Original subtitles

.

(film reel whirs)

(overlapping chatter)

- Just do the best you can, that's all.

Come back safe and sound.

Yeah, you pet him there and talk to him.

I do it for the love of the horses,

You know, I've been the type of person all my life

that's never really had anything,

but I think I wake up every day because of the horses.

This is Dr. Sheehy, this is the owner.

- We have a disease called, I want to win every time.

- I have that one, too.

That's a tough one to have in this game, too, I tell you that.

- [Announcer] The horses are approaching the starting gate.

(upbeat brass music)

- Here we are, (mumbles).

See, watch how hard the jockey's riding him to get him out.

- [Announcer] Gaelic Glory broke well,

so did Rented Cop, on the far side, we have--

- [Carl] Stay up for second, stay up for second.

- [Woman] Second, he held on to second there.

- Yeah, he held on for second.

In this business, you have to win, or you die.

- He's pretty young as a trainer,

and so whether he places the horses properly

in the right races, I don't know,

yet I think he's still learning that.

- Success breeds success, and everybody wants success,

nobody wants to be attached to losers.

(dramatic percussive music)

- [Announcer] And away they go, lightening from the stalls.

- [Carl] Come on, King, come on, my King!

- [Patrick] The goal is to win anywhere, any time, period.

(auctioneer chanting)

- When I came to California, I had decided

to go out on my own and be a trainer,

and I met Patrick Sheehy, I didn't know who he was,

but I knew he had horses in training,

with different trainers at the time.

He named his horses, some of them had Irish names,

so you always keep an eye on those type of things.

- So he asked me if I'd give him a horse.

(* piano music)

It's a very difficult business,

and very difficult to make a living at it.

Their success is dependent totally

on their understanding how good or how bad their horse is,

and then you need to win races, period.

And then the race track provides you with options.

A maiden race, a claiming race at different levels,

an allowance race, or a stakes race.

And then the stakes races are subdivided

into Group 1, 2s, and 3s.

A Group 1 is for the top athletes amongst the population,

the best horses in that year's population of horses.

And the trainers, again, pick out where they think their horse belongs.

- It wasn't too much long after that

that Carl told me, "Hey, doc, this is a real horse."

And, you know, we hear that every day,

we hear it from every trainer

every day when a new horse comes in the barn.

And so I thought, okay, Carl, I hear you, sure.

(* dream-like piano music)

Just get him to run in the track,

and if you can win a race, I'll be thrilled.

- [Announcer] And they're off, Kinsale King, Delta Storm,

and Mr. Catched, these three ride across the track.

- I did not know Carl O'Callaghan until he won a race

at Hollywood in December.

I started to do a little research into who he was

and what his background was.

When he won that race, I said, "Wow,"

I'd better keep this guy on my radar.

- I said, hell, this kid can train.

- Carl kept telling me, "Doc, every day,

"put $5.00 in a sock, you gotta bet on this horse,"

and again, if I bet every time I heard that, I'd be broke.

- And then he won a race in Santa Anita,

that's a Group 2.

- When we top of the stretch, I ask him to go,

and he just take off.

- [Announcer] Kinsale King, all heart,

and Kinsale King has won it.

- He just went about four or six length, and wow.

- [Announcer] The official winner of the Grade 2 Palos Verdes Handicap,

number eight, Kinsale King.

- And then we got invited to Dubai, and that's a Group 1.

(* dramatic orchestral music)

- [Announcer] This is the Dubai World Cup,

the richest night in racing.

- Dubai was started by Sheik Mohammed Al Maktoum,

and he wanted to bring the best of the best together

once a year, and let the best horses take on each other.

- [Announcer] The next race, race five,

is the Dubai Golden Shaheen, and let's check the runners

and riders, number seven is Kinsale King,

the winner of his last three straight in California.

- Carl O'Callaghan, you've got the entire country

of the US riding on your shoulders,

we've had so much success in this race,

have you ever felt pressure like this?

- Let's just let the ball roll and see where we're at,

see what happens when the gate opens.

I'm just trying to get it over with now.

- Carl, the US is rooting for you, good luck.

- Thanks very much.

- [Announcer] And they're just about ready to run now,

The first of the Group 1s.

They're racing in the Dubai Golden Shaheen.

And Benbaun and One World quickly away,

Rocket Man began well, is now mastering base,

and there is Japan's Laurel Guerreiro,

tearing out of the pack to go

to the front as they go past the 1,000 meters mark.

Kinsale King, going up deep, Rocket Man is a length away.

(* dramatic orchestral music)

One World on the fence as Kinsale King hit the lead

from Laurel Guerreiro, Mutheeb,

Rocket Man is now getting room,

One World going for the same split--

- Come on, King, come on, King, come on, King!

- [Announcer] Kinsale King in front, past the 200,

Rocket Man and One World are giving chase,

Kinsale King in front, Rocket Man's coming,

the post is looming up, Kinsale King in front,

straight round the bend, doesn't matter, USA.

Kinsale King beats Rocket Man, One World third,

Eagle Falls dashed home to be on the heels

of the place getters, followed by Laurel Guerreiro.

- We won!

(audience cheers)

Unbelievable. All the pressure's off.

It's great for America, and great for home,

and we miss you all at home.

We're coming, we're coming home with the flags.

- [Announcer] So congratulations to Carl O'Callaghan,

terrific training performance,

coming back into the winner's enclosure.

- [Announcer] Great night for the States.

- Got him right in his mind, and my goodness,

this horse has talent, as you just saw.

He can do anything.

I think he is numero uno in the world.

(* slow music)

(* upbeat music)

- Good morning, everybody,

welcome to the National Racing Report.

- [Announcer] It would be hard

to say there was a bigger event

than the Dubai World Cup that took place at Dubai,

at the Meydan racetrack this weekend.

- [Announcer] And just like that,

we're welcoming our guest on Grandstand,

Kinsale King, who we saw in Dubai,

establishing himself as one of the best sprinters

in the world, and it all started here

in Southern California

for Kinsale King, his trainer, Carl O'Callaghan joins us live

on the set, Carl, thanks so much

for stopping by, how are you?

- Thanks very much, guys, good to be here.

- Here's a trainer that two months ago,

nobody had ever heard of.

And two months later he wins the Dubai Golden Shaheen.

- Everyone had heard how this guy is in his first year

of training, is really new to the game,

and how he had won in Dubai,

and everyone was amazed, and, you know,

it just doesn't normally happen like that.

- Well, he was, like myself, an exercise rider

in New York area, and we met and became friends,

and then I disappeared and came to California,

and pretty soon, Carl showed up.

He actually had ambition.

It's a good thing that he did try,

cause it's a very difficult job,

not just training horses, but running a business.

Well, we've been fortunate, and now

that we're up and running, and everything's good,

we owe a lot of it to Kinsale, obviously,

'cause he's the horse that's actually put Carl on the map.

- This is a story about a horse,

this is a story about a trainer,

this is a story about, you know, magic happening.

- [Carl] I believe that Kinsale King wins for us.

He's doing it for me, and doing it for the owner,

that I do believe, yeah, and his groom.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] Yeah, he says, one of the best friends,

one of his best friends. -Yes.

- He's our friend, more so than anything else,

we love him to death here,

we'd just be fortunate to have him.

- [Carl] Were you here the morning Kinsale King ran in Dubai?

Were you working for me then?

