You could say trainer Riley Mott has been waiting for this moment for most of his life.
Mott, 33, will saddle his first Breeders' Cup starter at this year's World Championships. He will be represented by a solid contender in grade 1 winner Argos, a 2-year-old son of Nyquist , in the Oct. 31 Juvenile Turf (G1T) at Del Mar.
The Mott name needs no introduction in this industry. Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, Riley's father, is a Breeders' Cup veteran and a horseman whose overall achievements could land him a place on Mount Rushmore, if there were a mountain sculpture dedicated to horse trainers. The elder Mott has saddled 130 starters at the Breeders' Cup for a record of 15-12-11. He ranks fifth among all trainers with purse earnings of $26,346,900.
Riley witnessed a good number of those Breeders' Cups, first as a kid enthralled with horse racing and then later as one of his father's assistants, a post he left after 10 years to hang up his own shingle in the fall of 2022.
Mott was just a tot when his father's legendary Cigar glided over a muddy track to win the 1995 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) by 2 1/2 lengths at Belmont Park. But the horse's accomplishments most definitely were part of family lore.
"Breeders' Cup has been such a big part of my passion for the sport and part of my life for such a long time," Riley Mott said. "I used to and I still daydream about it. Just think about the prospect of being there. Even before I started working for my dad, I was always thinking about what (horses) we would have for the event. I would just really look forward to it."
While working for his father, he did more than his fair share of traveling with horses to Breeders' Cups and other big races around the world, such as the Dubai World Cup (G1) and Saudi Cup (G1). He has the routine down pat and wasn't looking to reinvent the wheel as he prepared to ship Argos from his home base at Churchill Downs to Southern California Oct. 25.
"Shipping for big races is something I'm used to, and sort of have a blueprint for," he said, "and I realize that horses take to shipping pretty well. Not every horse is the same, but horses are pretty resilient, and they handle what we throw at them pretty well most of the time.
"As far as preparing Argos, you just want to stick to what got you there, stick to the normal routine, schedule," he added. "The horse got himself into the position to make it to the Breeders' Cup, so you don't really want to do anything too fancy or too cute leading up to the race."
Owned by a partnership headed by David Romanik, who bought the colt back earlier this year for $165,000 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales March Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training, Argo has won two of three starts.
The Kentucky-bred won his career debut July 13 at Ellis Park with a half-length victory in a 5 1/2-furlong turf maiden special weight. Argos followed with a third-place finish Aug. 16 at Woodbine Racetrack in the Soaring Free Stakes, beaten 1 3/4 lengths by race favorite Two Out Hero. Mott ran him in that spot to set Argos up for the Sept. 13 Summer Stakes (G1T), a Breeders' Cup Challenge Series event. That plan worked to a 'T' as Argos, ridden by Flavien Prat, who will be aboard at the Breeders' Cup, came with a determined late charge to post a head victory over favored European invader Wild Desert.
For Romanik—a Florida-based pari-mutuel wagering and gaming attorney with a long history in racing, including a stint as president of Gulfstream Park—Argos will be his second Breeders' Cup starter. He co-owned Caltech, the fifth-place finisher in the 1989 Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) at Gulfstream Park.
While partners have recently come aboard—David S. Cheekes, Deborah K. Dougherty, C2 Racing Stable, BAG Racing Stables, and Robert Liedel—it was Romanik who initially campaigned Argos and who selected Mott to be his trainer.
Romanik said, "I have a good friend who is a veterinarian in Kentucky, Gregory Fox. I called Greg and said I want to send this horse to a trainer who only has one barn, who has trained with a Hall of Fame trainer, and who is a future Hall of Fame trainer himself. It took Greg about a nanosecond to utter the words, Riley Mott."
Mott's business has steadily grown since he saddled his first winner Nov. 10, 2022, at Churchill Downs, Unifying, his third starter. Now with 60 horses in his stable and eager for more, the young trainer's career record as of Oct. 23 stands at 97-75-83 from 610 starters with earnings topping $7 million.
Argos is his second grade 1 winner, following Pin Oak Stud's World Beater's victory in the Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) in August.
It will be like old home week at the Breeders' Cup for the Motts. Father and son will be reunited under the same shedrow. Fair to say that Bill's star runner, Sovereignty, the likely favorite in the Classic, will get the lion's share of the attention from the media. But that's OK by Riley, who is also a fan of the Godolphin homebred who has captivated the racing world with his glorious wins this year in the Kentucky Derby (G1), Belmont Stakes (G1), and Travers Stakes (G1).
"To have Sovereignty at this point in my dad's career and this point in my life, it's just been so amazing because he's just a once-in-a-lifetime horse," Riley said. "I've been really proud of how my dad and his team have handled the horse and campaigned him.
"We're going to try to catch some good vibes from Sovereignty when we are there," he added. "It should be a pretty sentimental kind of week. Just being with my dad and having our family around will be special. Hopefully, we can all have a fruitful weekend."
