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142ND BELMONT STAKES

June 5, 2010

ELMONT, NEW YORK

THE MODERATOR: Okay. We're alive in the interview room with the happy trainer of Drosselmeyer, William Mott. We'll be joined momentarily by racing manager for WinStar Farm, Elliott Walden, and also by Mike Smith we understand is taking a well-deserved shower. He'll be in very shortly.
Bill, congratulations on the Triple Crown victory number one for you personally. Though you did come close in 1999 with Vision and Verse. Was Dwyer Farm held up nicely today. One two finishers, there came in one two reverse order. Was it the distance difference that made the difference.
WILLIAM MOTT: I think that could have helped us, however, the other day I think we got off a little bad from the gate, maybe lost a little bit of our position early. Our horse hadn't been out in seven weeks, which neither had the winner of the Dwyer. I thought our horse would probably improve to just having had the race. I think he had been dormant for seven weeks, and I think he does a little better with a little more racing. The race, obviously, moved him forward. You saw the result today. He got a nice clean trip today. Didn't have to check. You know, Mike gave it a nice, smooth ride. He trained well. The horse trained well since the Dwyer. He had a very good work. His last work was actually very impressive. He worked in racehorse time, galloped out 12 and 2, you know, the seven-eighths and 26 and 3. Generally I found when horses work that well and gallop out that well, they'll run pretty good. He didn't disappointment us today.
THE MODERATOR: In these Triple Crown races, everything gets scrutinized, much more so than on a normal basis. There were stories about Drosselmeyer's feet, the need for bar shoes periodically. Can you go over that, were the feet any problem whatsoever leading up to the race?
WILLIAM MOTT: Today I wouldn't say so. About eight days ago, it looked like they may become a little bit of a problem. He had gotten the frogs in his feet, had gotten a little sore. The sand is a little abrasive here at Belmont, and it was kind of abrading on the frog, and we just put a simple aluminum bar shoe on him to give him a little protection during training during the week. And as soon as we put those on, we got quiet. We soaked him in hot water, Epsom salts a couple times a day, and he was not a problem all week.
We took the bar shoes off today, this morning after he trained, and the feet looked great.
THE MODERATOR: As you can all see, we're now joined, left to right, by Doug Cauthen of WinStar Farm. Lisa Troutt, Elliott Walden.
I want to ask Doug, maybe you, especially Lisa. We horseplayers never consider it a real good sign when the owners don't show up on race day.
Can you explain where your husband and Mr. Casner are today?
LISA TROUTT: I'm not sure where Bill and Susan are. Do you know where they are.
ELLIOTT WALDEN: They're in Texas. It's been a great five weeks. They traveled a lot, came to the Derby, spent a two weeks, a week at the Preakness. They were exhausted.
In fact, it was kind of interesting. Bill made the decision right after the Preakness he wasn't coming to the Belmont. It didn't really have anything to do with maybe the foot issue that everybody thought was maybe an issue.
LISA TROUTT: But Kenny is at a basketball tournament in Indiana with our two teenage boys. He really, really wanted to come. We left from Dallas this morning. We were going to pick him up. He said no, we might get there too late. It will be an hour and a half later, and so he's there with our boys, and he loves basketball. Our boys love basketball. They play AAU. That's what they're Doug.
So we came up and I'm with my mom and my sister and my good friend and Savannah, my daughter, and my two nieces. We're going to New York City after this to celebrate.
THE MODERATOR: Elliott, Doug, I want to ask you a question about Drosselmeyer's history 'till now, but Elliott, you made the decision, your team did, to change jockeys and you actually went away from a jockey who's had very good success at the Belmont, Kent Desormeaux to Mike Smith. Obviously, that move paid off. Tell us the thinking behind it.
ELLIOTT WALDEN: Well, I guess you could say it did pay off because Mike gave him a great ride. It was no reflection on Kent. Kent's a Hall of Fame rider, won this race many times. In fact, you know, when I talked to him after the Dwyer, we kind of texted back and forth. He said this horse would win the Belmont with him or without him. And he was right. Kent's a great rider. We had breakfast this morning. We're going to use him plenty in the future. Mike did give him a great ride. Kent probably would have, too. It was one of those things where the horse had struggled getting over the hump and just felt like, you know, a little shuffling might do the trick.
THE MODERATOR: Doug, I know Kent Desormeaux got off Drosselmeyer following the Louisiana Derby. He was best, because you ran third. You didn't have enough earnings. Then in two Dywer horse has trouble, still runs well has trouble. Was it frustrating from the owner's standpoint, did you think that we're never going to see what this horse is capable of.
DOUG CAUTHEN: We always believed in him so much. We did think this was the day that he would either put up or we'd have to quick making an excuse and he really put it up, you know, he came. He just ran a super race, and he was poised to run a great race. And it's pretty satisfying to see it happen and, you know, we do miss Bill and Kenny being here, but the owners are here.
THE MODERATOR: All right. I want to open it up to questions from the media. Were any of you concerned? Although Drosselmeyer ran very well, the fractions were slow. You did have horses to pass when you saw 49 and 114, did you think your horse might be too far back, given dawdling pace?
WILLIAM MOTT: I thought he was in good position. Actually, I recognized the fractions when they hung them up. I knew they were going slow. He was within range.
ELLIOTT WALDEN: Fly Down was right next to him on the inside. There was a big gap, so those six horses that were in that first frame, that first flight. You could feel good about any one of the six. It was that second tier that was probably in trouble with the pace being so slow.
THE MODERATOR: Questions from the media, I'll repeat it for the benefit of those listening up in the Press Box and yes, Bob.

