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BREEDERS' CUP WORLD THOROUGHBRED CHAMPIONSHIPSNovember 1, 2013B. Wayne HughesRichard MandellaGary StevensARCADIA, CALIFORNIA THE MODERATOR: The winner of the Breeders' Cup Distaff was Beholder who becomes the Juvenile Fillies Distaff winner, the first one to pull off that double ever in the history of the Breeders' Cup. We have with us, owner, B. Wayne Hughes, who is an incredible 4 for 8 now in the Breeders' Cup lifetime, as well as winning jockey Gary Stevens who takes his ninth Breeders' Cup race, his first win in the Breeders' Cup since 2000. Congratulations to you both. GARY STEVENS: Thank you. THE MODERATOR: Gary, let's start with you, and here comes trainer Richard Mandella, who, of course, won his 8th Breeders' Cup race today, all of them at Santa Anita. That puts him in a tie with Bob Baffert for fourth all‑time in the Breeders' Cup. Gary, why don't you tell us about your trip? It looked like it couldn't have worked out better for you. GARY STEVENS: Just in the short few minutes since the race has been won, I've had the biggest question was, did you panic? You could have imagined this was going to happen that two horses would send. Well, in these short fields with quality horses, you always expect the unexpected, and Richard has been preparing this filly for this moment. We didn't know if we'd get to use her or not, but I actually had a smile on my face going around the first turn. It's how every workout has been devised, and the workout two weeks ago, if anybody had seen it, it was a thing of beauty. She's just so intelligent. I've always said what separates the mediocre horses to the good holders to the great horses is intelligence, and she's the most intelligent animal that I've ever been around. She listens. She doesn't always obey, but when she's in a race, she listens to what I want to do and the lessons that she's been taught. There was never a bit of panic from her, so there was never a bit of panic from me. THE MODERATOR: Richard, can you give us your perspective on the race? RICHARD MANDELLA: She did what we've worried about since we started her. I've said before, she's always had natural speed. We've never had to teach her that. We've always tried to teach her to relax and finish. Gary spoke of how intelligent and smart she is, and it's amazing how she's overcome my mistakes in training and corrected them. THE MODERATOR: Mr.Hughes, to have the first filly to pull off a Juvenile Fillies and Distaff double, what can you tell us about what you're feeling right now and your pride in this filly? B. WAYNE HUGHES: Well, I mean, I'm proud of the horse. You're the one that told me that it's the first time in history. I didn't know that. I thought the purse was $1 million, and it turns out to be $2 million. I guess I'm really the wrong guy to make too many comments. But I would like to make one comment, okay, because I love sports and I think Gary Stevens, having a comeback like he's done at his age (laughing), is phenomenal. So we really have one of the greatest athletes on the planet sitting right here who is saying the horse is smarter than him, okay? Thank you. THE MODERATOR: Gary, related to that, can you just talk about being back in this position, your first Breeders' Cup win since 2000? GARY STEVENS: I won't say that I expected to be on this stage 11 months ago. But I was willing to accept it if the opportunity came, and I knew I was going to have to capitalize if these kind of horses came around. Fortunately, for me, Beholder and a few other special ones have come along. I've always said that you only get so many opportunities in this game, and I've been blessed to get a lot of these opportunities. But I've always known that I've had to capitalize and use those opportunities. I had a crew and a horse that gave me that opportunity. THE MODERATOR: Richard, can you talk about the championship implications of this win? RICHARD MANDELLA: Say that again? THE MODERATOR: The championship implications. RICHARD MANDELLA: What is the name of this game? The Breeders' Cup Championships? Did I misread that? THE MODERATOR: Can you elaborate on her record and what she's accomplished this year and if she can be an Eclipse Award winner. RICHARD MANDELLA: I think the name described the job. THE MODERATOR: Gary, when you came up alongside Mike Smith and Royal Delta didn't move with you, was there that moment that you said, ahh? GARY STEVENS: No, you never go, ahh, during one of these Breeders' Cup races because Royal Delta, she was emptied out pretty quickly down the back side. At the 4 and a half pole I could tell she couldn't travel with me and she was no longer a threat. My target was authenticity and I figured she'd use too much to make the lead around the first turn. So my fear