00:00This week on First Things First, first, the Santa Anita crew spoke with Jamie Spencer, the European champion jockey who
00:07was new to the Santa Anita jockey colony.
00:09Zoe Catman chatted with him about his decision to move his tack here.
00:13Michelle Yu caught up with him after his first California stakes victory with Tirupati in the Swingtime Stakes.
00:24I am very happy to be joined by a new addition to the Southern California Riders' Colony in Jamie Spencer.
00:31Jamie, welcome to Santa Anita.
00:33Thanks Zoe, thank you.
00:34I see it's cooled down a little bit. How hot was it when you first got here and what were
00:38you thinking? Oh my God, what is this?
00:40Yeah, it's pretty similar, I suppose, to what Kentucky Downs is like. It was very hot earlier in the week,
00:46but obviously it's cooled down yesterday and today, so it's a nice time.
00:49Jamie, it's been announced that you're going to stay here through Santa Anita, through Dalmai, you're fresh off a Grade
00:551 win up there at Woodbine.
00:56What led to the decision to shift your tack here to the Great Race place?
01:00Well, usually it's a quieter time of year for me. Obviously, we've got Champions Weekend next weekend in the UK,
01:07but I'm going to Australia anyway.
01:09So I kind of just thought, well, I normally start shutting down, so I thought I'll do a bit more
01:15for the next few months.
01:16And chatting to, obviously, Simon and George and Aiden, obviously, they said, why don't you come here and enjoy a
01:27bit of nicer weather?
01:27Joined right now by Jamie Spencer, first stakes win here for this new vision of coming to Santa Anita for
01:34this wintertime.
01:35Jamie, congratulations. How's it feel?
01:37Yeah, it's nice. Obviously, it's nice to get that first win on the board. Jonathan was pretty keen on her
01:43chances.
01:43I was a little bit restless in the gates, so I had to go to Plan B and rather patiently.
01:48Originally, we wanted to be kind of sort of in the first three and take the lead, but, you know,
01:52it worked out well.
01:53I always saw from the top of the straight she was going to grind them out and nail them late
01:56on.
01:56And I suppose I better apologize to your husband and the people who rode the first few horses because it
02:01took me, it takes a few races to get used to it again.
02:04And it's such a tight track to what we're used to in Europe, but I'm sure we'll get the hang
02:08of it.
02:15It's the most wunderbar time of the year.
02:17Oktoberfest continues this coming weekend at Santa Anita.
02:21Join us for more Bavarian beer and eats plus live music and entertainment by past action heroes playing your favorite
02:2880s and 90s hits.
02:29We'll also have a costume contest, a stein holding competition.
02:33I'm not entering that, by the way.
02:35Cornhole plank and keg rolling.