(speaking in foreign language)

- All the people screaming when they hear her, the screaming,

the people on the other side is screaming,

and the people on this side screaming at the same time,

he make all the people, you know, together in one side,

one crowd, yeah.

- [Interviewer] Everyone became one, right?

(* slow piano music)

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] The money, she sends it to Mexico,

'cause she's got a daughter with cancer.

- I send it to my home, because I got people working

in my home in Mexico, in Mexico, I got my own property,

and I got people working for me in Mexico.

- I cash my check, and I save all my money,

and then I put it in the bank, and I don't want

to spend my money, I just save it.

When I get old, I don't want to work.

- I didn't come into this game

for any other reason than a spiritual one,

so just being with the horses, it doesn't matter

if they're good, or they're bad, or anything.

This is it, this is what I've always wanted to do.

*

- I've accomplished a lot in 12 months,

I made a great friend in Dr. Sheehy,

I know I can go to him for anything,

I met a great horse, and, you know,

I've got a great team behind me.

I just think that if I could just keep doing

what I'm doing, and just, you know,

wake up every day, and do the right thing

by the animal, then I'll be happy.

- [Interviewer] How has your life changed since Dubai?

- It's changed, we got some new horses in the barn,

and Kinsale's doing a lot better, and ready to go again.

- [Interviewer] Next up is Royal Ascot

for Kinsale King, and the Golden Jubilee.

- Yeah, we want to cross over to the other side

of the Atlantic, and head over to England, to Royal Ascot.

And we got the invitation to Ascot.

(* dramatic orchestral music)

- The race in England is part of the Global Sprint Challenge.

You put the best English horse against the best American,

Australian, a horse from Hong Kong, Singapore, all together,

so that you know you have the ultimate best.

And they have a massive bonus,

if you win two in one continent.

- Well, Carl had a plan, which was quite unusual.

- You know, a lot of people look at it

as one race at a time, but it's not.

(* dramatic orchestral music)

Trainers manage their business for the future.

- If he wins at Ascot,

we're onto several other international countries

to race for a million, two million.

- Our main goal is to get back to Dubai on March 27th,

in which, I think right now we've got a huge chance of getting there.

- This is the first time in the United States

where somebody had mapped this incredibly ambitious route

out for themselves, and identified these opportunities.

- It's usually a very difficult sell

to an American horseman about possibly going to Europe,

because they're scared about the ship.

And I'll never forget, Carl said,

"Oh, we definitely want to go to Ascot,

"there's no question about it."

By that time, I had found out

that Carl O'Callaghan is actually from Ireland.

And that kind of was a good thing, as far as I was concerned,

because if you're around Irish racing, you're very familiar

with all of the important races all through Europe.

(* slow piano music)

- So I came to America when I was 16.

A lot of people back then, in the '90s,

were talking about coming to America,

so I decided to venture this way.

You know, I come from a small town in Ireland,

and nothing happens there.

Nobody comes out of County Clare.

I think it was just time for me to move on.

My parents were going through a separation,

so I think it was just time for me to get away.

*

When I first came, I came to New York,

I met a family called John and Sue Fatler,

on a farm, stayed there briefly,

breaking the yearlings and two-year-olds and stuff.

*

- The fact that he's coming to America,

learning it the hard way.

*

- You know, I was struggling, I mean,

like everybody was, you know, just trying to make ends meet,

three or four horses, trying to feed them.

*

Then I ventured to Belmont to the race track,

where I met Johh Kimmel.

I was with him for seven or eight years,

and then ventured onto Pletcher's barn another eight years.

- How long ago, and how long did you work

for Todd Pletcher, Carl?

- About three years ago, I ended with Todd

when I came out to California.

But I was with Todd for many years,

I learned a lot from him.

He says, "I can't believe you won a race in Dubai already."

- So he went, when he was young,

and got into the best trainers,

and learned their systems and methods.

- [Interviewer] Where's the horse now?

- The horse is back at Hollywood.

- He's at Hollywood, okay, so he's back here,

and then you'll ship out to Royal Ascot,

and train for that. - Correct.

- I guess the first time I realized

that Carl was totally serious about wanting to come was

when he said he was gonna bring a second horse with him,

Leaving New York.

- We think this horse, Leaving New York, has big potential.

Once we get him in the gate against anybody,

we think he would have a good shot at beating anybody.

- Ultimately, it was only a few weeks later that he said,

"No, the second horse isn't gonna make the trip."

But Kinsale King was going.

- We gotta go, 'cause the track's gonna close.

- [Stephen] And then Carl hatched a plan,

he was gonna go train in New York.

(* upbeat guitar music)

- East Coast to the West Coast,

driving down the road here with my favorite owner in New York City.

Yeah, we got a long day ahead of us.

King is in good shape, hey, listen, in my office over there,

that form I was telling you about yesterday,

the Board of Health with British Racing Authority,

can you fax that for me to London?

I faxed it twice, and they're not receiving it from me.

If you get a chance, can you try sending it from your office?

All right, thanks, Keith, bye.

This is like home for me.

I never thought I would be back at Todd's barn.

It's nice to come back home and come back like this, you know?

- The reason we Belmont was because

he had never run on the grass before.

He was going to run on the grass in Ascot,

so we decided we'd give him a workout on grass in Belmont.

And if he didn't handle very well, we were gonna bring him home.

- You really have to, like, look into the minutiae,

the way they present it in England,

to realize that he had not ever run on turf.

- You're never gonna be able to get a horse

to like every surface.

And the number of horses who have wins on dirt

and synthetics and turf is pretty limited.

- One surface is not the same as the other surface,

it was certain a concern

that you're betting a horse who's never won a grass race,

to win arguably the toughest grass race in the world.

But when I heard that they got Kieren Fallon,

I was like, okay, that's a good step.

- Well, this morning, we flew in Kieren Fallon from Europe,

one of the champion riders back home.

He's actually from my county back home.

So we have an Irish jockey, Irish trainer, with an Irish owner.

But I tell you what, if he wins, we'll take him home for a pint.

At the local church, won't we?

- [Kieren] He's really talking to you, isn't he?

Double O! (speaking in foreign language)

(overlapping chatter)

- [Man] Is that the one that won in Dubai? - [Carl] Yeah.

- Hey, congratulations, buddy.

- [Kieren] He's going to England.

- I want to break the trip up,

because it's too long, if you fly one direction.

At least here, you can stop for a couple days, relax.

- [Kieren] And then relax here.

- [Carl] It all worked out,

it's good to be back here for a couple days, see everybody.

It'd have to be tough over there, I would think in England, you know, sprinting?

Hugh? Then back to Dubai to see the Sheik.

Ready to run fast, buddy?

Everything good?

- [Woman] You been in California?

- [Carl] Yeah.

- [Woman] How is it, good?

- [Carl] Living the dream.

- [Man] You go to the main track, right?

- The morning that they were going to work him

on the grass, it had rained the previous night,

so we couldn't work him on the grass,

we had worked him on the dirt again.

(* mid-tempo percussive music)

Thanks for coming out, I appreciate it.

- See you there, okay?

- Thanks, Kieren.

He's impressed.

And he thinks that he felt real good over the track,

and doesn't think he'll have a problem with the turf.

And we just hope we get a good, safe trip,

and that's all we can do.

- I just flew in yesterday morning,

rode him here in the track, and I go back this evening,

and I arrive at Heathrow on Friday at 6:30.

(speaking in foreign language)

- Thank you.

- [Interviewer] Well, you know the Royal Ascot,

and you know what it takes to win there.

