DERBY THEY SAID IT
MAY 6, 2006
“He stumbled a little bit coming out of the gate but he recovered right
away. You see what he did when I turned him loose, he took off like a rocket. I
never had a doubt in this horse. Mr. Matz did a super job. Hopefully we can get
the Triple Crown.”
Jockey Edgar
Prado on his winning ride aboard BARBARO (Dynaformer) in Saturday’s Kentucky
Derby (G1)
“I couldn’t get a better trip than I got today. He came out running and
put himself within four or five lengths of the leader. He got himself a lot
closer than I anticipated. I asked him to kick in when we turned for home. I
wanted to get in the clear so I could circle Barbaro. I was hoping Barbaro
wouldn’t kick in the way he actually did.”
—Jockey
Ramon Dominguez on his ride aboard Kentucky Derby runner-up BLUEGRASS CAT (Storm
Cat)
“Bluegrass Cat ran super. Today he was just second best.”
—Todd
Pletcher, trainer of Bluegrass Cat
“It was very impressive. He looked great through the stretch and actually
galloped out like the Belmont (S. [G1]) doesn’t look like it will be a problem.”
—Pletcher on
Barbaro’s victory in the Derby
“I thought he ran his race. I thought he was going to run his race.
Barbaro just ran out of the bridle. We weren’t going to beat him.”
—Daniel
Peitz, trainer of STEPPENWOLFER (Aptitude), who finished third
“I think the kid (jockey Fernando Jara) rode him great. He didn’t have a
straw in his path. He got a little bit squeezed leaving there, which is to be
expected from the one-hole. But we ran fourth against a very good horse, a future star or maybe a now
star.”
—Kiaran
McLaughlin, trainer of JAZIL (Seeking the Gold), who finished in a dead-heat for
fourth place with BROTHER DEREK (Benchmark)
“He didn’t have any excuse. When I asked him to run, he did not respond
like I thought he would.”
—Jara, who rode
Jazil
“I never got a chance to drop in. Not the whole race. It was rough out
there. He ran hard; he tried hard. But I never had a chance with him.”
—Jockey Alex
Solis on his ride aboard Brother Derek
“We thought the 20-horse field would interfere with our strategic
abilities and it did”
—Dan Hendricks,
trainer of Brother Derek, on the size of the field
“We’ll have, I think, a lot better chance in the Preakness (S. [G1])
with the tight turns and utilize our speed a little bit.”
—Hendricks on
Brother Derek’s next start in the May 20 Preakness at Pimlico
“He broke well and got into a good position and ran a good mile and a
sixteenth. He was still second entering the stretch behind Barbaro. The last
eighth, he was tired. Probably the distance was too much. I believe he is a
tremendous horse.”
—Jockey Cornelio
Velasquez, who rode sixth-place finisher SHOWING UP (Strategic Mission)
“I thought he ran well. It was asking a lot of him. He’s never been that
far. Heck, he beat 14 horses. He was right there with the winner for a long way.
I thought he ran a good race. I’ll give him some time and let him tell me when
he wants to come back. I’ll get his leg cleared up and let him get over the
shipping. I don’t have a race for him.”
—Trainer Barclay
Tagg on Showing Up, who has been recovering from a small puncture wound on his
right front leg
“He gave me the ride I was hoping for. He was keen to go on a little bit
after the first three-sixteenths of a mile. I gave him a little pull and he said
‘I’ll stay right here.’ That wonderful, galloping pace that I know he has, he
had me passing horses with no effort. I loomed up to third, asked him a little
bit, but there was nothing there.”
—Jockey Kent
Desormeaux on his ride aboard 5-1 favorite SWEETNORTHERNSAINT (Sweetsouthernsaint), who
finished seventh
“I can’t be anything but proud of this horse. We can do better than this
if we get the right kind of trip. I think there is room for us to be a spoiler.
I am optimistic. If he’s healthy and he’s well, there is no reason to back off
now.”
—Michael
Trombetta, trainer of Sweetnorthernsaint
“That messed me up. I would have rather been the second choice. I would
have felt we would have a better chance.”
—Trombetta on
Sweetnorthernsaint being the post-time favorite
“They all came back in good order. Sinister Minister got cooked on the
lead. Point Determined didn’t run his race. Bob and John had a really rough trip
and didn’t get to do his thing. We weren’t going to beat the winner…he was
awesome. I was hoping he (Barbaro) was a turf horse”
—Trainer Bob
Baffert on his three entrants — SINISTER MINISTER (Old Trieste), POINT
DETERMINED (Point Given) and BOB AND JOHN (Seeking the Gold) — who finished
16th, ninth and 17th, respectively, in Derby 132
“He ran well. I put him into a good position like the trainer wanted.
After three-eighths he started moving nicely behind the eventual winner. But
after he switched leads, he got tired.”
—Jockey Rafael
Bejarano on Point Determined
“I had a terrible trip. I was on heels or getting bumped the whole way.
I never had a chance to settle. Just when I’d get to a spot where I could be
comfortable, something would come and bang me again. It was wild out there. I
never had a fair chance. This colt never got to run his race.”
—Jockey Garrett
Gomez on Bob and John
“I ran out of horse. We went to the front, but the horse inside me
(Keyed Entry [Honour and Glory]) wouldn’t leave me alone. It was just one of
those things. It’s horse racing.”
—Jockey Victor
Espinoza on Sinister Minister
“I was in good position going into the first turn. The pace wasn’t all
that fast. Moving up down the backside, I moved him out a bit, but at the
three-eighths pole and turning for home, he was just dull. I didn’t have any
horse underneath me at all. He didn’t have any excuse.”
—Jockey John
McKee on LAWYER RON (Langfuhr), who finished 12th
“He just didn’t have any punch turning for home. He just never really
kicked it in. That is the first time he has ever run that way.”
—Robert Holthus,
the trainer of Lawyer Ron
“We were happy to be here in the Kentucky Derby and now we’re going to
go back to California and look at other possible races for our horse. But not
the Preakness. That’s out.”
—Trainer Jerry
Hollendorfer on CAUSE TO BELIEVE (Maria’s Mon), who finished 13th