Edited Churchill Downs Release: Brendan Walsh, Trainer, Pretty Mischievous, winner: “This is the kind of thing you dream about, to win a Grade I, especially the Oaks at Churchill Downs, it’s a long way from Cork in Ireland. It’s indescribable, it’s exactly what we’re here for, and why these guys (Godolphin) breed these good horses, and why everybody works so hard.”
Todd Pletcher, Trainer, Gambling Girl, runner-up: “She had a really good trip. He (Irad Ortiz Jr.) saved ground most of the way, angled out and she put in a great run.”
Brad Cox, Trainer, The Alys Look, third, Wet Paint, fourth, Botanical, 13th: “It’s always hard when you have a heavy favorite and you can’t get the job done. But, at least two of three ran well. I need to take a look at the replay. I don’t really know what happened. Botanical didn’t get away very well. The Alys Look stayed on and ran really well. She got a good trip up the backside and was relatively close. Looks like you want to be close on this racetrack. Two of the three ran well. I have to go back and watch the replay to see what happened to Botanical. Flavien (Prat) said Wet Paint was traveling fine. He said when he cut her loose she wasn’t handling the track real well. She finished up off class and off heart. But, probably not her favorite surface. She was struggling with it. A very good filly won it. We had fillies finish third and fourth. They showed up to run.”
Michael Yates, Trainer, Dorth Vader, fifth: “She went pretty fast challenging on the lead and just got tired late.”
Todd Fincher, Trainer, Flying Connection, sixth: “She showed her guts. It was a very quick pace with pressure the entire way. Turning for home she continued to fight hard, but the pace took a toll on her. I’m very proud of her.”
Greg Geier, Assistant Trainer, Defining Purpose, eighth: “Like Brian (Hernandez Jr.) said, he could never get her comfortable. She got bounced around a little bit.”
David Carroll, Assistant Trainer, Wonder Wheel, ninth: “Honestly, we’re trying to digest the race right now, and will have to see what the jock says, and watch it again. Obviously, we’re disappointed, but we’re very proud of the race she ran.”
Norm Casse, Assistant Trainer, Southlawn 10th: “It’s still pretty raw right now. I’m not sure where she finished. I haven’t even seen a replay. Watching it live it’s very difficult to see what happened. We had a little bit of a rough trip. It just wasn’t Southlawn’s day today.”
Graham Motion, Trainer, Affirmative Lady 11th: “We didn’t have a great trip. A couple of the horses inside carried her out wide. We got shuffled back a lot further than we had planned.”
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