Ripley Marsh: Part One & Part Two

[Ripley]

"Thank you Ripley Marsh for being here today. I didn't think we'd ever get you in here for an interview, but here you are." -IV

"Oh I was conned into this by my jock, Reese Balling Jones. She was your media darling last year, seems that she once considered a life as a reporter. I'm much happier that she decided to switch careers and join my team." - RM

The interviewer laughs, "I bet. It's not often a jockey sweeps the Turf Triple Crown with a filly who would never have been considered a standout as a two year old."

"The promise was there though. You could see it. It was just a matter of time before Bella Luna clicked and realized what she was meant to be doing. And obviously she clicked. Her campaign last year was one of the best I had ever seen." - RM

"It was a spectacular year and she pretty much moved to the top of the female division. She obviously ranks up alongside your other sensation, Cross My Heart." - IV

"We did get pretty lucky all and all. Hard to believe that they're now four year olds. They were just two year olds it seems. All of them: Mastermind, Cross, Bella, Hokum, GS Royal Crown, Red Herring, my core will be retiring after this season. GS Royal Crown will be retiring October after the Sword Dancer Stakes. Hokum possibly August after the Pegasus Stakes. And Red Herring is actually leaving Witch Creek temporarily." - RM

"Wow. You're making big plans aren't you? Where's Red Herring going?" - IV

"Last year I took a shot with Valkyrie Stables and Flawed Princess. This year I will be taking that shot with Firestone Racing and Red Herring. He's really developed well, but he needs a change of scenery to get some of that fire back into him. I think they are the perfect ones to do it too. They've done very well with the one excellent horse that was handed to them in Flying Solo. I think giving them a grade one winner will put them on the map, and I'm all about future business partners." - RM

"It is a pretty good plan. You're older horse division will be a shell of itself come Breeders' Cup time. Aren't you worried?" - IV

"Not in the least," Marsh said, cocking her eyebrow. "Not in the least. I don't count Mastermind, Cross My Heart, Bella Luna or my up coming mares Dirty Diana and Calamity Queen as shells. If anything we'll have an excellent contingent for the Breeders' Cup at the end of the season. You're not including The Devil's Hourglass, Paranormal Hunter, Supernatural. Or In Front, Optimus Unstoppable, Wishing For A Heroine, Prima Donna. Hardly a shell of ourselves. Just sweeping out the generation and bringing in a new one. I can assure you we'll still be competitive even though racing in the juvenile ranks has gotten tougher." - RM

"Think you can duplicate seven Breeders' Cup victories this year?" - IV

"Oh God, I don't even know how we pulled it off the first time. We just had a really tremendous group, several of the horses running this year, my core three, will be back to try to it again. Frozen Motion, Dazzling Dame and Feline Frenzy are gone so my old hats obviously aren't going to be accompanying me." - RM

"Miss them do you?" - IV

"If I wasn't wary of her possibly getting hurt, and if Dazzling Dame wasn't pregnant with the final DW Flamekissed foal, I'd bring her back out and run her another time in the Filly and Mare Turf Series in the fall. She just aced it when she was on. Frozen Motion, I probably would not. He owes nothing to anyone. He was a tremendous racehorse, will most likely be a tremendous stallion. He became a Champion here at The Wire. As far as I'm concerned that is a career well-ended." - RM

"And you said DW Flamekissed's final foal?" - IV

"Yes we pensioned him from stud duty. He reached seven foals and most of them are two year olds and younger. Out of that bunch, champions will be created by their respective stables. We have two of them ourselves: a Dare To Dream yearling colt and a Glorious Storm weanling filly. Glorious Storm is a full sibling to Sand Storm, the sire of The Devil's Hourglass. Flamekissed became more of a riding horse so that is what his job will be now that he won't be receiving visits from mares." - RM

"And your youngest foals? What do they look like?" - IV

"Let's leave something to the imagination. But I can tell you of the couple that have been born already, I may be seeing the second coming of a power house line up." -RM

"Well, then I can't wait for Year Fifteen. Thank you for coming in." -IV

"It was no problem at all." - RM

[Ripley]

"So we have the intriguing, if not mysterious, Ripley Marsh back in today for the second portion of her interview." -IV

"Thanks for having me back." -RM

"So we covered some of your racing string last time, but have noted in the last few days that you have transferred Midnight Thriller back to Akita Rose Stables." - IV

"Yes. We have a cooperative partnership with Kirsten Jade and her staff. Midnight Thriller belongs to them more than me. I only step in for when Akita Rose Stable's is experiencing difficulties. There is a possibility Midtee returns, but she'll still remain with Akita Rose Stable's colors. I'll merely be her trainer during that frame of time." - RM

"Do you think Midnight Thriller will ever be as great as Eternal Phantom?" - IV

"I don't see why not. If she comes into her own, and she is showing signs of doing so, I think so. Eternal Phantom has been more precocious. Midtee is more of a long term, marathon runner. Akita Rose Stables may have different plans for her. But I hear you can ask Kirsten Jade herself since you're interviewing her." - RM

"Ah, as prickly as ever." - IV, laughs jokingly.

