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BREEDERS' CUP WORLD THOROUGHBRED CHAMPIONSHIPS

November 6, 2010

CHURCHILL DOWNS, KENTUCKY

ERIC WING: Okay. In just a few moments, we'll be joined by the connections of Uncle Mo. In the meantime, just want to provide everybody here and those in the press box with the margins of the Grey Goose Breeders' Cup Juvenile. The winner, Uncle Mo, won by 4 1/4 lengths. Second was Boys at Tosconova, who is 6 lengths in front of the third place finisher J.B.'s Thunder. J.B.'s thunder had a 1 3/4 length on Biondetti, who came in fourth. So the margins again, 4 1/4, 6, and 1 3/4.
Now we are indeed joined by team Uncle Mo. From left to right, jockey John Velazquez, trainer Todd Pletcher, owner Mike Repole. Congratulations, gentlemen. Mike, I'll start with you. I'm well aware that Uncle Mo is not named after a member of your family. It is after the sports term coined for momentum, Uncle Mo. This horse has certainly brought you a lot of momentum. He was your first graded stakes winner, and now he's put you in the winner's circle.
He has a lot of people thinking about races next spring. With all the money you've put into the game, talk about the exhilaration that this horse has brought you.
MIKE REPOLE: It's basically gone from surreal to real. I've thought about this moment for 30 years, 25 years as a racing fan and 5 or 6 years as an owner, to just one day own a horse like this. So many kids growing up want to be baseball players, want to be football players, and I just wanted to own a special horse.
I got into the game slow, paid my dues, claiming horses. Teamed up with my man Mr. Pletcher, and my man Johnny V., and it's just an incredible experience. To share with 50 friends and family and probably 10,000 people watching it at home is just amazing. It's just a great, great moment.
ERIC WING: John Velazquez, I imagine, if you could have drawn up the race on a blackboard, you would have drawn it up pretty much the way it took place out there. In many respects, Uncle Mo had a much better trip than he did in the champagne, the way the race unfolded. Take us through your perspective.
JOHN VELAZQUEZ: Today I did a little different with him. I did a nice warmup with him, and he was on the toes already since I got on him. So I was a little bit afraid if I did a little too much warmup, I wouldn't be allowed to get him back, like what happened in the last race.
So I kept him kind of nice and calm and kept him away from everybody and tried to get him as relaxed as possible. When he broke out, he broke very alert right away, but I grabbed him. As soon as I grabbed him, once he was gone by the wire, there was a couple people in there, and he kind of put the ears up and came off the bridle.
It was one of those things that I wanted to do with him because we'd been working him behind horses, and he'd been relaxed behind horses. So we know that he can do it. Once he did that, it was just all him, just make him relax and wait there and make one run with him. So he's as good as you can see him run, the way it feels to me anyway.
ERIC WING: And it should be noted that Mike Repole and Todd Pletcher own and train respectively the fifth place finisher in the Juvenile, Stay Thirsty.
Todd, this is your third win of the weekend, which effectively doubles your career Breeders' Cup wins up to six.
And Mike Repole is pointing out that he is now 1 for 2. Thanks for that math.
Todd, one would often assume that, based on your customary calm demeanor and the fact that you've won three of these already this weekend, that maybe, you know, it's business as usual. But I know for this horse he gives you feelings that you as a horseman don't often experience.
TODD PLETCHER: I really don't -- you know, I don't get goose bumps very often watching a horse race, and that's not because I'm not a huge horse racing fan. But that was a pretty special performance. You know, I was literally shaking a little bit after the race. It was just unbelievable. Super happy for Mike. Very enthusiastic.
And I know that, you know, when you come into this situation, sometimes you come in and you're 10-1 and you're kind of enjoying the moment and you're hoping you get lucky. But when you come in with this type of horse and your expectations are so high, and for four weeks since the Champagne, you know, Mike calls me the first thing every morning. How's the horse? You know, you just -- there's a lot of anxiety leading up to it. You feel like you have the best horse, and now you just want to be fortunate enough to have him stay healthy and chip in good and work over the track well, just all those things. So it's even more rewarding when it does pay off.
ERIC WING: And before we throw questions open, Mike, I'm going to ask you the obligatory question that we must ask all owners of, not just Breeders' Cup Juvenile winners, but effectively 2-year-old male champion, have you allowed yourself to dream yet about the Kentucky Derby?
MIKE REPOLE: Yes, I did that 30 years ago, and I've done it every day for 30 years. So probably do it tomorrow also.
ERIC WING: Questions either in the main box or down here for team Uncle Mo? And we'll start right here.

Q. You talked about the anxiety coming into it. He made it look really easy. Is that like a bigger exhale for you because he did make it look so easy?
TODD PLETCHER: You know, it's the same feeling, but, you know, I just -- watching the race unfold, I felt extremely confident. As he went up the backside, I could tell how much horse John had. When he took a look back, I think it was somewhere around the half-mile pole, kind of underneath his left shoulder.
Johnny's ridden a lot of races for me. Generally, when he does that, it's an awfully good sign.
But, you know, the thing that's so impressive, he's just cruising along, cruising along, you turn for home, and you can just see him lower and accelerate. You know, the ability to cruise along for 3/4 in 1:11 and then find another gear, it's pretty special to watch.

