Posts Tagged ‘kiaran mclaughlin’

Press Release

For the first time, female Thoroughbreds occupy the top two spots on the list of leading North American earners in 2009, according to final statistics released today by Equibase Company LLC, the Thoroughbred industry’s official database for racing information.
 
Zenyatta earned $3,330,000 in 2009 to become the fourth filly or mare, and the first since Dance Smartly in 1991, to top the leading earners list. Runner-up Rachel Alexandra earned $2,746,914.
 
In the other categories, Steven Asmussen, Garrett Gomez and Michael Gill head the individual lists of the leading trainers, jockeys and owners, respectively, by North American earnings in 2009.
 
The year-end compilations are distributed annually by Equibase and include results from Thoroughbred racing in North America only. The top 100 North American leaders in each category are accessible at equibase.com.
 
Asmussen, who previously topped the trainers’ list in 2003 and 2008, won a single-season record 650 races from 2,944 starts for North American earnings of $21,876,405 in 2009. Runner-up was Todd Pletcher, whose horses won 238 races from 1,108 starts for earnings of $15,454,429 in 2009.
 
Completing the list of top 10 trainers by North American earnings in 2009 were Bob Baffert, $9,574,394 (117 wins/504 starts); William Mott, $7,957,370 (116/689); Jerry Hollendorfer, $7,309,169 (273/1,210); Kiaran McLaughlin, $6,983,433 (113/555); Scott Lake, $6,928,884 (307/1,462); Christophe Clement, $6,849,013 (91/448); Robert Frankel, $6,586,098 (42/293); and John Sadler, $5,999,956 (132/637).
 
Garrett Gomez, with earnings of $18,571,171, topped the North American leading jockeys’ list for the fourth consecutive year in 2009. He rode the winners of 210 races from 967 mounts. Julien Leparoux finished second, with 247 wins from 1,284 mounts and earnings of $18,560,565.
 
Rounding out the list of top 10 jockeys by North American earnings in 2009 were Ramon Dominguez, $18,348,422 (391 wins/1,651 mounts); Kent Desormeaux, $13,262,760 (177/936); Joel Rosario, $13,073,777 (284/1,476); John Velazquez, $13,069,881 (204/1,160); Rafael Bejarano, $12,403,993 (240/1,129); Rajiv Maragh, $11,736,729 (236/1,479); Robby Albarado, $11,504,625 (204/1,148); and Alan Garcia, $11,280,481 (183/1,049).
 
Michael Gill won 370 races from 2,247 starts and earned $6,669,950 in North America in 2009 to lead all owners. Runner-up was Juddmonte Farms Inc., which won 27 races from 116 starts for earnings of $6,525,818. 
 
Completing the list of top 10 owners by North American earnings in 2009 were Zayat Stables LLC, $6,323,286 (113 wins/573 starts); Darley Stable, $4,977,513 (78/343); Heiligbrodt Racing Stable, $4,880,906 (151/819); Augustin Stable, $4,825,552 (57/244); Mr. and Mrs. Jerome S. Moss, $4,172,533 (31/128); Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey, $4,108,857 (140/521); Melnyk Racing Stables Inc., $3,991,368 (81/387); and Maggi Moss, $3,799,637 (193/716).
 
In addition to the official North American racing leaders’ lists available at equibase.com, Equibase also provides a second set of leaders’ lists that includes the results of the Dubai World Cup card from March 28, 2009, at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse. Including these international earnings, Well Armed was the leading Thoroughbred with earnings of $3,649,000 and WinStar Farm LLC was the leading owner with earnings of $7,145,236. Steven Asmussen remained the leading trainer with earnings of $21,876,405 and Garrett Gomez the leading jockey with earnings of $18,571,171.
 
Equibase Company is a partnership between The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America and serves as the Thoroughbred industry’s official database for racing information. In addition to year-end rankings of the top trainers, jockeys, owners and horses, the company’s website, equibase.com, features daily rankings of the top 100 by category for the current year as well as an ever-increasing menu of racing information and handicapping products for handicappers of every skill level.

