Breeders' Cup: Olympiad's second in Classic tops off big day for Mott
LEXINGTON, Ky. – He didn’t win – this one – but Bill Mott still was beaming after the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland. As the trainer of Olympiad, a distant runner-up to Flightline, Mott was more than happy with how the Classic concluded another sensational day at the office.
“If you could come to the Breeders’ Cup and have a day like that every time, it’d be good,” said Mott. “Yeah, pretty good.”
Mott, who in 1998 became the youngest trainer inducted into the Hall of Fame at age 45, won two earlier Breeders’ Cup races Saturday, bringing his career total to 12, sixth-most in series history. Those winners were Cody’s Wish in the Dirt Mile Sprint and Elite Power in the Sprint.
Olympiad gave Mott further gratification. While no threat to Flightline, who confirmed his widely proclaimed greatness with an 8 1/4-length jaunt as the 2-5 favorite, Olympiad outran his 26-1 odds when closing stoutly to finish second. Ridden by Junior Alvarado, the 4-year-old Speightstown colt earned $1,020,000 for the three-way partnership of LNJ Foxwoods, Grandview Equine, and Cheyenne Stable.
Olympiad lagged well back in fifth while Life Is Good, given hot pursuit by Flightline, tore through splits of 22.55, 45.47, and 1:09.62. Once it became clear Flightline was moving on, and Life Is Good began to beat a steady fade, Olympiad just kept coming to outfinish Taiba for the place by a half-length.
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“I had a great experience even if I didn’t win,” said Alvarado.
“We had a great trip,” said Mott. “Our horse broke, he was in the game, and while those two horses were going at it down the backside, he just bided his time. He was finishing very well in the end and tried to catch the winner, but he did finish up and beat the rest of them. He ran by everybody else.
“How could you be more pleased? We’re here on the wrong year for the Classic. His race would have won some other Classics.”
Indeed, it was a terrific end to a Breeders’ Cup in which Mott had eight starters, with War Like Goddess also finishing third in the BC Turf when facing males. As something of a cherry on top, he also won the Saturday nightcap when Wakanaka stormed home to capture the Fall $350,000 Harvest Stakes, giving him three wins on the 12-race card.
Mott, a 69-year-old South Dakota native, is a two-time winner of the BC Classic, having won it with the great Cigar in 1995 and with Drosselmeyer in 2011. More so than most everyone else, he can harbor an appreciation for what Flightline accomplished Saturday.
“You have to tip your hat to the horse and the way John Sadler managed him,” he said. “That was quite a performance today.”
Meanwhile, trainer Bob Baffert was very pleased with Taiba, the 8-1 third choice. “He ran a tremendous race,” he said. “He has so much heart. He’s running against two outstanding 4-year-olds. I’m proud of him.”
Also, Rich Strike, the 80-1 winner of the Kentucky Derby in May, ran creditably when finishing fourth, another 2 1/2 lengths behind Taiba. He, too, had to come from far back when dismissed at 24-1.
“He ran a hell of a race,” said trainer Eric Reed. “There was no beating the winner, but our horse ran his race to get a piece of it. I’m proud of him one more time.”
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