the Midnight Lute move, I know he's named after long-time University of Arizona head basketball Coach Lute Olsen and I believe "Midnight" is referring to the midnight practices they have -- or maybe not. PAUL WEITMAN: Should I tell the truth? (Laughter). ERIC WING: How did the horse get named? PAUL WEITMAN: How that name came up was Tarkanian at Las Vegas and "Lute" was after the same kid from California. And it went down to the last day. He would say he was going to Las Vegas, he would say he was going to Arizona. And right at the last minute and the last day, Lute got the kid and he signed with Arizona. So Tarkanian actually gave that name, Midnight Lute, because he got him right at the last minute. ERIC WING: Do you recall who the player was by any chance? PAUL WEITMAN: Yes, Tom Tolbert. ERIC WING: Very interesting. To any of you, you had a lot of confidence in Midnight Lute, and it had to be frustrating as he had his setbacks, but as much confidence as you had coming in, did what he did out there today kind of elevate him to a whole other level in your own minds about what kind of course you all have? BOB BAFFERT: I've been bragging about this horse for a while. He's breathing fire, that's what we call it. We would have been really disappointed if he didn't win today. I was really, of all the races, you know, I loved Indian Blessing, but I knew this was my best shot and when he didn't break, I thought, what a shame, he's not going to get to show his stuff. And then when he put that move in, I wasn't even -- as a trainer and as a racing fan, it was incredible what he did. I mean, I was so excited to watch him do that; knowing that he gets to go back to my barn; that I have a horse like that. Matter of fact we're going to bring her to Indian Blessing. ERIC WING: But not until you see how he does next year. BOB BAFFERT: No, tonight. Tonight. (Laughter) That's how they are going to celebrate tonight. They are going to give him a trophy. ERIC WING: Everybody, congratulations. End of FastScripts |
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