By Bradford Cummings
It is amazing what a difference a year makes at the Paulick Report. Traffic has more than doubled, debate is livelier than ever and Ray has pledged to stop talking about jet lag. (I’ll believe it when I see it…or don’t see it) We made a cross-country trip to the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita and raised $75,000 for two great causes in the process. Ray flew to South Africa on the premise that some horse people actually wanted to hear what he had to say, then later to Japan (where apparently he and David Hasselhoff are quite well known), where he took in some very exciting racing. And we have been blessed to have such a strong stable of supportive advertisers who believe in the mission we set off to accomplish in June of 2008. Perhaps most remarkably, we started a business two months before the largest recession since FDR and we are still kicking.

In what is turning into a tradition (if you can call twice a tradition) we are looking back at the year that was and rehashing the top ten stories based on reader interest. Basically, the more you clicked on these stories, the higher up the list they traveled. So take a trip down memory lane with us and let us know which stories still resonate with you today. Or let us know about a story that touched you we don’t have here. Because sometimes even 1.5 million user sessions can be wrong.

10. McLaughlin Horses Allegedly Test for Banned Substance in KY

In a year where horse racing started to admit it has a drug problem, it was disheartening to learn that Kiaran McLaughlin was a new member on the list of medication violators. A trainer that featured prominently on our American Graded Stakes Standings brought to you by Keeneland, McLaughlin had become a bit of a Paulick Report favorite as a successful trainer who found himself a bit under the national radar. Unfortunately for him, if his standing in Graded Stakes wins didn’t do it, our tenth most popular story of the year did.

9. Equibase Strikes Out

Perhaps no organization has had the upward trend on the Paulick Report that Equibase has experienced. In what was the most popular story on the Thoroughbred Racing Associations/Jockey Club-owned statistics company, we compared what Equibase provides versus what other major sports give their fans in the way of data. Unfortunately, the comparisons were not favorable as this industry seems content to charge its loyal customers for everything from parking to the very data Major League Baseball, the NFL and the NBA make readily available for its fans.

But whether it was the Paulick Report or an internal struggle that finally made its way to the light of day, Equibase started to get it right and quickly saw their headlines become more favorable. Equibase Takes Step in Right Direction and Equibase Gets It Right is more along the lines of what we’d like to write about. Keep up the momentum.

8. When It Comes to Douglas, Racing Stewards Share the Blame

Any time a jockey is paralyzed, it is an unspeakable tragedy. We saw it first hand on several occasions during our Breeders’ Cup or Bust fundraising tour when we had the opportunity to spend time with several permanently disabled riders. In a precursor to our decision to take on such a trip, Rene Douglas, the top rider at Arlington Park, was severely injured in a spill at the Chicago track when a horse ridden by Jamie Theriot brushed his mount in a move that stewards rarely penalize a rider for. Ray’s point was that stewards should keep a tighter rein on the race riding that goes on and far too often can lead to clipped heels and spills. By doing the best job they can do, stewards can help protect jockeys from serious injury.

7. Ziadie Blames Drug Violations on ‘Chaos’

What do you get when you combine a 60-day suspension for your 13th medication violation in Florida since 2004 with a rich stakes program at Calder? An opportunity to start four horses if you are legacy trainer Kirk Ziadie. One of several stories this year that were out there for the picking but ignored by the mainstream Thoroughbred media, people seemed to be drawn to the laundry list of infractions by this trainer who piles up the wins and medication violations in uncommon numbers.

6. Cullen: Sales Ban Only the Beginning

Know and Trust. That’s the ironic mantra of this Kentucky-based journalist turned bloodstock agent (hey, he’s giving journalism a bad name, if that’s possible!). It’s also the name of one of the horses that Jim Cullen consigned for his overflowing book of clients who have felt taken advantage of over the last several years. The evidence is too large to encapsulate in this brief recap but judging from the amount of people who read this story, you don’t really need a point-by-point description.

The only thing more disturbing than his previous actions was his personal defense, a convoluted web of seemingly nonsensical explanations that never really came close to exonerating him.

We aren’t saying he is the Bernard Madoff the horse industry, but there are some folks plenty mad at him. Oh, and Jim, the fact that Know and Trust ran a good race after this story came out is not newsworthy. It only proves that even a blind squirrel can find an acorn from time to time.

5. Indian Charlie: Racing’s Court Jester

It was a rough year for racing’s court jester, the sometimes funny and consistently offensive Indian Charlie aka Eddie Musselman. While his legal troubles were probably the most noteworthy news to come out of his newsletter in years, the readers of the Paulick Report really enjoyed reading the Indian Charlie parody being distributed on the grounds of the Keeneland September sale.

