Bill Mott and son, Riley. (Tim Wilkin, Notes Team)
The younger Mott saddles his first Breeders’ Cup horse Argos in the Juvenile Turf (G1).
Breeders’ Cup Closer Look
Oh, there was never a doubt that this was where Riley Mott was going to end up.
Ever since he was 8 years old, all young Riley wanted to do was this. While others his age might have dreamed of becoming the shortstop for the New York Yankees or a fireman or an astronaut, Riley Mott wanted to be a horse trainer.
“I kind of put all my eggs into one basket,” Mott said. “Maybe not the smartest idea, but I was able to realize my passion at a very young age.”
Mott certainly has horse racing in his DNA.
His father is Hall of Famer Bill Mott and the two are reunited this week at the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar. Riley, who was an assistant for his father for nine years before going out on his own in the fall of 2022, will saddle his first Breeders’ Cup horse when Argos runs in Friday’s Juvenile Turf (G1).
Argos will bunk in the same barn that houses his dad’s two horses, the imposing Sovereignty in the Classic and Scylla in the Distaff.
“I’m glad I don’t have to run against him because I don’t want him beating me,” the dry-witted elder Mott said outside his barn at Del Mar. “Now, I can root for him. I absolutely want him to win, and I think he wants me to win.”
The elder Mott was looking forward to having his son join him on the Del Mar backside. Riley Mott plies his trade in Kentucky while his dad sets up shop in Saratoga for much of the year.
Monday morning, while Bill Mott was putting Sovereignty and Scylla through their final Breeders’ Cup workouts at Del Mar and dealing with a steady flow of print and video journalists, Riley Mott was doing his thing with Argos in relative obscurity.
And that was fine with him. He was more than content to soak in the atmosphere. Besides being in the same barn with his dad, two of his friends, Will Walden and Miguel Clement, also have horses in the same barn. They are also saddling their first Breeders’ Cup horses.
“Certainly, bringing my own horse under our own banner means a lot,” Riley Mott said. “Hopefully, it’s the first of many.”
Riley Mott, 33, checked one big box on his resume earlier this year when he won his first Grade 1 race. It came with the 3-year-old World Beater (11-1) in the Saratoga Derby Invitational at Saratoga Race Course on Aug. 2.
His dad finished seventh in that race with Capitol Hill.
Since then, Riley Mott has picked up another Grade 1, that coming when Argos won the Summer Stakes at Woodbine. According to Equibase, Riley Mott has 98 career wins in 618 starts. He has a long way to go to catch up with dad, who has made 5,558 trips to the winner’s circle.
The Motts will enjoy this little family reunion; both are here to compete and win.
Father Bill said he and Riley will talk about the horses; they do that all the time. But he is not going to stay clear of what his son is doing.
“I am not going to interfere with what he is doing,” Bill Mott said. “He wants to do his own thing. That is the way he wants it and I can understand that. Naturally, if he would ask, I would do whatever I could, but I would not interfere.”
Riley Mott made it a point to get a good glimpse of Sovereignty Monday morning. He still bleeds Mott blood and, as they say, blood is thicker than water. He will be rooting for dear old dad on Saturday.
“He is competitive; he still has the fire,” Riley said of his 72-year-old father. “Hopefully, it will be a fruitful weekend for both of us.”
