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Explanations And Excuses: Preakness Stakes Connections React In The Race’s Aftermath

Following is a collection of quotes from riders and trainers of each of the nine entries in Saturday's Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course, won by Early Voting.

Winning trainer Chad Brown, Early Voting: “I was really feeling pretty good. This horse, he's better with a target. I think when we ran him in the Wood, he was waiting on horses when he got to the lane. It's not because he can't go that far. So, I was hoping for a target, somebody would send. Given the way the track was playing all day, very speed favoring, I certainly wasn't going to take him out of his game. So, we were prepared to go to the lead. But when the other horse went to the front, [jockey] Jose [Ortiz] got a good position with a target in front of him. I felt very good on the backside.

“You know how hard it is. When you're training horses, oftentimes plans don't work. Things happen. And when you have a wonderful partner and close friend in Seth [Klarman], we try to do things that make sense.”

“I don't know about a mile and a half in three weeks, but we'll take a look at it. I can tell you he's going to go to Belmont [Park], so we'll start there. But, to win this race on Seth's birthday, three blocks from Pimlico, where he grew up, he's one of my very best friends, to be able to deliver a gift like that to somebody, it's hard to explain to people. On a personal level, very gratifying for me.”

Winning jockey Jose Ortiz, Early Voting: (NBC Broadcast): “It's a huge race. It's a dream come true. It's amazing to share this moment with my family, my mom and dad. I know they're watching, and my wife and kids are here.”

“I've been on him since he was a baby. We always knew he was very talented, but we know he was going to be a late developer. He's always been very nice. We've always been very high on him.”

Trainer Steve Asmussen, Epicenter, 2^nd: “Disappointed, you know what I mean? Where he was early, and they go 24-and-1 [seconds for the first quarter-mile]. He just left him way too much to do. You've got to leave the gates. They go 24-and-1. If you don't leave the gates, you get one option. First time by, and you saw where he was, he just had too much to overcome to be right at a length at the wire – giving too much away.

“I was past surprised. I was disappointed. You've got to leave the gates to have any position whatsoever. When they throw up 24-and-1, and you're that far back with a horse that obviously has pace and just gave him too much to do.”

(On pre-race instructions): “Try to be away from there cleanly and let them adjust around him. He didn't get away cleanly, then he just buried him from there.”

“Early Voting is the winner of the Preakness and deserves all the credit for doing so, and nothing but. The silver lining on that is Gun Runner is probably the greatest sire of all time. He's incredible.”

Jockey Joel Rosario, Epicenter, 2^nd: “The break was ok. It looked like everybody wanted to get into position right away. I had to go to another plan, which was to be inside the whole race. He was fine with it, but if I had another opportunity, I wouldn't have been inside. It's not what I wanted, but he dealt with it, and we were making up ground. I stayed inside the whole time. Turning for home, I just couldn't get to the winner. The winner got the jump on me out of the gate. Being inside I had to wait for someone to move. I wanted to take him to the outside but couldn't and that cost us.”

Trainer Kenny McPeek, Creative Minister, 3^rd: “I lost him on the far turn, but he was on the inside – rail trip. I'm curious why he tipped out on the turn, and I'll ask [jockey] Brian [Hernandez] about that, but I thought he ran a really good race. He showed he deserved that he belonged. Considering his lack of experience, he was fantastic. We just told him it was a two-other-than allowance race.

Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr., Creative Minister, 3^rd: “Around the second turn, I decided to tip out and try to make a run at him and [Early Voting] just outsprinted us from the quarter-pole home.”

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas, Secret Oath, 4^th: “The fractions being slow like that, it was hard to run down. She flattened out a little bit in the last eighth, trying to do it. She made a big, sweeping run. It wasn't her day. It looked like she pulled up fine.”

Jockey Luis Saez, Secret Oath, 4^th: “She broke the way she was supposed to, but everyone was all over the place. At the half-mile pole, she made her move, but when we came to the top of the stretch, the winner just kept going. It was a tough race.”

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., Skippylongstocking, 5^th: “He was a little wide on the first turn and [jockey] Junior[Alvarado] tried to save ground on the backside. He ended up running decent. He wasn't a disgrace. We will see how he comes out of this race. We may go to the Belmont, you never know. We'll see how he comes out and make a decision in about a week or so.”