Who did the parody? We honestly have no idea. But at least it helped give what was a torturous sale a bit of levity.

4. Live Blogging: Kentucky Senate Committee Slots Hearing

The biggest news in Kentucky racing this year was by far the unsuccessful push for slots at racetracks through the state House and Senate. While it got narrow approval in the House, Gov. Steve Beshear’s slots bill stalled in the Senate’s Appropriations and Revenue Committee, stonewalled by David "Blackjack" Williams and his crew of Republican merry men.

Of course, Ray was there to watch the whole thing happen and reported live from Frankfort. Real time blogging, it’s the greatest thing since slots at the racetra…er…never mind.

3. Van Driver: Paraneck Horses Were ‘Walking Skeletons’

Not the way any website wants to experience a spike in traffic, but Ray was the first to uncover the absolute travesty that was the lice-infested and under-nourished stable of horses at Paraneck Stables in upstate New York. The pictures are gruesome and the effects of this tragedy are still being felt as horse welfare groups from around the country are trying to find homes for these truly victimized animals.

2. Live Blog: Mr. Paulick Goes to the Eclipse Awards

A man of many talents, Ray Paulick pulled off a feat of unprecedented magnitude…he live blogged the Eclipse Awards without a computer! Transmitting his thoughts and some appetizing pictures (we’re all still craving that dessert with the chocolate sticks on top) via his cell phone, Ray was able to give moment by moment updates to all of those people on the "tubes" who weren’t able to watch the TVG telecast. And looking at the number of comments and readers, that was no trivial number.

For those of you wondering, Barbara and I have since made up after she took offense to my comment about the shininess of Steve Asmussen. Love it or hate it, we call them like we see them here at the Paulick Report.

1. Hollywood Park Past-Posting Incident Under Investigation

At first blush, we were a little shocked that this story was number one. A past-posting incident, while surely problematic, is not the sexiest of topics. But when you consider it potentially hurt the pocketbooks of thousands of horseplayers across the country and the fact that we were first out of the gate with the story, it makes a whole lot more sense. Wouldn’t it be nice if the propeller heads at the tote companies were able to figure out how to stop betting when a race begins?

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By Ray Paulick
When Eye of Taurus and Bluegrass Princess swept the Pin Oak Valley View Stakes last week at Keeneland for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, it vaulted the New York-based native of Kentucky to the lead among trainers of American Graded Stakes winners for 2009.

The wins represented the 12th and 13th individual American Graded Stakes winners of the year for McLaughlin, who ranks fifth among North American trainers by money won (click here for those standings) behind Steve Asmussen, last year’s Eclipse Award winner as outstanding trainer and the leading candidate to win again this year. Asmussen, with 11 individual AGS winners, is well ahead in the standings by money won, with $18.7 million. Todd Pletcher, second to Asmussen by money won with $12.8 million, also has 11 individual AGS winners of 2009. 

While McLaughlin-trained horses have won only $6.5 million, he’s had just over one-fifth the number of starts that Asmussen’s had (2,403 for Asmussen, 511 starts for McLaughlin). As he said to Karen Johnson in an interview at ntra.com, McLaughlin has purposely cut back on the number of horses in his stable, ending a relationship with West Point Thoroughbreds and focusing more on the Darley and Shadwell Stables owned by Sheikhs Mohammed and Hamdan al Maktoum of Dubai. "Kiaran is a first-class guy," said Terry Finley who runs West Point and described the parting as completely amicable.

McLaughlin’s greatest success came with Shadwell’s 2006 Horse of the Year Invasor. “Shadwell has always enjoyed a very special relationship with Kiaran," said Rick Nichols, vice president and general manager of the operation. "We have gone through many good times as well as many bad times together. He is an excellent trainer and has a terrific organization of assistants and staff. His integrity is beyond reproach and always has in mind what to do best for the horse.

"On a personal note, I consider him a great friend and respect him both as a horseman, a friend and a wonderful family man."

Despite the lead in saddling the number of AGS winners, I’d still consider McLaughlin a longshot this year to win his first Eclipse Award as outstanding trainer. While the Breeders’ Cup could tilt the scales, the current favorite would be Asmussen, followed by the 2009 leader in saddling the most Grade 1 winners, Bob Baffert.

