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The first Saturday of May can always help drive away the memory of nasty winter cold, politics, wars, terrorism and all the other distractions of life when the Kentucky Derby, the most famous horse race in the world, takes place.
It is the first step in the American Triple Crown for Thoroughbred horses and the beginning of reaching for that dream of all horse breeders and a place in history.
For 141 years horses have gone to the gate in the Kentucky Derby at the legendary Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, in hopes of winning the Triple Crown.
The Triple Crown has three
races of over a mile against the best horses in the world during a five week
period and is the true test of champions. In the 141 years since the Kentucky
Derby began only 11 horses have won the coveted Triple Crown. It has been 37 years since the last Triple Crown champion, Affirmed in 1978, the longest
drought ever between Triple Crown champions.
Since Affirmed won in 1978 twelve horses have won both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes but none
won the Belmont Stakes to claim the Triple Crown. The closest was Real Quiet in
1998 who lost by a nose in the Belmont. In fact, more people have walked on the moon
than there have been horses winning the Triple Crown.
Now no horse will ever be
the champion like Secretariat in 1973 who blazed to glory winning the three
races by a record total of 36 lengths. It had been 25 years since the previous
Triple Crown winner and to this day Secretariat holds the records in the Derby, Preakness, and Belmont.
As for the last winner, Affirmed, his legendary races against Alydar rank as
the best competition of all time. Alydar was the only horse to ever finish 2nd
in all three races and in the Belmont when Affirmed was going for the Triple
Crown they were nose to nose at the finish line with Affirmed winning in a
photo finish by a nose. In all three races the two horses finished just two
lengths apart.
The Kentucky Derby is the most amazing two minutes in sports and this year has one of the strongest fields in years. Here are the top five favorites with five days to go before the race.
2015 Kentucky Derby Favorites
1. American Pharoah
2. Dortmund
3. Carpe Diem
4. Frosted
5. Mubtaahij
Wednesday, April 29 will be the day the final horses are selected to run in the Derby and the draw for post positions will take place. Here are profiles of the favorites this year.
American
Pharoah
Bloodhorse.com
The
Pharoah Show Gets Rave Reviews
Not many people who watched American Pharoah breeze five
furlongs this morning could believe it when they were told he had worked in :58
2/5. The likely Kentucky Derby favorite looked as if he was on cruise control
all the way, and the final time and gallop-out seemed to contradict what
everyone was seeing.
“He looked like he was just loping out there,” said veteran trainer Phil
Thomas. “I really didn’t think he was working that fast. I’ll tell you, Bob’s
taking no prisoners this year.”
Bob, of course is trainer Bob Baffert, who has been seeing American Pharoah
work like this the past two years.
But for Justin Zayat, racing manager for Zayat Stables, a work like this was a
reality check in realizing just what kind of horse they will be sending into
the Kentucky Derby.
“Unbelievable,” he said. “It gave me chills.”
Gary Young, one of the most respected clockers and bloodstock agents in the
business, could not contain his enthusiasm. “I have been doing this for 35
years and he might be the best horse I’ve ever seen,” Young said. “He’s simply
like Michael Jordan and stays in the air like he did in his rookie year. He
stays in the air longer than any horse and you get the feeling that there’s not
one gear left, but he may have two, three or four gears.”
As for yours truly, if you had asked what he worked in, I probably would have
said around two full seconds slower than he actually did. With that long,
fluid, and (as Young noted) airborne stride, he just popped off the eighths in
:11 2/5, :11 3/5, :11 3/5, and :11 4/5 before coming home another eighth in :12
flat without even the slightest urging by jockey Martin Garcia, who barely
moved on him. He then galloped out six furlongs in 1:11 2/5 and pulled up seven
panels in 1:27. He galloped back still prancing along, and wasn’t blowing at
all coming off the track. In other words this was a freaky good work, but it’s
certainly not the first time the word ‘freak’ has been associated with American
Pharoah, who was full of himself being washed down.
“It’s pins and needles and lots of anxiety from now on,” Baffert said. “The
hard part will be containing (Ahmed Zayat). He’ll be a nervous wreck. The draw
will be the next stressful moment.”
