NA Cup: read all about it

June 14, 2007

There were plenty of things said at Tuesday's draw for the Pepsi North America Cup, and here are what a few of the connections had to say as they made their observations:

Co-owner Myron Bell, about favored Yankee Skyscaper (PP2, 2-1):

�I wouldn�t say he�s (Yankee Skyscaper) a stone-cold closer--he�s not one-dimensional. The number two post position is next best to numbers three and four. We wanted the number three spot but since we didn�t get that choice, this is the next best.

�He stepped up a notch at the qualifier. Now he�s going to have to step up another notch.
�He�s a winning horse; it just depends on (how it goes) on Saturday.

�He came from a very tough spot in the qualifier. (Driver) George (Brennan) was very happy with him, and more importantly, he stayed relaxed.

�Mohawk is like his home track right now, so that�s a real advantage for us.�

(Bell has an interest in Tell All as well): �I put a group together and Tell All was one of the horses we purchased. I�m going to root for both equally, and may the best horse win.�

Driver Jody Jamieson, about second choice Tell All (PP3, 3-1):

�I think he�s got a great shot. Even if it doesn�t set up great for me, I think my horse will be able to overcome some adversity. Obviously, I�m going to try to work out a perfect trip, but if it doesn�t work out, I think he�s still a good enough horse to overcome that.

�I�m sure they�re going to be racing on the front end. You�re going for a million five. There will be a lot of tussling trying to get positioned early. That�s why I picked post three. I don�t want to get too involved, too early. I hope to be fifth, sixth or seventh early.

�You definitely don�t want to be boxed in. You�ve got to just play it by ear and see how the race goes.

�He can close like any good horse ever has. So hopefully he�s coming into the race 100 percent.

�Most definitely at Mohawk, that last turn is a lot bigger (than Woodbine). You can afford to be third-over there and still have a chance in the stretch. But obviously, you don�t want to be too far back.�

Scott Petherick, assistant trainer for Mark Harder, about third choice Sutter Hanover (PP4, 7-2):

�He�s had races three weeks in a row. It looked like he was flat (in the elim), but the horse wasn�t any flatter or any worse than last week. It might have looked like that and the time might have looked like that but the horse came out of the race perfect.

�He hasn�t really seen any horse beside him. He�s done it all on his own and he�s one of the only ones in the race who has been able to move three or four times in a race and still be able to hold on. So, he�s really, to me, the horse to beat.

�The other horse (Artriverderci) got to his wheel and that�s about it. It looked a little scary there for awhile, but at the end of the day, he held him off. As soon as he heard the horse, he took off again.

�The four hole was (driver) Dave Miller�s choice. He�s been raced on the front end and that�s really not his type of race. He can do it but he�s better off stalking them. With these big races, you always need luck because everybody�s out there.�

Trainer Rene Laarman, about Artriverderci (PP10, 10-1):

�Not much to talk about there (post position 10). I don�t know what�s going to happen. I�ll leave that up to (driver) John (Campbell).

�He was good in the (New Jersey) Classic. He was crawling over horses down the lane and had nowhere to go.

�The horse has been great, terrific since the elim. I�m sure John will work something out.�

Trainer James "Friday" Dean, about Domitian Hanover (PP5, 20-1):

�I was real happy with him (a third-place finish to Sutter Hanover in his elim). He had a touch of a virus a few weeks ago. If we were going to race (in the Cup), we had to kind of cram some training in there and hopefully he stayed healthy.

�I knew we were going to be a little short on conditioning (for the elim), but it�s what we had to go with.

�I knew in the qualifier he was going to be a little short. I only got to train him once in two weeks. It wasn�t that big a deal. I figured we just needed an easy trip and if we got in the final, great. We�ll be better for it this week. I was happy to hear that (post five).

�(Driver) Mark (MacDonald) did a good job with him the first night he raced him and the owners wanted him back.�

Trainer Scott Bell, about Watta Hotshot (PP6, 20-1):

�I couldn�t have picked a better one (post position) � number four, five, or six is where you want to be.

�He (Watta Hotshot) has been sick. He�s still a little bit sick but he�s been back eating the last couple of days, so he�s on the way back, knock wood. I pulled blood before we entered the qualifier, and his white cell count wasn�t good, it wasn�t bad, so we decided to take a shot. He never eats for a few days after he ships anyway.�

(On how he expects the race to shape up): �I think there are six or seven horses in there with a good shot at winning. I don�t think there�s one dominant horse at this point. It�s almost anyone�s game in these big races. It takes luck. Honestly, (Watta Hotshot) would have to get lucky to win, but you don�t have to win to do well. I�m here to get a piece of it.

�It�ll be a great race for people to watch anyway.� (WEG)

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