Baffert has six individual G1 winners this year, twice the number Pletcher, Asmussen and Bill Mott, who have three apiece. McLaughlin has saddled two G1 winners in 2009.

A lot of that could change by the end of next weekend.

By Ray Paulick
There is not a lot of spreading the wealth when it comes to trainers of American Graded Stakes winners. While there have been 130 individual trainers to win at least one American Graded Stakes in 2009, of the 346 AGS races run so far, 67, or about one-fifth of them, have been taken by the five leading trainers ranked by AGS winners: Steve Asmussen, with 17; Todd Pletcher, 15; Bob Baffert, 14; Kiaran McLaughlin, 11; and Bill Mott, 10. 

Asmussen and Pletcher have had 10 individual AGS winners in 2009, while Baffert, McLaughlin and Mott have nine each. It’s interesting to note that Asmussen, Pletcher, Baffert, McLaughlin and Mott are the top five trainers, in that order, by money won in 2009 as well.

But the domination of top trainers in American Graded Stakes doesn’t end with those five. Another eight trainers have won 65 AGS races in 2009: Robert Frankel, 10; Jonathan Sheppard, 10;Christophe Clement, Larry Jones and John Sadler, with eight each; and Jeff Mullins, John Shirreffs, and Marty Wolfson, with seven each.

Thus, 13 trainers have accounted for 132 of the 346 AGS races run so far this year, or 38.2% of the total.

Of the 346 AGS races run in 2009, 71, or 20.5% of them, were Grade 1 events. The clear-cut leader by winners in this category is Bob Baffert, with eight. Baffert, who was inducted in the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in August, has had six individual horses win a G1 race in 2009: Pioneerof the Nile, Santa Anita Derby; Gabby’s Golden Gal, Acorn; Zensational, Triple Bend Handicap, Bing Crosby Handicap, and Pat O’Brien Stakes; Internallyflawless, Del Mar Oaks; Richard’s Kid, Pacific Classic; and Lookin at Lucky, Del Mar Futurity.

Christophe Clement is second in G1 victories, with six, including four by turf ace Gio Ponti; Steve Asmussen is next with five, four of them by 3-year-old filly sensation Rachel Alexandra; Saeed bin Suroor has had four horses win one G1 race each; Bobby Frankel has three G1 winners of four races; and Jonathan Sheppard has had two horses account for three G1 wins. These six trainers have won a total of 30 of the 71 G1 races run so far in 2009, or 42.3%. Thirty-seven different trainers have at least one G1 victory so far this year.

With 142 more AGS races in 2009, 44 of them G1, there are still some opportunities for other trainers to make a run at the top. But the trainers that have dominated throughout the year have stables deep in talent. The rich figure to get richer by year’s end when it comes to trainers of American Graded Stakes winners.

By Bradford Cummings

As I have said many times before on the Paulick Report, I am an outsider looking in on a sport I have grown to love and admire. Like when I had that first drink with my now wife, I could not shake the sentiment “where have you been all my life?” And after a talk with Director of Communications and Media Relations Dan Silver and Director of Marketing Neema Ghazi at the New York Racing Association, it appears to me the new direction for New York racing has new fans like myself in mind. With a little nudging and some tender loving care, the industry would do well to follow their lead and open up this beautiful sport to the masses of potential fans.
 
Catching them in the middle of Saratoga madness, it is clear these two young men take their jobs extremely seriously because they themselves are lifelong fans. In a previous conversation, Ghazi had told me he actually grew up in Saratoga so racing was in his blood. As he would tell me several times in a short period of time, he considered Saratoga to have the best jockeys, best trainers and best horses in the country during its historic meet each summer. I suppose it would be like growing up next to Yankee Stadium, a bit hard to avoid the hype.
 
Silver on the other hand, was a Philadelphia boy who gravitated to horse racing through the television, a medium he regrets we do too little with as an industry. “TV has been neglected,” said Silver. “One of the great mistakes the industry ever made was not jumping on TV like football did.”
 
This regret, though he is certainly not old enough to remember, has informed much of what he puts emphasis on when considering his communications plan. Both Dan and Neema put a lot into the necessity of quality television for the sport to grow. Both gentlemen touted MSG + as a great way to fill that gap, specifically when considering the racetracks under their watch. This well-known regional signal essentially reaches the Midlantic region of the United States and can also be tuned in through DirecTV. This exclusive feed gives NYRA racetracks an advantage others do not have as experts like handicapper Andy Serling among others gets exposure and helps to build a local and national brand.
 