The Zayats have experienced a good deal of frustration, not only in the
Kentucky Derby, in which they have finished second in 2009, 2010, and 2011, but
in all three Triple Crown events, losing the Preakness with Bodemeister in a
heartbreaker, and getting beat right on the wire in the Belmont Stakes with
Paynter, who led every step of the way except the final two jumps. Ahmed Zayat
considers the latter their toughest defeat. In 2012, they had the distinction,
both impressive and dubious, of finishing second in all three Triple Crown
races with two different horses.
In their three seconds in the Derby, they were beaten by 50-1 Mine That Bird in
one of the biggest shockers in Derby history; were beaten by the first horse
(Animal Kingdom) ever to win the Derby in his first start on dirt; and were
beaten by as lightly raced horse who became the first horse ever to win the
Derby from post 19.
Will this year be the payback from the Derby
gods or do they have more nasty tricks up their sleeve? After watching American
Pharoah breeze, inspiring such a wave of superlatives, another defeat would make
today’s work the Derby
gods’ ultimate tease.
For Baffert, his day was completed when his other stud, Dortmund,
arrived from California.
Now, all that is left is six days of envisioning unforgettable images and
scenarios when he unleashes these two titans.
In addition to Dortmund, two other California horses --
Firing Line and Bolo -- arrived, adding three new exciting faces to the party.
Firing Line, a classy-looking, intelligent horse, spent about 20-30 minutes
grazing, while Bolo, a powerful nearly black colt, was bedded down just across
the road in Al Stall’s barn.
Read more on BloodHorse.com: http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2015/04/26/the-pharoah-show-gets-rave-reviews.aspx#ixzz3YWKyZ1pd
Dortmund
The New
York Times
Dortmund Romps to 6-0, Rising as a Kentucky
Derby Favorite
ARCADIA, Calif. — Call it Selection Saturday — three
important prep races run in a stretch of 90 minutes to determine which horses
have a realistic chance to capture the 140th running of the Kentucky Derby next month. When it was over, there was little
doubt about the overwhelming favorite at this moment.
His name is Dortmund,
a strapping and fast colt who decimated five rivals here in the Santa Anita
Derby to remain undefeated, which was no small thing for his owner, Kaleem
Shah. Before the race, Shah said that he was not only nervous for the first
time but also thinking about history.
About two previous Kentucky Derby victors, to be exact: Smarty Jones (2004)
and Seattle Slew (1977).
“I was looking to do what Seattle Slew did when he went to the Derby 6 for
6, Smarty Jones went there 6 for 6,” Shah said. “It was critically important
that he move forward, not regress.”
Dortmund, now 6 for 6, certainly looked like them.
He overcame a stumble out of the gate to lead every step of the way in an
emphatic four-and-one-quarter-length victory. He set fast fractions: 46.36
seconds for a half-mile, and 1 minute 10.57 seconds for three-quarters of a
mile.
He finished strong, covering a mile and an eighth in 1:48.73. His rider,
Martin Garcia, looked as if he were out for a pleasure ride as Dortmund turned for home. His whip was idle
and blowing in the wind like an antenna.
“I didn’t do anything,” Garcia said. “He just dragged me around there.”
How Dortmund
won and where he did it mattered greatly. The best 3-year-old horses in the
nation have resided at Santa Anita Park, in the shadow of the San
Gabriel Mountains, for the past six months. In Dortmund’s case, he shares a trainer, Bob
Baffert, and a barn with a couple of them, American Pharaoh and One Lucky Dane.
American Pharaoh, last year’s 2-year-old champion, is the favorite to win
the Arkansas Derby
next week at Oaklawn
Park. Lucky Dane finished
second on Saturday and earned a trip to the Kentucky Derby as well.
Don’t forget about Firing Line, either. Twice previously, he has dueled
down the stretch with Dortmund,
finishing a head behind in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes and the Los Alamitos Futurity.
He then went to New Mexico
and crushed the field in the Sunland Derby.
But there will be 16 other horses lined up against
Dortmund and the California contingent at Churchill Downs.
Among them will be Frosted, who won the Wood Memorial on Saturday by going
a mile and an eighth in 1:50.31. He had shown more potential than results,
finishing fourth in the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park.
Afterward, his trainer, Kiaran McLaughlin, had throat surgery performed on the
horse to help with his airways.
