You possibly can say coach Riley Mott has been ready for this second for many of his life. Mott, 33, will saddle his first Breeders’ Cup starter at this yr’s World Championships. He shall be represented by a stable contender within the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Oct. 31 at Del Mar with Grade 1 winner Argos, a 2-year-old son of Nyquist.
The Mott title wants no introduction on this business. Corridor of Fame coach Invoice Mott, Riley’s father, is a Breeders’ Cup veteran and a horseman whose general achievements might land him a spot on Mount Rushmore, if there have been a mountain sculpture devoted to horse trainers. The elder Mott has saddled 130 starters on the Breeders’ Cup for a document of 15-12-11. He ranks fifth amongst all trainers with purse earnings of $26,346,900.
Riley witnessed a very good variety of these Breeders’ Cups, first as a child enthralled with horse racing after which later as certainly one of his father’s assistants, a submit he left after 10 years to hold up his personal shingle within the fall of 2022.
Mott was only a tot when his father’s legendary Cigar glided over a muddy observe to win the 1995 Breeders’ Cup Basic by 2 1/2 lengths at Belmont Park. The horse’s accomplishments most positively have been a part of household lore.
“Breeders’ Cup has been such a giant a part of my ardour for the game and a part of my life for such a very long time,” Riley Mott stated. “I used to and I nonetheless daydream about it. Simply take into consideration the prospect of being there. Even earlier than I began working for my dad, I used to be all the time interested by what (horses) we might have for the occasion. I might simply actually sit up for it.”
Whereas working for his father, Riley did greater than his justifiable share of touring with horses to Breeders’ Cups and different massive races world wide, such because the Dubai World Cup and the Saudi Cup. He has the routine down pat and wasn’t seeking to reinvent the wheel as he ready to ship Argos from his house base at Churchill Downs to Southern California Oct. 25.
“Transport for large races is one thing I am used to, and type of have a blueprint for,” he stated, “and I understand that horses take to transport fairly properly. Not each horse is identical, however horses are fairly resilient, and so they deal with what we throw at them fairly properly more often than not.
“So far as getting ready Argos, you simply need to stick with what bought you there, stick with the conventional routine, schedule,” he added. “The horse bought himself into the place to make it to the Breeders’ Cup, so you do not actually need to do something too fancy or too cute main as much as the race.”
Argos has gained two of his three begins. Owned by a partnership headed by David Romanik, who purchased the colt again earlier this yr for $165,000 on the Ocala Breeders’ Gross sales March Sale of Two-Yr-Olds in Coaching. The Kentucky-bred gained his profession debut July 13 at Ellis Park with a half-length victory in a 5 1/2-furlong turf maiden particular weight race. Argos adopted with a third-place end Aug. 16 at Woodbine within the Hovering Free Stakes, crushed 1 3/4 lengths by race favourite Two Out Hero.
Mott ran him within the Hovering Free to set Argos up for the Sept. 13 Grade 1 bet365 Summer season Stakes, which was a Breeders’ Cup Problem Sequence “Win and You are In” occasion. That plan labored to a ‘T’ as Argos, ridden by Flavien Prat, who shall be aboard on the Breeders’ Cup, got here with a decided late cost to submit a head victory over favored European invader Wild Desert.
For Romanik — a Florida-based pari-mutuel wagering and gaming lawyer with an extended historical past in racing together with a stint as president of Gulfstream Park — Argos shall be his second Breeders’ Cup starter. He co-owned Caltech, the fifth-place finisher within the 1989 Breeders’ Cup Turf at Gulfstream Park.
Whereas companions have lately come aboard — David S. Cheekes, Deborah Okay. Dougherty, C2 Racing Steady, BAG Racing Stables, and Robert Liedel — it was Romanik who initially campaigned Argos and who chosen Mott to be his coach.
Romanik stated, “I’ve a very good pal who’s a veterinarian in Kentucky, Gregory Fox. I known as Greg and stated I need to ship this horse to a coach who solely has one barn, who has skilled with a Corridor of Fame coach, and who’s a future Corridor of Fame coach himself. It took Greg a couple of nanosecond to utter the phrases, Riley Mott.”
Mott’s enterprise has steadily grown since he saddled Unifying, his first winner and solely his third starter, Nov. 10, 2022, at Churchill Downs. Now with 60 horses in his steady and looking forward to extra, the younger coach’s profession document as of Oct. 23 stands at 97-75-83 from 610 starters with purses topping $7 million.
Argos is Riley Mott’s second Grade 1 winner following the victory of Pin Oak Stud’s World Beater within the Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes in August.
It is going to be like outdated house week on the Breeders’ Cup for the Motts. Father and son shall be reunited beneath the identical shedrow. Truthful to say that Invoice Mott’s star runner, Sovereignty , the doubtless favourite within the Basic, will get the lion’s share of the eye from the media, however that is OK by Riley, who can also be a fan of the Godolphin homebred who has captivated the racing world along with his wonderful wins this yr within the Kentucky Derby introduced by Woodford Reserve, the Belmont Stakes introduced by NYRA Bets, and the DraftKings Travers Stakes.
“To have Sovereignty at this level in my dad’s profession and this level in my life, it is simply been so wonderful as a result of he is only a once-in-a-lifetime horse,” Riley stated. “I have been actually pleased with how my dad and his workforce have dealt with the horse and campaigned him.
“We’ll attempt to catch some good vibes from Sovereignty once we are there,” he added. “It needs to be a reasonably sentimental type of week. Simply being with my dad and having our household round shall be particular. Hopefully, we are able to all have a fruitful weekend.”
