SANTANA MILE QUOTES, SATURDAY, APRIL 4TH, 2009

JOCKEY QUOTES

JOSE VALDIVIA, RAIL TRIP, WINNER: “Going into the far turn, he started picking up the bridle and that’s a good thing. He was going so easily, I didn’t want to take hold of him at that point. I was a little bit surprised at the wire, but he picked it up again on the gallop out. Based on the way he galloped out, I’m confident he’s got a lot left in the tank and I’m confident he’ll get a mile and a sixteenth at Hollywood Park.”

RAFAEL BEJARANO, DAKOTA PHONE, SECOND: “When I see a jockey like that holding his horse, I don’t want to scream too much and let him know I’m coming. So, I just kept riding my horse. My horse was trying and almost passed him, but he was a better horse. We made one run in the stretch.”

TRAINER QUOTES

RON ELLIS, RAIL TRIP, WINNER: “He (Jose Valdivia Jr.) was just trying to take it as easy as he could, and he said he didn’t think that horse (Dakota Phone) was coming that fast, so, luckily, it worked out. He (Rail Trip) doesn’t handle this track as well as he does at Hollywood (Park). He was trying to make it as easy as possible on him, but that’s cutting it close, and even he (Valdivia) said when he came back, ‘Sorry about that.’”

NOTES: The winning owners are Mace and Samantha Siegel of Beverly Hills, who race as Jay Em Ess Stable.