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BREEDERS' CUP THEY SAID IT OCTOBER 25, 2007 "The answer to that question for both horses is, 'Ask me on Saturday.' I will know the answer then." —trainer Carl Nafzger on how an off track would affect his Classic (G1) contender STREET SENSE (Street Cry [Ire]) and Distaff (G1) threat LADY JOANNE (Orientate) "I can give you the lowest: the Preakness (G1). When I saw him go to the lead and get beat (by Curlin), that was the low. The highest? Every race is so important. The Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) was unbelievable. How can you match that with the first race back (at three) that put him on the (Kentucky Derby [G1]) trail? The Derby? How do you match the Derby? But one top moment? I don't know of any one. The highest moment with this horse I guess has been for 12 months from Breeders' Cup Juvenile day up to Classic day." —Nafzger responds to the inevitable question about highs and lows during his time with Street Sense "He's feeling way too good. It's the weather and him feeling ready to run." —assistant trainer Scott Blasi interprets Classic hopeful CURLIN's (Smart Strike) two high-spirited bucks during his gallop "It's not so much the extra eighth of a mile as it is the extra eighth of a mile against Street Sense, Curlin, Lawyer Ron and Hard Spun. I've always felt that Any Given Saturday was a mile-and-a-quarter horse. The only time he raced the distance was in the (Kentucky) Derby and he came out of that with a bruised foot. Certainly, his pedigree suggests that he can get a mile-and-a-quarter, and based on knowing this horse and watching him train, I feel that won't be a problem." —horseman Todd Pletcher, whose Classic entrant ANY GIVEN SATURDAY (Distorted Humor) has yet to win at 1 1/4 miles, takes dead aim at the real issue "I think he does (deserve to be Horse of the Year). He's the only horse to have finished ahead of Curlin twice, we're even with Any Given Saturday, and Street Sense is just one up on us. If the honor is going to go to a three-year-old, why not him? He's made every dance this year starting in January. He's not just a two-month wonder." —conditioner Larry Jones makes a case for HARD SPUN (Danzig) as Horse of the Year if he captures the Classic "He's undefeated since (the Haskell). I think it served as a wake-up call for him. He was as depressed as the rest of us after Belmont (G1), and we a hard time getting him back in the game mentally. He must have been reading his own clippings. But, since the Haskell, he's mentally sharp and hasn't missed anything." —Jones views Hard Spun's runner-up effort to Any Given Saturday in Monmouth's Haskell Invitational (G1) as a turning point in his campaign "That year I knew I had the best horse in the race (Saint Liam) and he was running over a track he loved (Belmont Park). A lot was made of it, but I actually liked the outside (12) post because he much preferred running in the clear. I went into that race supremely confident. This year is quite the opposite. The other horses are faster than us, he (Diamond Stripes) has never run over this track, and the distance is a question mark. We're going in with hope instead of confidence." —trainer Richard Dutrow contrasts his experience with 2005 Horse of the Year Saint Liam and his current Classic contender, DIAMOND STRIPES (Notebook) "I thought he ran a hell of a race last year. If I hadn't got the interference I got turning for home, I would have been right on top of them (at the finish). I know the three-year-olds are very good in America this year but whether they're as good as Invasor (Arg) and Premium Tap, I don't know. I don't think races come much stronger than last year's Classic. A similar run will put us right in the shake-up this year." —jockey Mick Kinane has faith in GEORGE WASHINGTON (Ire) (Danehill), who was sixth in last year's Classic in his dirt debut and will try again "We've never had a horse like this one. He's run in Group 1s every month of the year. He got beat in three races and in my own mind I could have seen reasons for how he could have won the three. That's a very special horse. With each month, every week he's come forward and forward and forward. He's just turning into the ultra-professional. Physically he's improving, as well as mentally. I was looking at him walking around inside and he's got a big back end on him now. He's a big powerhouse now. You don't know what's going to happen until you run the horse, but we're very happy with where we are at this stage." —horseman Aidan O'Brien marvels at Turf (G1) morning-line favorite DYLAN THOMAS (Ire) (Danehill) "Statistics are statistics. Every horse is an individual and every horse is different. Most horses, there are different sets of circumstances going along with them. If you were reading statistics all the time, you wouldn't be doing an awful lot. The statistic is there and it has to be paid heed of, but we're very happy with our horse." —O'Brien isn't losing any sleep over the fact that no Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Fr-G1) winner has managed to win at the Breeders' Cup; Dylan Thomas is the sixth to try to complete the double in the same year "He's one of the toughest horses that we've ever had. His record shows that he's never run a bad race this year. In the early part of the year, some people said he was un-genuine. If that's how you describe an un-genuine horse I wish we could get a few more." —Coolmore supremo John Magnier pays tribute to Dylan Thomas, who will enter stud at Coolmore next year "She's exceptionally content. Usually she tries to bite your arm off. Today, she looks like a kid at looking at all the rides going