Q. Bill, can you talk about the feeling it is to add the Triple Crown win to the resumÃˆ of all you've done. How do you compare this to the other stuff you've done.
WILLIAM MOTT: It's very good. This is, by the way, the second Belmont winner I've saddled. People probably don't know it. I saddled Victory Gallop for Elliott when he had a broken leg. I don't know how many years ago that was. I actually put the saddle on. I just tried to repeat that effort again today and put it on the same way and it worked. It's a great feeling and, you know, it's nice to be able to train good horses and for good people and that give you the opportunity to do this. And it all came together and I think it was just a matter of time with, you know, some of the good horses that I do get the opportunity to train that it was going to happen.

Q. Elliott, five weeks ago you were explaining how you gave the horse to Tom Fletcher who ultimately won the Derby. Talk about the decision-making process and how Bill got this horse, and you seem to be pulling the right switches with the jockeys and trainers, everything else. Talk a little about the process of all that.
ELLIOTT WALDEN: Well, this horse, you know, was a horse that came to Saratoga last summer. Interestingly, he and Super Saver were all in the same van to Saratoga, and they were the first group we sent out from the farm. Some people think if you get started on them too soon, they might not be around and, you know, by sending them to Todd and Billie, the horse always comes first and Bill's a great horseman.
The thing that I think about sitting up here with Bill today and sitting up here with Todd five weeks ago is, both of them have a humble spirit for the success that each one of them has had. You wouldn't know it by sitting up here, and just, you know, the first thing that Bill did was thank us for giving him the horse and it just shows, you know, that greatness can come with humbleness as well. And Bill reflects that in his character and his day-to-day operation.
THE MODERATOR: I want to remind people upstairs listening in the Press Box that if you have a question, you can give it to David Curcio in the center there and we'll relay it down here. Question right here.

Q. Elliott, I know you had said last week, or recently, that the Belmont has ups and downs sometimes a big buildup, sometimes not. When you think about it, what's the feeling? What's the emotion like today?
THE MODERATOR: The Belmont sometimes has ups and downs then.
ELLIOTT WALDEN: I would say that just from my perspective being involved with one that did have a Triple Crown on the line and win here was a little more relaxed today. But I was extremely excited to look down that grandstand and see wall-to-wall people. I was concerned, probably like everybody else three weeks ago when Super Saver got beat, it might have taken a little bit of the luster off the Belmont. I thought it was a good crowd today, an energetic crowd. It was a lot of fun without having quite as much pressure as it is when a Triple Crown is on the line.
THE MODERATOR: Elliott, the sound was not working up in the Press Box when we first started. So, if you wouldn't mind repeating why the jockey switch to Mike Smith.
ELLIOTT WALDEN: You know, just felt like that this horse needed a little bit of a change in his routine.
Kent has had a lot of confidence in this horse all year. Kent's ridden a lot of good horses for us and we had a lot of faith in Kent, but we just felt like in this certain situation that something needed to change a little bit, and so, you know, we went to Mike because Mike was riding Proviso for Bill and Just a Game. We knew he was going to be in town. He's a great rider and felt like he would get him in that rhythm, that this horse is desiring and, you know, just 24, 48, 12 and keep grinding at him, and you know, this horse really kicked hard turning for home and finished strong.

