An Interview With:
ALBERT STALL
SETH HANCOCK
GARRETT GOMEZ
ERIC WING: While we are waiting for our next round of guests, I will give you the complete order of finish and margins. First of all, the margins. I will give complete margins through the field. The winner Blame, first by a head. Zenyatta second by 3 1/2 lengths. Third, Fly Down by a neck. Fourth was Lookin At Lucky by 1 3/4 length. Fifth was Paddy O'Prado by 3 1/2. Sixth was Etched by 1 length. Seventh was Musket Man by 1/2 length. Eighth was First Dude, also by 1/2 length. Ninth was Pleasant Prince by 3 1/2 lengths. Tenth was Espoir City by 8 1/4. Eleventh was Haynesfield by 6 1/2. And then last, in 12th position, was Quality Road.
Let me give those margins to you one more time. These are unofficial, of course, pending the completion of the official Equibase chart. The margins from the top: a head, 3 1/2, neck, 1 3/4, 3 1/2, 1, 1/2, 1/2, 3 1/2, 8 1/4, 6 1/2, and 1. And again, those are still unofficial. It was just relayed to me verbally.
I will now run down the order of finish in the order in which they're listed in your program. Number 1, Quality Road, was 12th. Number 2, Paddy O'Prado was fifth. Number 3, Haynesfield, was 11th. Number 4, First Dude, was eighth. Number 5, Blame, was first. Number 6, Fly Down, was third. Number 7, Musket Man, was seventh. Number 8, Zenyatta, was second. Number 9, Pleasant Prince, was ninth. Number 10 Etched, was sixth. Number 11, Espoir City, tenth. Number 12, Lookin At Lucky, fourth.
Okay. Joined now in the interview room by two of the connections of Blame, the winning trainer, Al Stall, and co‑owner, co‑breeder Seth Hancock, representing Claiborne Farm.
Seth, I'll start with you. As the ‑‑ not just the co‑owner, but the co‑breeder, your pride at winning such a momentous race and really a race that will go down in the history books.
SETH HANCOCK: It's just an unbelievable feeling. We made a game plan a year ago to point for this, and usually when you make plans like that in the horse business, it never works out. You don't even make the race.
But then the closer we got to the race, we realized we were going to make it and knew who we were running against but just were filled with anticipation of what might be. And then to see it come true, it's a feeling that I can't describe.
ERIC WING: Al, congratulations. You had spoken earlier in the week how a lot of things you thought might be lining up better for Blame in this race ‑‑ more pace, previous experience at Churchill Downs in the spring, experience in the fall, experience under the lights. It looks like it took every last ounce of all of those things to add up to victory for Blame today.
ALBERT STALL: That's right. It's one of those rare things where everything comes together once, but obviously that's what it takes to win a race of this magnitude.
I agree with Seth that, you know, I'm so proud to be involved with this horse and the Hancock Family and Adele Dilschneider. It's really something you think about it and we play the race ‑‑ or we talked about the race all the way to the eighth pole, and we couldn't quite get past the eighth pole the past few weeks. Finally to get here, it's really hard to believe.
ERIC WING: Both of you gentlemen obviously know you didn't just win the Breeders' Cup Classic, but in doing so, you defeated one of the greatest horses of all time. Could you provide a comment on Zenyatta, both gentlemen?
SETH HANCOCK: Well, I'm just proud to win the race. I take no pride in beating Zenyatta. She is what she is. She's awesome. She's been great for racing. Her human connections are wonderful people, and I feel bad for them.
But we owe it to ourselves and to the racing public to send our horse out there and try to give him the best chance we can. I'm sorry that we had to beat her because she is something special. We had to give it all we had.
ERIC WING: Al?
ALBERT STALL: Yeah, we didn't ‑‑ in defeat, Zenyatta didn't lose anything. I don't think you'll find anybody criticizing anything she's ever done, much less today. It was just two very good horses, and everybody talked about it coming down to these two for a long time. It played out that way.
We were fortunate enough to have the right horse on the right day at the right time.
ERIC WING: I'm sure we'll be joined soon by Garrett Gomez, but in the meantime, let's throw it open for questions, either here in the room or upstairs in the main box.
Q. Either one of you could answer this question. Mr. Seth, you said the Breeders' Cup Classic was your long‑term plan, and in horse racing, long‑term plans never work out. You put a five‑race win streak together going into the Jockey Club Gold Cup, you were an odds‑on favorite. Is there a case of diminishing enthusiasm, and why did the horse pick up so much today?
