BREEDERS' CUP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

October 31, 2026

Eric Gustavson

Further Ado

Keeneland Race Course

Dirt Mile

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Well, a big congratulations to you, Eric Gustavson, with Spendthrift Farm. Further Ado, whoo, did you have to sweat that out again.

ERIC GUSTAVSON: Yeah, we thought we had lost it. Everybody had our heads down, and the camera is ahead of the finish line, so it looked like he may have lost the bob and everybody was excited with the other horse, and that had to be tough for them. I feel bad for them.

And then the camera on track was going to the jockey on the other horse, so we had resigned ourselves. And then it turned around. Like my phone is blowing up right now.

Q. In a good way.

ERIC GUSTAVSON: In a good way, yeah. That was quite a roller coaster of emotions to think we had lost and then to find out that we had won. That was unbelievable.

THE MODERATOR: Even from the start of the race it seemed like he wasn't in his normal position, and he was kind of behind horses.

ERIC GUSTAVSON: Yeah, he got off to a pretty good start, and then he got behind horses, and I was worried, I'm sure some of the other guys and gals were as well, because it reminded me of what happened in the Pennsylvania Derby.

He really got pinned down in there longer than he wanted to be, and thankfully Flavien was able to kick him out when we got to the stretch there and make a run of it. He wants more ground. He loves it here. Thank God for Keeneland. He loves it here.

But you can tell he wants more ground. He's a mile and an eighth guy. It's a tweener for the Breeders' Cup obviously, so you have to go one way or the other, and we're just so happy it worked out.

Q. And the decision for the dirt mile as opposed to going into the classic, how hard was that to make that decision?

ERIC GUSTAVSON: Yeah, we had gone back and forth, including with Brad. Two weeks ago he was thinking we'd go in the classic, all things considered. Again, him loving the track and having a little extra time to stretch out. You could see the problem today with him; he was a little short for the mile.

But ultimately, the way Brad said it was, I think this gives him the best chance to win a race. Let's go win this race, and we did, by the grace of God.

Q. He's only a three-year-old, so we're going to look forward to seeing him next year?

ERIC GUSTAVSON: We're going to have a sit-down with the guys. We're in the business of standing stallions, so it's really tempting to go to the shed after this, off of a big win like that.

But we're going to let it cool down, enjoy it for the weekend, and then we'll talk with the team on Monday, Tuesday and start -- we'll talk to Brad as well, obviously, and start formulating a plan.

Q. Could you compare the feelings watching him the last two times he ran at Keeneland and he won by 20 and he won by 11 and you knew what was going to happen, versus thinking you lost and then finding out you won?

ERIC GUSTAVSON: Yeah. I like it the other way better. I don't mind the huge stretch-out wins.

But it was really exciting. You know, I try not to get too high or too low. It's a great game.

But these things, you know, you get on the wrong side of it all the time, which we thought we were, as I described.

I was just feeling, well, he's had a great season. We'll shut him down and then make the choice about what to do with him, but you can't fault the effort. Then when we won, it was just like elation. We had a bunch of people with us, obviously, and everybody was erupting.

And for me, again, I don't get too low or too high, but I was about as low as I do get and I was about as high as I do get, so it was great. It was really fun.

Q. I just want to make sure I understand. He was announced as going to stud next year.

ERIC GUSTAVSON: He was, yes.

Q. Are you saying it could still be under evaluation, that he could still race?

ERIC GUSTAVSON: It is. I respect all the opinions of our team that makes the choice. Brad, of course, will do whatever we choose. He'd probably love to have him. There's at least one member of our team that really wants him to run on. And I don't think he's necessarily wrong, but he thinks he'll improve as a four-year old, much like Gun Runner himself.

I'm not comparing him to Gun Runner, so don't get me wrong. It's very tempting to do that again. If we didn't have a stud farm in Anita, a top stallion to come in, then it would be an easy choice to just run him back. So that's what makes him so difficult.

Q. Again, you're in the business of making stallions. The way he won today with the grit and also the fact that it's a mile and how the breeding world loves those milers --

ERIC GUSTAVSON: Yeah, that's true.

Q. How much do you think that is going to add to him as a stallion?

ERIC GUSTAVSON: I think that's a really good point. I think it shows his versatility for a horse that wants to stretch out on the cut-back, that he's able to lay it down and run his heart out.

He really gave it all for us today, and man, I'm just so proud of him. I hadn't thought about that, but that's a really good point. That's an eye opener for breeders and they'll like that, and he's by the right stallion.