Stakes Quotes

JOCKEY QUOTES

GARRETT GOMEZ, JIMMY CREED, WINNER: “With these kind of races you never know what is going to happen. I knew on paper what the race might look like and which horses might show speed. When I left the gate my horse broke really well and stuck me in a place where I was very comfortable and he was traveling really comfortable. I thought I was in a fairly good spot and it was just a matter of which horse was going to kick on, so I had to make a decision on which horse to follow.

JOCKEY QUOTES

GARRETT GOMEZ, RHYTHM OF LIGHT, WINNER: “She always travels really well. She did everything like a class filly should, and she proved she was today. She was absolutely perfect about everything and traveled the last six furlongs exactly the way I wanted her to. She was never too keen or too much off the bridle and raced beautiful the whole time. When I asked her to pick up, she picked up great and came home nice. I didn’t have to ask her for too much.”

BRICE BLANC, A JEALOUS WOMAN, SECOND: “I had a great trip.

JOCKEY QUOTES

JOEL ROSARIO, LADY OF FIFTY, WINNER: “She felt good. She did everything right and was real game today. Jerry (Hollendorfer) told me not to get in her way and let her run from the gate, then to figure it out after that.”

TRAINER QUOTES

JERRY HOLLENDORFER, LADY OF FIFTY, WINNER: “She’s better routing, if you look at her record. She’s going to be a nice filly around here this coming year.

“It was nice to have Joel (Rosario) on the horse. We love Joel. I told him to get out of the gate and get up close.

JOCKEY QUOTES

RAFAEL BEJARANO, RED SUN, WINNER: “I had to be on the lead with my horse. I knew there was going to be a little speed on the outside so I had to use a little bit of my horse in the beginning, but after that I was able to relax. When I saw the favorite (Ryehill Dreamer) was coming next to me I tried to save as much ground as I could and let my horse go with him. This horse always runs well with me.”

JOE TALAMO, RYEHILL DREAMER, 11-10 FAVORITE, SECOND: “That’s about as good as he could have run.

JOCKEY QUOTES

RAFAEL BEJARANO, LADY TEN, WINNER: “This filly is very nice to ride, and easy to ride, too. She likes to be close to the lead so I was a little worried in the beginning. She broke good from the gate but I knew there would be a lot of speed so I tried to make sure to give her help from the gate so she could find a position in the race.

“When I got my position at the first turn I just tried to hold her a little bit then let her run when we hit the top of the stretch. She was easy to ride and I think you can do anything you want with this filly.

JOCKEY QUOTES

COREY NAKATANI, COMMA TO THE TOP, WINNER: “The plan was to go to the lead. He’s got speed and that’s what he likes best. I was a little concerned about his fitness today at this distance, but he was ready.”

Today is Nakatani’s 42nd birthday. Asked about a celebration, he said: “When you’re 42, it’s just another day.”

GARRETT GOMEZ, TRES BORRACHOS, SECOND: “The race went a little slower than I was hoping for. The idea today was not really to send him, just to try and let him get up on his feet and find him a place.

JOCKEY QUOTES

GARRETT GOMEZ, BROKEN DREAMS, WINNER: “I had some concerns (about Kindle’s big lead). The simple fact is, coming to the dirt, instead of picking her (Kindle) up, she (Kindle) actually moved away from me another length or so and I was like, Oh, man. I know my filly is going to stay going 6 ½ and I know she’s going to keep coming.

“But by the time we hit inside the eighth pole, she (Kindle) wasn’t coming back still. I had maybe made up a little bit of ground on her, but not much, not enough to get there . . .