Jockey Junior Alvarado, Skippylongstocking, 5^th: “We didn't have the best trip that I wanted. We were hanging wide in the first turn. I tried to make it up in the second turn but hit a lot of traffic and it was too much to do for him.”

Trainer Antonio Sano, Simplification, 6^th: “The horse bled in the race. I'll send him to the farm for a rest right now. He has never bled. It was the first time.”

Jockey John Velazquez, Simplification, 6^th: “We just didn't get our way today. Give credit to the winner. It just wasn't our day, but he tried hard.”

Trainer Tim Yakteen, Armagnac, 7^th: “I would have liked to have hung around a little bit more towards the end, but we will regroup and come up with a game plan. He gave us a good scream. It looked like he got tired.”

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., Armagnac, 7^th: “We had a perfect trip. My horse broke good, had an early, easy lead and relaxed. At about the half-mile pole, they started putting pressure on us and ran us down. There are some nice horses here, but he is a really nice horse and will keep improving.”

Trainer Doug O'Neill, Happy Jack, 8^th: “Tyler rode a great race, and we didn't have it today. We will regroup. I am proud of this guy. We will give Happy Jack plenty of time and regroup. I thought he had a great trip. Tyler broke well and had him in a great stalking spot and when the real running came, he was a little bit flat. From my angle, I just have to back off him a little bit and refresh him and we'll be in good shape.

“Obviously Steve's horse had looked good all week, and the eventual winner looked great, too. Those two were the logical two choices. We're extremely proud of our horse.”

Jockey Tyler Gaffalione, Happy Jack, 8^th: “My horse broke well and put himself in a good spot following the winner. We were traveling well, went into a drive and I couldn't keep up. We will live to fight another day.”

Trainer Kevin McKathan, Fenwick, 9^th: “It didn't go as planned again. We'll just have to regroup. He looks sound. He just kind of flattened out. He kind of got beat up right as they broke. He was bounced around and got out-footed early. Down the backside he was just covered up, eating dirt and kind of flattened out on us.”

Jockey Florent Geroux, Fenwick, 9^th: “There weren't any holes. Hopefully we can get a little better trip next time.”

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Early Voting Gives Gun Runner First Classic Winner in Preakness

The story is a familiar one. Seth Klarman, Chad Brown and Jose Ortiz teaming up for a win with a lightly-raced colt in the second jewel of the Triple Crown. In 2016, the duo entered the Classic with a fresh horse, and played the spoiler when Cloud Computing (Maclean's Music) upended Classic Empire to take the GI Preakness S. Fast forward to 2022, history repeated itself with the same connections snagging Pimlico's marquee race with Early Voting (Gun Runner). The colt's victory also provided a well-deserved birthday gift for his owner, who grew up three blocks from Pimlico.

“I just wanted to say how happy I am to deliver a Classic victory to one of my best friends, Seth Klarman, on his birthday,” said Brown. “It's really memorable for me.”

Klarman was also cognizant, and appreciative, of the forces propelling him back into the winner's circle on Preakness day.

“Cloud Computing was a once in a lifetime horse and now I have it twice in a lifetime which is really hard to believe it could happen again,” he said. “Only with Chad.”

Armagnac (Quality Road), a front-running winner in his most recent start at Santa Anita, didn't alter the script and went straight to the front as Ortiz opted to ease Early Voting back to second, rather than contending for supremacy, about two lengths behind. Meanwhile, favored Epicenter (Not This Time) broke cleanly but was soon pinched back by the converging duo of Happy Jack (Oxbow) and Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator), costing the favorite valuable ground. Also encountering issues early, Secret Oath (Arrogate) was also affected by the errant Happy Jack, forcing her to take up position at the back of the field going into the first turn. With the frontrunner gifted a soft :24.32 opening quarter, Ortiz opted to keep the 5-1 chance in close contact as they carved out a slightly faster half in :47.44. A motionless Ortiz, who peeked under his shoulder to see who might be coming along, finally nudging the colt into action, taking over from the fading leader turning for home. In control from there, the colt had plenty left in the tank despite drifting outward, and while Epicenter mounted a gallant run up along the inside late, he was unable to get closer than 1 1/4 lengths to the winner at the wire. Creative Minister (Creative Cause), who was supplemented to the race for $150,000, closed to be 2 1/4 lengths back in third. The filly, sent off at 5-1 facing the boys, crossed the wire in fourth.