SETH HANCOCK: Well, immediately after the Jockey Club Gold Cup, I was pretty disappointed, and then I thought, well, maybe this is for the best. We're back up under the radar. That's where he's always done his best work. I think he ran 13 times, and he's only been favored 3. We knew he wouldn't be favored off of that race.
Why ‑‑ he just had a bad day. I don't know why. But he didn't run his race that day for whatever reason, but he certainly did today, obviously.
ERIC WING: As you can see, we're joined now by Garrett Gomez. Garrett, congratulations. One of those races in which every little move you make, or decision you make during the race may spell the difference between victory and defeat. If you would, take us through the trip.
GARRETT GOMEZ: I had a wonderful trip. I mean, he broke running today. I actually had to ease him back a little bit going under the wire the first time. I found myself in a nice little pocket all by myself.
I heard some hollering going around the first turn and tried to make it a little difficult. Or whoever was hollering made it a little more difficult. You don't give an inch out there. I just took everything that came to me.
You know, he traveled beautiful up the backside. He got to about the half‑mile pole, and I found myself keeping an eye on two horses, the Godolphin horse, and Lookin At Lucky. And as we got to about the 5/16 pole, we started quickening and started picking them up. And I kept watching what was going to happen, and I just ‑‑ it got tight just about the quarter pole.
As I started going around a couple horses. And I was able to squeeze my way in between Lookin At Lucky and the Godolphin horse and turned for home. He just ‑‑ he was there for me. He did everything. You know, I just tried to stay out of his way and keep trying to point him in the right direction. I mean, he was just absolutely marvelous today.
Probably the best race he's ever run for me.
ERIC WING: Garrett, I'll just ask you the same question I asked Al and Seth. Blame, obviously, the only horse ever to beat Zenyatta. Could you give us a comment on your gallant opponent out there today?
GARRETT GOMEZ: You know, it's mixed emotions because, I mean, she's been a wonderful ambassador of the game. People that didn't know anything about horse racing became fans because of her. She's an amazing race horse, to plainly put it. She's awesome.
I wish she would have went 20 for 20 at the expense of someone else and not us. I'm very proud to say we beat her.
Q. You said this week that once Zenyatta got rolling, she would be hard to stop. Did you think she was going to catch you?
ALBERT STALL: Knowing our horse like we do, I haven't had a chance to talk to Garrett. I imagine he might have idled a hair when he got a little bit towards the front toward the 16th. I'm not sure if ‑‑ she had a lot of momentum, and it was going to be awfully close.
You know, we have a lot of horse too. I knew it would be a great horse. When he most probably picked her up, he might have kicked on just a little bit. I noticed on the gallop out, he went on past her. So he's that kind of horse, and he was just waiting for another fight. And thank goodness the wire came up, and he was there.
Q. Al, two questions: First, where does this rank in your career? And, second of all, the race for horse of the year, I presume this is his last race for the year, four wins and a second in five starts. I presume you think you got the horse?
ALBERT STALL: Right. Well, yeah, it's quite obvious in my career, nothing's quite anywhere near this. This is in a different stratosphere. As far as the magnitude of this race, with or without Zenyatta, the Breeders' Cup Classic is arguably the second most popular race in America to The Derby.
You know, the ‑‑ he'll be retired. He has run his last race, so that's ‑‑ we've been planning on that all year. We won those two great ones, and with his pedigree he'd already made himself. And this is just a little bit more.
I'm happy for the horse as much as I can ‑‑ you know, that he doesn't have to go through the rigors of training, and even though he was a willing participant, he's very generous on a daily basis, I'm very happy for him that he gets to go to his birthplace, Claiborne Farm, and go in that world famous barn and live out the rest of his life. It's very exciting.
Q. (Inaudible)?
ALBERT STALL: It's one thing I don't think about really. It's not in my hands. We've had a great year. We've run against the best all year long. We've shipped around and done what's asked of us. We obviously beat the best. We didn't beat her by much, but we did beat her. I'm sure there will be plenty of talk from here on out, whenever they vote. I don't even know that either.
I'm not going to worry about that. We know what we have, and the chips are going to fall.
ERIC WING: Seth, I want to follow up on the same question posed to Al. You have probably as much or more perspective as just about anybody in this thoroughbred racing business. Could you comment on the Horse of the Year race, if you will, for 2010?
SETH HANCOCK: Well, I thought the battle for Horse of the Year was fought about a half hour ago, and Blame won it. I mean, she's a great horse, Zenyatta is. But she had her shot to get by, and she didn't do it. So I don't think you can vote for her. I don't know who else you could vote for.
I mean, he's won three great ones. He's taken his show on the road. He's done everything that's been asked of him. I can't believe that he wouldn't be horse of the year.
