LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) 鈥� Gustavo Delgado Sr. and his son work so well together as a training duo that Gustavo Jr. does not see himself taking over the business once his dad is done. Riley Mott felt the opposite while assisting his Hall of Fame father, Bill, for nearly a decade before starting his own stable.
Traveling different paths, they all got to this year, where Father’s Day is coming early at Churchill Downs. The Delgados have The Puma, the elder Mott is looking to go back to back with Chief Wallabee, and his 34-year-old son has his first two Derby horses in Albus and Incredibolt.
鈥淵ou always want your children 鈥� you hope they鈥檙e better than you,鈥� Bill Mott told The Associated Press on Wednesday. 鈥淎nd I think that鈥檚 probably the case. We鈥檙e very proud of him.鈥�
Bill Mott has two Kentucky Derby titles already, though in 2019 when Maximum Security was disqualified made feel more like his first. A competitor in his own right, he acknowledges it would be quite special to see Riley do it.
That’s the goal, now.
鈥淚t was extremely special for Sovereignty because I鈥檓 still part of the family, part of the team,鈥� Riley said. 鈥淏ut to do it on my own, this is my baby 鈥� our stable, our business. It鈥檚 my brainchild, my baby. It鈥檚 like my life鈥檚 work, so naturally to do it on your own would be tenfold special.鈥�
The Puma is set to be the Delgados’ fourth horse in the Kentucky Derby and their first since winning it with . The horse, named for Gustavo Sr.’s nickname for his resemblance to popular Venezuelan artist Jos茅 Luis Rodr铆guez, occupies the same stall as Mage did, and the occasion has the father-son training duo reliving all the delightful memories from three years ago.
鈥淚t feels great just to be back to Churchill at this time of the year with a horse going to the Derby,鈥� Gustavo Jr. said. 鈥淚’m happy to be back here.鈥�
They own part of The Puma, along with Ramiro Restrepo and others, and jockey Javier Castellano is riding again after Mage was his . The Deglados’ partnership has reached a stage where they don’t even argue with one another and see things the same way.
鈥淢y dad and I, we work so (well) together and we share the same passion,鈥� Gustavo Jr. said. 鈥淲e are also best friends. When you have that kind of chemistry, everything works so well, especially when a good horse comes around.鈥�
A lot of good horses came around for Bill Mott since Riley began working for him full time out of college in 2014, so much so that it looked like he’d train for the rest of his life.
鈥淗e鈥檚 never going to retire: He鈥檚 going to die in his boots, so to speak,鈥� Riley said of his dad, who’s 72. 鈥淚 knew it was never going to be a situation where he鈥檇 retire and I鈥檇 take over. He loves the game, he鈥檚 passionate about the horses and he鈥檇 probably get very bored if he retired.鈥�
Through Country House, Tacitus and Sovereignty, it has not been boring for Bill, who doesn’t believe he specifically taught his son particular lessons along the way.
鈥淭here would be things I needed him to do, and he would carry out the whatever it was that we needed to have done, but I never drilled anything into him,鈥� Mott said. 鈥淗e just picked it up. Like a sponge, he just absorbed everything on his own. He鈥檚 a good horseman who knows what鈥檚 going on.鈥�
Naturally, the credit goes to pops, who’s most proud of how Riley treats everyone from grooms to executives with respect and maintains the same even-keeled demeanor.
鈥淚鈥檝e learned almost everything that I know about horses, about life,鈥� Riley said. 鈥淢y lifetime鈥檚 worth of knowledge comes from him.鈥�
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