Britain Thursday, Sandown, Britain HENRY II S.-G2, ,80,000, Sandown Park, 5-29, BRIGADIER GERARD S.-G3, ,47,000, Sandown Park, 4Yo/Up, 2M 78Ydst, 3:54.30, Sf
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HEADLINE NEWS For information about TDN, call 732-747-8060. Sky Mesa’s SW STORM MESA Earned www.thoroughbreddailynews.com FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2008 Highest Beyer for 3YO Filly in ‘08 TDN Feature Presentation DUTROW DOWN ON CASINO DRIVE? Trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. has had an apparent change GROUP 1 PRIX DU JOCKEY-CLUB of heart. Initially impressed by the American debut of Casino Drive (Mineshaft) in the GII Peter Pan S., the conditioner all but assured that the Japanese runner would complete the exacta behind Big Brown (Boundary) in the June 7 MILLIONAIRE BOWMAN’S BAND GI Belmont S. During a national NTRA media sireaverages.com 4/4/08 “As tough as they come...” - teleconference yester- 2008 STUD FEE: $6,000 LIVE FOAL day, Dutrow advised punters differently. AIf I MOORE ENTERS NATAGORA EQUATION were you guys, I=d put Ryan Moore may partner Stefan Friborg=s Natagora other horses under- (Fr) (Divine Light {Jpn}) in Sunday=s G1 Prix du neath,@ he opined. AThis Rick Dutrow Jr (left) and Michael Jockey-Club at Chantilly following days of speculation Japanese horse has got Iavarone Horsephotos revolving around Christophe Soumillon and even Julien so much to prove, and I Leparoux. While connec- don=t know if he=s on top of his game training here. If I tions of the G1 1000 were you guys I would not depend on that horse to be Guineas heroine are yet second. He still has a long, drawn-out road to get to confirm a rider, Brit- there.@ Dutrow added that, despite his colt=s minor ain=s 2007 Champion setback over the weekend, the swagger he carried into Jockey has entered the the GI Kentucky Derby is back for the Belmont. AI really fray. Trainer Pascal Bary don=t like talking big,@ he offered. AI may have done it told PA Sport, AWe will for the Derby, [then] I quieted down a bit for the wait until after tomor- Preakness, but I=m talking big again about the Belmont.@ row=s cancellation stage Nobutaka Tada, racing manager to Casino Drive=s Natagora S Cargil photo before making any deci- owner Hidetoshi Yamamoto, is taking the high road. sion. We want to see Asked to respond Dutrow=s statements regarding Ca- which jockeys will be available after the balloting.@ That sino Drive, Tada stated, AI have no comment on what could yet bring Soumillon back onto the agenda if His he thinks. My job is just keeping my horse happy and Highness the Aga Khan=s Longchamp conditions scorer training nicely every day. I am enjoying listening to his Montmartre (Fr) (Montjeu {Ire}) is balloted out. The comments. It sounds like he knows my horse. I do not current number of 24 will be cut tomorrow after comment anything about Big Brown. I respect the Dermot Weld has withdrawn Casual Conquest (Ire) horse, he=s a nice horse. My job is not talking about (Hernando {Fr}), and lots will be drawn to select the him, my job is keeping my horse happy.@ Cont. p2 final horse eligible in the 20-strong field. Clerk of the Course Matthieu Vincent gave an official ground de- scription of soft yesterday morning, with the eventual going still expected to read good to soft on Sunday. ORATORIO COLT TOPS NATIONAL DAY 3 The third weanling session of the Magic Millions National Sale was highlighted by the sale of a colt from the first crop of Coolmore's Oratorio (Ire) (Danehill) for A$310,000. Melbourne-based agent Damon Gabbedy signed for a colt under his Belmont Bloodstock Agency banner. Gabbedy was acting on behalf of an new un- named client, who would decide later whether the colt will be auctioned again as a yearling or be retained as a racehorse. Cont. p6 (859) 233-4252 www.claibornefarm.com P TDN HEADLINE NEWS • 5/30/08 • PAGE 2 of 11 NTRA Teleconference Excerpts cont. Pat Forde, ESPN.com Eric Wing, Moderator, NTRA Do you have any concern about other riders or trainers in the race trying to beat Big Brown as opposed to Give us an update on Big Brown. trying to win the race, trying to gang up and take him Rick Dutrow Jr: AHe=s as good as he=s ever been. He out of the Triple Crown? was just galloping the last couple of days and it could- RD: I don t believe that anyone would do something n=t have went better. He=s just happy as he can be. I = like that, because cannot imagine that the three days that he missed is this is such a huge going to be any kind of issue at all.