Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith took a moment to commemorate his very first horse. He told about his many adventures with a little black pony that his father had bought for him. The pony was called Stormy and taught him many lessons, as only an ordinary Shetland can. Smith said: ‘Stormy had ‘little man syndrome’. I would saddle him up and ride him after school whenever I got the chance. I would learn how to post and how to stay on task without getting rejected.”
Fast forward to the 2025 Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Del Mar. Smith is the all-time leader in wins (27) at the Breeders’ Cup. Since 1990, Smith has provided patient and professional Breeders’ Cup rides to some of horse racing’s all-time greats, including Lure, Skip Away, Azeri, Zenyatta, Royal Delta, Songbird and Arrogate.
This year, Smith is excited about his planned rides with a quartet of great competitors.
Tamara is owned by Spendthrift Farm and is the famous daughter of Hall of Fame racing mare Beholder and is the sire of Bolt d’Oro. She is trained by Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, who saddled Beholder for her three Breeders’ Cup victories. Mandella said: “Tamara is a very special filly, clearly gifted and a sweetheart to be around. A great fit for Mike Smith, a great gentleman and a great rider.”
Smith will ride Tamara in the PNC Bank Filly & Mare Sprint. He was her jockey in five previous starts, including her victory in the 2023 FanDuel Racing Del Mar Debutante Stakes and the recent Grade 3 Chillingworth Stakes. She placed seventh in the NetJets Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies in November 2023 and was given some time off. Smith said after winning the Chillingworth Stakes: “She certainly filled in a lot. Mr Mandella and his whole team did a fantastic job of giving her the time she needed to get back. She really wanted to get out of there.” [the gate]. Once she hit her left belt, she switched gears!
Bottle of Rouge is a son of Vino Rosso out of the Bluegrass Cat mare Blues Corner. She was trained by Bob Baffert and owned by his wife Jill Baffert. Bottle of Rouge will play at the NetJets Juvenile Fillies. They recently won the 75e edition of the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante. It was an emotional victory for Jill Baffert, who cried with joy in the winner’s circle. It was Smith’s fourth victory in the Debutante and he had nothing but praise for Bottle of Rouge. “First time I sat on her; never even worked her. I have to thank Jill when she told Bob to ride me, she wouldn’t give up. She insisted, so he turned me on. Thanks, Jill. Thanks, Bob. She ran well today.”
A copy is a four-year-old filly who has won four stakes races. Her father is also Omaha Beach (out of the Victory Gallop mare Galloping Ami). Trained by Mandella and owned by Spendthrift Farm, she will race against the boys for the first time in the Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
Mandella explained to Michelle Yu on FanDuel TV that he is competing Kopion in the Sprint instead of against her stablemate Tamara in the Filly & Mare Sprint. Smith took Kopion to the track Sunday morning with instructions to “cheer her up a little” for the shorter race. Mandella told Yu, “She turned 33 and [one-fifth] and it looked like 36 [seconds]. She just galloped. She’s great right now. It’s selfish on my part to run two horses in one race [Tamara and Kopion] trying to guarantee a win. The two fillies are so good that they deserve to have their own day.”
Smith finished after morning practice and said, “She ran out the lights!” He told FanDuel TV’s Yu: “That was a treat and a half. The idea was just to give her some speed… I pulled her up halfway and jogged her a little bit… I just sat on her and she took off like it was a match race – real cruising. I mean, she was still very comfortable. It was a rhythm she could handle very well. I slowed her way down after the wire and tried not to go too fast to go outside. She still went out in 46 minutes. [seconds] and change.”
Smith is ready to let Kopion race the boys. “I think it’s great. Zenyatta beat the boys in the Classic. It would be great to beat the boys in the Sprint. She has the ability. It all depends on the draw and the journey. She is doing extremely well and she is happy.”
Nevada Beachan Omaha Beach colt owned by Mike Pegram, Paul Weitman and Karl Watson, is competing in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic. Smith will drive it for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. They recently teamed up to win the Grade 1 Goodwood Stakes. After the race, Smith said, “Nevada Beach traveled beautifully. There were several strategies for this race and Bob told me he would go every bit of the mile and eighth to do what I had to do. I was brave enough to keep going and push at the end and the horse responded great!”
Baffert was satisfied. After the race, he said, “We’ve always been very high on this horse. … Today he showed what he’s made of. They ran fast. When I went home I thought, ‘Well, this is the moment when you find out what you’re really made of.’ He dug in and Mike Smith rode a great race. Mike drove [his sire] Omaha Beach, and I really like Omaha Beach. I think he’s going to be a very good father.”
Smith guided Omaha Beach to Grade 1 wins in the Arkansas Derby, Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes and Malibu Stakes in 2019, as well as a second in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. He said Nevada Beach likes the Del Mar track and does well there. “The mile and the quarter should be right up his alley!”
When Smith gets on a horse for the first time, he has an internal checklist. “Once you warm up, you can feel if they are heavy or if they are light on their mouth. It’s about you adjusting to them, not them adjusting to you.”
He further explained: “It’s not as difficult as people think. You can learn from their connections about their little quirks and the little things they like and don’t like. Sometimes you have to discover things during the race yourself. Do they have trouble with the recoil? Do they not like being indoors or crowded? Claustrophobic? Then when they feel comfortable, you can feel them relaxing and getting into a rhythm. That’s the key! The horse in a nice, nice rhythm get it early. If you do that, they will breathe well and give you what they have. You can feel when they are happy. Once I get them to that happy place with a good rhythm, I think ‘it’s going to happen today!’ ”
Mike Smith is a spiritual man and he loves horses. After each win, he pauses at the back to pray and give thanks for “blessing me and for this horse coming back safe. For everyone coming back. The horses are all safe and sound. That’s kind of what I pray for; the opportunity and to have a good race.”
Speaking about his lifelong love of horses, Smith said: “They’re just amazing to look at to begin with. Just so cool and they communicate with you. The little things turn into something so big; I’m always amazed at how big, beautiful and powerful they are. They’re extremely strong. You have to pay attention. But you can relax and let them do things. You get a horse to do more with finesse and patience than with brute force. Good hands on a horse means a lot of.”
“Everything I have in my life is because of horses. I’m not saying I wouldn’t be alive if I didn’t have a horse, but I certainly wouldn’t live like that. With the opportunity to ride these beautiful horses and the feeling you get from them, there really are no words to describe that feeling. It’s a great feeling when you cross the line first. It’s about letting the horse do what you want to do. If you ride well, and you’ve gotten them to give you everything. It’s a good feeling.”
From a raunchy Shetland pony named Stormy to the arena of world-class racing, Smith has reached extraordinary heights from the back of a horse. He is blessed with many wonderful memories. He simply says, “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
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