Cutler Chasing Dream of Riding Second KY Derby Winner

When the Kentucky Derby (G1) field loads into the starting gate at Churchill Downs May 3, 20 jockeys will be envisioning their path to victory. When the lucky rider who succeeds hits the finish line, his photo will be taken from countless angles and be published, broadcasted, and posted across the globe.

Mark Cutler will not be the rider on Burnham Square ‘s back in that picture, but if you took a photo of the Liam’s Map   gelding during morning training you’d most likely capture him aboard. An exercise rider for trainer Ian Wilkes, Cutler had ridden Burnham Square during his 2-year-old training and has reunited with the horse the team calls “Burny” when the 3-year-old returned to Kentucky from his winter in Florida.

At 17, Cutler left school with aspirations to be a jockey. Leaving his native New England for Florida, he worked at Cardinal Hill Farm for Norman Casse, father of dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse. After two breaking seasons, he moved back to New England where he galloped at tracks like Suffolk Downs and Rockingham Park from 1989-2003.

As the New England Thoroughbred circuit began to shut down, Cutler made the move to Kentucky and joined the team of Hall of Fame trainer Carl Nafzger, who was co-training with Wilkes at the time.

Cutler became the regular exercise rider for Street Sense, winner of the 2006 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) and 2007 Kentucky Derby. Now at age 56, he’s hoping he can prepare another runner to wear the roses on the first Saturday in May.

BloodHorse: What is Burnham Square like to ride in the morning?

Mark Cutler: He’s a nice horse to ride. As a 2-year-old he was playful, would shy away from horses. He gets aggressive, he needs to train. We didn’t give him a day off this week because if he gets a day off, he starts kicking the stall and makes my job difficult. He wants to train too hard. As long as we keep him going, he’s happy.

BH: Is there anything specific you do to help him relax on the track? He tends to begin his works pulling with his head low and then gets into a groove as he goes.

MC: He tries to take off and get going and do too much early. I’ve got to keep him a little slowed down. But as he gets going, he starts to relax and just falls into a nice rhythm and can finish the gallop nice and relaxed. Luckily he does not pull on me the whole way.

BH: What led you to become an exercise rider?

MC: My mom had horses when I was a kid; she took me to the races. I’m from New England. I started at Suffolk Downs and Rockingham Park, which unfortunately there’s no more New England racing. That was one of the things that forced me here (to Churchill Downs). New England racing stopped, and I had to go somewhere—Saratoga or Churchill. I decided to come here in 2003. I wanted to find a Derby horse, that was my dream. Luckily, I started working for Carl Nafzger in 2004.

I actually quit one winter because I was offered a really good job in Ocala that I knew was a bad idea. I ended up quitting that job and said, ‘Carl, can I please have my job back?’ That was the year that Street Sense showed up in 2006 that spring. That all worked out really well.

BH: When you started riding Street Sense, how did you see him grow and develop as he approached the 2007 Kentucky Derby?

MC: I first got on him in early summer as a 2-year-old. Some other different riders were getting on him. One rider wasn’t getting along with him. I said to Ian (Wilkes), ‘I really like that horse, I’d really like to get on him.’ I just became his rider. We knew he had a lot of talent. He’s a much different horse than Burny. Very athletic, quick turn off foot. Great stamina. That’s Burny’s great quality: his stamina. He can just keep going and going and going.

BH: Other than their stamina, are there any similarities between Street Sense and Burnham Square?

MC: Not really. Street Sense was a colt. He’d walk to the track and it would take him 10-15 minutes to get there because he was checking everything out. Burny (who is a gelding), he does everything right, but it’s just a different aura about him. A lot more poise with Street Sense. Burny is a little bit of a clown sometimes. He’s going to the track trying to bite the pony. You gotta watch him, he’ll get you.

BH: You’re on these horses every single morning, but what is it like being in the stands seeing that work payoff when Street Sense wins races like the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and Kentucky Derby?

MC: It’s nerve-wracking. You put all that work into them and just ask, ‘How is this going to go? Is it going to go right, is he going to get hurt?’ There’s so many things that can happen. But it’s fun. It’s nerve-wracking and fun all at the same time.

BH: You rode Burnham Square in the fall as a 2-year-old, you were not with him during the winter at Gulfstream Park. Did you see a change in him when he got back? 

MC: He’s grown up a bit. He’s a lot quieter on the track. As a 2-year-old, horses would come near him and he’d jump away. That’s one of the reasons he needs the blinkers. He reacts to other horses a little bit, which is typical 2-year-old stuff. He’s grown up, he’s taken that next step. Hopefully he’s going to get the job done Saturday.

BH: Working for trainers like Carl Nafzger and Ian Wilkes, is there anything you’ve picked up from them that helped make you a better exercise rider?

MC: Focusing on time. He wants them to gallop a certain way. I’ve had other trainers like that in the past but it’s a little more important with some of these horses. I had already been riding quite awhile when I got here and the things that I do, they like. They like the way I ride, so it’s a good mix.

BH: Wilkes was right alongside Nafzger for that win with Street Sense but is now trying to win a Derby under his own name. What does it mean for you and the whole Wilkes team to be back in the Derby spotlight all these years later?

MC: It’s awesome. For me, it’s really special because I quit riding five years ago. I decided that I didn’t want to do it anymore. I was sour, I had knee surgery, my shoulders hurt. I was getting old. I can’t do it forever. For me to come back and them give me the job back, it means a lot. It really does.

BH: When you were off for those five years, what was it that pulled you back?

MC: I have another job that I go to after (training), property maintenance for Dr. Greg Brown at Atwood Farms in Goshen, Ky. He’d always wanted me to go full-time. (Exercise riding) had been my main thing and when I got done I’d go there. I thought maybe it was time, maybe I should go do that full-time and give this up.

After three years, I started getting that itch again. That fire was starting to burn and I was like, ‘Okay, I want to give it a shot.’ I came down here (to Churchill Downs) on a Sunday morning two years ago in April and see if I could find a job with somebody. I had a few people I wanted to go see. I went to Brad Cox’s barn first and he wasn’t there. I went to Lee (Lockwood) the outrider and I asked him if he knew anyone that needed a rider and he said, “Ian just had a guy quit yesterday.” I walked over and said I’d like to work for you again. He said, ‘Okay, be here Monday.’

BH: You leave Nafzger, come back and immediately get Street Sense. You leave Wilkes and come back—did you get another Derby winner when you came back?

MC: We hope so!

BH: There’s probably not too many exercise riders who have had the chance to prepare two Kentucky Derby winners. If Burnham Square wins this race, what would that mean to you?

MC: It’s great. I wish everyone could experience this; what it’s like to be around a horse like this. It’s amazing. We do this every day with all kinds of different horses. To get on a horse like this, it’s everything. I’m also a hockey player; I love hockey. Stanley Cup is the biggest thing. I can just imagine how those guys feel when they win that. It’s unbelievable stuff. It’s a sense of accomplishment. Street Sense was easy, I didn’t have to do anything special. This horse (Burnham Square) makes me work a little harder. If we do get this, it will feel really good. It’s a lot more rewarding.

When I first came down here that Sunday to find a job, I was thinking in my mind, ‘What if I could go back to Ian? What if we could do it again?’ Here we are. We’re close.