BELMONT STAKES QUOTES
Bill Mott, winning trainer of Drosselmeyer
(No. 7): “I thought he was in a good position. I knew they were going slow,
but he was in range. People don’t know it, but this is the second Belmont winner I’ve
saddled. I saddled Victory Gallop [in the 1998 Belmont] for Elliot [Walden, vice president and
racing manager of WinStar Farm] when he had a broken leg.
“It was actually Elliot’s idea to
go to the Dwyer. We thought about wheeling back into either the Arkansas Derby
or Blue Grass, but we just said we should stick with our original plan. I got a
little nervous when he ran in the Dwyer and looked like he needed some racing,
but it turned out to be a good plan.”
Mike Smith, winning jockey aboard
Drosselmeyer (No. 7): “It was a great trip. It was all about getting into
the rhythm and we did it. It worked out. It was incredible. It’s great to come
home (after winning two Grade 1 races today for trainer Bill Mott).”
Nick Zito, trainer of second-place finisher
Fly Down (No. 5) and ninth-place finisher Ice Box (No. 6): “Fly Down ran
great. Obviously I’m disappointed about Ice Box. He didn’t deal with the heat
well today. The Pulpit came out in him a little bit today. We’ll have to regroup
and see what happens.”
John Velazquez, rider aboard second-place
finisher Fly Down (No.5): “He gave me something extra. As soon as we got
past a mile, he started picking it up. Mike rode a really good race. He kept me
there when I tried to ride my horse in between horses, he was a little
intimidated. When Mike passed us and I pulled to the outside, that’s when he
started running.”
Dale Romans, trainer of third-place
finisher First Dude (No. 11): “We had a perfect trip and everything went
like we planned, we just couldn’t hold it together right there at the end. He
ran a mile and half, he ran hard, he did all the work again on the lead. I’m
real happy with him. He put in a great effort. No excuses. He wants to run all
day. He’s still learning, he’s still getting it together and he’s still
improving. I think we have a lot of fun races in front of us. He’ll fly back to
Kentucky on
Monday, take a little break and figure out what to do with him.”
Ramon Dominguez, rider aboard third-place
finisher First Dude (No. 11): “I had a perfect trip. In the stretch, he was
getting out, just a little tired. I was very proud of him. I couldn’t ask for
anything more.”
Bob Baffert, trainer of fourth-place
finisher Game On Dude (No. 8): “We got to cheer turning for home, but he got
beat. He got tired at the end, but he ran a good race.”
Martin Garcia, rider aboard fourth-place
finisher Game On Dude (No. 8): “I had the best trip. He broke really well.
That horse outside came in too quickly and I had to check him a little bit hard.
I went outside and my horse, he likes to run a little bit more fast. We were
outside and he wanted to go, but finally I made him relax and I made my run, but
he just kept going the same. He got a little tired.”
Kiaran McLaughlin, trainer of fifth-place
finisher Uptowncharlybrown (No. 3) who lost part of his lead pad at the 7/8ths
pole and was subsequently disqualified for coming back underweight and unplaced:
“He ran well and I thought he had a chance inside the quarter pole. He made
a little run, just flattened out. I was pleased with his effort.”
Rajiv Maragh, rider aboard fifth-place
finisher Uptowncharlybrown (No. 3) who lost part of his lead pad at the 7/8ths
pole and was subsequently disqualified for coming back underweight and unplaced:
“He was there all of the way, but he got a little bit worn out at the end.
It was a mile and half and it was pretty hot. I think that took a toll on him.”
Steve Margolis, trainer of sixth-place
finisher Stay Put (No. 10): “Jamie [Theriot] said he had a great trip. He
passed some horses and it was a good effort, but it was a tough race.”
Jamie Theriot, rider aboard sixth-place
finisher Stay Put (No. 10): “This was a different surface than he’s been
running on. It’s really deep. He ran really well. He’s a nice horse and there
are some great spots for him down the road.”
Jonathan Thomas, assistant
trainer to Todd Pletcher, of seventh-place finisher Interactif (No. 12):
“Javier [Castellano] gave him a beautiful trip. He laid nicely off reasonable fractions;
just wasn’t able to come home as quickly as the others.”
Javier Castellano, rider aboard
seventh-place finisher Interactif (No.
12): “I had a perfect
trip. I was very satisfied with the pace. The horse started to get tired in the
last part. He put me in a good spot, right behind First Dude. Everything had
worked out good.”
Mike Maker, trainer of eighth-place
finisher Stately Victor (No. 9): “Really we were outrun. He didn’t handle
the track very well today. He was outrun, plain and simple.”
Alan Garcia, rider aboard eighth-place
finisher Stately Victor (No. 9): “He was a steady pace all the time; he
never kicked, he was just steady.”
Jose Lezcano, rider aboard ninth-place
finisher Ice Box (No. 6): “It was a little hot for him today, and the pace
was slow. We were in a good position throughout the race. When I asked him to
run, he showed no interest. He didn’t have it today, he didn’t fire.”
Alexis Barba, trainer of
10th-place finisher Make Music for Me (No. 4): “He lost his front
left shoe, but he did scope clean. We were hoping he would get a better break,
and he tends to be fussy in the gate. He didn’t get away clean. He wasn’t where
we wanted to be early on. I don’t know what’s next for him. We’re booked on a
plane tomorrow, but I’m going to talk to the owners first and then we’ll make a
decision.”
Joel Rosario, jockey aboard
10th-place finisher Make Music for Me (No. 4): “He raced well at Churchill, but this
is the first time he had [raced over] the track [at Belmont], and it seemed
different to him.”
John Sadler, trainer of
11th-place finisher Dave in Dixie
(No. 1): “The highlight of
my day was we won the Los Angeles Handicap [with Cost of Freedom]. My horse
[Dave in Dixie] didn’t really grab the track.
Definitely, turf or synthetic from now on; no more dirt for him.”
Lawrence Roman, owner of
12th-place finisher Spangled Star (No. 2): “He looked OK [after
the race]. Other than the finish, the [Belmont] was tremendous. I’m glad the winner
was by Distorted Humor, proving they usually can go the distance.”
Garrett Gomez, rider aboard
12th-place finisher Spangled Star (No. 2): “He traveled like he
was going to run all right, but after a mile I was pretty much kaput. Once I had
a horse go by me, he pretty much gave up. Maybe a mile and a half is just too
far for him."
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