Q. Bill, did the horse frustrate you at all earlier in the year?
WILLIAM MOTT: No, not really. I mean, I was, you know, a little disappointed in some of our racing, but the horse did great. I mean, the horse answered all the questions. You know, we got him first out. He won an allowance race at Gulf Stream, and he handled all the traffic problems, did everything one off the layoff and we went to Louisiana twice and just didn't have the racing luck maybe that we needed to win. And we didn't earn the money to get into the Derby, which was a little bit of a disappointment, because I think the horse was a quality horse that would have the style and the ability to run the Derby.
ELLIOTT WALDEN: Thank you, Bill. You're not getting enough earnings.
WILLIAM MOTT: Anyway, some things are just meant to be, and I think this is one of them. It worked out for WinStar and it worked out for us today and there will just have to be another day or time maybe I'll have a chance to get a Derby.
The horse didn't frustrate me at all. There is a thing called racing luck, and you know, we had our luck today. It came around and everything fell into place.

Q. Elliott, I know you've been high on this group of three-year-olds for WinStar since early last year. How special is it to now see two of them win Triple Crown races?
ELLIOTT WALDEN: Well, it's just, you know, we just feel blessed all year with the opportunities that we've been given. We've been given great opportunities at WinStar with the resources with the Troutts and the Casners put into the business, and so, you know, it's just nice to see your hard work come together and it's been such a team feeling all spring, you know, you go into a barn, a yearling barn, you go into the stallion barn, you know, our stallion manager, Larry McGuinnes is walking on clouds right now with his distorted humor, being the daddy of this one. We have a great team in place, starts at the top with the Troutts and the Casners, and it's just a real blessing.
THE MODERATOR: We're now joined by Mike Smith, who completed a personal Triple Crown of sorts. '93 he won the Preakness with Prairie Bio. 2005 Kentucky Derby with Giacomo, today the Belmont Stakes with Drosselmeyer. Congratulations.
Can you take us through the trip and also tell us what it's like winning a Triple Crown race at a venue that you spent so much of your career at?
MIKE SMITH: To start out, I'll take to you the race.
He broke good today, which I was concerned about. Last time out he stumbled over there. It cost him quite a bit. He got away. Game on Duke kind of came over on him a little bit. I followed him over, luckily for us. Ice Box was right to my inside. He's not as quick. I was able to follow him right over and once he cleared me, I was able to get him back out and get into that rhythm we've been talking about. Billie said, give him a nice comfortable rhythm. That's what he did. He stayed in that cool rhythm all the way. The three-eighths bar started. Pick him up soon as I asked him, he kicked in. I was worried about it. Not only did he kick, he kept on going, on going, on going. It was a great race today.

Q. I have a question for Bill first. Can you comment on Mike's strengths as a rider and why as a trainer you want to put him on this type of horse? I understand he was here to ride, maybe what made you choose him.
WILLIAM MOTT: I think Mike has been riding very well. I think riders have rhythms, and I think Mike's been on a roll lately. He's a very capable rider and we've won a lot of nice races in the past, and he's got great hands, and I felt that he would find just what he was saying the rhythm that this horse needed to be in and might give him the trip that he would benefit from, and that all happened.
You know, it's nice to kind of join up with an old friend that you had a lot of success with in the past. I mean, we both kind of came to New York about the same time and cut our teeth here, and it's nice to join up in the Belmont and get it done together. It's special for a lot of reasons, but that's a big reason that it will be special.
THE MODERATOR: Mike and Bill, you guys are both already in the Hall of Fame. You certainly had a Hall of Fame today with Drosselmeyer, and also with Proviso.
Mike, you've had so many thrills with Zenyatta most recently.
Bill, who can forget Cigar? Where does this day rank when you look back through all you guys accomplished? Is today going to have a very special place in your memories?
MIKE SMITH: For me, definitely. It's been 14 years in New York. I'm blessed to win just about everything there is here except that race, and I just, I don't know. When I got the phone call and Bill asked if I'd be interested in riding him, the first thing I thought, I'm going to win the Belmont. I felt that from that phone call on to this morning.
I got up and ran 4 miles this morning. I felt so good. I took the edge off a little bit. It means everything in my career. I feel complete.
WILLIAM MOTT: It's always special and, you know, I think, you know, probably as time goes on and you have an opportunity to reflect on it, and I think then it will really settle in, but I'm sure there's going to be very fine memories about this day, no doubt.