- Well, obviously he's proved himself in Dubai at the World Cup meeting,

and he's gonna be the one they all have to beat, I think.

- I'm a horsey paparazzi.

The opportunity to photograph him, a West Coast super horse,

coming to Belmont, here I am.

- Kieren was very satisfied with him,

we're getting him used to the turf.

It's so nice, 'cause in LA, we don't have any grass.

I usually buy the grass at Home Depot,

and bring it in in slabs.

Back on a plane tomorrow, at two o'clock

in the morning, off we go again, on our little adventure.

- How is he able to withstand all this shipping?

He's become a real globetrotter now,

and still able to perform at such a high level.

- Yeah, I just think he's got a lot of heart,

you know, and he's more like of a senior citizen.

- Kinsale King is the ultimate traveler,

he's just so low key.

- Some horses don't travel well, so horses like the King,

that's one massive strong point of his, he loves the game,

and he loves just going on a flight, or a truck.

- [Carl] We'll load everything up at

about four o'clock, get on the van at 4:30,

the airport have a quarantine cell,

and there, he'll be checked by the USDA,

and probably have blood drawn.

And they spray him down there with special spray,

like a disinfectant, every time you go in and out of the country,

make sure he's not carrying anything.

They get a partition stall, 10x10, or 10x8,

King always lays down, so as soon as the plane's

in the air, he's laying down, fast asleep,

he's out for the count.

- He got in the plane fine, and he flew,

and all the horses were going crazy,

but he was just so relaxed, he loved it.

And he turned around the opposite way

when we took off, and then he put his butt against the wall

when we were landing.

(airplane roars)

(* slow guitar music)

- Horse racing is well known as being the sport of kings,

and yet, we may not be kings, we have survived

in horse racing from 1944.

- [Patrick] We've been buying horses for 40 years,

and one of the things we learned was even if you buy a horse

with good pedigree, quite often they turn out

to be very bad, and we knew there was something more

than just conformation and pedigrees.

- How do you go to a horse sale with 600 horses for sale,

and stop buying the bad ones?

- Doc is a little different, he picks his own horses out,

he doesn't rely on bloodstock agents,

or others to pick 'em out, him and his brother go

to the sales together.

- One is a doctor, one is an ex-bank manager,

but their common interest is horses,

horse breeding, and they're good at it.

- We go to all the sales.

(auctioneer chanting)

We analyze the catalogs pretty carefully,

and we pick out the horses that fit our profile.

Denis is a banker, and bankers are good at figures,

so he developed a system.

- We do a special research in genetics.

We can prove 3% of progeny of the top 1%

of stallions in America, which is about 45 stallions,

would produce a group one winner.

- [Patrick] Kinsale King was one of the first of those.

- [Announcer] Doesn't matter, USA,

Kinsale King, beat Rocket Man.

- The system that Sheehy is doing, his number system,

Kinsale King was actually bought from that system,

and this year, looking at our crop

for next year, they look really promising,

Leaving New York was a $25,000.00 horse,

you try and buy low, win high.

- All of these systems, they're not 100% guaranteed.

It just gives you a break,

it gives you a higher percentage chance

of getting a nice horse for a smaller price.

(* slow piano music)

- I remember when I was younger,

my dad would always ask his friends

if they wanted to buy a piece of a racehorse,

one fifth of the racehorse, half of a racehorse,

we used to joke, "the ear, the leg,

"the butt, what part do you own?"

He was always trying to get friends

of his to buy a piece of a racehorse,

because he couldn't afford them on his own.

- Some of these stables will spend five and six,

10 and 12 million dollars a year on young horses,

but he doesn't do that, and after all these years,

to come up with the world class horse, now, that says a lot.

(auctioneer chanting)

- I remember it well, at Barrett's in Pomona,

at a breeze up sale,

we looked at all the horses at their sales,

and decided that Kinsale looked like a potential champion.

- He had nice chest, nice shoulder,

nice buttocks, good loin, his legs were straight,

he was just a very nice looking athlete.

Good horses sort of tell you that they're good, they do something.

He had a rhythm to his gallop.

But he was slow, I mean, as a two-year-old,

he was slow, and we knew we could get him cheap,

because when you go to a two-year-old sale,

if you can't run fast, you sell cheaply.

But that didn't bother us.

- He wasn't the hot horse in the sale,

he's not popularly bred, he's by a,

not a commercially popular stallion.

- We bought him at the sale, because one,

he was a very good conformation; two,

our budget for his price was acceptable.

- We are sort of playing a rich man's games

with nickels and dimes.

I had been naming all my horses before

that after my two kids, and I said,

"Denis, you go ahead and name him," and then Denis said,

"Let's call him Kinsale King," after the hometown.

Kinsale's my home town, it's a small town

in the south of Ireland, very pretty town.

And that was a very good name, so we took it right away.

- Frank has always been the mad uncle,

tucked away in a corner of America,

working on the project, and the project is,

the horse - Horses.

- Find the horse, is this one the horse?

Maybe, maybe not, I don't know, it's done well,

but it might not be the horse.

- [Arlene] Oh, he doesn't like bananas,

I don't like bananas.

- [Frank] Different to Hollywood Park, isn't it? (laughs)

- [Woman] Oh, my gosh.

- And he said yes.

- You're like, how much champagne have I had to drink?

- [Patrick] That's how it started.

- I won't sleep tonight, probably, but I'm ready,

he's ready, I'll be more comfortable

when he gets his shoes on him.

You ready for us Judd?

- [Patrick] He runs on special shoes,

and this guy made the shoes, so he wanted

to make sure he put 'em on properly, for a 70 second race.

- [Carl] I've got my veterinarian,

my blacksmith, my owner.

- If a human compares having a crack in the fingernail

to the horse having a crack in the foot,

I mean, it's so painful just to have a crack

in the fingernail, and then if you think

about doing a handstand on that finger,

I mean, it's exquisitely painful.

- It's about a month, hasn't it?

Did you see how far it's grown down?

It wasn't like that when you left, that's awesome.

- It's our own design. - No way, you designed it?

- Yeah, we call it the Kinsale King shoe.

- They had to be perfect fit,

not like the high heels that we wear.

- [Woman] Excited.

- [Patrick] Yeah.

- [Woman] His new shoes on, he's got his--

- [Patrick] New shoes.

- Oh, my gosh, I know.

- Not at all. - I know.

- [Patrick] He recognized, beyond two other trainers,

that this horse had enormous talent, and proved it.

- When you have a massive stable,

sometimes you just can't get the best out of a horse,

and when you can devote the time

to eight or 10 horses versus 60 or 70,

working with some massive operations,

big business, sometimes you miss the little things.

With Kinsale, Carl has been able to find the little things

in this horse that are just a little bit better than some

of the bigger operations.

- His unorthodox way of training a horse,

he's got so many problems with his feet and stuff,

I mean, you have to do something that makes it work.

And he's taken the time to figure that out, and to do it,

and it's worked.

- He was born with issues, and maybe,

maybe I took the time to find out the issues,

and fix 'em, and that's why he produced to be a good horse.

I don't know, but we just took care of him.

- You know horsemen pour their hearts

and souls into the animals that they care for,

that's what they live for,

but Carl does it a little bit more.

(* dramatic orchestral music)

- [Announcer] It's a six nations challenge today,

and this huge crowd are looking forward now

to a great day of racing.