Q. Garrett, could you talk about what the last few days have been like for you. Obviously, you won it earlier today, but you were also on a horse that threw you and had to be destroyed. Sort of the emotion that every jockey has to go through in the course of a career, but to go from that to what today was like.
GARRETT GOMEZ: Well, that's part of the game, the highs and lows. You know, I struggled a little bit today to get through the day, but, I mean, that's what we do.
You know, I mean ‑‑ I mean, the highs are highs and the lows are lows. You guys see that by Thursday to today. I feel no pain right now. I'm on cloud nine. This horse has made my year. I mean, he's been there for me all year round.
It's just Claiborne Farm, unbelievable. I'm glad he gets to go home to his birthplace.
Q. Garrett, can you take us through the final part of the race where you were drawn away from the rest of the field, and you had Zenyatta charging up on the outside of you?
GARRETT GOMEZ: Well, I mean, he ‑‑ you know, he was very willing today to do things ‑‑ when I split horses at the top of the stretch, he ran away from Lookin At Lucky when I asked him to, and it felt like I started to lengthen. I wasn't about to look for her because I knew she was going to be coming.
You know, I was asking him as much as I could, without asking him for everything. And I was trying to save just enough so if she did get to me that I had something and some kind of response.
And he's the kind of horse, he's not going to give you 110 percent until you ask for it. You know, he's a little laid back, like I was saying. He will wait on one. And I thought I'd give him that little bit of opportunity, not to wait on her, but just to have a little left in the tank when she come to him or got close to him that he'd go ahead and give me that little extra that I felt like I'm going to need the last 100 yards. And he did so.
He run a tremendous race today, the best race he's ever run for me. He's a great horse.
Q. This question is for jockey Gomez. Soon after the race, did you get a chance to say a few words to Mike Smith? Because he had given new meaning to the term "bitter sweet." If you've not spoken to him as two jockeys in the same profession, what are you likely to tell him?
GARRETT GOMEZ: Well, I mean, we were just making sure, trying to figure out exactly who won. I thought I won, but he was so far away from me, you know, I felt like I had won by about a head.
You know, she's so big, your usual measure of a horse doesn't count with her. She's humongous. You know, he asked me if I won, and I said, I think so, but I'm not completely positive until I see the No. 5 go up.
Even after the wire, I thought I won it, you know, but that's as far as what was spoken about.
ERIC WING: When he asked you if you thought you had won and you told him, I think so, did it hurt a little bit saying that to him?
GARRETT GOMEZ: No, not at all. I mean, this is a race that, you know, that's up on my list that I've been working for, for the last 23 ‑‑ 38 years. Almost said 32. Thirty‑eight years to win, and, I mean, this is one of my lifelong goals. These guys made it possible for me. I'm just very, very grateful.
Q. Again, Mike was here before you came up, and he was extremely emotional. He started tearing up and was taking the blame ‑‑ no pun intended, taking the blame for losing the race. Can you sort of empathize with what that must have been like for him? Do you feel sometimes after, when there's a big loss, do you feel like you have to take responsibility and find it difficult the way he did?
GARRETT GOMEZ: Yeah, Blame's last race. You know what I mean, he was 3 for 5 in his last race. He's not a 20 for 20, but, I mean, Mike's had a lot of pressure on him for the last two years, you know. He's rode some tremendous races. I don't know what his trip looked like today. I have no idea. She was behind me, just like I told you guys that I felt like she'd be behind us.
But I mean, it's a lot of pressure. I think he's dealt with it over the last two years unbelievable. You know, you have to have the horse to have the trips and to hit certain holes when you need to. You know, she's been a wonderful horse.
I mean, I empathize with him because they've had a long relationship over the last couple of years and a lot of big races, a lot of Grade 1 races, high pressure situations, and they've come through in 19 of them. And I'm glad to be the one to upset him.
Q. Mr. Hancock, this is a Claiborne homebred, all Claiborne pedigree horse going to stud now, winning the biggest race in North America in your 100th anniversary. Can you put that in perspective, how important, how big a thrill that is for you.
SETH HANCOCK: Not really. It's just something special, you know. It's ‑‑ the farm's been what it's been for 100 years. It hasn't changed. A lot of great clients that have horses there and a lot of great men and women that work there.
No, I really can't put it into words. It's something that, you know, I've been running the farm for 38 years and been around some great horses, but we've never owned a Horse of the Year, and that's what I think we own now.
ERIC WING: Garrett Gomez, Al Stall, and Seth Hancock, congratulations on a terrific performance by Blame in what was an unforgettable renewal of the Breeders' Cup Classic. Congratulations to all three of you.
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