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Court Vision won three of four starts at two, including the Iroquois (gr. III) and Remsen (gr. II). He didn't make his first start until Sept. 7, which probably made a start in the Breeders' Cup a case of too much, too soon for conservative trainer Bill Mott. Mott took the colt to Payson Park in Florida to ready for his 3-year-old campaign. Court Vision began this year in the Fountain of Youth, finishing third after a wide trip. He had another third in the Wood Memorial (gr. I), closing from far back with yet another wide trip. Trainer Bill Mott has yet to hit the board with the four horses he has run in the Kentucky Derby. WinStar Farm was second in 2006 with Bluegrass Cat and 8th with Any Given Saturday last year. Co-owner IEAH also owns top Derby contender Big Brown.

Auction History

Year	Sale	Price
2006	Keeneland September Yearling Sale	$180,000
2007	Fasig-Tipton Florida Select 2-Year Olds	$350,000

Racing History

Date	Race Name	Distance	Finish	Earnings
04/05/08	Wood Memorial (gr. I)	9f	3	$75,000
02/24/08	Fountain of Youth (gr. II)	9f	3	$35,000
11/24/07	Remsen (gr. II)	9f	1	$120,000
10/28/07	Iroquois (gr. III)	8f	1	$101,872
10/06/07	MSW	8.5f	1	$31,270
09/07/07	MSW	6f	2	$4,400
Record: 6 Starts, 3-1-2 | Total Earnings: $367,542
Race Records provided by equineline.com

By Steve Haskin

If a young horse is capable of spoiling a trainer, then consider Bill Mott spoiled. Normally, a trainer will have to nurture a young horse through his immaturity and hope he matures into a professional, battle-tested racehorse by the spring of his 3-year-old campaign.

Court Vision is not that kind of horse. The son of Gulch came gift-wrapped with all the attributes a trainer looks for. In four starts, he's won three, with one second, including victories in a pair of graded stakes, at Churchill Downs and Aqueduct. There is nothing unusual about that record, except for the fact that Court Vision accomplished it by displaying a determination and will to win you rarely see in a young horse, as well as the ability to overcome adversity.

In both the one-mile Iroquois Stakes (gr. III) and 11/8-mile Remsen Stakes (gr. II), he turned certain defeat into victory by unleashing a relentless stretch run to nail classy juveniles Halo Najib and Atoned, respectively, right at the wire. What made Court Vision's Remsen score all the more impressive was that he had to overcome a nightmare trip, getting boxed in badly behind a wall of horses at the head of the stretch, and then getting the better of two severe bumping incidents. The first one he caused himself by shoving a horse out of his way in order to extricate himself from his dicey predicament. In the second incident, he was slammed into by a horse on his outside, caroming off the aggressor twice before finally getting in the clear and bearing down on his opponent, stakes winner Atoned. On both occasions, he had four to five lengths to make up in the final furlong and was able to get up in time.

A 50% interest in the colt was acquired recently by IEAH Stables from owner WinStar Farm. As of now, it looks like a sound purchase that could take them to Louisville, Ky., on the first Saturday in May.

By Avalyn Hunter

For those who believe in omens, there are plenty of good ones in Remsen Stakes (gr. II) winner Court Vision’s pedigree. The colt is by Gulch out of the Storm Bird mare Weekend Storm. If that breeding sounds familiar, it should, for 1994 Remsen winner Thunder Gulch, also by Gulch out of a Storm Bird mare, went on to win the 1995 Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, and Travers Stakes (all gr. I) on the way to a title as champion 3-year-old male.

Gulch is, of course, no stranger to the pedigrees of good horses, having sired 66 stakes winners. While the son of Mr. Prospector
and the multiple grade I winner Jameela was the champion sprinter of 1988, he won grade I events at up to nine furlongs and has not been a pure speed sire by any means. In fact, the average winning distance for his progeny is 7.7 furlongs, compared to a breed average of 6.8 furlongs.

Court Vision’s second dam, Weekend Surprise (by Secretariat),
has written her name into modern pedigrees through her sons Honor Grades, Summer Squall, and, best of all, two-time leading sire A.P. Indy. Weekend Storm (by Storm Bird and so a full sister to Summer Squall) is the first of Weekend Surprise’s daughters to suggest that the 1992 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year may also leave an important legacy in the female line. Aside from Court Vision, Weekend Storm is the dam of Hong Kong group II winner Garcia Marquez (a full brother to Court Vision) and of Kipling (also by Gulch), sire of 2007 NetJets Breeders’ Cup Mile (gr. IT) winner Kip Deville.

With classic influences aplenty in his pedigree, Court Vision has the genetic package to be a contender on this year’s Triple Crown trail, and so far he has delivered performance to match the package. That is all anyone can ask.

By Jason Shandler

You know the old adage, if you keep knocking on the door, eventually it will open?

Well, for WinStar Farm, it is a saying that applies to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), and after entering four horses in the last two runnings of the classic, those at the farm are hoping Court Vision will finally usher them through.

