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BREEDERS' CUP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

October 25, 2008

ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA

ERIC WING: We are joined by the winning connections of Goldikova, powerful and convincing winner of the $2 million Breeders' Cup mile. And crowded table, deservedly so. Left to right, we have Gerard Wertheimer, one of the co-owners of Goldikova. Next to him, trainer, Freddy Head, who made Breeders' Cup history today by becoming the first person to both ride and train a Breeders' Cup winner. Congratulations, Freddy. Also, next to Freddy, moving down the line is, Alain Wertheimer, Gerard's brother, and of course, we have the winning rider, Olivier Peslier. And congratulations to all of you.
Olivier, let me start with you. It looked like you had a ton of horse going around the racetrack. Maybe a little bit of trouble, or a lack of room turning for home. But can you take us through the trip.
OLIVIER PESLIER: The filly, she start very well, and just before the trouble -- it's not really the trouble, because I'm seeing sight, I'm plenty of place, and I don't want any trouble with the horse. I leave a chance. And my filly, she's doing very well. After that, when it's a little bit open, she just keep going, like a French race.
When you go easy like that, and she is very well, and the stretch is a bit short, but after that, I know my filly that second.
ERIC WING: You've ridden her every race of her career. It looked like she was shot out of the cannon when she got daylight. Has that pretty much been the story of Goldikova all along?
OLIVIER PESLIER: Yeah, a good story, and also for the stable, and for Freddy, and for Frere, and she's a really good filly, and I hope next year she's doing the same.
ERIC WING: Alain and Gerard, many racing fans were disappointed at the news that Zarkava would be retired at the conclusion of her brilliant 3-year-old filly career. Goldikova is a marvelous 3-year-old filly in her own right. Will she race next year?
OLIVIER PESLIER: Absolutely.
ERIC WING: Hard to imagine her topping the great year she had this year, but there are so many targets to aim at, have you and Freddy discussed a road map at this point?
FREDDY HEAD: For next year, you mean?
ERIC WING: Yes.
FREDDY HEAD: No, it's a bit early. She will run in France, in the Group 1. Of course, if all goes well, we'll come back here and we'll be back.
ERIC WING: Freddy, could you comment on the achievement of becoming the first person to both ride and train a Breeders' Cup winner?
FREDDY HEAD: Well, it's something that you can't imagine, I can't realize a thing like that. I can say I think life has been good to me.
ALAIN WERTHEIMER: There is only one issue, he has to win it a second time (laughing).
ERIC WING: You can confirm or deny this, Freddy, there was a report or whisper that you were on the dirt track sprinting along as the field was going by. Is that correct or not correct?
FREDDY HEAD: No, that's not correct. I was in the seats, my seats, yelling.

Q. Was it easier riding Miesque or being on the ground watching Goldikova?
FREDDY HEAD: It's very different. I think it's more rewarding to train a horse like her than ride. What can I say? It's very different. I mean, it's a second life for me, so I'm very lucky to train such good horses.
The tension is a bit more. A jockey, once you're on your horse and you're on the track, you get relaxed. I think Olivier rode her like he's been riding her all her life, so he doesn't have the same stress I would say.
But a trainer when you're in the stands and you figure out what happened before and all the career, all the training to come here, it's a bit -- gives you a bit of emotion, I would say.

Q. You've both tasted Breeders' Cup success previously with Kotashaan and Halfbridled, how does the feeling today compare?
GERARD WERTHEIMER: As good as the first time (smiling).
ALAIN WERTHEIMER: It feels great, Kotashaan was great, because it was the first one we had. And Hog Wild was an unbelievable filly. It's the type of filly you get once in a generation, and this one could be the same.

Q. How did the filly do through the way, the first day she was on the track, she might have lost a couple of times, but you expected her to do well. Did she settle in and train nicely?
FREDDY HEAD: She was training very well, I was very happy. Every time, she just got a little bit nervous in the van coming from the airport to Santa Anita. And then afterwards, she settled well, and in the morning she was lovely. Just every day I could see her, and yesterday she spin for about two furlongs and 400-yard spin, and she's really fine. So I was very happy with that.
I could see today in the parade, she was acting like a real pro. Very well in herself, and looking at everything. But very relaxed.

Q. Is it possible she's even better or at least as good on this kind of really firm turf as she is back home?
FREDDY HEAD: I think she doesn't like -- the only time she's been beaten was it was very heavy that day, first time this year. She had other excuses, but she got beat that day when the ground was very soft. So I think she was -- I know the only thing she wants is speed. She's very fast. Loves the speed. That's why she does well here. They set off a good gallop and they go. It's not always the same in Europe or in France, and that is the kind of race she likes.
That's why I think she wants fast ground and fast to go. I mean, she wants to run in 133 or 134, then she's at her best, I think.