We have the most magnificent site here,

and one that ensures that the crowds get a position,

and one that ensures that the crowds get a position,

so that they can make sure they get a good view

so that they can make sure they get a good view

of the royal procession, and her Majesty, the Queen,

makes two presentations over the week, one is the Gold Cup,

and the other is this race, the Golden Jubilee.

- I'm nervous.

- Carl O'Callaghan did this press conference

before the Royal Ascot,

and suddenly starts relating this incredible

background about how he was homeless,

and sleeping under the Brooklyn Bridge.

- [Interviewer] And you have not had the usual career

for a trainer, I mean, not many, if I'm not mistaken,

have been buskers in New York for two weeks

when you really were, as they say, down on your uppers.

- You know, you live the dream, you dress up,

I've got my top hat on, I feel like Laurel and Hardy,

but I'm here, and things could be a lot worse.

- [Announcer] Yeah, he's living the dream all right,

he's a good guitarist and singer, as well,

Carl O'Callaghan, a real character.

- Everyone knew who he was at Royal Ascot,

as well, it was just amazing.

- They say this is the greatest lineup we've ever seen here

at Royal Ascot, as far as sprinting is concerned,

and I don't think they're wrong.

Let's have a look at the runners and riders.

- [Announcer] Kinsale King.

- [Announcer] Only thing about him is

whether he'll handle the turf as well

as he does synthetic tracks, nobody seems to know.

- Good luck, guys.

- The biggest and best international sprint ever seen

at Ascot, this Golden Jubilee stakes.

That's it, the 24 runners are set for the Golden Jubilee,

and they're off and running.

(* orchestral music)

- [Announcer] With Kinsale King, they split into two groups.

Prime Defender going quickly,

over on the far side from Lord Shanakill,

on the stands side, Starspangledbanner,

from save Kinsale King,

Triple Aspect, Amico Fritz and Marchand D'Or next to the fence.

- Come on!

- [Announcer] Now with a furlong and a half to go,

nearside is Starspangledbanner and Kinsale King,

from Society Rock, through the back of the field,

Amico Fritz running a big race,

far side, Fleeting Spirit come to the lead,

from Prime Defender, nearside is Starspangledbanner,

far side is Fleeting Spirit, Starspangledbanner,

nearside, Starspangledbanner!

Society Rock and Kinsale King fighting it out

for second and third, then Fleeting Spirit--

- Second, that's still good!

(background noise drowns out speaker)

(* slow ambient music)

- [Announcer] Here is the result of the photograph

for second place, and the second is number 24,

third, number seven.

- Third.

I'd be always pushing for a little bit more.

- There's no euphoria from being second or third.

There's only one way to win a race,

and that's finish first,

and there's a million ways to lose it.

- When the boys were younger, Denis and Frank,

we knew these farmers, they were two bachelors,

Jim Flynn and Mick Flynn, and they had horses.

- I was eight years of age, and Mick Flynn said,

"I can make you equal to Gordon Richards."

Gordon Richards, at that time,

was the leading jockey in England.

And I said, "Really," he said, "Yeah."

He said, "Come to my farm in the morning,"

and he said, "I'll get you started."

Couldn't sleep that night, went to his farm next morning,

and knocked on his door at six o'clock,

and he says, "What are you doing here?"

I said, "I've come to be a jockey."

They were enticing us down to their farm

to be cheap labor to ride their horses,

so we used to get their horses, and breeze 'em,

and gallop 'em for them.

- We had eight members of the family,

and funny enough how families go,

only three of the family were interested in horses.

- All of us were very competitive,

When you're the seventh of nine children,

believe me, nobody listens to you,

so you do try and prove yourself.

(* dissonant piano chord)

- Our dad died quite young, when we were quite young,

and when my father died, he gave us pennies.

- I was eight when he died, and he died

of tuberculosis, TB was very common in Ireland,

and just in our town, I'd say there'd be one

of two people die per week from TB.

You know, my father left us with bits and pieces,

but we just had enough to get by.

Denis and I were thinking maybe we could become jockeys,

but then we grew from like 5'6 to 6'1 in about six months.

- After death, Frank went off to college,

and Frank got top marks in everything.

- Then I went off to medical school,

and then I came over to America

to be trained as a medical oncologist.

(* slow guitar music)

- It wasn't until we were married a few years

before he wanted to buy a racehorse,

and I learned about his interest in horses.

- Denis was a banker, so the first money we earned,

we tried to invest in a horse,

and then bought our first yearling,

I think, in 1968, '69, something like that.

- And all I know, we'd be very small spenders,

and thanks to Dr. Sheehy, because without Frank,

we wouldn't have been where we are today.

- [Announcer] And Kinsale King,

fighting it out for second and third.

(* dissonant piano chord)

- [Announcer] The winner of the Golden Jubilee is Starspangledbanner.

- To be beaten by a horse like Starspangledbanner,

who unfortunately for Kinsale King was another one who came

with a plan, is no disgrace.

(* percussion)

- [Interviewer] Will Starspangledbanner head

to the July cup next leg of the Global Sprint Challenge?

- Well, hopefully, we really look forward to that,

you know, he's an incredible sprinter.

- [Patrick] When the King was beaten in Ascot,

he was absolutely furious, I mean,

you could see him after the race, he was just angry,

and I think he realized he had been beaten,

whether it was a misjudgment on our jockey's part or not,

but they let the winner get away too far.

- Wash that Guinness down.

He's had two pints already this morning.

- [Laura] Really?

- [Carl] He drinks four pints a day.

(overlapping chatter)

You're a bit of a character, aren't you, huh?

They said in the paper this morning,

he was the best one of the Americans that showed up.

Kieren says he can beat that horse, he should have went with him.

Take him back, take him on again, huh?

(* guitar music)

We're going to July Course,

where hopefully the King will make his next presentation.

I probably won't do much with the horse between now

and July, keep him happy, and drinking Guinness,

and maybe dancing to a few tunes.

- [Patrick] It's a lovely track, my goodness.

- [Carl] Look at that hill, it's up and down,

up and down, up and down,

that's a pretty steep finish right there.

- European and American racing are like feast and famine,

it's so much more testing on a racehorse in Europe.

The courses, more often than not, are inclined,

so they're running uphill at the end of the race.

- It's easier on a track the horses live

and train at, but it's when you change,

you took a horse from America to England,

racing's completely different, you took him

to a completely different surface.

- In England and Ireland, it has to do with the weather.

If it's raining a lot, then the tracks are soft,

if it's dry, then the tracks get rock hard, like a roadway.

- [Carl] It's a mile, all the way down, it's a mile.

The good thing is, too,

I can work him over this track if I want to,

like, he gets one work between now and the race.

- I would do it.

- [Carl] Yeah, it's only five minutes from the yard,

you see how far we are.

- Good morning.

- [Patrick] The cannon bones are the bones between the ankle and the knee.

Nice and short, you want to see that.

- Our genetic system, and also we could use the word,

equinology system, where we go back nine

and 10 generations and pedigrees,

is showing a definite pattern of producing good horses.

- I try and get as much pedigree as I can

with the money I have, but I will not compromise

on conformation, if you buy a good conformation,

and he's a good horse, then they'll last a long time,

and that's what you want.

- And if a horse isn't balanced and athletic, he can't go

from A to B without affecting his own efficiency.

(Carl mumbles)

- [Patrick] We go out and buy a horse

of normal conformation, but sometimes,

the best horses, they have defects,

they're born with congenital defects,

which gives them the ability to run faster.