WinStar, which is located near Versailles, Ky., has been one of the upper-echelon racing and breeding operations since Kenny Troutt and Bill Casner purchased the 1,450-acre farm, formerly known as Prestonwood Farm, in 2000. A full-service operation that includes more than 100 broodmares and six stallions, WinStar is perhaps the most state-of-the-art farm in the industry, complete with its own hyperbaric oxygen chamber and research lab. In 2006, WinStar was the nation’s 14th-leading owner by purse earnings, with $2,737,762.

Doug Cauthen, president and CEO of WinStar, said one of the reasons the farm has been so successful in such a short period of time is because of exceptional teamwork, which was instilled by Troutt and Casner.

“You have to give credit to Kenny and Bill for their vision,” Cauthen said. “They truly came in with a goal and a dream, and even though there were some ups and downs, they knew what they wanted. They both understand the business, have a lot of knowledge, and they complement each other very well.

“We are really blessed. They support the management,and they are good at helping us help them.”

The large-scale success began with their New York-bred Funny Cide. By now, the story is well known, with Sackatoga Stable buying the son of Distorted Humor as a yearling for $22,000, then watching him go on to win both the 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes (gr. I). Although one would think that losing a dual-classic winner for such a small price would be bittersweet for WinStar, Cauthen said they do not see it that way.

“That is part of the business; you sell some of your very best,” he said. “But one of the things we try to do is to make our sires desirable. And that is what Funny Cide did for Distorted Humor (a leading sire who now stands at WinStar for $300,000). It made everyone believe in Distorted Humor.”

The last two years, WinStar has been right on the edge with Derby runners it owned. In 2006, the farm entered homebred Bluegrass Cat, who was runner-up to Barbaro, and Sharp Humor, who was owned in partnership with Purdedel Stable. Last year, WinStar also sent a pair of starters to the Run for the Roses, with Any Given Saturday and Cowtown Cat, both owned in partnership.

“We had high hopes for all of them, especially Bluegrass Cat and Any Given Saturday,” Cauthen said. “Both were similar coming into the Derby, as they both entered off losses. With Bluegrass Cat, any other year you don’t have a horse like Barbaro, he wins. With Any Given Saturday, we’ll never know if he would have been there because he came out of the race with a bruised foot.

“It would be great to win one someday. It’s everyone’s goal, and we’ll keep trying.”

WinStar may have its best chance yet in 2008 with Court Vision, the well-bred son of Gulch purchased from Robert LaPenta for $350,000 as a 2-year-old. Court Vision, who will be campaigned in partnership with IEAH Stables after WinStar recently sold a 50% interest in the colt, is on everyone’s top five Derby contender list after victories in the Iroquois (gr. III) and Remsen (gr. II) Stakes.

“The Remsen was awesome,” Cauthen said. “You never know if a horse has that or not, but he proved it.

“Right now, he is our hopes and dreams.”

By Claire Novak

With a nationwide network of top clients and an agent who keeps him on the country’s best horses, Garrett “Go-Go” Gomez, 36, used up enough frequent flier miles last year to earn him plenty of free trips to Louisville. The key is finding a winner in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I); the son of jockey Louie Gomez hasn’t hit the board in four previous tries.

That statistic is somewhat surprising for the younger Gomez, who began his career in 1988 at Santa Fe Downs and won an Eclipse Award as the nation’s outstanding jockey 19 years later. With four Breeders’ Cup wins to his credit and a win in the 2007 Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) aboard Rags to Riches, this jockey couldn’t be closer to a much-deserved Derby score. His mount this year is Court Vision, trained by Bill Mott.

Height: 5'3”

Weight: 114

Career wins: 2,921

Born: Jan. 1, 1972, Tucson, Ariz.

Residence: Duarte, Calif.

Family: Wife Pam; children Amanda, Shelby, Jared, and Collin.

Favorite food: "Japanese"

Favorite sport: “Golfing. I picked it up in 1993. My best score ever was a 71.”

Most hated chore: "Laundry"

I can't live without: "My cell phone"

The fastest I’ve ever driven was: “160 miles per hour, but it was on a NASCAR track. My wife bought me a driving package for my birthday one year at California Speedway, and it’s a lot of fun. You have a driver in there and you put a helmet on and they give you lessons and show you how to take the corners, which, being a jockey, I know angles, so it was easy to catch on.”

If I could trade careers with another professional athlete, I would: “Be Tiger Woods. But do you really want to be under the magnifying glass about everything like that, unable to go out in public without being stopped, you know? You can’t really do anything. As far as being at the top of his game, though, the way he’s playing, that would be it for me.”

Another rider I admire is: "Johnny Velazquez"

One thing I wish people knew about jockeys: “It’s not as glamorous as people think it is. We put in a lot of hours, we show up and ride horses in the mornings, we ride in the afternoons, we fly in the evenings; we’re working hard.”

The best part about winning the Derby this year would be: “Doing something that not a whole lot of people get to achieve. This race happens once each year, but it happens to a horse once in a lifetime. It’s one of those goals we all set out to achieve. As a kid growing up, it’s one of the things you wish you’d be able to experience. It’s one of those things that until you experience it, you don’t know how it’ll really feel—but you know it would mean a lot.”