@ race. If somebody did something like EW: So, it=s not like you might be giving away a couple that they might get of lengths next Saturday. It=s more a case where, as assassinated after long as he gets to the race in good shape, he=ll be able the race. I just can=t to fire his >A= race? RD: Without a doubt, yes. The only way it changed imagine that some- one would go and do our schedule was we were originally going to breeze something stupid him Saturday. I=m not going to do that. I could if I just to keep us from wanted to, but I just don=t see it being important. I=m going to wait until Monday or Tuesday and breeze him. winning the race. I am under the impres- Big Brown Horsephotos There=s nothing but good weather coming here. Mon- sion that all the day at the earliest, Tuesday at the latest. It=s even trainers and jockeys are going into this race and they re possible that these couple of days that he missed might = going to try to do as good as they can. I just don t see even work to our advantage. Everything else that we=ve = or feel that someone is going to go out of their way to been doing with Big Brown, no matter what=s come up, do something wrong to Big Brown in the race. it=s been to his advantage. I just can=t imagine this interrupting his way to get there. NTRA Teleconference cont. p3 P TDN HEADLINE NEWS • 5/30/08 • PAGE 3 of 11 NTRA Teleconference cont. Debbie Arrington, Sacramento Bee PF: There are some people that believe that that=s ex- How are you holding up under all this pressure? actly what did happen to Smarty Jones in 2004. RD: I don=t feel pressure. When I seen that little crack RD: I think maybe the way they trained that horse for on his foot, I felt uneasy. But after talking to Ian on the the Belmont had a lot to do with him getting beat. phone--he even suggested where the quarter crack Smarty Jones was breezing for was--he says, >Rick, don=t worry, it=s just a quarter the Belmont race at Philadelphia crack. I just shod him the other day. There=s no chance Park on a sloppy, sealed track. of this being a wall separation; he=s telling me that That just blew my mind away. I before he even seen the horse. I felt uneasy then, but couldn=t imagine anyone would right now I feel as good as I can feel. I don=t feel pres- do that with a horse, especially sure. I feel as relaxed as I can be. We=re in a good one going to win the Triple frame of mind here, not only me, but the horse and the Crown. I also feel that he did not people that work around him and the owners. Our Horsephotos need to win the way he did in whole team is huddling up, and we=re as cool as we can the Preakness in order to get to the Belmont the right be. I know it=s a big race, but our horse is good, so I way. If you noticed our horse, Kent might have asked don=t have to make it about me, it=s all about him, and him for a little run turning for home, which he did, but right now I=m as cool as a cucumber, I believe. at the eighth pole he grabbed a hold and he knew we still had another race to go through. I think the connec- Jerry Bossert, New York Daily News tions of Smarty Jones just were not smart in order to What is your report on Casino Drive? get their job done for the Belmont. They should have RD: I did get a chance to see him come off the track played it a lot safer, a lot better. I don=t see that every- when we were coming on. As I watched him run and as one was after the horse in the race. I don=t feel that the I see him in person, he can=t beat Big Brown. There=s no jockeys and the trainers would care if another horse way in the world he can beat Big Brown. I=m not wor- won the Triple Crown. Why would they go out of their ried about that horse anymore. He=s just another horse way to make themselves look not so good in the racing in the race, and Big Brown=s going to have to school game. I just don=t see it happening. him like he=s done every other horse he=s run against.