It was the second win on the afternoon for triumvirate after Technical Analysis (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) won the GIII Gallorette S.

“Yeah, he is a very good horse out of the gate,” explained Ortiz. “He always has been. He broke well, and that was the main thing. Break good and go forward. We knew that Armagnac had speed, and he never has passed a horse on his right, and we knew he was probably going to go into the lead, and he did, but we were ready for it. We executed the plan perfectly.”

“On the back side, it just felt like we had been drilling in the morning. We had been working him just next to a horse, and he was very relaxed. I was very confident passing the 5/8 pole. I knew I was in a good spot. I took a peek back. Nobody was there. I knew my horse was ready.

He added, “I had the trip I wanted. We planned it out, we executed it with perfection, and we came out top.”

Recipe for Success
In front for most of the way, Early Voting came home a 1 1/2-length winner in his Dec. 18 debut before returning to the South Ozone Park oval with a front-running score in the GIII Withers S. going nine furlongs in the mud Feb. 5. Well supported for the Apr. 9 GII Wood Memorial, the bay had to settle for second behind Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo), who got up in the nick of time to catch him at the wire.

“When we've been working the horse We give him a target, and he rates nice. He catches them and finishes them off well,” said Brown, explaining the colt's latest defeat. “I was convinced in the Wood that he was waiting on horses which is why he got beat. He got beat by a good horse, don't get me wrong, with a good trip, but when you are doing this long enough, you can tell a tired horse from a horse that's waiting on horses. And I can see it in his work sometimes as well.”

Explaining the decision to bypass the Kentucky Derby with both of his Preakness winners, Brown explained, “With both horses it's important to know that they were coming out of the Wood, so [we gave] them time. But they're lightly-raced horses. It's not like a horse that we gave time out of the Wood that also had three starts at two and it's their sixth or seventh [lifetime] start. This a lightly-raced horse. In both cases, the Wood was only their third start.”

He continued, “So when you start participating in the Kentucky Derby enough now, you realize what a tough race it is with 20 horses. As the trainer, you have to deal with the aftermath when it doesn't work out. And sometimes, it's not pretty. Those horses need time physically or mentally, and it can really cost a good part of your 3-year-old year if you swing and miss. You could ship all the way over there or draw terrible weather. You name it..I haven't won the [Derby], but we've had a couple of close calls, and I'm a student of it. I feel like you have to have a horse with some experience, and you have to be prepared for a bad post or a bump here or there or a wet track or something.

This horse just didn't have the experience. He is out there on loose leads. He didn't have dirt in his face really. A nice horse, but to throw him in a 20-horse field would not have worked out well for him, I don't believe. It really wasn't that hard of a decision.”

Looking down the road, Brown hopes to have the colt ready to add another Classic later this summer, this time in his neck of the woods.

“[We'll aim for] a race like the [GI] Travers S. [at Saratoga],” said Brown. “I know it's a tick farther, but I don't believe he will have any trouble getting the mile and a quarter. Growing up just 20 minutes from Saratoga, Baltimore native, that was his race today, the Travers would be for me, so that would be really at the top of the list. But there will be some racing before that. We'll get him back to Belmont, assess him, train him a bit, and then start to map out a campaign that, hopefully, leads us to the Midsummer Derby.”

New York, New York
While repeating a Preakness victory for his connections, Early Voting also mirrored the feat accomplished by Cloud Computing in the 2016 renewal of the Classic race. And both colts employed a similar road to victory. While Early Voting took his first two starts, including his initial graded appearance in the Withers, Cloud Computing won his Big A debut, but was runner-up in that season's GIII Gotham S. before finishing third in the Wood. However, despite the subtle differences, both colts sought a Preakness win through the Empire State.

“Cloud Computing was another horse that wintered up [in New York],” he said. “Not only did both of them run in the Wood, but they didn't even go to Florida. It can be done, and I think it just depends on the horse and always just being aware of your environment where you are training these horses, and New York is a good environment.”

Underscoring why remaining in New York over the winter was the right move for his colt, Brown was pragmatic.