Sometimes if a horse is narrow in front

and wide behind, they can reach over better,

some horses may have a bigger heart.

A lot of this business has a clinical aspect,

it's making a decision based on your own judgment,

your own intuition, sometimes you make mistakes.

(* dissonant piano chord)

- I don't think he corrects his system fast enough.

Being a scientist, you need to analyze your data

and see where you're going wrong,

and then you revise your system for picking horses.

I don't think he analyzes his mistakes often enough.

What percentage of your horses are winning?

- [Patrick] Now, who's this filly bay,

is she a filly or colt?

- [Man] Filly.

- And who's she by?

- [Man] By Sorroco.

- Sorroco, okay.

- The one thing you must always remember is it's speed,

more speed, and more speed makes a good racehorse.

(* mid-tempo percussion)

- You know that there are good horses out there,

you're just hoping that one of them comes your way.

When they do it's, trust me, it's rewarding

in many, many ways.

- [Patrick] Well, she looked nice.

- Lovely, isn't she?

- [Patrick] If she's got good numbers, we'll buy her.

- When you buy the racehorse, and you have him vetted,

and you pass his conformation,

you must ask yourself the final question,

how much can this racehorse win if I buy him?

Very few, about 3% of racehorses,

ever win what they actually cost,

so the numbers are loaded against you all the time.

- It is risky,

but the chance of reward is tremendous.

Who wouldn't, who's a risk taker, who wouldn't say,

"I know what I'm doing," and look at the potential

of the amount of money that I can make.

(* mid-tempo percussion)

It's possible and probable to make money,

if you do it right.

- We have a horse running in the July Cup tomorrow.

- Point him out.

- [Laura] Put your money tomorrow on Kinsale King.

- Kinsale King?

- [Patrick] King.

- [Carl] Are you coming out to the July Cup tomorrow?

Kinsale King, baby, USA, Ireland!

* Well, I don't know why she's leaving *

* Or where she's gonna go

* I guess she's got her reasons *

* But I just don't want to know *

* As for 24 years, I've been living next door *

* To Alice, Alice

- I went home for my brother's wedding a couple years ago,

my mother pulled out a book that she found in the attic, and she said,

"I'm gonna show you something."

And in the back page, it says, "Hi,"

in terrible, terrible handwriting,

"My name is Carl O'Callaghan, I want to be a jockey,

"I want to be a singer, I want to be a trainer."

I don't remember writing it, I was young,

seven or eight, and I did all those three things

in that exact same order, you know,

I came to America, I rode races,

I then left horses for a little bit,

did some singing, I recorded a couple of albums,

and then became a trainer, so, you know,

I think it was meant to be, for me.

The July Cup tomorrow, we're gonna give it a lash

and take on Ballydoyle tomorrow with Starspangledbanner.

We'll do the best that we can, good luck to Frank Sheehy,

with Kinsale King, County Cork, (mumbles).

- It was such a good party, it was really nice.

- [Arlene] It was very nice.

- They did, they did, yeah.

- You know, I read the newspaper this morning,

and they favored Starspangledbanner.

Fleeting Spirit won it last year,

and so they think he has a good chance,

and then they mentioned Kinsale King.

- [Carl] Hey hey! (cork pop)

- Win or lose, we're going to have a good time.

- I'm getting very nervous. (mumbles)

I get nervous, with butterflies,

I think today is the day, though.

- We're gonna win, gonna win.

- I have no Guinness, buddy,

but this is as good as it's gonna get right now.

Quench your thirst, right.

- [Laura] Are you gonna come today?

- Yeah, I'm leading him up.

I think they know, 'cause it's usually the same kind of routine.

So I think he's got all his gear on, and he knows.

So I'm hoping that he's gonna win,

and then go onto Japan, hopefully. So we'll see, you know,

and the dream thing is Hong Kong after that,

and then Australia, and Dubai?

- [Laura] You're talking already about next year, too?

- [Annabelle] Yeah.

- [Laura] I mean, like, he would keep going.

- [Annabelle] It just keeps, yeah, you just never know.

- I know, that's what we've learned doing this,

one day at a time.

- Yeah, well, exactly, and horses,

they always do the opposite of what you want, so.

- [Carl] I don't have any of your blankets,

it's gonna be too warm, isn't it?

(* mid-tempo percussion)

You just keep it like that, and he'll listen to you.

And you'll follow those guys.

(announcer and random chatter)

- [Man] There's your vaccinations, yes?

- Yeah, right there.

There's my pony! (whistles)

You're only gonna walk him and jog him,

no galloping , just keep him quiet.

Kinsale King. - [Woman] Kinsale King?

- [Carl] Number four, outside, I drew outside,

13, did I, no, go back to the four, then.

- [Man] Yeah, number four.

- [Carl] When do we get the saddle and all that stuff?

- [Man] The sooner the better, I think.

- Yeah, will you take that down there?

Pressure is on, I'm like a cat inside in a dog show,

you have no, I swear, I should have brought a bottle

of whiskey with me, you have no idea, lads, under pressure.

There you go, we'll bless ourselves, now, lads

with the help of God.

This is the nerve-wracking part of it now, you know?

It's up to him, now.

On goes the yin and yang.

Stand there and I'll take the boots off.

Follow Adrienne, there, follow Adrienne.

I'll leave it in your hands.

I know we talked about it this morning.

You're ready for us, yeah?

- [Man] Okay, you can go when you want, okay?

- All right, thanks very much, yeah,

just walk him a little bit down to the start,

you know, here, come here, walk him down a little bit

to the start, and just jog him a little bit,

he's plenty warm, you know?

Just keep him walking now, he'll be all right.

All right, lad.

- [Announcer] The horses are being walked to the start for our feature race, the Darley July Cup.

- [Carl] Tell me when you want to go.

- [Kieren] I want to go.

- [Carl] Up there now.

All right, lads, bring that cup home, now.

That's it, now, that's all we can do.

- [Announcer] There's an international makeup

of these sprints.

(* rolling piano music)

And away they go at a pretty level break, too,

Society Rock, just a bit slow.

- [Carl] Come on, Kieren, get him into gear, will you?

Come on, Kieren, let him go.

- [Announcer] The nearside

in the yellow headgear is Kinsale King.

(* rolling piano music)

- [Carl] There you go, you have him now.

- Come on, King, get closer to him, will you?

(* rolling piano music)

He's hanging on.

No. He's done, he's done.

- [Announcer] Starspangledbanner,

the two to one favorite, has followed up a terrific win

in the Golden Jubilee at Royal Ascot,

Kinsale King, well beaten.

- Next time, darling. - Yeah, with the help of God. Oh, yeah.

I'll go and pick him up now.

- We're participating in a game we shouldn't be playing, basically.

(* slow piano "Amazing Grace")

- I don't know what happened.

We'll see when the jockey comes back.

I think, for some reason, he didn't run at all.

- Sure, sure, it might have been too soon.

- It might have been.

- Yeah, okay. - Okay, love?

- [Arlene] Thank you.

- Kinsale King has bad feet, so the track was rock hard,

and we shouldn't have run him, it was a big mistake.

- There's an old saying that goes, "no foot, no horse,"

and it's really true, the problems

that he had with his feet, and still has,

still contends with, are serious.

- Well, I think the jockey eased up on him,

because he wanted to protect his legs.

- [Carl] Home sweet home, now, lad,

we did our best, and we tried.

- The fun is over, you know.

Finish this, the more international racing, and back home.