“We know he has a ton of ability, and the last
race really made us scratch our heads, asking why he would go to the lead and
throw his head up and stop,” McLaughlin said. “We did everything we could to
change everything we possibly could.”
It worked.
In the Bluegrass Stakes in Kentucky,
Carpe Diem established himself as the class of the East Coast-based horses. He
has won four of his five races and impressed his jockey, John Velazquez. He
took command at the top of the stretch and rushed on for a three-length
victory.
“There wasn’t much speed in the race,” Velazquez said. “It was a nice slow
pace, and I didn’t want to fight him very much. Down the lane, I asked him, and
he responded right away.”
There is little doubt, however, that Dortmund
will be the horse to beat come the first Saturday in May. The son of the 2008 Derby winner, Big Brown, Dortmund may just follow his father, Seattle
Slew and Smarty Jones into the winner’s circle beneath Churchill’s twin spires.
Dortmund’s trainer, Baffert, has won the Derby three times before, with Silver Charm
in 1997, Real Quiet in 1998 and War Emblem in 2002. But Baffert knows better
than to get ahead of himself — he has lost with seemingly unbeatable horses,
including Point Given and Lookin at Lucky.
“The feeling is like we’ve been here before,” Baffert said. “Just enjoy the
moment because the next race is going to be the one.”
Carpe Diem
Horse Racing Nation
by Brian Zipse
Carpe Diem
Overview -
Owned by WinStar Farm and Stonestreet Stables, and trained by Todd Pletcher, Carpe
Diem currently stands as the 20-1, third choice, on the most recent 2015 Kentucky Derby future odds from Wynn Las Vegas.
With three very good juvenile performances under his belt, the good looking son
of Giant’s Causeway was one of the top two-year-olds in the nation, and his prospects to progress as a three-year-old are promising. Following his trip West, and subsequent second place run in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Carpe Diem will get a short break and winter at
Pletcher’s winter base at Palm Meadows in South Florida.
His most likely path to get to the Derby will begin at Gulfstream Park.
Race
Record (3-2-1-0) - Carpe Diem began his
racing career solidly, taking a 5 1/2 furlong maiden special weight race at Saratoga, wire-to-wire on the first day of September. Sent off as a big 7-10 favorite, the $1.6 million 2 year old in training purchase demonstrated his superiority by setting fast early fractions, before turning away a challenge early in the lane, on his way to a facile 2 ½-length score in a snappy 1:03.99.
From there, he stepped right up in both distance and class. On paper, the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity, with a field of 12, running 8 ½ furlongs, looked like a tough spot for his second career start. Carpe Diem made it look easy, though, as he stalked the early pace and grabbed control of the race on the far turn. He left the large field in his wake, after that, rolling to an eye catching 6 ¼-length romp at Keeneland.
Carpe Diem’s final start of the year came at Santa Anita in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, where he was on the other end of a 6-length plus victory, finishing second to the impressive winner, Texas Red. He uncharacteristically fell well behind early, and had to race well wide on the turn, and into the stretch, but rallied strongly down the middle of the track to get up for place money over Upstart in the final stride.
Pedigree -
Carpe Diem was purchased for $1.6 million for more than just his looks and a fast workout in front of sales watchers. Out of the graded stakes placed Unbridled’s Song mare, Rebridled Dreams, he is a half-brother to stakes winners on both sides of the Atlantic.
Grade 1 winner J.B.’s Thunder in the U.S., and Doncaster Rover, a durable multiple stakes winner in England, along with Carpe Diem, give his 14-year-old dam three stakes winners.
His sire Giant’s Causeway remains one of the world’s top sires, and on the track he displayed his class and versatility by running a strong second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in his dirt debut at the same distance and track as the Kentucky Derby. Combined with the female side of his pedigree, the ten furlongs of the Kentucky Derby would seem to be within
the scope of Carpe Diem.
Strengths - Besides the excellent racing record and pedigree already mentioned, Carpe Diem has already accomplished a few things that most juveniles never do. He has run well from three different early race positions; on the lead, close to the pace, and way back early. This tactical nature, and ability to adapt, should suit him well on the trail, as well as in a difficult race like the Kentucky Derby.