around." —Gary Parker, friend of trainer Carla Gaines, on how Filly & Mare Turf (G1) morning-line choice NASHOBA'S KEY (Silver Hawk) is soaking in the atmosphere "We think she can win over anything." —Parker exudes confidence about how the undefeated Nashoba's Key may handle soft turf; the California star has won on firm turf, Cushion Track and Polytrack "Right now, the course is soft but it is not chewed up. They took the races off the turf (Thursday). We'll watch the races on Friday. If it gets windy and we don't get any more rain, it might be a drying out situation. If not, then we'll have to make a decision." —Pletcher sounds doubtful about champion WAIT A WHILE's (Maria's Mon) status in the Filly & Mare Turf if the course remains saturated "Octave is the most versatile of the fillies we have in the Distaff. She's also been unlucky. I thought she ran a huge race in the Kentucky Oaks (G1), but she ran into (Pletcher-trained) Rags to Riches (A.P. Indy). Octave will pretty much do whatever you want her to do. I'll let (Garrett Gomez) determine what he will do going into the first turn. In this race, I think the strategy will be dictated by how the track plays. If it is anything like it was at Churchill Downs last year, you might see a bunch gunning for the rail." —Pletcher is much more hopeful about OCTAVE (Unbridled's Song), who will join stablemates INDIAN VALE (A.P. Indy) and UNBRIDLED BELLE (Broken Vow) in the Distaff (G1) "She has won on Polytrack, she has won on turf and she has won on dirt. She can run over anything, so I say, 'Let it rain'." —trainer Kiaran McLaughlin holds no qualms about the conditions LEAR'S PRINCESS (Lear Fan) may face in the Distaff "I remember Frankie Dettori saying that Tiznow had a head like a dinosaur after the horse he rode (Sakhee) lost to him in the second Classic (in 2001). She (a daughter of Tiznow) has that kind of head too." —Bob Baffert unearths a Jurassic description of TOUGH TIZ'S SIS (Tiznow), who carries his hopes in the Distaff "If it stays wet, I'm going to put him on the turf course here tomorrow. We're going to have to see how he handles it. It is just too big a race to pass without trying everything we can to find out where we are with this." —horseman John Shirreffs hatches a plan to try to keep AFTER MARKET (Storm Cat) in the Mile (G1), despite the rain-soaked sod; this summer, the turf star was scratched out of the Arlington Million (G1) because the course hadn't dried out sufficiently "None of my horses will be moved up by a soft course, and certainly not our two in the Mile. Everything is going to have to break his way exactly for Host to even have a chance." —Pletcher doesn't see a silver lining in these clouds for his duo in the Mile, ICY ATLANTIC (Stormy Atlantic) and HOST (Chi) (Hussonet) "With a good break, he's the horse to beat." —Dutrow is downright sunny about KIP DEVILLE (Kipling) in the Mile "She's been feeling very good with herself and squealing on the track. At 30-1 we're going to get a big piece. We're going to sneak up on them." —trainer Bill Mott serves advance notice on MY TYPHOON's (Ire) (Giant's Causeway) male rivals in the Mile "I think we have no options but to just keep the same strategy. He's been undefeated going to the lead, so that's what we want to do. Tactically, for us, I would just like to see my horse run his race. I think he's the fastest horse in the race and hopefully no one has got a $2 million rabbit in there. This is the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and he's the fastest horse in the race. So be it. If he makes it, he makes it. Last time, he went 45 (for the half-mile in the Champagne S. [G1]). How fast do you want him to go? If they want to chase him; if they want to use their horse and set it up from some other guy coming from behind, so be it. But I don't think anybody has got his speed and if they test him, they're going to melt. He may melt, but they're going to melt, too." —conditioner Nick Zito expects his unbeaten WAR PASS (Cherokee Run), the morning-line favorite for the Juvenile (G1), to roar straight to the front "I think we'll end up putting War Pass between a rock and a hard place. I'm not sure they want to go head-to-head with a 30-1 shot. They're going to have to make that choice." —horseman Rick Violette, who will send out GLOBALIZATION (Touch Gold) in the Juvenile, has his own ideas about the proper strategy for War Pass "He feels like King Kong. He's more like Sergeant Carter than Gomer Pyle today. At post time on Saturday, 'Sarge' will take roll call. They're going to Boot Camp and they better bring their boots." —Eric Guillot, trainer of Juvenile contender SALUTE THE SARGE (Forest Wildcat), trots out all the allusions he can think of "Obviously I was disappointed at the end of the (regular baseball) season. It was a tough ending and it hurt for a while, but this has helped take my mind off it. I'm very excited to be a part of this." —New York Mets catcher Paul LoDuca, co-owner of Juvenile Fillies (G1) hopeful GRACE ANATOMY (Aldebaran), finds consolation at the Breeders' Cup "She never was all that impressive in the morning, but her attitude carries her. She just doesn't know how to lose. In her mind, she can't be beat." —Jones says that his Juvenile Fillies entrant PROUD SPELL (Proud Citizen) has the mind for the job "It says fast (on her past performances), but we have 'wet-fast,' and it's been wet. She actually lost a shoe coming out of the gate in a stakes race -- I think it was her first -- and won anyway over a gooey track. We're not afraid of a little mud; we can handle it. This is a different track, but she's got a lot of practice in the mud. We've had workouts in the