DERBY THEY SAID IT
MAY 2, 2006
“Everybody’s yelling ‘Five weeks! Five weeks!’ I don’t know who came up with
that, but no one’s had a chance to run five weeks out because they didn’t have
any races five weeks before the Derby before.”
Michael Matz on
critics knocking that the five-week gap leading into the Kentucky Derby (G1) for
BARBARO (Dynaformer)
“The only similarity between him and Funny Cide (Distorted Humor) is that
they are both fast horses. But that’s it. They’re completely different horses.
One’s laid back (Showing Up) and the other’s a coiled spring (Funny Cide).”
—Barclay
Tagg, who is expected to ship SHOWING UP (Strategic Mission) from Belmont Park
to Churchill Downs on Wednesday
“I’m very pleased. I have the same concerns: can one of them (Private Vow
[Broken Vow]) go far enough and if the other one (Storm Treasure [Storm Boot])
is fast enough. There are a lot of variables and a lot of things that keep
horses from winning, but the success we’ve had has been because the horse was
the fastest in the race.”
—Steve
Asmussen on his Derby contenders
“The draw is especially key for us. I don’t want to be trapped down on the
inside and I don’t want the 20 (hole). If we get a bad draw, though, I won’t be
throwing anything up in the air or against the wall.”
—Bob
Holthus, trainer of LAWYER RON (Langfuhr)
“No way. I don’t ever want the one hole: anytime, anywhere. If you are
outside and break bad, you have time to recover. Inside, you have no shot.”
—Dale
Romans on whether there was any way he would select post 1 for the front-running
SHARP HUMOR (Distorted Humor)
“It isn’t looking good for him. I’d love to get him in, but the way I see it
right now is that he’s not going to make it.”
—a disappointed
Todd Pletcher on likelihood of missing
the Derby with SUNRIVER (Saint Ballado), who is ranked 21st on the graded
earnings list