GRADE II, SANTA ANITA OAKS STAKES QUOTES 

__GRADE II, SANTA ANITA OAKS STAKES QUOTES __

JOCKEY QUOTES

JUAN HERNANDEZ, MEANING, WINNER: “She was rather game. She broke so sharp and good. I saw the horse on the outside and the one that was on the lead (French Blue), so I decided to keep her back. When she came back to me, that's when she started traveling beautifully. I was saving ground inside, and when something opened up on the outside, we made our move. Every race she's getting better and more professional." 

MIKE SMITH, FORCED ENTRY, DID NOT FINISH: “She broke really well, but she must have hit herself leaving the gate. She was real choppy and didn’t feel comfortable. I would rather not take any chances, so I wanted to pull her up.”

TRAINER QUOTES

MICHAEL MCCARTHY, MEANING & BROOKLYN BLONDE, WINNER & SECOND: “I’m proud of both of these fillies. I felt good in the stretch, but I felt a lot better after crossing the line. I was thinking about the demanding side of this track today. We’ll get them both to Churchill and prepare from there. (Meaning) put herself in the game at the eighth pole and went on from there. This sets her up well for Churchill.”

BOB BAFFERT, FORCED ENTRY, DID NOT FINISH: “We checked her out and she seemed fine. She must have hit herself leaving the gate.”

OWNER QUOTES

ARON WELLMAN, ECLIPSE THOROUGHBRED PARTNERS, MEANING, WINNER: “Really pleased with her effort. She learned a lot today. She broke sharp and wanted to be up in the vanguard. Juan rode a beautiful race, was patient and she took dirt. She waited had to check a little bit at the five-sixteenths pole and go around. Then her class and stamina took over. But credit to Bobby Flay and Brooklyn Blonde (2nd), she really gave Meaning a run for her money. It was a hell of a throwdown there.

“We asked a lot of her, off her maiden win at Los Al sprinting, to go to the Breeders’ Cup. We gave her a little bit of tome to go in the Las Virgenes and she delivered that day. You just always want to walk that fine line between having an Oaks prospect ready enough for these preps to qualify on points. Obviously these are prestigious races in their own right. The Santa Anita Oaks is The Santa Anita Oaks, but you know that the major goal is still a month away. Hopefully this program, the space in between races, sets her up for the first Friday in May. “Juan has worked her the last month and got to know her. I think that was an integral part in today’s success. He rode her with a lot of confidence today and he is a top class rider. He wins just about every title here in Southern Californian and maybe he can take his talents to Kentucky now.”  

NOTES: The winning owners are Bridlewood Farms and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners.