Watch the full interview
From 13:35 in Thursday’s episode of Nick Luck Daily. Press play to start at the interview.
George Scott believes Bay City Roller can turn a wide draw into an advantage in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Turf, and says the Arc runner-up is a horse he trusts completely.
Bay City Roller, third in the Champion Stakes at Ascot on his last start, has settled well at Keeneland. “Honestly, brilliantly,” Scott told Nick Luck. “I know it’s a bit of a cliché, but he’s eaten up, his temperature’s been very consistent, and he had a buck coming off the training track this morning, so he’s in great shape.”
The Breeders’ Cup had always been the plan. “I like to have a plan with the horses. When you start chopping and changing, you get yourself in a real pickle,” he said. “Sheikh Nasser gives me the confidence to just make the decisions, and we win and lose together as a team.”
Draw ‘not the end of the world’
Bay City Roller is drawn 13 of 14, but Scott thinks his early speed will help. “I was a little bit frustrated about the draw, but looking at the field and the way to ride this track, I’m not sure it was the end of the world,” he said. “There are very few mile-and-a-half turf horses that actually ping the gates and say, ‘Come on, let me have it,’ and he’s one of them. If he breaks clean, the draw’s irrelevant. If he misses it, then it’s a problem.”
He has also done his homework on the ground. “I spoke to Frankie and a couple of the American jockeys and trainers here, and they said it will not be summer-fast ground, no matter what the weather is,” he said.
“He’s really set my career on a great trajectory. He means everything to me.”
George Scott on Bay City Roller
‘A fanboy of the Breeders’ Cup’
Scott knows American racing well, having worked for Simon Callaghan in California and Eddie Kenneally in Kentucky 12 to 14 years ago. “I’m a bit of a fanboy of the Breeders’ Cup, to be honest,” he said. “You’re on a world stage, I love the build-up, all the different connections are here. There’s nothing like it. It’s very hard to get a horse here, and to have one relatively high up in the betting is special.”
And he says Bay City Roller is a rare horse. “It’s hard sometimes to get a bond with a horse, but I just love his character, his consistency, and the fact I can trust him,” he said. “Racehorses do let you down quite often, but I trust him, and he means everything to me. He’s set my career on a great trajectory, and he’s brought a lot of people along with him. It would be even more special if he can win on Saturday.”
