Mike said he was waiting for the call. |
Test of the Champion. |
The main thing is we wanted him to settle. We didn't want to push him. We didn't want to take a hold of him. We just wanted him to place himself. We had the experience of knowing what they did in his prior race. |
The Santa Anita Handicap was a tough race on him. He needed to regroup a little. We'll probably look for a race here at Hollywood Park. |
The times I've watched Brother Derek run, he's done everything perfectly. |
Tom Meeker really took care of us. Being in this race was exciting and we really appreciated everything he did for us. |
We didn't expect him to do that well going short. He ran so well. |
We feel very good about Mike riding the Belmont for us. He obviously knows the track very well. |
We needed to refocus and he just needed to be comfortable again. We didn't want to feel like we had to run in the Belmont but, obviously, we wanted to. |
We were looking for a quiet place and this is it. What's better than coming to Belmont Park and stabling in the Phipps' barn? |
We're not looking to go on the road. We'll definitely stay home. |
With a Giant's Causeway, it makes you feel good. We don't want to reinforce the speed. He trains like a horse that wants to go farther. There are a lot of opportunities for horses when they develop. |
You just have to admire someone who can deal with that type of adversity. |
You want your horse to win if possible, but you don't want to beat him up. You've got to think down the road a little bit. |