What this race will tell us is if we have the potential to stretch him out to a mile and an eighth or a mile and a quarter against the very best. I would be surprised if he didn't run well at a mile and a sixteenth. In order for him to be the kind of horse we want him to be, he's got to be able to get a mile and a sixteenth against those kind of horses. |
When it looked like he was beaten, he dug in. He just kept on fighting. It doesn't feel exactly like a win but we are delighted with the way he ran. |
When they threw up 47 2/5 (seconds for the half-mile), I said 'Perfect.' We didn't want to be going any faster than that. I was watching Johnny's hands and could see he was sitting very confident. |
When you get to October, it's generally the right time of year to try 3-year-olds against older horses. That part of it we're not overly concerned about. The kind of races he ran in the Jim Dandy and Travers — we don't necessarily really need to improve. |
You always want to win. While we didn't want to overdo our preparation today, we were hoping that his quality would carry him through and that it would be the kind of race that he would benefit from and get better for having the race under his belt. It really worked out well. |
You can't jump to conclusions just yet. |
You have to say now that she's one of the top mares -- maybe of all time, |
You have to say now that she's one of the top mares — maybe of all time. This was a loaded race. Six Grade 1 winners. Happy Ticket had been beaten only once coming in, Society Selection and the unbeaten 3-year-old (Sweet Symphony). She beat everyone you can beat today. |
You just want to see her do well, ... Hopefully, she can go out on a winning note. She doesn't owe us anything. She's been a superstar. It'll be sad when she does go, but by the same token she's going to go be a broodmare and after three years of running in the races she's been in, it will be nice to see her retire the right way. To do it all at two, three and four at all the different distances is amazing. She's a great filly. |
You just want to see her do well. Hopefully, she can go out on a winning note. She doesn't owe us anything. She's been a superstar. It'll be sad when she does go, but by the same token she's going to go be a broodmare and after three years of running in the races she's been in, it will be nice to see her retire the right way. To do it all at two, three and four at all the different distances is amazing. She's a great filly. |
You never know for sure until you go over there and run in a race, but it certainly appears as though he likes the grass, ... He worked well and we worked him with a couple of graded stakes winners on the turf. He showed us it was certainly worth a try. |