Stakes Quotes

JOCKEY QUOTES

MARTIN GARCIA, JOHN SCOTT, WINNER: “He’s a really good horse. He’s been unlucky the races before, but today he ran a really good race. I had so much horse when we turned for the top of the stretch but he felt lonely and started looking for company. I didn’t think the other horses could have passed me at anytime because I had a lot of horse. He was waiting for company, and as soon as they came he started running again.”

JUAN HERNANDEZ, HUNTSVILLE, SECOND: “My horse was running, but he just didn’t have anywhere to go. He ran good.

JOCKEY QUOTES

GARRETT GOMEZ, MORE CHOCOLATE, WINNER: “I just let her relax and wasn’t in a hurry with her. She was relaxed going into the first turn then jumped up in the bridle on me; I didn’t want to get into a wrestling match with her so I let her be. She settled into a good rhythm going down the backside. I haven’t had a horse turn for home like she did for me in a long time. She was looking around and in a high cruise control.

JOCKEY QUOTES

MIKE SMITH, FED BIZ, WINNER: “I really liked him when I breezed him before the race on opening day and for some odd reason he got really hot. I hadn’t taken two steps inside the gate and he was over, threw me out the back, and he just wasn’t right after that. I told Bob (Baffert about the incident) when I got to see him later that day and ever since they’ve really been schooling him.

JOCKEY QUOTES

GARY STEVENS, JEBRICA, THIRD: “You can prepare all you want – like preparing a horse for a race in the morning. There’s nothing like a race itself. It feels good to get the cobwebs out, and I feel good. I’m proud of the people who have helped me get to this point, and I want to make them proud moving forward.”

(What did it feel like after seven years?)

“It felt really good. I rode long enough to know that turning into the backside, I was going to be loaded coming into the stretch.