He also has already proven to travel well, having gone from New York, to Kentucky, to California, while bringing his “A” game to each region and racing surface.
Weaknesses - Not much to say here, but despite being as successful as any American trainer in the 21st century, Todd Pletcher, has had several top youngsters not hold up on the Kentucky Derby trail, and if they did make it to the first Saturday in May, the Hall of Fame trainer sports only a 2.5% winning percentage.
Frosted
NEW YORK DAILY
NEWS
Frosted earns spot in Kentucky Derby with Wood Memorial
win
Sunday, April 5, 2015
With his throat now clear,
Frosted let it be heard loud and clear that he’s a top contender for the May 2
Kentucky Derby. The gray colt won Saturday’s Wood Memorial by a convincing two
lengths at Aqueduct, earning a trip to Churchill Downs.
After tiring to fourth in the
Feb. 21 Fountain of Youth Stakes, Frosted underwent a minor procedure on the
soft palate of his throat to help clear his air path and it paid off.
“This has been a top, special
project for my team, my brother, the grooms, etc.,” said trainer Kiaran
McLaughlin, who has never saddled a Kentucky Derby winner. “We know he has a
ton of ability, and the last race really made us scratch our heads, asking
‘why?’
“He would go to the lead and
throw his head up and stop. . . . We did everything we could to change
everything that we thought went wrong, including the jockey. It all worked out
and it’s just a special win for our team.”
Racing in sixth under jockey Joel
Rosario early in the seven-horse field, Frosted began his winning move on the
turn for home, drawing even with longshot Tencendur at the top of the stretch
before pulling away late to win for just the second time from seven starts.
Frosted earned 100 Derby
qualifying points for the effort, guaranteeing him a spot in the starting gate
for the Kentucky Derby.
“He didn’t break that sharp and I
didn’t really want to send him out of there and be on the lead,” Rosario said. “He was
always there for me. I tried to get him to the outside, where he’d be
comfortable. The whole way, he was taking me. That was a very good race. I
wasn’t concerned with (Tencendur) because I know when you ask him, he’s always
there for you.”
Frosted returned $6.40, $4.50,
and $3 after running the mile and an eighth in 1:50.31 over a track rated fast.
Tencendur, sent off at 21-1, paid $15.40 and $5.60. El Kabeir was third and
paid $2.70.
Tencendur may join Frosted at the
Run for the Roses, with his 40 points likely qualifying him to go.
“I’m from Louisville
and I’d love to run in the Derby,”
trainer George Weaver said. “As long as the horse is in good shape, I’d be
inclined to go.”
Daredevil, the 2-1 post-time
favorite, pressed the early pace before tiring to fourth.
Mubtaahij
Bloodhorse.com
Mubtaahij
the X Factor in Kentucky Derby
"A variable in a given situation
that could have the most significant impact on the outcome...a noteworthy
special talent or quality... an indescribable quality; something about a person
that you cannot put your finger on."
Those are all definitions of the term
"X factor," and they all could describe Mubtaahij
in this year's Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) run May 2.
Perhaps the most relevant of those
definitions in describingMubtaahij and his chances at Churchill Downs
is the last..."something that you cannot put your finger on."
Yes, he could have a "significant
impact on the outcome," and, yes, he definitely could be "a special
talent," But if only we could put our finger on just how talented he is
and where he fits with a group of Derby horses people are calling the deepest
and most gifted in many years.
Americans, both fans and horsemen,
seem to be pretty much split down the middle on whether we have a potential
superstar on our hands who has a big shot to knock off this year's illustrious
group of 3-year-olds or whether he simply has been beating up on a slow bunch
of horses at Meydan and will not be able to match the speed of the Americans,
while competing in unfamiliar surroundings in a 20-horse field with a French
jockey on his back.
And that is why no one can really put
their finger on how he is going to perform in the Derby. And that is what makes him so
intriguing.
The son of Dubawi currently is stabled
at Arlington Park and had his first three-furlong
blowout over the Polytrack surface this morning, April 21.
Just look at some of the intangibles
we are dealing with:
* He will be the only horse in the Derby racing without
Lasix.
* In Dubai, he resided in an outdoor barn to get
fresh air because he had been prone to lung infections as a young horse, but
appears to have grown out of it and has been fine this year. But trainer Mike
de Kock said one can never sure and has continued to stable him outdoors just in
case.
