Photo: MEC
Rick Dutrow (This Ones for Phil)
– “It was a great horse race. I’m glad everybody got to see
it and I’m glad we were able to win it. When he won here last year
(Sunshine Millions Dash) it was his first start for us, so we didn’t know
what to expect, but he’s been breezing like clockwork and we expected him
to run well today. He had chips removed from his knees (after finishing fifth
in Woody Stephens at Belmont
Park on June 6) and is a
better horse for it. We considered running him in the Cigar Mile last fall, but
decided to go with the easier allowance race at Laurel looking ahead to this year. Then we
skipped a race at Calder (Kenny Noe Jr. on Dec. 26) and I’m glad we did,
because he needed everything he had today. Well hope for an invitation to Dubai ($2 million Golden
Shaheen on Mar. 27) down the straightaway like we did with Benny the Bull a
couple years ago (he won).”
John Velazquez (Jockey, This
One’s for Phil, 1st) – “When I saw that
horse (Pashito the Che) on the lead, I knew he was the horse to beat, so I got
right after him. At the three-sixteenth’s pole I got head-to-head with
him, and from then on it was both of those horses. They fought every step of
the way, all the way home, and it was just the luck of bob to me, I guess. When
you get to ride horses like this, and they run the way those two did,
it’s very exciting.”
Scott Lake (Trainer, Pashito the Che, 2nd) –
“Johnny (Velazquez) rode a smart race with his early move. It was a
tremendous effort from both horses; neither one wanted to give an inch. It was
the kind of race the people love to see.”
Eibar Coa (Jockey, Pashito the Che,
2nd) - “From the quarter pole on, I thought he had me.
I thought he could go by me at anytime. But I just kept riding, and my horse
just kept fighting. But really, I thought he had me. My horse ran such a big
race and he ran so fast. I was really proud of him.”
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