Chad Brown, trainer Cloud Computing, winner
“It’s unbelievable. A lot of teamwork. It couldn’t happen to greater clients than Seth Klarman and Bill Lawrence. Seth, he got into racing by coming to Pimlico. He was just telling me he remembers coming out as a kid to the infield. He grew up in Baltimore. They are very deserving owners. It’s just unbelievable.”
Javier Castellano, jockey Cloud Computing, winner
“I think I always had a lot of confidence in this horse but I didn’t have the opportunity to ride the horse. Then Mr. Brown gave me the opportunity to ride the horse in the Preakness. It was a great combination and I am blessed to have the opportunity and enjoy the ride.
“I spoke to Mr. Brown before the race. We had a plan and we were sticking to the plan and it worked out great. We analyzed the race and handicapped the race together, we had a lot of thoughts and put them together and I think that is the most important thing in a relationship. We have a great communication together and I think that is the key to winning the race.”
Mark Casse, trainer Classic Empire, second
“I thought he ran outstanding. I always worry about him starting because he stumbles a little bit. He won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) going out after it and I said to (jockey) Julien (Leparoux), ‘Second doesn’t mean anything.”’ I said, ‘Let’s go and try to win this thing.’ It ended up getting us in the end. We were going to be in it, and he said, ‘OK.” We were going to be aggressive and that’s what we did.
“I know his mind tends to wander and I was a little worried about that. I was hoping that horse came to him earlier. He tried to kick back, but we were second best today.”
Julien Leparoux, jockey Classic Empire, second
“We had a good trip. We got the trip we wanted, outside Always Dreaming. The only thing is, Always Dreaming backed out of the race early, so I got to the lead early, maybe too early. I got to the lead early, and the winner just came at us at the end. He ran a big, big race. No excuses.”
Kenny McPeek, trainer Senior Investment, third
“It was a great race. I was happy with him. He showed me he could compete against these kind and has continued to improve. He’s a really good horse with a huge future and I think we’re just getting started with him. A mile and a half and the Belmont is going to be really up his alley. The two who finished in front of him are obviously really good horses, but maybe if we would have had a little cleaner trip, we maybe could have finished closer. He’s such a big horse, it was pretty obvious he was going to need time to develop, so it’s not a big surprise that he’s come along. He’s a really, really smart horse.
Channing Hill, jockey Senior Investment, third
“The race went the way I expected. I got a little stopped around the first turn when (Steve) Asmussen’s horse (Hence) got the jump on me. I had to step on the brakes a little bit. Halfway down the lane, he showed his heart. I couldn’t be happier with this colt. He’s got a legitimate chance to win the Belmont (Stakes [G1]). See you in New York.”
Steve Asmussen, trainer Lookin at Lee (fourth) and Hence (ninth)
“You know, Hence disappoints. Maybe it’s the stage more than anything else. Lookin at Lee keeps trying. Fourth in the Preakness, second in the (Kentucky) Derby (G1), he’s still trying. I think the circumstances today were ideal for these (Derby) horses to come back, if at all possible, a beautifully cool day. Whether or not they relished the going, I was very glad to see the racetrack get in as good a shape as it did for the running of the Preakness, considering how it looked the last few races Friday.
“Watching the race today from Always Dreaming, I was surprised. I felt that, watching his performance in the Derby, that there was a better chance of beating him here in two weeks – because of him being lightly raced and the spacing – than in the Belmont. But just like horse racing always, it’s never about one horse. It’s about all of them.”
Corey Lanerie, jockey Lookin at Lee, fourth
“I thought the track suited him better for the Derby, being a little more sealed maybe. But I was back there where I thought I would be, and when I called on him, he was there. We just didn’t get it done. At the three-eighths pole, I was hoping to grind them down and that they would come back to me. I didn’t have the charge I had at Churchill. Even from the gate, to me, he just didn’t travel as well over the track.”
Florent Geroux, jockey Hence, ninth
“He ran even but he just didn’t have any punch in the end. I had a great trip, saved ground but did not have any run.”
Antonio Sano, trainer Gunnevera, fifth
“No excuses. It just wasn’t his race.”
Mike Smith, jockey Gunnevera, fifth
“I had a great trip. He lost his action at about the half-mile pole for some reason. Other than that I had a great trip.”
Brendan Walsh, trainer Multiplier, sixth
“He finished good and he ran a decent race. He tried hard, so it’s hard to be disappointed with him. It looked like he needed more ground. He did get a little stuck down there (on the rail). He had a horse outside him. I thought there would be a lot more space with 10 runners, but there was a horse down on him the whole way and he never really got a break or really got a chance to get out of there. (Jockey) Joel (Rosario) said when he got rolling, he really rolled home for him and he said he finished up great.”
Joel Rosario, jockey Multiplier, sixth
“It was a good trip, but I got stopped a little. I’m not saying I would have won the race, but maybe (would have finished) third.”
Miguel Hernandez, trainer Conquest Mo Money, seventh
“I was a little disappointed with the race. I thought he would be more in the race, but it was a little too fast for him. He ran two times already from the outside post, so that didn’t bother him. My ride tried to put him in the race, but it didn’t work out. I think he could go to the Belmont.”
Jorge Carreno, jockey Conquest Mo Money, seventh
“My horse broke a little slow. My horse just didn’t respond down the stretch. He did try but today wasn’t his day.”
Todd Pletcher, trainer Always Dreaming, eighth
Was the pace too fast?
“No. Classic Empire held on for second. He probably went pretty ambitiously at us and maybe cost himself the race. But we didn’t have an excuse. We were in the position we expected to be and I think the turnaround was a little too quick. He ran so hard in the Derby and today just wasn’t his day.
“He didn’t seem to relish the track, but I don’t really think that was it. It was just that he put so much into the Derby that it wasn’t meant to be.
“I was a little concerned coming by the wire the first time. He was there, but it wasn’t like he was dragging (jockey) Johnny (Velazquez) there, actually. It felt like he was on a loose rein by the time they turned up the backside. That’s kind of what we anticipated Classic Empire would do, take it to us, but he just didn’t have that reserve today.
“Initially, it looks like he came back well. We’ll savor the Derby victory.”
John Velazquez, jockey Always Dreaming, eighth
“He just got beat. I didn’t have it. That’s it. Not much to say.
“I knew I was in trouble on the backstretch when the other horse got to him, almost head to head, and engaged him. I knew I didn’t have it. That’s horse racing. He didn’t have it.”
Was it too fast on the front end?
“Look at the horse that was next to me.”
Doug O’Neill, trainer Term of Art, 10th
“I thought (jockey) Jose (Ortiz) had him in a perfect spot and then around the three-eighths pole he said a horse came over on him a little bit and Term of Art overreacted a little bit, sucked out of it and dropped out of the race; then he came on a little bit in the end. He’s still a champ in our mind. I love this horse. He’s a talented horse and one of these days he is going to put everything together and he is going to be a big-time horse.”
Jose Ortiz, jockey Term of Art, 10th
“I put him in the race. I was sitting great right behind the horse that won the race. He didn’t give me any kick.”