Q. Do you think she could be as good as Miesque?
FREDDY HEAD: I think so. I think so. I think she's more easy to ride because she travels better, she can settle. Miesque was always difficult to ride, always very keen. But they don't have the same background. She was more background than Miesque, Miesque is a champion two-year-old. I saved her two, only run twice, very deep races. I didn't want her to have her career or two. Then she comes improving with all the races and the only thing we felt on Zarkava, the champion, and she's the only filly that beat her.

Q. You told me at Ascot in late September and coming to Santa Anita to ride Goldikova, that was a measure of your confidence. And I'm happy the confidence has been justified. Congratulations. Now the filly, the long shot, all kinds of grass. But the fact that the grass was very firm, was it a concern to you at all today?
OLIVIER PESLIER: I tell you in September in Ascot, I go to Santa Anita, because I know Goldikova, she's very good. And I know last year she's very good. And it just make my mistake I finished third for the French Oaks. But it's a little far. Anyway, when she ran the mile, she's a really good filly, and she's a champion. She's not really good, she's really, really good. Has a nice heart, nice mentality, and she's very strong, she's like a colt. For sure for next year, if she's still like this, for sure next year she is better. Like the same for me is great.
FREDDY HEAD: What I want to add is that is the first time in her life that she's been turning on a left-hand track, and she just adapted to that so easy. I mean, at home first time she went and you thought she was there or she had turned all her life on that sort of ground. We have the same race course. The race course and training center at Chantilly, and she just does what you want. I mean, she's so handy, and she's clever.
OLIVIER PESLIER: She can win in the front, behind, whatever. You know, this is a really good horse. When you have no pressure, and when Freddy is there, oh, you ride, you'll see what's happen, because nobody knows what's happened in the race. After that, she start well. After that, I stay just behind the lead. If nobody go, she take the lead.

Q. You've decided that she's going to stay in training. Was that decided before today or did it depend?
ALAIN WERTHEIMER: Except if it had been a major problem, we had decided to keep her in training next year.

Q. Why did you want to be a trainer, and can you reflect on from the start of your career until where you are now?
FREDDY HEAD: Really, it's the only thing I know is running and being around horses. So when I stopped my riding career, I don't think I could retire. I mean, I was too young then. So it's the only thing I know and I can do, so I do it.

Q. What's it like from the start of your career until now?
FREDDY HEAD: What do you mean?

Q. Your training career, it started slowly, right?
FREDDY HEAD: It did. It's always hard. When I started I had no horses. Just one day I knew it was the end. I was 50 then, and I ran a race in Deauville, and I said, Well, that's the last race. I didn't finish on a winner, you know. It was a sort of All-Stars thing.
So I said, Now I'm going to start training, but I had no horses. So my first owners were the Wertheimer brothers, with a few others. And I start with only 40 horses. Then they start, you know. And then one day you get on the good ones. That is the luck of it.

Q. Tamayuz, Marchand D'or, and now Goldikova, this is a really special year for you. What kind of 2-year-olds do you have this year that are going to dominate racing next year?
FREDDY HEAD: What's amazing is, I've got the best 2-year-old in Europe. He's won a Group 1 the other day. He's run four times, he's won three. He's won the best group horse. He's called Necruse (phonetic), and he could be the best 2-year-old in Europe today.

Q. Goldikova won today, Six Perfections won five years ago, is this the best U.S. venue for French horses to come over and run on in your opinion?
FREDDY HEAD: You mean the race, the dirt mile, yes, I think so, I think so. Of course, I don't know if your best horses run on the turf, so, we're used to run on that turf, so I think it's the best race, the best race for us.

Q. Why did you employ Freddy as your trainer? And tell us what he's like as a trainer?
ALAIN WERTHEIMER: You want to know why he got the horses? Family connections. That's how it started.
FREDDY HEAD: My father trained for Alain's grandfather. And they've been associated with the family for around 50 or 60 years now. So that's it.
ALAIN WERTHEIMER: And then he started doing well. I mean, the family connection helped. But it would have been bad, the family goes bye-bye.
ERIC WING: Well, Gerard Wertheimer, Freddy Head, Alain Wertheimer, and Olivier Peslier, terrific performance. Thank you for bringing her to the U.S., so fans here can see her, and continued success with Goldikova.

End of FastScripts

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