Trainer Todd Pletcher was pleased with the performance of highly regarded juvenile Archwarrior,
winner of today’s third race at Saratoga
Race Course, an $80,000 Maiden Special Weight run at six furlongs on the dirt. Archwarrior
went off at odds of 1-4 in his debut, paying $2.50 for a $2 win bet. The
2-year-old son of Arch, owned by Alto Racing, won by 3 ¼ lengths after rating
in second down the backstretch and taking over on the turn:
On Archwarrior’s performance:
“Everything went as smoothly as we hoped it would. I thought he ran very
well, very professional. He finished up well and galloped out strongly.”
On whether he had ever heard so much
hype about a debuter: “No, [and] I’m not really
sure why. The horse has trained well. I think there are a couple of guys who work
for the [Daily Racing] Form that are clocking him in the mornings and maybe
talking on the internet and giving out information on horses that are working
out in the mornings. I don’t know.”
On whether he was nervous about
today: “Well, it wasn’t exactly like the Kentucky
Derby, but generally when you lead a first-time starter over here, you’re
the one that kind of knows what to expect. Not everyone else maybe expects the
same thing. But yeah, we were hoping he’d run as he’d been
training.”
On whether he was amused by all the attention
given to a first-time starter: “I mean, we’ve
brought a lot of first-time starters over here over the years, but I’ve
never had so many questions beforehand.”
On what’s next:
“We’ll play it by ear and see how he comes out of it.”
John Velazquez, Hall of Fame jockey of
Archwarrior:
On his performance:
“He ran very, very nice. He has been very impressive in the mornings, and
for him to come back and do it in the afternoon was very nice.”
On why there was so much attention
paid to the colt based on his morning workouts: “I don’t
know. I guess he’s so striking in everything he has done. Obviously when
you put the time on him, every time that he works he’s very, very fast.
He has been very impressive in the mornings.”
On the fact that he rated behind
horses: “It’s funny because I worked him behind
horses, so it’s not like he’s been on the lead in the mornings. I
knew that I could rate him. I didn’t think he would be on the lead
because he’s not very quick from the gate. He did everything very, very
good.”
On any similarities to Uncle Mo, a 14 ½-length winner
in his debut on Travers Day in 2010: “No, he’s
not as fast as Uncle Mo. He is much bigger and heavier than Uncle
Mo. Uncle Mo was smaller and faster. Archwarrior is more the type of horse who
will really get good when the distances get longer. He’s not going to win
by 10 or 12 lengths, he’s not going to open up on the field. He’s
just kind of steady. He should run all day long.”