October 31, 2015
An Interview With:
ROBERT MASTERSON
JULIEN LEPAROUX
DEUCE GREATHOUSE
THE MODERATOR:
Ladies and
gentlemen, congratulations to the winner of the
Breeders' Cup Mile, that, of course, is Tepin. And
we're joined right now by, in the center, owner
Robert Masterson. On the right, winning jockey
Julien Leparoux. Julien, who is with you?
JULIEN LEPAROUX: Mitchell Leparoux,
my son.
THE MODERATOR: When was Mitchell
born?
JULIEN LEPAROUX:
September 21.
He's five and a half weeks.
THE MODERATOR: And we also have
Deuce; is that right? Congratulations to all of you.
Julien, we'll start with you to get a
breakdown of the race. Tell us about your trip, if
you would.
JULIEN LEPAROUX: She rode good, like
she always does. I was surprised actually coming
to the first turn to be on the lead. I thought
obviously she'd be there already, but you came
across me, and I could get out as soon as I could
so that was great. She was relaxed. And on the
back side, I was very confident.
THE MODERATOR: Very good. I should
mention Julien won this race in 2011 with Court
Vision. Winning trainer Mark Casse -JULIEN LEPAROUX:
No, I got beat
actually that time. I got beat by a nose.
THE MODERATOR: Did I get that wrong?
ROBERT MASTERSON: We know about
getting beat by a nose.
JULIEN LEPAROUX: I know.
ROBERT MASTERSON:
We've been
beat twice by two noses.
THE MODERATOR: Sorry about that.
JULIEN LEPAROUX: That's all right. I did
ride him, though.
THE MODERATOR:
Robert, take us
through the race from your perspective and what
you saw.
ROBERT MASTERSON: The thing we
were worried about in the very beginning was we
wanted her to break well and not get trapped on
the rail with maybe two or three horses on the
outside of us.
She's better if she lets speed in the race
go and then lay outside of her, which exactly what
Julien let the 8 horse go over and cross over in
front of her and then got behind her.
We're sitting over there, and I say they let
her go in 24 and she's back. I said, they better
have their running shoes on. When she hit the top
of the lane, I said they better have their running
shoes. She's never been beat in a mile on the dirt
and the grass. I said there isn't anybody gonna
come catch her.
When she hit for home like that on the
lead, I thought nobody is going to catch her. Didn't
you think so too, Julien, nobody is going to catch
her.
JULIEN LEPAROUX: On the back side
already, she was so relaxed. Like the last race
too, the same kind of race we had today, and I
knew that, like you said, if they beat us, it would
have to be -- they would have to run a lot.
ROBERT MASTERSON:
They would
have to have their running shoes on.
JULIEN LEPAROUX: I knew she was
going to kick home for sure.
THE MODERATOR: Robert, I'd like to get
your opinion on what's changed with this filly from
three to four, aside from Julien Leparoux?
ROBERT MASTERSON: She doesn't like
the heat and humidity very well. She's had some
problems, even when we were in Saratoga and
she ran good races, she ran [ck] 101 buyers, but
she wasn't 100 percent herself.
She likes it a little cooler. She likes it a
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little off, like she won on a good track in Belmont. I
mean, I think it has to do with the weather.
Then she got hurt a little bit and we gave
her that time off, gave her six months off and then
she came back and won at Gulfstream and then
has had the year she's had. Phenomenal year.
THE MODERATOR:
We're always
interested in the story of how you came to own this
filly. Going back to 2012 at the Saratoga sale, tell
us about that.
ROBERT MASTERSON: Deuce's father,
David Greathouse, who passed away, and I have
been partners since the early '80s in all kinds of
things with horses. Deuce and his father found the
horse in Saratoga. We always go up there.
And then I looked at it with them, and they
said this is the one they really liked. Bought the
horse.
THE MODERATOR:
Deuce, what
qualities do you remember this filly going back to
then?
DEUCE GREATHOUSE:
She was a
gorgeous filly. Her pedigree has turned into it what
it has with Vyjack being a half brother. That's all
come about. She was a gorgeous filly, and we
took a shot on an individual. It wasn't a lot of
brains. We didn't try to overthink it. We just picked
out one we thought looked like a runner, and we
got lucky.
THE MODERATOR: Mark told us this
week, despite her accomplishments this year, it
looked like if she comes back healthy and happy,
will we see her campaign next year?
ROBERT MASTERSON: Oh, yes. I think
five-year-olds, mares is the best. It's like an adult.
They mature. You get to the right age and you're
smart and you've done it. As long as you're not
hurt; as long as you're healthy. I think it's their best
year. I think she'll have her best year next year.
I mean, I don't know if she can beat this
year, it was pretty good, but she should have her
best year next year.
JULIEN LEPAROUX: I hope so.
DEUCE GREATHOUSE: Maybe we'll try
to do what Goldikova and Miesque did, win two.
ROBERT MASTERSON:
A repeat.
Besides that I live in Delmar, so that would be
great.
THE MODERATOR: That would be two
years.
ROBERT MASTERSON: Oh, two years,
right.
THE MODERATOR: In any case, you've
been involved with so many good horses, maybe
not on yourself but in partnership. Tell us how this
ranks especially since you're the sole owner.
ROBERT MASTERSON: This is the best
I've had by myself. I've had horses, Artie Hubbard
and Johnny Jones from Womack Farm. Johnny,
Sr. and Barry Weisbord. We've had great fillies
over the years, graded horses and so forth that
have won a lot of races.
But by myself, this is the best one I've had
by myself. So thank you.
Q. You brought her into Keeneland
rather early and gave her a race on October
3rd. She won by seven before you got the
Breeders' Cup run. Was the long-term plan
bringing her to Keeneland early and giving her
the benefit of the track and get the feel of the
track? Was that the plan?
ROBERT MASTERSON: Actually, we had
the plan since she won on Kentucky Derby day in
July. When she won the Grade 2 on Kentucky
Derby day, going a mile, we said here's our plan.
She's going to run that race. She's going to go to
Belmont and run the Belmont race, the Grade 1
that mile.
She's going to run on the Diana, she's
going to go to Keeneland and go to the Breeders'
Cup. We had that plan. That's the plan she went
to. She did that plan. She got beat a nose in the
Diana. She ran her shoes off.
JULIEN LEPAROUX: That was a tough
beat.
ROBERT MASTERSON:
That was a
tough beat, but she ran her heart out.
DEUCE GREATHOUSE: That's when we
decided we were going to focus on the mile.
ROBERT MASTERSON: Flat mile.
Q. Today, you beat some of the best
milers in Europe.
ROBERT MASTERSON: Yes.
Q. Congratulations.
ROBERT MASTERSON: Thank you.
Q. And you beat them all.
ROBERT MASTERSON: Thank you, we
know that [Laughter]. We know that, and we could
have run the Distaff on the grass against the girls.
I've been in the business a long time. I said, why
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do I want to do that? I want to run against the
best.
Q. I can see you are a man who can
meet challenges.
ROBERT MASTERSON: Exactly right.
DEUCE GREATHOUSE: Then he called
me when the PPs came out, and he said the mile's
the toughest race in the world this year. Why are
we running a mile?
ROBERT MASTERSON: You know, if you
ever read the sheets, you know, in gambling,
there's eight horses in that on the sheets that ran a
zero. Eight horses. I mean, come on, give me one
or two. I got to beat eight of them like that?
Anyway, it was funny.
THE MODERATOR: You did, indeed, beat
them all. I think that wraps it up down here.
Congratulations once again. Tepin, winner of the
Breeders' Cup Mile.
ROBERT MASTERSON: Thank you.
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