- [Carl] He'll be all right,

'cause usually he gets nine weeks in between races.

- If he didn't win at Ascot, to me, he wasn't winning here,

and I was frankly a little surprised that he stayed.

- They were flying, they broke the track record.

- [Interviewer] So what will you do,

bring him home and give him a rest?

- Yeah.

- Starspangledbanner was only run twice

in the last eight months, so he was gonna only get better,

you had been in steady training for a year and a half,

and had been on your second trip halfway across the world,

you're not gonna beat this horse.

- A stallion fee can be anywhere from zero

to $250,000.00 per,

per breeding,

wow,

that's, that's a profitable asset.

- More than anything else, they will sell the yearlings,

they'll sell the babies as yearlings or two-year-olds,

and get a lot of money for them,

so the 10 million they invest, if they get two

or three million for each of the foals, they're going

to make money, so they're trying to make him more valuable

by having him win races in England.

- This is all about bloodlines,

because no matter if you're good or bad,

you're always gonna be your dad's kid,

and if your dad was a fantastic human being, you're more

than likely gonna be a fantastic human being, as well.

- From the reports I've seen, they were extremely big.

So we decided we would take him home

and castrate him, and that was a wonderful thing we did,

because once we did, he took racing much more seriously.

Basically, horses produce a ton of testosterone,

and when you produce a lot of testosterone,

the brain has to be able to absorb it,

and testosterone drives some brains crazy,

so the horse tends to be overactive,

thinking of sex a lot of the time,

but if they can't control that urge,

they become obsessed with that urge,

and have no interest in racing at all.

So by doing a castration, you take all the testosterone away

from them, and all of a sudden,

they begin to think more seriously about racing.

- [Keith] It's a good thing to promote,

'cause this is something that we do very commonly,

and it's a fairly basic surgery,

not to say it's without risk, but a fairly basic surgery.

- They're wild animals, and we're trying

to train 'em in a routine, and the more subdued

that we can have 'em, the easier our job will be.

- There's no question, mental stability is, it's everything.

- It's hard to make money, period, in the game,

to avoid all that drama from having their balls,

cut 'em off, and they become pretty sensible,

real sensible, excuse me.

- And then it's up to us to find homes for them.

(* lyrical guitar)

- My name is Sharla Sanders, and I'm

with the Second Race, I'm the founder

and president, it's a non-profit organization

that retires racehorses from the racetrack.

What we hope to do is show

that these thoroughbreds can do other things

after their racing days are over.

Right now, we have a program taking the horses

from the racetrack, and then we're trying

to find something that they're suitable in.

You know, could he go onto the show circuit,

could he become a dressage horse,

could he become a jumper, or he has tons

of personality, and maybe he can work as a therapy horse.

Or, if he just wants to retire

in some beautiful paddock somewhere,

there's lots of options.

- All my horses retire well.

- [Carl] I'm glad King is not a colt right now,

because he probably would have been sold by now,

after winning Dubai, he probably would have been worth a couple million,

they probably would have sold him.

Being a gelding, he's probably gonna have a life with me forever.

- [Patrick] You're so nice to be around again,

no more second or third, we want you to be winning

in the future, we put you where you'll be happy.

- [Carl] He still ran third on the turf--

- Oh, I know, I know, I mean--

- That's a good horse.

- [Patrick] Yeah, I know, we're gonna get you back

to California where you're gonna feel good again.

So we're gonna go back to California,

and re-plan the future.

- [Carl] Ready to go back to LA?

Everybody's waiting for you.

- Yeah, we'll see you back in LA

in two weeks, I guess, bye, Kinsale King!

- See you at home.

He knows, doesn't he?

(* slow guitar music)

- They're trying to get Kinsale King to roll.

- He loves Hollywood, he's very happy to be back,

he feels like a different horse over here,

it's like he's back home, you know?

Confident and very happy, and it's like he's,

well, like he's the King.

- When he runs, he puts his whole heart into it,

and it takes him a good while to recover,

at least three or four weeks, and you have

to back off on his training a bit.

He needs about six to eight weeks in between races,

so when we brought him back, we gave him

about six weeks off, and let him do what he wanted to do.

(* slow piano music)

- [Farrier] Oh, that looks a ton better.

- We got back from England,

then we put some glue-on shoes all the way around,

to protect his feet.

And instead of changing his shoes every three weeks,

with the glue-ons, we could wait eight weeks,

so with that eight weeks, the growth just expanded his hoof,

and all the problems didn't go away,

but they're way better than they were.

We're fortunate, now we have four good feet.

When I got the King, he had the quarter cracks,

and I figured out really quickly,

within a seven day period, that he did not like

to go the right way, which would be his running way.

He liked to go the opposite way, and jog.

And he jogs three or four miles a day every other day

of the week, but he never, seldom gallops,

he just doesn't like it.

Like, when he turns around the right way,

he likes to run fast, and that's it,

and that's the trick to him, is just, don't overtrain him.

If you take another horse like Leaving New York,

who's a very aggressive type horse,

and loves to train, and loves to gallop a mile

and a half every day, totally different.

I tried the Kinsale King way with him,

it didn't work, all the horses are different.

It's like having a good football player,

or a good soccer player, there's a lot involved

to keep him at his peak performance.

Kinsale King gets the chiropractor every two days,

he gets a masseuse three times a week.

We got back from London with the horse,

and we have what they call a hyperbaric chamber,

oxygen chamber, I call it, when he came back,

he lived in it for a week, and got his blood back going,

and then took him to the farm for a couple days,

took him swimming, he loves to swim.

(* lyrical piano music)

- Basically, you want them to be happy in their training.

To me, that's the key, more so than anything else.

- [Carl] We go two miles every day together jogging,

you know, we play when we're going around,

and I sing to him, and laugh with him,

and talk with him, and I think he likes that,

I think he likes that personality, and that's his character.

I tried experimenting where I don't get on the horse,

and I tried with King when I got back from London,

and I've tried Annabelle, who I flew in

from London to ride him, great rider,

I've tried Chalky, great rider,

and I just don't get that same, you watch him,

he leaves his food at night, he just is not happy,

but when I get on him, I don't know, we click,

you know, and he just enjoys me.

And I've been close before with other horses,

but with him, he's different.

Okay.

No, he'll come around.

Here's Leaving New York, yeah, he's got a bit

of a sore foot, so I'm gonna just back off,

and maybe give him some vacation time,

and bring him back after next season.

and bring him back after next season. - Leaving New York, he has got the biggest stride,

- Leaving New York, he has got the biggest stride,

- Leaving New York, he has got the biggest stride,

I mean, he's like a cat.

- [Carl] Yeah, when he walks, he's terrible, too.

- And then, you know, so the least little off balance, and--

- [Carl] And I think he overreached,

and I think he pulled.

- So he will give him six months off,

and then retrain him, and bring him back,

and I think next year, he'll be a much bigger, better horse.

(* slow piano music)

- [Carl] Morning, guys.

- [Patrick] Carl, which one is which?

- [Carl] Beautiful Year's right there, with Chalky.

- [Laura] Who's this one?

- Jade Song.

And they all have different personalities.

Leaving New York reminds me of a kid

in the back of a classroom, throwing paper

at the school teacher, the filly across the stall

from him, Star of Peace, is Princess Diana,

Mother Teresa type of thing, wants to be a mommy,

forget about the horse racing, you know?

- That's it, now you got the idea.