Of course, Andy Serling can now be found online through his Twitter feed, largely the brainchild of these two Young Turks. “You can find Andy Serling, one of the top handicappers in the world, tweeting his picks each day,” said Ghazi. “Currently, his Twitter page has 1,281 subscribers in just four weeks.” With such gems as “Maybe the Linda Rice supporters can tell me why Sextant is 3:1 and not 30:1 in the 5th” and “Kiaran McLaughlin is 0 for 16 with 2YO filly firsters on dirt over 5 years at Saratoga” it is clear this feature will be a mainstay for racing fans during the many years to come.
 
Under their watch, NYRA has created a dedicated YouTube channel with nearly 2,000 archived videos and 36,716 views, a Facebook page with 2,836 fans and a blog called Saratoga Insider that covers the backside at Saratoga from the insider perspective. Most will remember Curlin’s Corner during last year’s Woodward and NYRA is back at it again with Rachel’s Sandbox, an exquisitely simple and effective fan page that leads with a video of the her historic Preakness win. Others in our industry could take a page from this marketing plan which is far more reminsincent of a Lebron James push than the strategies that have made racing a footnote in the American lexicon.
 
Due to these obvious improvements, it is no wonder attendance and handle are both up over last year despite a near depression. While factors like lower gas prices and the propensity for “staycations” play into the hands of improved financial figures, other racetracks could use similar reasons to boast if they had improvement. But just like with Churchill’s successful Downs After Dark, innovation is often rewarded in an industry that oftentimes looks left out of the evolutionary cycle. Much credit should be given to Charlie Hayward and the rest of the NYRA leadership for understanding that in order to move forward, we must try new things and not look back at old solutions.
 
With the economy still not in full recovery and a sport still not back into the spotlight, it is good to know that Ghazi and Silver understand at its essence what they have to sell. “A young family of four can come to Saratoga for as little as $6,” said Ghazi. “They can bring all their own stuff and just have a picnic.” There’s simplicity in this statement that should assure the industry these two and the rest of the NYRA staff truly gets it.  
 
If you get them in the door, they’ll become lifelong fans. Take it from a Chicago boy now writing for the Paulick Report and a Philadelphia guy who stumbled upon racing while flipping the channels on his way to a different destination.

By Ray Paulick
The leading trainer of American Graded Stakes winners through Aug. 9 is not last year’s Eclipse Award winner Steve Asmussen, the runaway leader in the earnings category that is typically used to rank trainers (Asmussen-trained horses have earned $13.7 million so far this year, $5.7 million more than his closest pursuer). Neither is it Todd Pletcher, the four-time Eclipse Award winner who dominated the trainer’s ranks from 2004-07 before Asmussen’s ascension to the top.

The leader of American Graded Stakes winners, with nine individual horses to win a graded stakes race, is Kiaran McLaughlin. McLaughlin has won graded stakes at six different tracks for six different sets of owners. Only one of his AGS winners has won more than one graded stakes race while in his care (one of them, Seventh Street, was moved to trainer Saeed bin Suroor, and went on to win the G1 Go for Wand at Saratoga).

McLaughlin’s winners are: Albertus Maximus (G1 Donn Handicap for Shadwell Stables); Seventh Street (G1 Apple Blossom Handicap for Darley Stable); Justwhistledixie (G2 Davona Dale and G2 Bonnie Miss for West Point Thoroughbreds, Lakland Farm, and R.D. Hubbard); Dream Play (G2 Comely Stakes for Stewart Armstrong); Charitable Man (G2 Peter Pan for Mr. and Mrs. William K Warren Jr.); Carolyn’s Cat (G2 Vagrancy Handicap for the Warrens); the Japanese-bred Florentino (G2 Jefferson Cup for Darley Stable); Justenuffhumor (G2 Fourstardave Handicap for Darley Stable); and Mr. Fantasy (G3 Withers for West Point Thoroughbreds, Brooks and Cammarano).