“He stayed in New York because he is that kind of make-up,” he said. “He was lightly raced. I didn't want to interrupt his schedule. Sometimes you ship horses down to Florida that are just getting started, and then you have to adjust to ironically the humidity and heat and such when he is just getting going. The weather looked good, so I left him there.”

No 'I' in Team
The relationship between Ortiz and Brown goes far back, and is laden with victory. However, according to Brown, it is the work ethic between professionals that makes the partnership special.

“He rode Zandon [Upstart] in New Orleans [third in the GII Risen Star S. at the Fair Grounds Feb. 19], and he had ridden Early Voting, in the Withers. [They were both scheduled to run on the same day in the [GI Toyota] Blue Grass [S.] and the Wood Memorial [both Apr. 9], I just chose he is going to go ride Early Voting, and I made a change on Zandon [to Flavien Prat]. So I called him to tell him, and he never complained about it. He said, 'Boss, I'll go where you tell me to go.' That's it. He was happy to ride Early Voting. It's hard to be taken off Zandon when they're on the same day because we knew that horse was probably going to go win the Blue Grass and go to the [Kentucky] Derby as one of the favorites. That's how he is. He said, 'I'll go where you tell me to go.'”

Brown continued, “He didn't win the Wood, but it was our feeling that's his horse. He went there for us that day, and I felt that's going to remain his horse. It was never even a thought after the horse got beat to make a change. He went up there and rode him for us, and he rode him brilliantly. Talk about being a team player.”

“I saw the relationship developing with those two. I wasn't sure he was a Derby horse, but I was sure he was a good horse and a Grade I horse. I just know that's a partnership that I want to continue growing, developing that horse, and then I could figure out where I am with Zandon. That's really what it came down to.”

Pedigree Notes:
Gun Runner, the runaway leading first-crop sire based at Three Chimneys, continued the same trend in 2022, leading his U.S.-based contemporaries in worldwide earnings. With Early Voting's Classic win at Pimlico Saturday, the colt became the fifth Grade I winner for the Three Chimneys stallion.
His unraced dam–a $1.75-million KEESEP yearling in 2013–is a full-sister to 2017 GII Blue Grass S. winner and MGISP Irap (Tiznow), as well as a half-sister to champion and leading sire Speightstown (Gone West). They all stem from Canadian champion Silken Cat, tracing back to 1950 Broodmare of the Year Hildene (Bubbling Over), Silken Cat's fifth dam. Amour d'Ete has a 2-year-old full-sister to Early Voting, a yearling filly by Constitution, and was bred back to Volatile. Amour d'Ete's pensioned sire, Tiznow, is the broodmare sire of 52 black-type winners, including 2020 Classic winner Tiz the Law (Constitution).

Saturday, Pimlico
PREAKNESS S.-GI, $1,650,000, Pimlico, 5-21, 3yo, 1 3/16m, 1:54.54, ft.
1–EARLY VOTING, 126, c, 3, by Gun Runner
               1st Dam: Amour d'Ete, by Tiznow
               2nd Dam: Silken Cat, by Storm Cat
               3rd Dam: Silken Doll, by Chieftain
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($200,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Klaravich
Stables, Inc.; B-Three Chimneys Farm, LLC (KY); T-Chad C.
Brown; J-Jose L. Ortiz. $990,000. Lifetime Record: 4-3-1-0,
$1,311,500. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Epicenter, 126, c, 3, Not This Time–Silent Candy, by Candy
Ride (Arg). ($260,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Winchell
Thoroughbreds LLC; B-Westwind Farms (KY); T-Steven M.
Asmussen. $330,000.
3–Creative Minister, 126, c, 3, Creative Cause–Tamboz, by
Tapit. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1
BLACK TYPE. ($180,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Fern Circle
Stables, Back Racing, LLC and Magdalena Racing; B-Dell
Ridge Farm, LLC (KY); T-Kenneth G. McPeek. $181,500.
Margins: 1 1/4, 2 1/4, 2 3/4. Odds: 5.70, 1.20, 10.00.
Also Ran: Secret Oath, Skippylongstocking, Simplification, Armagnac, Happy Jack, Fenwick.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Early Voting Defeats Favored Epicenter In 147th Preakness

Getting a perfect trip under Jose Ortiz, Klaravich Stables' Early Voting tracked pacesetter Armagnac, took command rounding the stretch turn and held off favored Kentucky Derby runner-up Epicenter to win the 147th running of the Grade 1, $1.5 million Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

The winner is trained by Chad Brown, who opted to keep the Gun Runner colt out of the Kentucky Derby and point for the Triple Crown's middle jewel, which happened to fall on the 65th birthday of Seth Klarman, a Baltimore native who operates Klaravich Stables. Brown followed a similar pattern to the one he employed five years earlier when Cloud Computing won the 2017 Preakness for Klaravich and William Lawrence. Both horses came into the Preakness off non-winning efforts in the G2 Wood Memorial (Cloud Computing was third, Early Voting second), run six weeks prior.