* He trains without shoes and will not
be shod until race day.
* He is the only horse other than 1971
winner Canonero II to come into the Derby having already raced twice at a
distance farther than 1 1/8 miles, winning the last two legs of the United Arab
Emirates Triple Crown (the Al Bastakiya and grade II UAE Derby), both at 1 3/16
miles.
* He has already competed in a Triple
Crown series and has twice defeated a Triple Crown winner, the Southern
Hemisphere-bred 4-year-old Sir
Fever, winner of the Uruguayan Triple Crown.
* When he broke his maiden on the dirt
at Meydan as a 2-year-old, he defeated 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds, something
unheard of in this country.
* Unlike the majority of the American
horses, he has raced five times in the past four months, and keeps improving.
* In the UAE Derby, Mubtaahij
displayed a spectacular turn of foot and burst clear of his opponents, winning
by eight lengths, with jockey Christophe Soumillon looking back twice in the
final furlong. In winning the UAE Derby, he defeated horses from England, Japan,
Saudi Arabia, Uruguay, U.S.,
and Dubai.
In summation, we have an Irish-bred
horse, owned by an Arab sheikh (Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum),
trained by a South African, and ridden by a Belgian. And you're surprised you
can't put your finger on this horse?
One thing you can depend on, a lot of
people will be putting their finger on his number when they punch out their
tickets, either at the track or on their computers. And many will be doing so
because of that intangible called the unknown.
And that unknown also includes how the
colt will perform without his regular (and special) feed that is not registered
by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be permitted in the U.S.
"I think that's the most
significant thing with all the traveling," de Kock said on a national
teleconference April 21. "It's something that's out of our control, and I
understand where they're coming from. But no trainer would like to change a
regular diet going into any sort of event. The diet I've changed to is
something I do know a little bit about and have used before. But the fact is,
it's not what he's used to regularly. How much bearing that would have on his
performance, quite frankly, I'm not that sure. But from a trainer's psyche it's
not ideal, let's put it that way."
As for the decision not to use Lasix,
de Kock said. "It's purely about bleeding. As I understand things, Lasix
is there to assist known bleeders and there has not even been a suspicion of
this horse ever bleeding. I'm not sure what he'll do if given Lasix, and
because he's never bled, I'm not prepared to gamble on his performance being
altered with Lasix."
In discussing his decision to use
Christophe Soumillon instead of looking for an American jockey, de Kock said, "I
believe he will have a game plan in his mind and I don't like to interfere too
much with jockeys because I don't want to hold them to any tactics. I believe
if one employs a jockey, you can sit down and have a game plan, but there's no
race ever run on paper. So you have to really have faith in your man, and if
the game plan changes in the first 400 meters (quarter mile) of the race,
well, so be it. One just has to accept that. The reason why I have Christophe
Soumillon riding the horse is because I trust the man, I think he's a very good
jockey, and I'm going to live by the decision he makes."
What makes this story all the more
fascinating is that Mubtaahij's career on dirt nearly never happened, and most
likely only did because he was such a disappointment in his first two starts on
grass at Newmarket and de Kock had no idea what to do with him.
"He was showing us a fair bit at
home, so we were quite disappointed with his first two starts in England,"
de Kock said. "I think he was kind of immature and just wanted a little
bit of time. In fact, there was a great debate amongst us whether to take him
to Dubai or
not. We almost left him in England just to do the winter there, and then I
thought, 'What the hell, let's get him to Dubai, get a bit of sun on his back,
and see what he does.
"When he got to Dubai he just seemed to mature and enjoy
himself, so we thought let's have a crack at a maiden race (on dirt) and he
goes and wins that and just keeps improving. So it all happened by chance and
we'll just accept the result as it is."
De Kock said he is confident Mubtaahij
can handle all that is being asked of him because of his temperament.
"With his demeanor and the fact
that he's an easy horse to travel and won so well in the UAE Derby, it gave
confidence to take a crack at it," De Kock said. "But I probably
picked the worst year when it comes to the opposition, but at the end of the
day you never know.
It's a sporting event and there are never any
guarantees."
Some people in America also
are skeptical about a horse traveling this far and being able to win a grueling
race like the Kentucky Derby. But to de Kock, this is old hat.
