Rome Talks Shared Belief (Part 2)

Nationally prominent sports talk show host Jim Rome is part owner of Shared Belief, the unbeaten (five-for-five) morning line 5-2 favorite for Sunday’s $1 million TVG Pacific Classic. While vacationing last week in Europe with his family, Rome responded to some emailed questions from Del Mar officials. Here’s Part II of the correspondence. Part I appeared in Thursday’s Stable Notes.

Question: Any thoughts about your 3-year-old taking on older horses for the first time? Are you concerned about your “boy” taking on the “men”?

Answer: “I'm absolutely concerned about our "boy" taking on the "men" in this spot.  Shared Belief has done everything right and everything we've asked of him.  But we've never asked him to go a mile and a quarter.  And we've never asked him to do it against older.  And I'm not sure he can.  Then again, we wouldn't run him in here if we didn't think he had a shot.  And if he's in the gate, and we get some racing luck, he should be a factor when they turn for home.”

Question: Realizing that Shared Belief is a gelding who hopefully will have at least several more racing seasons ahead of him, do you think we can count on him for next year’s Pacific Classic, and the one after that?

Answer: “After several years in this game, I've learned a lot of lessons.  Mostly I've learned, nothing is promised.  This game has turned me into an equine Belichick.  Or Tiger Woods.  ‘The course looks good.  My swing feels good.  I like my chances.’ This game is extremely humbling.

“Seriously, I hope he came out of all his works and makes it to THIS year's Classic!  One day at a time.  Especially since we missed the entire Triple Crown season due to injury.  That said, this gelding really is once in a lifetime and because he's a gelding, here's hoping we keep him sound and we all have a nice long ride with him.”

Question: Anything to add? 

Answer: “If you're an owner, trainer or jockey on the West Coast, you want to run in this meet. And you want to run in this race. And most of all, you want to have a chance to win it. It wasn't that long ago that I used to just hope to score a good seat the day of the Pacific Classic.  Knowing we have a horse that folks think has a chance to win the race is unfathomable to me. Getting into this race a few years back was just a pipe dream. I have to ask our bloodstock agent, Alex Solis, who put us in Shared Belief, if it's real.”

Source: Del Mar