THE SHOW: BLOODHORSE MONDAY, SEPT. 7
The speaker: William Butler, assistant to Sir Mark Prescott, trainer of Tiffany
The topic: The 6-year-old mare's victory in the Kentucky Turf Cup Invitational Stakes (G2T) Sept. 5 at Kentucky Downs, and the feeling of excitement when it came to defeating the 2025 Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) winner Ethical Diamond by 1 3/4 lengths
The quote: "There certainly (was), and I think winning in America as well. We've not had a huge amount of runners but, for me, selfishly, and I'm sure Sir Mark would agree, it's right up there because when you take in the traveling and all the things that could possibly go wrong. We've not fired too many bullets in America over the years but, I think, just stepping aside slightly, for us as a team, it was an itch we really wanted to scratch and it gave us all here great pleasure. You want to be seen; I think it's such an international business and industry now, you want to be competing internationally. There's all sorts of issues we have here, racing-wise, but I think to be seen, to be able to travel, and to compete at that high level is very important for us as a brand and so, from that point of view, it was very special."
The Show: Nick Luck Daily Podcast, Sept. 7
The speaker: Zac Purton, rider of Ka Ying Rising
The topic: Ka Ying Rising's victory in the HKSAR Chief Executive's Cup Handicap (G3) after a layoff with a final time of 1:06.11 in the 1,200-meter (about 6-furlong) contest
The quote: "Well, he's come back a much more mature and stronger horse, and I was looking forward to getting him back to the races off the back of a couple of nice trials and just seeing where he's at and how his enthusiasm would be for competition again. But he was just in such a zone from the time the gates opened. He flew the gates; he got into a lovely rhythm straight away and, as I normally do, I sort of didn't disappoint him. I let him get into the rhythm that he's comfortable traveling along at. He was gliding along beautifully, and the one thing that I was really focused on was trying to get him to change lead when he came into the straight because that's been a bit of a bugbear again for him recently. In his trials, he hasn't been doing it. Once I got him to change his leg, I thought, well, 'Now's the time to go. You need to have a good blowout if you're going to go back down to Australia, and let's see what you can do.' And when I let him go, that turn of foot that he showed, that acceleration, the way he lengthened, and the ease that he put a gap on the rest of the field was incredible. He gave me a great feel, a great ride all the way around. And when I pulled up, I then had that little question mark in the back of my mind. I was thinking, 'Geez, I wonder what time he ran today,' and I come back in and see that he'd run 1:06.11. That was breathtaking."
The Show: At The Races With Steve Byk, Sept. 8
The speaker: Trainer Shug McGaughey
The topic: The possible change of the Belmont Stakes from a mile and a half to a mile and a quarter
The quote: "My reaction is probably a different reaction: Leave it alone, the Triple Crown. But I know everybody is up in arms about the distance. I don't really like them starting in the turn. They say it's not going to be as severe as it used to be going a mile and a quarter that it had been before. I think they've got a lot of kinks they've got to work out: when you're going to run it, which they don't want to change the date, and what are you going to do with the Preakness (G1), and the Derby is going to be the first Saturday in May, so we'll just have to see. I think the Belmont, they don't want to change their date either because it coincides with so many good races that it's going to be hard to do."