Q. Mike, after the race, you couldn't keep your hands off Todd, the hugging and the high-fiving. Just talk about the emotions, more anxiety, just being released, or more just pure joy?
MIKE REPOLE: I mean, first of all, my wife and Tracy were very jealous. My wife left. She's very pissed off. (Laughter).
You know what it is, you know, Todd and I have a lot more similar personalities than people think, where, you know, we're so competitive. We're ultra-competitive. I mean, we really battle each other every day. We want to win at everything.
You know, I'm a little bit more exuberant. I don't know if you guys have picked that up or not. But you know what, listen, it's great because he's always calm, cool, and collected, and any time you have a partnership, in order for it to work, you kind of need a yin and yang to balance each other out. I think we're a good balance.
I think he appreciates my phone calls every morning. I don't wake up till 8:30, so I think it works good for him. I don't think he gets up till 8:00, to be honest with you. It's just a good, good partnership that's obviously paying off well for us right now.

Q. I was very privileged to watch him run and break his maiden, which he not only seemed to do with ease in the way he ran, but prior to the race, he seemed so composed. He seemed such a sensible horse. Does that play into his beauty, his ability to run?
TODD PLETCHER: I think that's what makes him so good, his ability to do that and come back -- I mean, even today, he didn't even break a sweat. Came back, and he wasn't blowing that hard.
I commented to Mike. As you know, he comes with a big entourage. At the Champagne, there was probably 50 people, friends and family of Mike's, greet him in the Winner's Circle and cheering and clapping and screaming and yelling. Uncle Mo walked in and just took it all in stride and never turned a hair. You know, to have a horse with this much natural ability and then have a brain and a mind to go with it, it's a complete package. It's one of those that's just so rare to come up with.

Q. Todd, you said you were shaking a little bit after the race. Did that surprise you, that you were shaking?
TODD PLETCHER: It did. Actually, I kind of, you know, it just -- you know, just hoping that what we thought could happen would happen, and when it did happen, you know, just -- you just felt a lot of joy and a lot of excitement. You know, it was an impressive performance. I love horse racing, and I appreciate good horses. To be fortunate enough to train one like this, it's just extra special.

Q. Todd, we asked Mike. Now can you talk about having The Derby favorite?
TODD PLETCHER: I mean, obviously, you're always thinking about The Derby. You know, Mike and I had a conversation after he broke his maiden and said, you know, are we doing the right thing to go ahead and run in the Champagne and point for the Breeders' Cup? And I said, yes, we are because you can never take for granted what might happen six months from now. You know, we're going to do everything we can to make sure that Uncle Mo comes back here in May in great shape. If it happens, we'll be thankful.
Sometimes in this game you've got to take what's right in front of you. We know we're blessed with an exceptionally talented 2-year-old, and we wanted to take advantage of that.
While, obviously, we would all love to win the Kentucky Derby, we love winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile too.

Q. You just went through The Derby trail, and you know how tough it is. For those who don't really understand, the challenge for the next six months for you, having just gone through it better than anybody, what other challenges do you face between now and May 1st of 2011?
TODD PLETCHER: I mean, to me it's fairly simple. When you have a horse like this that's this talented, we just need him to stay as good as he is right now. You know, I mean, he's already running races fast enough to beat what normally wins 3-year-old races. You know, we -- the challenge always in this game is keeping them healthy. You know, that'll be our primary goal, and we'll kind of look at the calendar and see what the best game plan is.
Likely in the next week or so, this horse will head down to Palm Meadows and start preparing for hopefully a run at The Derby.

Q. John, Todd said that he had goose bumps. What kind of feeling -- when he exploded down the stretch there, is that something you felt in every one of his races? Can you kind of explain that?
JOHN VELAZQUEZ: The last two races, actually, when I asked him on the quarter pole to run, and he switches -- like Todd said, he kind of goes down. You see him reaching out. It's explosive. Today going into turns, you know, I wasn't sure if he was going to do the same thing like he did in the Champagne. And when he's racing and I touch him with a whip, literally he is was right there for me and picked it up like he just had to run. It was very impressive.
ERIC WING: Mike, for the benefit of the national and international media, can you just tell us what the blue and orange colors that John is wearing represent.
MIKE REPOLE: Growing up in Queens, I was always a huge Mets fan. Thank you for that one Mets fan out there, and they're going to lose a couple of those fans. I was always a huge Mets fan, blue and orange. And that '86 team, I was 16 years old, meant a lot to me. The way they dominated, persevered, came back with two outs in the ninth. Blue and orange meant a lot to me. I made them bright colors, blue and orange.
Plus, my grandmother is 84 years old and she sees blue and orange pretty well. So it was pretty much Mets and my grandmother combination.
ERIC WING: John, you've worn those colors very well and very successfully. Congratulations to you, Todd Pletcher and Mike Repole, on a win by the undefeated Uncle Mo. Undoubtedly 2-year-old champion, and best of luck with this horse in the future. Congratulations.

End of FastScripts

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