WISHING WELL STAKES QUOTES

JOCKEYS

RAFAEL BEJARANO, UNZIP ME, WINNER: “I should have been on the lead. I didn’t try to use too much horse this time. I knew the three was going to put on pressure. My filly broke really sharp from the gate and I saw the three rush a little bit so I decided to take her back and wait a little bit. She showed me a big kick in the stretch.”

JOEL ROSARIO, TERODA, SECOND: “Perfect trip. That’s a tough horse (Unzip Me) to beat. I tried my best to beat her. She’s always there. I thought my horse ran a very good race, we were just second best today.”

TRAINERS

MARTY JONES, UNZIP ME, WINNER: “I think the pace was a little quicker than it looked (like it would be) on paper. I think Raf (Rafael Bejarano) did a good job in trying to get her settle off those horses a little bit. She’s just all heart. She’s a special horse.
“We’ll see how she takes the race and we’ll talk it over (before we decide what’s next). It was disappointing the other day (third in the Monrovia on Jan. 2) but it’s nice to see her get back on track. We’ll play it by ear. Obviously, she likes running down the hill, so if there are spots like that, it’s tough to pass them up if you know she likes them.”

NOTES: The winning owners are John Harris of Coalinga, Don Valpredo of Bakersfield, Per Antonsen of Coalinga and Marty Jones of Arcadia. Jones said it was special to win this race since his father, retired trainer Gary Jones, trained Wishing Well, for whom the race is named.

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