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American Morning
War Emblem Will Try to be Horse Racing's First Triple Crown Winner in 24 Years
Aired June 07, 2002 - 10:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: War Emblem entered the Kentucky Derby as the dark horse, but he emerged as the winner. The result was the same at the Preakness. And, tomorrow, War Emblem will not only try to win the Belmont, but also claim to be horse racing's first triple crown winner in 24 years.
Joining us is an insider from the horse world, and the author of "Horse of a Different Color." James Squires is a career newspaperman. and he entered the horse breeding industry in 1990. Got out of this wacky news business and got into even a stranger business of the horse world it sounds like. He has been on the inside rail ever since, and joining us from horse country in Lexington, Kentucky.
Good morning. Good to have you with us.
JAMES SQUIRES, AUTHOR, "HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR": Well, thank you very much. I'm delighted to be here.
KAGAN: As someone who has horse racing, I'm sure, just pumping through his veins, you have to be pretty excited about the idea of triple crown winner tomorrow, the possibility.
SQUIRES: This is great opportunity for racing. This is such a hard accomplishment, to win three races in five weeks, and generally, it's done by a horse who's just a little bit better than all...
KAGAN: Jim, let me interrupt you just a moment, because our bread and butter here at CNN is breaking news, and we are getting word that there is a verdict in the Michael Skakel murder trial that's been taking place in Norwalk, Connecticut. Of course Skakel is on trial for the murder of Martha Moxley. The jury has had this for a number of days. We're not sure what the verdict is, and have not yet received word exactly when that verdict will be read. But of course, when we have it, you will hear it first here on CNN.
All right, we will get to more on the Skakel verdict in just a moment.
Meanwhile, while we have that story on the side there, let's get back and talk triple crown and War Emblem and the possibility of all this happening tomorrow. And I apologize for the interruption.
SQUIRES: The opportunity comes along so seldom, when you have a horse that's a little bit better than all the others. There's a great chance it will happen. This is a very good horse. His competition seems to be mediocre. He has a great trainer. So there's a very good opportunity we will have triple crown winner this year.
KAGAN: I understand he's a mean son of a gun, too.
SQUIRES: Well, he certainly has a attitude. He likes to bite. But that's part of aggressiveness that is necessary. A lot of great horses are very aggressive, and they're aggressive to everyone around him. This horse seems to be quite a professional, though, in his racing ability. He does not lose his cool. He's just aggressive, and he's aggressive toward other horses and maybe a trainer or two about getting his way.
KAGAN: And for horse that seems like natural on the verge of making history, it seems incredible that three weeks before the Kentucky Derby, he was on the auction block, and he was for sale.
SQUIRES: Well, the reason for that is, is that there's a lot of -- he suddenly showed some brilliance in the Illinois Derby about a month before the Kentucky Derby that no one had seen before. He ran very fast in a year when many of the other horses weren't running so fast. And he also had some personality problems.
(AUDIO GAP)
SQUIRES: ... be able to run the mile 1/4 in the derby. But there's some keen eyes out there, and certainly Bob Baffert is one of them.
KAGAN: He is.
SQUIRES: And a lot of people thought the horse might have great potential, and he's proven that he does.
KAGAN: He has indeed. And I'm sorry to cut you short. I wish we had much more time to talk about his potential, but as we mentioned, we do have the breaking news with the Skakel case. James Squires, thanks for joining us. I'm sure you'll be watching tomorrow as the Belmont takes place, many will as well.
SQUIRES: I will, thank you.
KAGAN: So once again, War Emblem having a chance to make history.
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