All but one of McLaughlin’s AGS winners were purchased at public auction, the exception being Albertus Maximus, who was bought privately by Shadwell and turned over to McLaughlin prior to the Donn Handicap. Those bought publicly weren’t found in the bottom of a barrel, ranging from a low price of $200,000 Charitable Man (bought by agent Mike Ryan from the Lane’s End consignment at the 2007 Keeneland September yearling sale) to a high of $1,226,120 at the Japan Racing Horse Association sale from Katsumi Yoshida’s Northern Farm consignment.

His successes in American graded stakes races have helped elevate McLaughlin to third place in the national trainer standings, with earnings of $4.8 million. He’s won 76 races from 373 starts, according to Equibase’s trainer standings, meaning that roughly one of every seven winners is in a graded stakes race.

Asmussen and Pletcher, with far more starters than McLaughlin, are tied for second, with eight AGS winners apiece, and it figures to be only a matter of time before they surpass the soft-spoken Kentucky native as the leader in this category, given the greater overall firepower of their stables. Previous multiple Eclipse Award winners Bob Baffert and Bobby Frankel are next in AGS winners, with seven and six, respectively.

This final note: readers of the first few installments of the American Graded Stakes Standings brought to you by Keeneland might notice some minor changes in the numbers of AGS winners in certain categories. While reviewing our statistical summaries from earlier in the year, we noticed a handful of late December AGS races that were included in our 2009 statistics. They have since been deleted. We apologize for the error.

By Ray Paulick
I don’t expect Jess Jackson to surprise us and call in with the Rachel Alexandra announcement the racing world has been breathlessly waiting for (you know, will she or won’t she?), but one never knows. Chip Woolley might give us some thoughts about potential jockeys for Mine That Birdor or even talk about Stupid Motorcycle Tricks. Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin could charm us into believing that Charitable Man is a cinch to win the Belmont Stakes, and Jerry Hollendorfer may convince us that all Chocolate Candy needed in the Kentucky Derby was another quarter mile.

At any rate, starting shortly after 1 p.m. (EDT), I’ll be live blogging the NTRA’s Triple Crown teleconference call concerning the June 6 Belmont. Trainers Woolley, McLaughlin and Hollendorfer are the scheduled guests. I’m betting that moderator Eric Wing’s questions will be twice as long as the answers given by two of the three men (you can guess which one is more verbose!), but, hey, it’s a slow news day.

1:05 p.m. … This isn’t starting off well. The Muzak renditionwhile of the Beatles "I"m Happy Just to Dance With You" while I was on hold waiting for the conference to begin was utterly depressing. John and George are spinning in their graves. I didn’t know the song was a slow ballad.

1:07 p.m. … Eric Wing starts off with Chip Woolley and asks if there will be enough pace in the race if Rachel Alexandra doesn’t go. He’s not worried, saying that a slow pace puts Mine That Bird closer to the pace than usual. How long will he wait for a jockey if the decision about Rachel Alexandra extends till next week, putting Calvin Borel on the fence? "About to or close to entry time. I’m gonna give Calvin as much time as possible…to keep him from losing two mounts. He won me the Derby. I owe him the opportunity if it’s possible."

"It’s irrelevant to me" if the filly does or doesn’t go, Woolley says. He just wants Calvin on his horse. "I believe it would be good for racing (if Rachel goes). It brought out a lot of people last time."

1:10 p.m. … "It’s been a lot of fun…the one thing it’s done is validated my career," Woolley said when asked what winning the Derby meant to him. Woolley said he spent 25 years working hard and the Kentucky Derby gave him "validation" for what he’s done. "I thought today he looked as good as he’s looked…period," Woolley said of Mine That Bird’s condition. He expressed some concern that Mine That Bird’s closing kick might be compromised a bit on the Belmont’s deeper surface.

What has he learned about training a horse through the demanding the Triple Crown? "Fortunately for me, my horse only runs about three-eighths of a mile, so it’s not quite as hard on him as it has been for the other horses," he said. "It’s just horse racing. It’s just on a higher level. You just try to keep your horse in the best of shape and hope you don’t miss anything."

"He’ll gallop Friday, Saturday, Sunday, work Monday, walk Tuesday and leave Wednesday," he said of the Birdstone gelding’s schedule.

"You’ve got to respect Charitable Man, he’s a monster on that racetrack," Woolley said when asked about who he fears. Woolley said you have to respect all of the competitors in the race.