was Princess of Sylmar. But my filly was traveling so easy around the far turn that that's when I said ahh a little bit, not a lot. You don't say ahh until you cross the finish line. But she had me pretty confident turning into the backstretch early on. RICHARD MANDELLA: I would like to make a statement that the connections of Royal Delta and Princess of Sylmar, as much as those Fillies have done, they didn't have to come here, and what great sportsmen to put this race together. Q. I know during the Belmont you and Mike Smith had a little dialogue. Was there any kind of dialogue there today out there? GARY STEVENS: No, it was dead silent out there. This was a championship race, and he was riding the two‑time defending champ. I felt like I was on them; I really did. I know we were third favorite going into it, but I felt like it was our race to lose the way she had been training and coming off of her last race. So, no, there wasn't anything being said at all. All it was was nostrils and hoof beats going down the backstretch. Q. The Euros really had a big day to day. It looked like the Americans weren't going to do much. Feel pretty good to get the Americans on the board there? RICHARD MANDELLA: It always feels good to win at the Breeders' Cup, no matter what. Q.  Given the demolition job that Beholder did today in this big race, do you have some kind of regret that you did not race her in the Classic? The next part is given that she stays healthy next year, would the Classic be the target because there is a $3 million difference in the purse? B. WAYNE HUGHES: You're the money guy. RICHARD MANDELLA: Well, we're not really in this for the money (smiling). We were last year. But that decision would be up to Mr.Hughes. The filly is healthy and sound and surely could go another year. But that is a decision he'd have to make. What we do next year, we're not going to interfere with the celebration of this day first before we start worrying about that. Thank you. Q. Richard, could you talk about the break that you gave her at the end of the summer and what that accomplished and how you targeted this race and how you progressed to get here? RICHARD MANDELLA: She hasn't had that many races, but it takes a lot of schooling and a lot of work to get her to each race. She has her little idiosyncrasies. I'm probably guilty of spoiling her at some point. Consequently, it takes a lot out of her each race. After I had gotten through the Kentucky Oaks, it was a pretty tough day on her there. I thought surely we could crank her up and run her a few more times in the summer and go through her with things. But I thought that the air might go out of her by the end of the year. I've done it with a few of my other horses pointing towards the Breeders' Cup. But I thought best to take the time off in the middle of the summer and get a couple of races to point for the Breeders' Cup. This time it worked. A lot of times it doesn't. Q. Considering you obviously feel that Beholder should be the top 3‑year‑old filly after today. If the classic should blow up tomorrow and you get a wild finish, considering that Beholder beat a pretty darn good field today, in your mind would she be a viable candidate for Horse of the Year? RICHARD MANDELLA: I suppose you all could guess what I would say. Q. Mr.Hughes, are you planning to run Beholder as a 4‑year‑old? B. WAYNE HUGHES: Well, if I can get a trainer, I'll do it. RICHARD MANDELLA: What did he say? I missed it. Q. You and Mike Smith have won three of the five today. Couple of Geritol crowd as Baffert calls you guys. Can you comment on what it meant for the two of you to win like that today? GARY STEVENS: At the end of the day, we're just two old athletes that are still applying our trade pretty good. All this talk of our age, yeah, it's all right to talk about our age. But we're going out there, and I'm so proud of Mike, of what he did earlier today. Even if he did shut me off in one of those races, it's fun to watch. We root for each other when the other guy can't win. We're fierce competitors when we're out there together as we always are. Just before we walked out of the jocks room, we met and it was sincere, he looked at me and said, good luck, man; and I said, let's be safe and may the best horse win. It's fun and exciting to go out there. I guess with the age thing, we feel like maybe we have something to prove. I really don't, and I know Mike doesn't. He's applying his trade as good as anybody in the game, and I feel like I am too as long as I've got the ammunition underneath me like Beholder was today. It makes my job pretty easy. Q. Can I get each of you to maybe talk about the quality of this Breeders' Cup Distaff field this year, maybe starting with Richard? RICHARD MANDELLA: Well, that's what I alluded to earlier, is