Saturday, November 03, 2012

Quotes for the $500,000 Breeders’ Cup Marathon

Guillermo Frankel (trainer, Calidoscopio, 1st) – “So, so exciting. I had a lot of confidence in my horse.”

Aaron Gryder (jockey, Calidoscopio, 1st) – “I had a wonderful trip. They told me to detach myself from the field at the beginning; that he wouldn’t be in it at all. They said you can close your eyes for the first mile then pick them up. At about the three-quarters pole he began to pick them up and I started feeling good. He was rolling. By the time we reached the half-mile pole, I started to be very confident. I’d seen this horse’s races and I knew he could make up seven or eight lengths easy. I thought that if he could duplicate what he’d done in the past, I’d be sitting good. He just got to going and it was all over from there. It was some ride.”


Garret Gomez (jockey, Grassy, 2nd) – “I rode him several times on the turf when he was with (trainer Christophe) Clement in New York. The question was would he handle the dirt. I thought he would get the mile and three-quarters and get over the dirt OK, but didn’t know how he would handle the dirt coming back and hitting him in the face. He handled it fine and this gives him some new options.

Ken McPeek (trainer, Atigun, 3rd) – “He tried real hard. (Jockey) Mike (Smith) said he hung in the last eighth of a mile.”

Mike Smith (jockey, Atigun, 3rd) – “I was in good shape on the backside the second time around; I thought I was going to be doing well. My horse ran a big race, but those other two (Calidoscopio and Grassy) got me on the outside, The winner was so far out I saw him, but had he been in a little closer, it would have given my a horse a little bit more fight.”

Dermot Weld (trainer, Sense of Purpose, DNF) “Some go on it (dirt), others don’t.”

Patrick Smullen (jockey, Sense of Purpose, DNF) – “I got her into a good position, but once the dirt was in her face she hated it.

Jamie Spencer (jockey, Fame And Glory, DNF) – “After one furlong he showed me he didn’t like the track at all. I tried to get him outside past Frankie’s horse (Juniper Pass), but he just wouldn’t respond.”

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