Woolley said his stable back in New Mexico is in the hands of his brother, though he checks in daily. "I have to keep my fingers in it. I can’t stand not to," he said.

1:18 p.m. … Is Woolley concerned about the effects the Triple Crown will have on Mine That Bird, who could have a long career since he is a gelding? The trainer said he plans to give him a month off  after the Belmont and only has three more races scheduled for the year. "He’s handled it well (so far)," Woolley said. "If the horse hadn’t been on his very best game we probably would have passed it up," he said of the Belmont. "I haven’t put much thought to it," Woolley said when asked whether or not he thinks Rachel Alexandra will run in the Belmont. 

1:20 p.m. … How important is timing Mine That Bird’s move in the Belmont. "Absolutely," it’s important. "If you push the button too early you could come up empty at the wire. It’s imperative we get the right trip and make our move at the right time. If you look at previous Belmonts, on average the horses closer to the pace tend to win. History says you need to be a little closer to the pace. So he’s got his work cut out for him."

"I’ve seen the films of Birdstone winning the Belmont, but it has no bearing on my horse’s race," Woolley said when asked about Mine That Bird’s breeding. "We were the best horse in the Derby on that given day and I felt we were the best horse in the Preakness on that day. Going into this I think we have the best horse."

"I managed to get him beat twice at Sunland Park…so I can see why he went off at long odds in the Derby. What nobody paid much mind to was that we changed his tactics."

What are the three races he’s plotted out? "We haven’t really decided where those races are and what they’re going to be, other than the Breeders’ Cup," he said.  Woolley said he is likely to return Mine That Bird to Churchill Downs after the Belmont, or somewhere close to Churhill. "We’re looking at all options, every major race around. It could be anywhere," he said.

1:25 p.m. … Was there any change of equipment from Sunland to the Kentucky Derby? "D bit and a tongue tie. That’ s all he really needs. The horse is such an easy horse to ride, so he doesn’t need any specific equipment. The main thing is just to ride with patience. That’s all I really wanted."

1:28 p.m. … Can Mine That Bird make a transition in running style to be closer to the lead at the eighth pole and will he like the "big sandy," the nickname of Belmont’s main track. "I don’t think the depth of the racetrack will probably bother him as much as the other horses," he said. Woolley said he isn’t going to change Mine That Bird’s running style.

Why did he ship back to Churchill after the Preakness instead of going to Belmont? "He got a little rattled on me when I got him to Pimlico. As soon as he got back here he settled right in." Woolley knew Mine That Bird had trained well at Churchill and was concerned about how well he would handle Belmont in the mornings during the two breezes schedule between the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.

1:30 p.m. … "I don’t want Calvin sitting on the sidelines,"  Woolley said again about the delay in naming a rider. For that, he deserves some kudos. He understands the pickle Borel is in between Rachel Alexandra and Mine That Bird, and it would be easy for him to go out and get another rider ("They’ve all called me," he said.) Woolley just moved up in my book because of that loyalty to Borel.

1:32 p.m. … Kiaran McLaughlin is on. Is the Belmont a race in which tactical speed is important? "I think you have to be forwardly placed most of the time, but it’s also what your competition is and how the race shapes up for each horse. Mine That Bird, I agree with his trainer that he’s going to continue to run his style. Jazil (McLaughlin’s Belmont winner) had that style and we didn’t change. I have a lot of respect for Mine That Bird…but I wouldn’t trade places with anybody."

1:35 p.m. … What does McLaughlin make of Rachel Alexandra’s effort in the Preakness? "She’s a superstar, and it was a great day for our industry…although for both of them to run back in 35 days or 36 days it’s hard to do that. So it will be hard on her and tough on her to win the Belmont in a mile and  a half. Mine That Bird is a tough little horse. I DON’T see them running Rachel Alexandra."

How has Charitable Man bounced back? "He was one more work scheduled this Saturday, and then gallop to the race after that. He’s training great, eating well…he’s doing very well."  Does Charitable Man need a fast track? McLaughlin doesn’t think so. "He can handle anything other than the Polytrack," he said.

"I don’t think it is a big advantage (training on the Belmont surface," McLaughlin said. "The advantage is that we’re here." He said the stress of travel for horses can make a difference. "He doesn’t have to travel. He doesn’t have to get on a van or a plane, so that’s a plus. Belmont isn’t the kind of racetrack that horses either like or dislike."