- You know, you go five doors down,

she's just always in trouble, and then there's the King,

and he's like, just a cartoon, like if I were to draw him,

he'd be like the Tasmanian Devil,

he's got the happy, he's very professional

about what he does for a living,

but he does have a lot of character to him.

- All these horses now racing are all weighed

on a daily basis, and they're measured,

their bloods are taken, and their temperatures are taken.

- [Carl] How you, boo-boo?

(speaking in foreign language)

- Everything must be 100% correct

before you can get the top result.

- [Carl] I told him to put a fan on Kinsale King,

he's just a little bit warm here.

- [Carlos] He was okay when I checked--

- Yeah, he was fine when I checked him, too,

(mumbles), I just think he, he's just hot,

'cause it's hot outside today.

It's morning, noon, and night,

we're at this every day, we live with the horses,

we sleep with the horses, it's not like you just show up

and go to the races, there's a lot behind the scenes.

- So it's a real big game of chance,

in that everybody must pull as a team,

and hope everybody is doing the right thing.

(* slow percussion)

- This client here, that was the balance,

and then they paid this.

The average cost per horse, it's $100.00 a day per horse,

that's just for training, then you got blacksmith,

another three or $400.00 apiece per horse, a month.

Then you have insurance, workman's comp.

- The economic reality of it is, it is a business,

and most trainers and owners treat it that way.

- It's a hard position for Carl to be in,

he has to win, Carl has to win

he has to win, Carl has to win

to be able to pay his bills, to keep his business going.

- If you're not winning, you ain't surviving.

- If he's perfectly healthy,

and nothing wrong with him, we're gonna go.

- When's his next race?

- He's gonna run in the Breeders' Cup.

- You're not gonna give him a race?

- There is a race next Sunday, which would suit him,

but it's a little bit close to the Breeders' Cup,

and the Breeders' Cup is our aim,

so since he ran fresh going into Dubai,

we're going to do the same thing

with him in the Breeders' Cup.

- Yeah, you know, it's to get him pumped up.

(* dramatic piano music)

These are the workouts for today of all the horses

that worked in Southern California at Hollywood Park.

80 horses worked this morning at a distance of five furlongs,

and he's still the fastest, last week, same thing,

week before, same thing, same thing week before,

and I'm gonna keep doing that all the way

to the Breeders' Cup, I want to cross my Ts

and dot my Is, I mean, this is,

two million dollars is a big race,

and when I want to go there, I want to bring my A game.

We're on schedule now, we fly the 31st, we land in Kentucky.

- I'm looking forward to it, it's very exciting,

but at the same time, it's very nerve-wracking,

you know, 'cause you always stand the chance of losing.

- If you are the trainer, if your name's on the entry sheet,

you have a huge responsibility.

- The Breeders' Cup is different to all the other invitations.

In the Breeders' Cup you pay all your expenses,

and you pay the entry fee, which is quite significant.

(* slow percussion)

- It's a gamble.

- I go into the church, Universal Church every day,

and giving my money to God to make sure

that he win his race, to play the Lord,

the heart, you understand?

- I hope we do something, you know,

we'll be happy, everybody, here in the barn,

you know, we pray, we have fingers crossed.

- I think the overall question about the horse right now,

he's not gonna race before the Breeder's Cup,

so he's gonna bring him off a four month,

five month layoff into the Breeders' Cup,

and knock on wood, if he does it, he's a genius.

(* mid-tempo music)

- [Announcer] Two huge days of racing

at famed Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

- [Announcer] 25 and a half million dollars here at stake

on Friday and Saturday.

- The ultimate test of a thoroughbred's talent and ability.

- [Announcer] This is the Superbowl of horse racing.

- [Announcer] The 27th running

of the Breeders' Cup World Championship.

- 14 races are stretched out over two days.

- [Announcer] 25 and a half million dollars here at stake.

- [Announcer] The richest event in sports.

(* dramatic rhythmic drumming)

(birds chirp)

- [Man] You don't even have to pull those off.

- Excellent, thank you very much.

- He looks great, Carl, good luck.

- Good luck. - Appreciate it, thank you.

(* dramatic piano)

- We're running in the sprint race,

which is for three-year-olds and upwards.

- This year will be a very important test for them,

because the main track race has

returned to dirt from synthetics in California.

- Any time you're ready.

(* dramatic piano)

He trained over dirt at Belmont, in process going to London,

so I don't think dirt's gonna be a problem.

- One would generally think that a dirt race track,

particularly at Churchill Downs,

would be more on the fast and hard side.

I would have thought that, you know,

in the turf sprint, he would be a more likely winner.

- [Announcer] Now 23 minutes away from post time,

and there are no changes. - Okay, let's go.

- The romance of the Kinsale King story is accepting

the challenge of trying to excel elsewhere.

The horse has traveled the world,

and has excelled on three different continents,

which is very rare, even in this globalized age

of horseracing, and the trainer, Carl O'Callaghan,

is a swashbuckling, entertaining guy who relishes rising

to the challenge, and word has it

that Kinsale King has an outstanding chance,

because of that natural early pace, and an ability

to hold a position against really deep, tough opposition.

- It's that will to win.

- Very nervous, very nervous.

- [Man] Your turn now.

- All right, boy, let's go.

- My friend, good to see you again.

- With top name riders, you try

and get the best possible horse for your rider,

because we believe, as an agent, that

that particular horse can win the race.

So hopefully, he'll break good, and get comfortable, and not get too much dirt

in his face, and circle the field, and get the job done.

That's it, now it's all in God's hands.

If he wins, I'll jump the fence.

- [Announcer] They've loaded quickly,

they're all set for the sprint, and away they go.

(* ambient dream-like music)

- [Laura] He's getting blocked. He can't get out.

- [Carl] Come on, King! - Come on, come on!

(* ambient dream-like music)

- [Announcer] But it's Big Drama, digging deep and finding more.

Big Drama in front, to Amazing Destiny,

Big Drama will win it, Big Drama has won the sprint,

Amazing Destiny second,

Smiling Tiger will be in a photo with Supreme Summit,

who came from last to be in that photo for third.

- [Carl] He tried, yeah?

- [Martin] He broke super good, man.

- [Carl] Yeah, and hit a wall of horses here.

- [Martin] When I make my move, he just stays.

- [Carl] Yeah, he was trying, though.

Water, no agua?

(* dissonant piano chord)

- I think we have to race him more often.

- Yeah, well, Happy Hedger is running next Friday.

- Oh, yeah, I know, but this guy.

- [Carl] Frank, you were nervous I was doing too much with him.

- [Patrick] A race is a race, the adrenalin in a race,

and that's what you got to get him used to.

- [Carl] Have him running that close?

- Well, maybe six weeks, eight weeks between races.

(* slow piano music)

- I worked in banking for 40 odd years,

and I've always carried that if people are not good,

get rid of them, they will break you,

and I've preached and practiced that always.

- Frank keeps changing horse trainers by the dozen,

you know how many trainers he's been

through through the years?

- I watch him carefully, and if he doesn't perform,

or any trainer doesn't perform, I take my horses away.

- It's a percentage game, which you must always try

and balance in your favor, because the only person

that must survive in this business is you,

the owner, who's paying the bills.

- They are what they are, I can't make 'em run any faster,

and obviously, we know Kinsale King is a fast horse,

I just gotta keep him sound.

- Is that what you think of the Breeders' Cup?

He said, "Yeah."

