Breezing a star like Journalism (Curlin) demands an extra level of concentration. It isn't that the colt is headstrong or unfocused. If anything, he does his job almost too well.“You have to be careful about your fractions because you're thinking that you're going really slowly, but really you're going quick with him,” said Tony Gutierrez. “You don't feel when he's touching the ground. He floats.”While Marc Witkowski is Journalism's regular exercise rider, Gutierrez has been aboard the talented colt for the majority of his breezes since he was just a 2-year-old in Michael McCarthy's barn. He rode the three-time Grade I winner for his latest breeze on Sept. 26, where he worked a bullet four furlongs in :47 flat in preparation for this year's GI Breeders' Cup Classic. “I got really excited about the way he worked that day,” said Gutierrez. “With him, you just have to be the pilot. He's a horse that wants to do what he wants to do.”That instinct–the ability to feel what a horse is telling him–is what makes Gutierrez one of the most sought-after work riders on the Santa Anita backside.While Gutierrez spends much of his time as an exercise rider in Phil d'Amato's barn, where he partners daily with recent GIII Green Flash Handicap winner and Breeders' Cup hopeful Motorious (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}), he also bounces to different barns throughout the morning when trainers call upon him to breeze their best horses.Gutierrez and She's a Tiger in 2013 | HorsephotosGutierrez came by his horsemanship skills naturally. Born and raised in Mexico City, he grew up in a family deeply rooted in racing. His father was an exercise rider, but tragically passed away in a training accident when Gutierrez was just 3 years old. With his mother left to raise four children on her own, it was Gutierrez's uncle Arturo, a trainer, who stepped in. Arturo brought young Tony and his brother to the racetrack day after day, immersing them in the sport. By 14, Gutierrez was riding races in Mexico.A few years later, he seized the opportunity to come to the United States. He went to work for veteran trainer Jeff Bonde, and at age 22, rode his first American race at a county fair in California. Over the next 14 years, Gutierrez moved his tack from small fairs to Golden Gate and Bay Meadows, and even spent brief stints in New York and at Monmouth Park. By the time he retired in 2013, he had collected 149 career wins in the U.S.Gutierrez went back to California to focus on exercise riding and in the years since, has developed his reputation for giving trainers exactly what they're looking to see in their horses' works.“Every trainer has their own style, so you have to learn about different barns,” he explained. “If Phil asks me to work a horse, I try my best to do it his way. Michael McCarthy, same thing. I guess that's why they're asking me to work with these important horses, which is a big deal. I have to thank a lot of trainers that have given me their trust because it's not easy. It's a lot of pressure, but it doesn't feel like a lot pressure because I know they trust me.”“My entire career has been about horses,” he continued. “Of course, you're dreaming of one day getting on some of the nicest horses in the world.”One of the first big-name horses Gutierrez worked with was She's a Tiger (Tale of the Cat), who won the 2013 Del Mar Debutante and was runner-up in the 2013 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Some of his other favorites include multiple Grade I winner Lava Man (Slew City Slew), 2014 GI Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) and, more recently, 2024 GI Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (Goldencents).Journalism is now on that list of all-time best horses Gutierrez has ridden. The horseman said the son of Curlin showed promise from the start.Gutierrez and Journalism breezing at Del Mar | Zoe Metz“Michael has always said there was something about this horse and I got that feeling too,” Gutierrez said. “When he won the Los Alamitos Futurity last year, it was pretty amazing. I kept working with the horse and he kept getting better and better.”Motorious is another horse that Gutierrez is excited about. After running second in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, the d'Amato trainee has gone undefeated in his past three starts. His most recent win in the Green Flash Handicap was a 'Win and You're In' for the Turf Sprint.“I've been riding Motorious for four years,” said Gutierrez. “We have a connection together. I know when he's happy and I know when he's down. I love the way he's training right now. That last race was really amazing. He's a horse that always gives you 100%. He deserves to win those kinds of races.”For Gutierrez, the Breeders' Cup is like graduation day. The horses he has guided through morning after morning of work now take center stage, and like a proud parent, he can only hope they remember everything he's taught them.“Everybody wants to go to the Breeders' Cup,” he said. “For the riders, the trainers, the grooms, it's what we are dreaming about, to be in those kinds of special races. It's not easy. It takes a lot to get there. I'm blessed that trainers give me the opportunity to ride those kinds of horses.”Watching his trainees succeed at the highest level is one of Gutierrez's favorite aspects of his job. But even if he wasn't riding Grade I winners and Breeders' Cup hopefuls, he would still be getting out of bed every day with the same enthusiasm.“I come in the morning and enjoy it,” he said. “Usually I never take a day off because if I do, it feels like something is missing throughout my day. Horses are like my family. So for me, I have to make them feel that we're not working. We're just going out there to have fun. I have to ride in the morning to feel good about myself. Horses give me that and I do the same for the horses. This is my passion. I've never done anything else. It's a lot of work, but I don't think I can ask for more.” The post Breeders’ Cup Connections: Tony Gutierrez and the Art of Breezing appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.