“Winning once was like the dream of a lifetime and winning twice is beyond belief,” Klarman said during the Preakness trophy presentation. “It's an extraordinary experience. I give all the credit to Chad Brown for getting the horse here and ready to run a big race and, of course, Jose Ortiz did a masterful ride. It's just great to be back in Baltimore today.”

“We thought he needed a little more seasoning, the extra rest would help him,” Klarman said of the decision to bypass the Derby even though Early Voting had enough qualifying points to make the field. “He's pretty lightly raced, only three races before today. And as it turned out, that was the right call because the pace in the Derby was kind of suicidal, so he probably would not have done that well. We wanted to do right by the horse and we're so glad we waited.”

Klarman indicated the June 11 Belmont Stakes would be unlikely for Early Voting, though said it would be Brown's call.

Early Voting finished 1 1/4 lengths clear of Epicenter, the 6-5 favorite, with $150,000 supplemental entry Creative Minister another 2 1/4 lengths back in third. G1 Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath finished fourth after trailing the field early, with Skippylongstocking fifth, Simplification sixth, Armagnac seventh, Happy Jack eighth and Fenwick last in the field of nine 3-year-olds.

Early Voting, bred in Kentucky by Three Chimneys Farm, where Gun Runner stands at stud, was a $200,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase from the consignment of John Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency. Produced from the Tiznow mare Amour d'Ete, Early Voting ran 1 3/16 miles in 1:54.54 and paid $13.40.

“It's a dream come true,” said an emotional Jose Ortiz, who was winning his first Preakness with his fifth attempt. “It's amazing to share this moment with my family, my mom, my dad, I know they're watching, and my wife and my kids are here.

“Chad and Seth have been very supporting of my career since day one,” Ortiz continued. They deserve all the credit. They had an option to run in the Derby and they passed. It's very hard to get a winner to pass on the Derby and they made the right choice by the horse. I don't think he was seasoned enough to run in a 20-horse field, and they proved that they were right today.

“I've been on him since he was a baby,” Ortiz added. “We always knew he was very talented but we knew he was going to be a late developer. He's always been very nice. We've always been very high on him.”

Rich Strike, the 80-1 upset winner of the Kentucky Derby, was not in the starting gate for the Preakness. Instead, he was 600 miles away, stabled at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., and preparing for the June 11 Belmont Stakes. In fact, on Preakness morning, Rich Strike breezed a half mile in :47.20.

Owner Rick Dawson and trainer Eric Reed announced five days after the Run for the Roses that the son of Keen Ice would skip the Triple Crown's middle jewel and point for the mile and one-half Belmont.

“Skipping the Preakness was still one of the toughest decisions I had to make as a trainer,” said Reed, who stood alongside owner Rick Dawson for Saturday's Churchill Downs breeze. “I just don't think he would've been mentally ready to run against those horses again.”

Rich Strike became the first healthy Kentucky Derby winner to bow out of the Preakness since 1985 when Spend A Buck's connections successfully chased a $2 million bonus for winning three races in New Jersey along with the Kentucky Derby. Spend A Buck bypassed both the Preakness and Belmont.

Three years before that, Gato Del Sol skipped the Preakness after winning the 1982 Derby because his trainer, Edwin Gregson, felt the race did not set up well for him. He would finish second in the Belmont to Conquistador Cielo.

Twenty-three years before Gato Del Sol, 1959 Derby winner Tomy Lee returned to California after the Derby and raced later in the year. He was the fifth Kentucky Derby in the 1950s to bypass the Triple Crown's middle jewel, following Count Turf (1951), Hill Gail (1952), Determine (1954) and Swaps (1955).