Royal Delta has won two of these already. She didn't really need to come back and do it again, and you have to appreciate the sportsmanship on their part to continue trying. Princess of Sylmar had pretty much decided not to come into this race because she was ineligible, I believe; and they decided to ante up and give it a try. You have to admire. That's what racing is about. My horse can beat your horse, and the step up with a lot to lose, they did, and I think the game needs to admire that. THE MODERATOR: Mr.Hughes, any thoughts on the quality of this field? B. WAYNE HUGHES: Well, I think I'm going to quote Pete Carroll who says that you can't be a champion unless you defeat champions. And today I think we defeated two champions. I sort of second Richard's comments about the gameness of the other owners and the other horses, and I'm glad they came right now, but I was a little nervous before the race. GARY STEVENS: A lot of times in these championship races on Breeders' Cup day or any big Classic day, some of these races get muddled up with some horses that really may not belong. If they've earned their way into this, they deserve to be here. Don't get me wrong in saying that. But actually, I thought it was kind of cool that we had a semi‑short field today that was all quality. There were six of us in the race, and five of them in the race you could make a case are for them. Nobody would have been shocked if any five of them would have won the race. But there was nothing in there to really muddle the race up. It was a tactical race early on, and we knew we were playing in a chess match. We all knew we were riding pretty special fillies in there. It was exceptional to race against Royal Delta today. There was talk last year whether she would come back and run in even last year's Classic, not Ladies' Classic, but the Classic. Would she come back and run this. So that says a lot. There is no question of her quality. I mean, they took her over and raced her in Dubai. She's had a long year too, and she's been a true champion. Q. Mr.Hughes, could you talk about Mr.Mandella having won both this day for you with this horse, and now he's won three of them for you? B. WAYNE HUGHES: Well, yeah, I don't really have a lot of good things to say about Richard, but I'm going to try to blow him up a little. I would say Richard in my opinion doesn't have an equal in training, okay, as a trainer or as a person. So I'm very proud to be allowed in his barn. He doesn't really like me to say stuff like that. Q. Your comeback at age 50 and the kind of success you've enjoyed, would you attribute it to your personal discipline and riding skills and/or the willingness of owners and trainers to give you good horses to ride? Finally, how long do you plan to stay in the business? GARY STEVENS: I'll just tell you this, if Beholder is going to stay in training for next year, Gary Stevens will be here too (laughing). No, but all seriousness, yeah, I didn't know how I would be accepted coming back. But I had some feelers out prior to my comeback. Richard has always been a huge supporter of mine and fan of mine. We've gotten on great over the years. He wasn't shy about putting me on horses early on. There have been several trainers that way, not just mounts, but quality mounts, handpicked mounts. Hey, I'm an old guy. They don't want to just throw me on anything. They want to throw me on something pretty good. I was worried about that. But the sport has been unbelievable, and the owners to have faith in a guy this age being off for seven years. But I just say that was faith and confidence. They've known me well enough over the years that if I was going to do something, I was going to do it a hundred percent. I wasn't going to try to come back and be mediocre. If I had felt I'd been mediocre after the first six weeks that I was riding, I would have stepped away and been back up in the announcerÂ’s booth. But I felt that there was still quite a bit there that hadn't been shown yet. B. WAYNE HUGHES: We would have put him on claimers, but he wouldn't get on. Q. Which is bigger, this or the Preakness? GARY STEVENS: Well, just say they both have their special places. The Preakness is what made today happen. It was my first Classic win since my comeback. It was the one that got me over the top that I think probably made people notice and say, hey, he's still got it. He's still got the competitive fire and he shows up on the big days and can get it done. Today though was a blowout. We were expecting a good run, but I don't think myself or Richard could have told you that she was going to win with the ease that she won today. So this has its own special private place. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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