Q. For Elliott, if you would, with Super Saver, now Drosselmeyer, you have two strong candidates for top three-year-olds. How do you handle that from a management point of view the rest of the year?
ELLIOTT WALDEN: Well, I think, you know, you are blessed to have both horses and, you know, we'll probably maybe look to separate him in the next start, but probably come together in the Traverse and see what happens, but, you know, it all depends on how they both come back.
And Super Saver is doing great. This horse is really, today was just a redeeming race for him. You know, there's been a lot of people that have had a lot of faith in this horse all spring. We get letters all the time and emails about this horse, and so it's been gratifying today to just, you know, have the opportunity with this horse to finally get to run the kind of race he's capable of.
The rest of the year will play out the way it's supposed to. We won't try to manipulate anyway. We'll see what happens and put it in.

Q. Lisa Elliott and Doug, the reaction of Kenny and Bill, when you made those phone calls to them, what did they say and what was the feeling?
ELLIOTT WALDEN: I haven't talked -- I talked to Kenny briefly. I talked to Kenny briefly when we came out of there.
LISA TROUTT: I have not had a chance to talk to him. I know this morning before we left, he said, I think he's got a great shot. And he said that several times before we left. And then I was reading all the little articles on the plane on the way up and the sport's pages and I was like, oh, gosh, he wasn't mentioned once.
I thought, well, you know, we'll just get there and hope and pray for the best. But yeah, I can imagine he was yelling just like these two guys do and beating his form and screaming.

Q. Did anyone talk to Bill and Susan?
ELLIOTT WALDEN: I haven't had a chance yet. I tried to call them on the way from upstairs to here, and hadn't got a hold of them yet, but they're extremely excited. They are, you know, both sets of owners are extremely involved in this business. They're passionate about it and that's what's exciting for Doug and I to be able to share it with Lisa and Kenny and Bill and Susan. It means a great deal.
After the Derby we talked about how we need to make sure that we keep all this in perspective, what's happened this spring and Doug and I prayed actually on Monday that we would be able to handle this in a way that would bring glory and honor to God. And so it's just been a magical spring and we feel very blessed.
THE MODERATOR: I just want to let everybody know the official attendance today. 45,243.

Q. This is for Doug. Your brother, of course, has the ultimate Triple Crown achievement, but you've got two-thirds now. Does that kind of even the bragging rights?
DOUG CAUTHEN: Yeah, I'm gonna brag. Tonight anyway. Obviously, everybody's goal, any of these classics are an amazing accomplishment. We're so thrilled to be there. Yeah, right now I'm going to tell him I'm one up on him. One day, you know, we'll keep coming back and keep trying to match him.

Q. Follow up on that for Doug. What emotions does this place evoke for you in your family?
DOUG CAUTHEN: I was telling Elliott this morning, we both, I think you were 15, too, weren't you, or 16, we came and one of my first jobs on the track was up here. I was driving horses for Laz Barrera and P.G. Johnson and working for Dr. Pendergrast. I thought I had gone to heaven when I showed up on the Belmont Park. It is a beautiful facility. If you love horses, this is the place for horses to be, it's special. So it was kind of great to look around and see it, and Steve and I spent a summer up here living together. He was riding. I was working and, you know, we were just living the dream and both my parents definitely were very involved in the business on a smaller venue, but if you love horses, they've always loved it and enjoyed coming here. I remember walking around after Steve won the Triple Crown with mom and dad, my little brother, Kerry. It was a special moment and today was pretty special, too.