More recently, Country House, the 2019 Kentucky Derby winner via disqualification of Maximum Security, came out of that race with a physical ailment and never raced again. Grindstone, the 1996 Derby winner, was retired after coming out of the race with a knee fracture.

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Ethereal Road Takes Overland Route In Sir Barton Stakes At Pimlico

Aaron Sones' Ethereal Road became a stakes winner in grand style Saturday at historic Pimlico Race Course, making a bold sweeping move on the far outside to circle the field and capture the $100,000 Sir Barton by 4 3/4 lengths.

The 24th running of the 1 1/16-mile Sir Barton for 3-year-olds was the seventh of 10 stakes, six graded, worth $2.75 million in purses headlined by the 147th Preakness Stakes, middle jewel of the Triple Crown.

Ethereal Road, favored at 3-2 in a field of eight, covered the distance in 1:43.20 over a fast main track under jockey Luis Saez. The Quality Road colt was withdrawn from the May 7 Kentucky Derby field because Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas wasn't enthusiastic about the way he was training into the race, allowing Rich Strike into the race that he would win at odds of 80-1.

Lukas considered Ethereal Road for the Preakness, in which he and Saez will team up with Kentucky Oaks-winning filly Secret Oath, before settling instead on the Sir Barton, a race neither he nor Saez had ever won.

Good Skate, sent off at 30-1 in his stakes debut, was eager for the lead and held it while chased by Ruggs as Saez settled Ethereal Road near the back of the pack, leading only Writeitontheice after a quarter-mile in 23.70 seconds. Saez remained unhurried as the half went in 47.26, swinging Ethereal Road to the outside midway down the backstretch. Ethereal Road cruised past horses around the far turn, straightened for home and set sail for the wire.

B Dawk, an 11 1/4-length maiden special weight winner April 24 at Keeneland, was second, 2 1/4 lengths ahead of Mr Jefferson. Ruggs, Good Skate, Unikee, Goldenize and Writeitontheice completed the order of finish.

Ethereal Road, a $90,000 yearling purchase in September 2020, went winless in three starts at 2 before breaking his maiden Jan. 29 at Oaklawn Park in his season opener. From there he was second by a half-length to Un Ojo in the G2 Rebel, seventh to Zandon in the G1 Blue Grass and fourth as the favorite a week later in the G3 Lexington.

Sir Barton won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont in 1919, becoming the first horse to sweep what wouldn't become known as the Triple Crown until Gallant Fox matched the feat in 1930. The race returned to the Preakness undercard this year after not being run when the stakes schedule was adjusted and delayed to last fall amid the coronavirus pandemic.

$100,000 Sir Barton Quotes

Winning trainer D. Wayne Lukas, Ethereal Road: “That's what we expected. That's his style. It was a picture-perfect ride from Luis [Saez]. We probably should have left him in the Derby, but that's hindsight. He got a good trip. The fractions are realistic. We can definitely build off this.”

Winning jockey Luis Saez, Ethereal Road: “He ran pretty nice. The pace was perfect for him. It's the style he likes to run – break and make one move. He finished really strong.”

(On winning a stakes on Preakness Day for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas): “It's a special moment. He's a legend, so to be part of a special moment for him, I feel so grateful.”

Trainer Doug O'Neill, B Dawk, 2nd: “First time two turns. He got beat by a real horse. I mean, this is a Derby kind of horse. So, we're very proud of B Dawk. Big things coming ahead. I thought he ran a dynamite race. Tyler [Gaffalione] got him in a good spot. And, again, the winner is the real deal. He got the first jump on us, and how do you top that?”

Jockey Tyler Gaffalione, B Dawk, 2nd: “He broke alertly and put us in a nice spot. He settled with a good run around the first turn. He still is a little immature, still learning. But I loved the way he finished up in the lane. He didn't want to switch leads, looking at the grandstand. But this colt has a real nice future.”

Trainer Michael Trombetta, Mr Jefferson, 3rd: “He ran well. It's just hard to make up ground on this track right now.”

Jockey Jaime Rodriguez, Mr Jefferson, 3rd: “The way the track has been all day, you've got to be close to the pace, 1-2-3. Nothing is coming back. Once I passed the wire, he galloped out good. I think more distance next time. The '1' who won the race, that was the horse to beat. This group was a little bit tougher than the last time. But he gave me a really good effort today.”

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