Before the crowd swells at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., for the two-day Breeders’ Cup starting Friday, horse racing’s star trainer, Bob Baffert, stood all but alone in the rain-dampened stands at Santa Anita Park last week, barking at two of his workout riders through a walkie-talkie.
“You’re going too … fast!” Baffert ordered. “Now you’re slowing too much! Pick it up! Aww!”
Baffert’s high standards may not have been met that moment, but the results of his yearlong push will be on display in a big way when he saddles nine Breeders’ Cup entries in nine races – with two horses, Game On Dude and Prayer for Relief, in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.
To put this effort in perspective, Baffert has entered 57 horses in Breeders’ Cup races since 1991, none in 2009 or last year.
Why load up now? Trying to send a message you’re back by gutting the competition?
“No. It just happens that way. I just happen to have a lot of good horses this year,” Baffert said, “and they’ve added a lot of races. I don’t want to go all the way over there with 30-to-1 shots. I have one horse who was a ‘win and in,’ Irish Gypsy in the Filly and Mare Sprint, so we’re there because it didn’t cost us a thing to get in. But that’s my longest shot.”
Still, he’s not sure how many winners he could have.
“There’s a ways to go still, and if I don’t like something between now and then … that’s why we’re on pins and needles now,” he said. “These fragile horses … my gut’s in a knot. It’s just no fun leading them up there with no chance to win. That’s just an empty feeling. I want to win every one. That’s what this is all about.
“The Breeders’ Cup is different than the (Kentucky) Derby, where you’re just happy you have one horse out of 35,000 foals who made it into the race. Breeders’ Cup is your last chance to make serious money, and it’s for championships, which impacts how much these horses earn to breed. Ton of money on the line.”
It’s not lost on Baffert that he’s had a good year. He says it all comes down to work.
“It was my best year since 2001,” he said. “I had lost a lot of major clients since then, a Saudi prince, Bob Lewis, John Mabee. They died. Bob McNair, the Houston Texans owner, sold out. You’ve got to move forward. You can’t feel sorry for yourself.
“It’s a lot of work. You have to win. You can’t B.S. your way. You know what they say, ‘Rumors die, facts live forever.’ It’s all about winning. I’m like a coach in the NFL. You better win. This year.”
With a track record of just five Breeders’ Cup victories in 57 races, Baffert has altered his strategy for this year’s races.
“I’ve changed my approach,” he said. “I freshen them up before we get there now. You can’t use your hot pitcher three nights in a row. You’ve got to let your stars freshen up and back off them. It’s not easy.
“When you get a good one, your clients want you to race him every week. They want the action. But I look back with experience now. I go by gut feeling. If we’re smart, the really good ones will get it done for you.”
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