What happened to Charitable Man to delay his 3-year-old campaign? "He cracked a shin," McLaughlin said, having a screw put on the bone and later removed. "We just didn’t have enough time to have him fit enough to run in a proper series of prep races. We made the choice to go in the Blue Grass (three weeks before the Derby). … Mr. Warren (the owner) was kind enough and patient enough to wait for the Peter Pan." The shin is completey healed, McLaughlin added.

"I’ve always dreamt fo winning the Kentucky Derby, and it’s hard to pass up the Kentucky Derby if you have a horse that qualifies on graded earnings. … I just thought running back in three weeks off the Blue Grass" would be detrimental for the rest of the year. "He’s a great sportsman," McLaughlin said of Warren, "and I didn’t have to twist his arm (not to run in the Derby." Warren wanted to do what was best for the horse, McLaughlin said. What a concept!

"He’s a beautiful horse, a magnificent horse," McLaughlin said of Charitable Man. 

1:43 p.m. "After he ran in the Preakness," McLaughlin said of Mine That Bird, "I have a lot of respect for him. He’s a gutsy little gelding." McLaughlin was stabled in the same barn as Mine That Bird before the Derby and said there was no comparison in looks between his horse and the Derby. "He’s a little gelding who cost $9,500 as a yearling," he said. McLaughlin thought Calvin Borel and the wet track had a lot to do with the Derby win, but felt the Preakness validated him as a good horse.

1:45 p.m. … McLaughlin said he actually had three horses under consideration for this year’s Derby and ran none of them. In the future, he said, he’d run four or five in the race if he could. "God put our eyes in the front of our head, so I always look forward, so I’m not going to look backwards," McLaughlin said, when asked if he thinks he might have been able to win the Derby with Charitable Man.

"Part of me wants to see her run and part of me doesn’t," McLaughlin said of the Rachel Alexandra’s possible run in the Belmont. "If she runs, she’ll probably be forwardly placed, and I do think we can beat her," he added. "It would mean a lot to the Belmont Stakes and NYRA if she’s in it, but Mine That Bird brings a lot to the race." Does a mile and half take more out of a filly? "It probably does…but I don’t think the mile and a half takes more out a horse than a mile and a quarter does on the first Saturday in the May." The faster fractions and bigger field make the Derby a tough race on a horse, McLaughlin said.

1:50 p.m. … Mafaaz, the horse who qualified for the Kentucky Derby by winning a race in England and then ran poorly in the Blue Grass Stakes, is now at Shadwell Farm in Lexington. He was switched from John Gosden to McLaughlin. McLaughlin said the horse has been gelded and will probably run at Saratoga.

1:52 p.m. … Jerry Hollendorfer is on the line. "He seems to be getting over the (Belmont) strip. He’s getting over the track very well (in his workouts and gallops)," Hollendorfer said. "Garrett’s ridden Chocolate Candy before and he’s won on hm last year. We’ very happy to have Garret (Gomez) riding our horse. He’s one of the best in the country." 

"You can only guess (on whether Chocolate Candy has improved since the Kentucky Derby). We think we’re in a pretty good position, going over the racetrack, and we think we can get the mile and a half. … I’d rather be more forwardly placed (than Mine That Bird figures to be). We should be a little better placed than we were in the Derby."

1:55 p.m. … "He’s been doing very well at Belmont. When Garrett worked him he said he got over the track very well." What were Hollendorfer’s impressions of the Preakness? "I don’t know how they’ll bounce b ack, but I assume if both are starters they have been doing very well. Speed is an asset in any race (and Rachel Alexandra would bring in a great deal of speed). The Belmont has been good for speed horses. I think Mine That Bird is a very legitimate horse. I don’t think there’s doubt in anyone’s mind that he’s a real runner."

Some guy in San Francisco wants to know if Hollendorfer can sleep in an airplane and whether he flies first class or coach! "Yes," to sleeping Hollendorfer says, and "no" to first class. "I flew Jet Blue to New York, and they don’t have first class," he said.

I think we must be nearing the end of this call.

2:00 p.m. … Where does Chocolate Candy rank with some of Hollendorfer’s past runners? "He’s one of the best that I’ve tried to take the Triple Crown races. He’s a beautiful looking horse and he covers a lot of ground."

That’s it from the NTRA Triple Crown teleconference.

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

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