mud." —Doris Harwood, trainer of Juvenile Fillies threat SMARTY DEB (Smart Strike), notes that her Emerald Downs-based star is well acquainted with an off track "(Her granddam Bayakoa [Arg] was) a superior mudder. You know, some horses like an off track and some don't, and so that sometimes means the race doesn't come up fair for all the horses. It's not a good situation to separate the good horses from the bad." —horseman Ron McAnally shows his genuine sportsmanship, even though his IZARRA (Distorted Humor) would relish a muddy Juvenile Fillies "My horse went to sleep last night and woke up this morning thinking he was at Golden Gate Fields (a brisk 52 degrees and drizzly)". —conditioner Greg Gilchrist reveals why Sprint (G1) contender SMOKEY STOVER (Put It Back) feels right at home at Monmouth "When we got him (after a private sale in July) I can't say there was any kind of issue, but I can tell you he's still getting better. We didn't do any hind-end work, we didn't do any front-end work, but we treat our horses like they're gold. We bed them so deep and we get them the best (of everything). Some horses have got to love that." —Dutrow surmises that Sprint entrant BENNY THE BULL (Lucky Lionel) enjoys the five-star accommodations in his barn "I think Midnight Lute is a better horse than Thirty Slews. I'd rank Midnight Lute in the top 10 horses I ever trained. Before he ever started at two, the way he was working out of the gate, I thought he was going to be one of my best horses ever. I had great hopes for him, but he was so big." —Baffert rates MIDNIGHT LUTE (Real Quiet) superior to his 1992 Sprint hero, Thirty Slews "He's a horse that is very unusual. He's what I would call a tricky horse because he runs great fresh. Like they say, 'Let them save the best for last.' I just hope that he's got this one in him. I couldn't ask him to do anything more. As you can see on the worktab, he's been burning up the track. He's a very special horse." —Zito likewise has a soft spot for COMMENTATOR (Distorted Humor), who could call it a career after the Sprint "He's been a champion in my eyes. When you say 'warrior,' that's the right word. He's six years old, he's had many interruptions in his life. Mr. (Arthur) Hancock has done a great job sending him to his farm, fixing him up and sending him back to us. It's been unbelievable. It would fitting for him to win that race. It would be great." —Zito will also bid adieu to WANDERIN BOY (Seeking the Gold) after the Dirt Mile "This colt has got a big win in the mud in Belmont's Jerome (H. [G2] in 2006) and he's got the right pedigree for an off track. I don't think the wet will hurt him. (Trainer) Saeed (bin Suroor) and I are more concerned with the two turns and the amount of speed in the race. I'm more worried about the pace scenario than a muddy track." —assistant trainer Rick Mettee airs his concerns about DISCREET CAT's (Forestry) bid in the Dirt MIle "She has a lot of early speed, but she keeps running after that. I think her second quarter is actually faster than her first. Because there's other speed in the race, we're not going to say, 'We're going to take back today.' We've got a great post position. Hopefully, we'll get away clean. If somebody wants to get in front of us, they're really going to have to step on the gas." —Violette on DREAM RUSH (Wild Rush), the early favorite for the Filly & Mare Sprint "She's built like a pit bull. She's going to give you 110 per cent, whether she's on the dirt, on the turf, or on an off track. Whether she's good enough remains to be seen." —conditioner Mark Hennig sizes up Filly & Mare Sprint contender JAZZY (Arg) (Mutakddim) "She doesn't mind anything. She has won at Hawthorne, which is knee-deep sand; at Hot Springs, which is deeper sand, and won at Prairie Meadows, which is rock solid. We have yet to find a surface she doesn't like, and I hope it is not here." —Kelly Von Hemel is encouraged by the fact that Filly & Mare Sprint threat MISS MACY SUE (Trippi) hasn't been finicky about track conditions "It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon and I was really excited about running Diabolical on Preakness Day (in the Maryland Sprint H. [G3]). Then in a flash I saw an out of control car coming straight at me. You have about a second to think about everything you're about to lose. I got really lucky. When something like that happens, you come away from it with a completely different perspective on life. You're just grateful to be here. It really opens your eyes. You don't sweat the small stuff anymore. You just do your best and let things come. It's great to be able to do what you love every day, and having a horse in a Breeders' Cup race is a gift." —trainer Steve Klesaris, who will saddle MIRACULOUS MISS (Mr. Greeley) in the Filly & Mare Sprint, puts things in proper perspective "We could use some of this rain in California. We evacuated three days ago (from his home five miles east of Del Mar). I slept in a beach-house in Del Mar. We put four families into it. Eight houses burned in Rancho Santa Fe, the closest five blocks away. The winds fanning the fires were blowing at 50 miles an hour. I couldn't take a chance with the horses at San Luis Rey (and evacuated them to Fairplex Park in Pomona). I've never seen anything like this. I saw the pictures on television and got every horse away as far as possible. A lot of people are going to need a lot of help." —also providing perspective is owner/breeder Martin Wygod, who has been driven from his home by the raging California wildfires; he will be represented by After Market in the Mile and IDIOT PROOF (Benchmark) in the Sprint
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