Q. How did you decide to go in the Dwyer instead of the Preakness or earlier than that not running another race to try to get into the Derby?
WILLIAM MOTT: Well, initially after Louisiana Derby, Elliott and I talked about wheeling back in the Arkansas Derby, Blue Grass, Lexington came into place. We looked at the options. Should we try to get a little more money and get in the Derby? It was actually Elliott's idea. He came up with the idea of the Dwyer. First he said, what about the Dwyer and waiting for the Belmont? I think over the course of, you know, we bypass the Arkansas Derby and the Blue Grass, which would have been coming back in two weeks' time, and finally we just said, look, let's just go with, you know, the thing we talked about on the first day, and that was the Dwyer and the Belmont. That's what we're stuck with.
I got a little nervous, I guess, when we ran in the Dwyer and it looked like the horse needed some racing. He had been doing so well during the month of April and he could have run back in one of those other races, but, you know, as it worked out today, it's fine, and I think, you know, turned out to be a good plan.
THE MODERATOR: Was that decision to back off on the Derby plans made easier by the fact he had Super Saver and you had Endorsement?
ELLIOTT WALDEN: It was. I'd like to say we would have done the right thing by the horse, which we did by showing patience, but, you know, the Derby does crazy things to you. It was fortunate that we had the other options with Super Saver and Rule and American Lion and Endorsement at the time. It's just been a great spring.

Q. Mike, how did you familiarize yourself with this horse? How did you get to know him? What did you know about him?
MIKE SMITH: You know, I'm really not good with computers, but those things are amazing. I got one of the kids, I swear to you back at the Hollywood Park, I said, how do you run that machine? I want to see all these past races. I've never looked at that thing before. I saw all of his races. The race kept sticking out in my mind was the race at Churchill when he had a nice, clear trip. That kept sticking in my head. I'm thinking, we drew post seven, which I love that number, and talking to Billie, he said he's a kind colt. You can do anything with him. I want him to get him in that rhythm. It all came together.
Belmont, I love this track. I love riding this track. It's like riding a bike. I rode my first race on it.
Me and Billie come full circle. I've been riding so many years and come to New York with him and finally win this race together, it's great.

Q. Mike, can you talk about when you first rode here being in the colony maybe any memories you have, and how your days here helped shape your career as a rider down the road, emotionally?
MIKE SMITH: Coming to New York was just that it's the dream when you get to this level and getting to ride with Angel Cordero, Jorge Velazquez, Jacinto Vasquez, Jerry Bailey, the list goes on and on. I've done very well here. Like I said before, this race has eluded me. I ran a second, but I get beat in pretty good ways. I ran third with a filly. Like I said, I got the call to come right away. I don't know what it is. It's like I won the Derby. I swear Giacomo was going to win the Derby. I got up this morning, I already won it. I was jumping around. Billie called me on the win. He said, I want you to think clear. Remember if you're there at the quarter pole, you're there at the wire in the Belmont. That's what we did. It worked out.

Q. Elliott, I would like to ask you, this year we've had three different Triple Crown race winners. You guys own two of them. In your mind, who's the top three-year-old?
ELLIOTT WALDEN: Well, you know, I think with the three different horses. Super Saver, Looking at Lucky, and Drosselmeyer today. I think you can group all three of them together. It's hard to really differentiate between them until we get into the Haskell and the Traverse and the Breeder's Cup Classic. I think the rest of the year will decide who the best is. As we sit here today, I've got to believe that we have two of the top three in Drosselmeyer and Super Saver and watching Super Saver train all week, being up here, he's doing great. I'm excited to see him get the opportunity to get back and redeem himself. We'll see.
I can't really differentiate between any of the three. Bob Baffert's horse, Looking at Lucky is a very good horse as well. It's going to be an exciting second half of the year.
THE MODERATOR: If the three of you meet up in the Breeder's Cup Classic at the end of the year, at least you'll know your two like Churchill Downs.

Q. You like the seven post, is there any particular reason?
MIKE SMITH: That's the Lord's number.
THE MODERATOR: Anymore questions?

Q. Elliott, you guys were up in Saratoga last week. You were training up there where Bill has a base. Do you have any distorted humor we should keep an eye out for?
ELLIOTT WALDEN: Ask me in a month.
THE MODERATOR: Well, team Drosselmeyer, Congratulations again.
Doug Cauthen, Hall of Famer Mike Smith, Lisa Troutt, Haul of Famer, Bill Mott and racing manager Elliott Walden, congratulations.

End of FastScripts

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142ND BELMONT STAKES

June 5, 2010

Doug Cauthen

William Mott

Mike Smith

Lisa Troutt

Elliot Walden