Ripley smirks, "Of course."

"So tell us about your three year old roster. You have several top end fillies most notably The Devil's Hourglass, Paranormal Hunter and Supernatural. The latter two are both grade two and Supernatural looks like she's just knocking at the door. She is undefeated so far." - IV

"Yes she is. She's been absolutely brilliant in her workouts, reminds me a bit of Bella Luna, but she was always at the top of the class even at two, where Bella was not. Supernatural looks to be our top Kentucky Derby horse since El Sol Del Mar going into the race. Siri may do better in the Preakness, but the Kentucky Derby is the main goal at this point. And then there's always the Belmont Stakes. She could run in the whole series and put in a trio of absolutely wonderful performances." - RM

"It sounds like you have a lot of confidence in her." - IV

"Oh definitely. She's only improving which is scary." - RM

"And how are The Devil's Hourglass and Paranormal Hunter fairing?" - IV

"Oh just wonderful. You might as well add Prima Donna into the mix. Everyone forgets her, but I think she has performed just as well as her counterparts of late. She's one win away from grade three and she looks to be fiercer than ever." - RM

"Any problems with Hourglass or Para?" - IV

"Not as of this morning. Both are in great health, both are training and galloping like fiends. Both of them have a bit of time before they're going to run again. Resting them up for the Turf Triple Crown and Turf Triple Tiara." - RM

"Good, good. So tell us of your latest three year old acquisitions." - IV

"In Front and Lethal Dose, I take it?" - RM

"Yes those two. You have quite a sudden contender in In Front. And Lethal Dose was impressive enough last out after that poor first start." - IV

"In Front is still not going to the Derby even after his impressive performances of late. He is on a bit of a roll and will contest the Louisiana Derby, but he's still putting things together. Maybe the Belmont. Canadian Triple Crown is where he is going, so he may make a couple of turf starts while everyone else is running the Triple Crown and Turf Triple Crown. Lethal Dose is Laura's project. The goal is to get her to the Triple Tiara and she is quite an impressive filly up close. She has such a tremendous attitude when it comes to training. She puts up workouts that just surprise me. She'll have this race in the Youpeeline Derby and then have a rest week, though at some point in that time she'll be working out with Cross My Heart." - RM

"Wow, Cross My Heart?" - IV

"She needs a target. It'll be an interesting workout to say the least." - RM

"So after your tremendous season last year winning two legs of the Dirt Sprinter Crown and the Turf Sprinter Tiara, do you think you'll have a repeat this year with Optimus Unstoppable and Wishing For A Heroine?" - IV

"We shall see. I believe the Dirt Sprinter Crown will be tough because we all know Crowned Queen is likely to go there. She's been beating the boys with regularity, even though this season's seemed to be slow. Heroine might have a chance depending on who shows up for the Turf Sprinter Tiara. Both are relatively young horses still making up for the experience they lost at age two." - RM

"Optimus is almost grade four and Heroine a grade four already. They could come along faster than you think." - IV

"Oh I have no doubt." - RM

"So tell me about your juveniles and how they're handling the surprising competitive nature of this racing season." - IV

"Well I guess it depends which juvenile you want. Both Saintly Touch and Spotlight Pride have handled the competition with aplomb. Both have completely different temperaments. Saint is more of a thinker and Pride is more of a reactor. We have no plans to change that because it's working." - RM

"And out of your fillies?" - IV

"Oh Nirvana is definitely the top of this filly class. She is such a professional filly where the other have a bit more growing up to do. But Taboo is really starting to get her act together and she is definitely turning into a classy Turf Tiara prospect for next season." - RM

"Casualty of War, Sun King and Vagabond?" - IV

"Sultan is more physical than any two year old I've had my hands on. He is brilliant and ferocious. He has tremendous heart. Sun King and Vagabond, who is still a maiden, are both learning how things to do. Sun King will have comparisons drawn due to being nearly a physical carbon copy of Mastermind, but he's definitely different. He's more physical than Mastermind was, more brawn than brains. He's only bound to get better as he gets older. It's only distance limitations that are keeping him out of the races."

"What a low down on your stock. I'm looking forward to seeing some future success from your corner. Thanks for your time and good luck with the rest of the season." - IV

"Don't miss next week's edition. We will be interviewing a representative of Akita Rose Stables where we will find out how they are fairing after what was a rather lengthy leave." - IV