- Carl could be gone tomorrow, I keep telling Dr. Sheehy,

every time he rings me, I said,

"Keep looking for another trainer."

Success breeds success, and everybody wants success,

nobody wants to be attached to losers,

and I don't want to finish up as a loser.

- Obviously they have their opinion,

and they stick with it, and that's it,

and you just hope you can prove them wrong all the time.

Who loves you, who loves you?

Here, here, here.

(* slow piano music)

(* hopeful piano music)

- He's definitely a better horse on synthetic,

so hopefully he's returned to the surface

that he's much better on, and he'll continue to show his quality.

- Oh, my god, so strong today,

what are you pinning those ears for, huh, what are you?

We got a line of jockeys ready to ride,

Mike Smith is my first priority.

- Carl asked me if I would be interested in riding him,

I was like, of course I would be.

- [Carl] He's world-famous for riding Zenyatta,

so he makes the right decisions at the right time,

so that's all you can ask for.

I'm going to put you up, and then you go right out.

All right, man, have fun.

- You put everything into it, every part of yourself,

and then it all comes down to this moment,

and it's out of your hands, there's nothing you can do,

jockey and horse, hope it's the right trip,

and you don't know.

(* orchestral music)

- [Announcer] Set, racing.

(* rolling piano orchestral music)

- [Carl] Come on, King, come on, King!

Come on, my King, come on, my King, come on, my King!

- [Announcer] Kinsale King.

(* upbeat orchestral music)

- [Carl] We're back in the game! We're back in the game!

(moves into dramatic orchestral music)

- [Carl] This is where it all began for me, 12 months ago.

- [Interviewer] Here we have Carl O'Callaghan,

Carl O'Callaghan trains Kinsale King,

memorably won the race last year, and we all, of course,

remember the famous jig around the parade ring,

that was one of the abiding memories

of the World Cup meeting here 12 months ago.

Just talk us through 12 months ago,

because that was a special night,

and you might have taken one or two people by surprise.

- Yeah, we came in a bit blindfolded last year,

the horse was doing really good,

coming off four straight wins back in California,

and it's been a great year for us.

- [Interviewer] I'm not gonna turn this

into a boxing press conference,

but how do you assess your challenge now,

maybe compared to Kinsale King?

- Well, I think he's done a remarkable job

with the horse, I mean, he's a fast horse,

my horse is fast, they're very fast,

and there's a lot of speed in the race.

- My horse shipped over good, he weighed in this morning,

the exact same weight he was this time last year.

- [Interviewer] Would there be a sense

of disappointment if you can't win it?

- There's always disappointment,

this is the ups and downs of the game,

but for me, you know, I have a small stable at home,

last year I had five horses.

It's a privilege just to get an invitation to come back here,

and to come back with a nice horse.

- You just hope that you don't get any hiccups,

you know, while you're here, 'cause it's a long ship.

- But, I'm here to win it if I can,

and my horse is doing good, you know, we're confident.

- [Interviewer] Thank you very much--

- Thank you. - Thank you.

- [Interviewer] May the best man win.

- All right, thank you very much.

- You see what you see out there from Carl,

he loves this horse.

He puts everything into this horse,

this is the big horse for Carl. There aren't a lot of people

who plan their year around the Dubai Golden Shaheen,

Carl's lived his life around this race for two years.

To get back here is one thing,

to win it again would be huge.

- I left home at 14, traveled to the States,

and found a good owner, and a good horse,

and, you know, I'm a young lad,

and to prove to the world that I can train,

and make my parents happy. Here I am today.

(dramatic orchestral music)

- [Announcer] This is the sound of a truly incredible day

for everyone here, owners, trainers,

jockeys, sponsors, and guests,

it is the world's richest racing meet.

One hundred and twelve of the greatest horses ever assembled

for a total prize fund of over 26 million dollars.

The races will be due providence.

We're here to witness it all, at Meydan.

(slow ambient music)

- [Carl] See, that's the normal size right there.

(* slow piano music)

- [Keith] It would suck to come out here,

and put all this work into him,

and not be able to run the race,

but it's an hour by hour sort of thing,

it will definitely be a game time call.

- If you give him some steroid,

it would bring the swelling right down.

- I wish we could.

(* slow piano music)

- Everybody involved is there,

so it's really hard to back out of a race,

because everyone's counting on you,

and looking forward to seeing the horse run.

(* slow ambient music)

(bell rings)

- [Announcer] Gates fly, and they're racing

in the Dubai Golden Shaheen.

- Making the decision about scratching Kinsale King,

it was obvious, the horse had swollen ankles,

and there was no way was I gonna let him run.

Being a physician, I knew

that an allergic reaction is a potentially serious problem,

and the horse could have died of it.

Of course I was disappointed, but, you know,

I knew if we were sensible, there'd be another day.

And I believe he would have run very well,

because I think Carl had him in great shape.

- [Announcer] Rocket Man in front,

and he's done it this year,

Rocket Man wins the Golden Shaheen,

from Euroears, Sunny King and Green Birdie.

(* slow piano music)

- Hey, Tom, it's Carl, I'm here with the owners,

we're here watching, you're on speaker,

we were trying to get Cal Racing,

but we were having problems in Dubai here.

- [Laura] It's the fourth race, right?

- [Carl] Have to go 26th.

- 26th.

- [Arlene] Something's happening.

- [Carl] The live view might come up now,

he's going to the paddock, Santa Anita.

- [Arlene] Santa Anita.

- [Announcer] Leaving New York comes up,

and in, gates closed, all set.

And away they go to a good beginning,

Leaving New York from the outside gate,

now, here's Vaundell flying through at the rail.

Vaundell will take over, King Red is right there,

too, on the inside, we have Warning Song,

who's only three lengths off the leaders.

They run past the half mile pole on the inside,

Vaundell is the leader, Sensational News,

right there with him, King Red is in there, too.

On the far side, we have Leaving New York in the gold colors.

They turn for home now, Sensational News in the orange,

Vaundell down at the rail, Back At You is right there,

Leaving New York, and now Next Door Neighbor is hooked

to the outside, and making his run.

Down on the inside, Warning Song, in the white, can't get through.

They come for home, and Leaving New York is straight to the front,

and it's Leaving New York now drawing clear from them,

and it's gonna be Leaving New York

to give Pat Valenzuela his third today,

Leaving New York.

(group cheers)

- [Announcer] Leaving New York wins, two and a half, three.

- There's nothing like winning,

but I will confess that if you get any money at all,

you're happy, it somehow eases the pain.

Obviously, we all want to win,

but if you don't win, second is okay, third is all right.

- [Interviewer] Because you get to stay in the game.

- Yeah, oh, you get to stay in the game, yeah.

(* uplifting piano and guitar music)

- I got this letter from Dr. Sheehy.

"My family and I will forever be grateful to this horse,

"who took us to places we had never even dreamed of,

"and gave us the most exciting moment of our lives."

- [Announcer] Kinsale King in front,

straight round the bend, doesn't matter,

USA, Kinsale King beats Rocket Man, One World third.

- We won!

(* uplifting piano and guitar music)

"He will now retire to whatever makes him happy."

(* uplifting music)

What we did was something I think maybe the higher above had

that path for me and Frank to meet,

and King to come in our lives, and,

but yeah, you know, it's, I still love what I do,

I love racing, and I'm very grateful

for what he did for me, King, and to have him here now,

and retired, and happy, and sound, and healthy.

(* uplifting music)

(* upbeat piano music)

.