"In South
Africa, we train in Johannesburg
and we race in Cape Town, which would roughly be
18 to 20 hours by van, and it's something we do very regularly during the Cape Town season. I'll do
it multiple times and the horses win group I races regularly. I've shipped to Hong Kong to win multiple group I races there, which is
about 12 hours door to door. It's not something that's actually foreign to us.
I've put horses on a van for eight hours and race the next day and have been
successful.
"I think the key to transporting
horses is, a) the horse has got an appetite, and b) the horse has got to take
in fluids. If you can get the balance of the two right, you've got half the
battle won," de Kock said. "An 18-hour or even 24-hour journey to a destination
to race is something that does not put us off."
As for Mubtaahij as a traveler, de
Kock said the trip to Arlington Park was about 24 hours door to door (with a
stopover in Amsterdam), and when the colt arrived he just didn't look quite the
same as when he left Dubai, according to assistant trainer Trevor Brown.
"Trevor just felt that he looked
a little bit tucked up, so I decided not to travel him down to the (Skylight) Training Center
near Louisville
as originally planned. Why put him on a van two or three days later and another
eight hours shipping. Let's just stay in Chicago
and let him recover and get used to his surroundings. We're very comfortable
with that track and we've raced very successfully at Arlington.
"So we switched plan in midstride
and I think we did the right thing, because within two or three days the horse
was just bursting out of his skin and he hasn't stopped eating and drinking,
and whatever weight he lost he put back on really quickly. As horsemen, we have
to be flexible when it comes to these kinds of things. I think the horses talk
to us."
In looking at the Derby and how
Mubtaahij's running style would fit the likely pace scenario, de Kock said,
"Given the little I know about the horses that are in there, the emphasis
in America does seem to be on speed, and he's a horse who can relax fairly well
off a hot pace and has a big kick and will be doing his best running toward the
end. Certainly I'm not there to match the American horses for speed; I don't
think we have that ability. But I do know we have the ability to get the 10
furlongs and we have the ability to come home strong the last three or four
furlongs."
De Kock feels Mubtaahij has all the
attributes to handle anything that is thrown at him in the course of the race.
"I think he needs the speed to be
on and he's a horse who has courage enough to deal with the kickback, although
I probably wouldn't want him down on the rail. We might just want to give
ourselves the easiest passage sitting a little off the gallop, maybe a little
wide away from all the trouble. In Dubai
there was a fair amount of kickback and I think if he can deal with that, he
can deal with most dirt tracks. He's got a lot of courage and a real
competitive spirit and can deal with adversity. He never lays down in a race
and I never work him in company because he's so competitive."
De Kock, however, admits the UAE Derby
set up perfectly for Mubtaahij because of the hot pace.
"They went a little too quick
early on with four horses taking each other on at a suicidal pace," de
Kock said. "It was a little crazy up front and that's why his acceleration
possibly could be a little flattering. The two Japanese horses really took each
other on and he was able to relax behind them and get the perfect trip. He does
have acceleration, though, and he does get the 10 furlongs and runs hard to the
(finish) line.
"He has the ability to sit off a
lot of speed and accelerate off that, and that's probably in his favor.
However, in America
I think we're taking on a different animal in that they can lay the speed down
and keep going. So, we have to accelerate; we can't wait for them to come back
to us."
Even coming from South Africa,
de Kock not only appreciates what the Kentucky Derby stands for and the
prestige it holds around the world, it is a race in which he has always dreamed
of competing.
"It doesn't matter what country
you come from, they Kentucky Derby has proven it's the greatest, and if it
isn't, you tell me which one is. To be part of that is something very special
to us. We're not going with a 100-1 shot, and it would be fantastic if he ran
well. It is mind-boggling to think about it and I don't believe it will all
settle in until we're actually there and see the real scenario and all the
spirit around it all.
The name Mubtaahij translates to
"elated," which is most appropriate, considering what de Kock feels
having a horse like this and being able to embark on such a special journey.
"I don't think I'll be
disappointed and I hope to gain everything out of it that I expect," he
said. "It's something that has been an ambition and a dream since I was a
very young man in this industry, and I'm really honored and privileged to
realize that dream."
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