GRADE I, $750,000 SANTA ANITA DERBY QUOTES

JOCKEY QUOTES

ANTONIO FRESU, STRONGHOLD, WINNER: “It is my first Grade I in America and it is all thanks to these great people that gave me the opportunity to ride this fantastic horse. He proved to be a good horse last time. I loved the way Phil D’Amato was training him the last couple of works. The horse was getting so much confidence and he was getting so much better than before. Today he proved to be a very good horse. Still, when he hit the front, he didn’t want to stay alone, he was waiting for some company. He got the job done and I want to dedicate this to my friend that passed away. I felt like he was there with me today. Stefano Cherchi was an amazing guy and I want to dedicate this to him.

“I love this horse from the first time I sat on him. I saw all the time I breezed him and been riding him with every race I see his improvement. To be honest, I was very confident that he could do it. And he did it. Fair play to this horse he is just amazing.”

FRANKIE DETTORI, IMAGINATION, SECOND: “We jumped good and we had a good pace, Mike Smith (E J Won the Cup) twisted my hand a little early, so I kind of pushed him a little bit earlier than I wanted to. In the stretch I was vulnerable for a closer. When he passed us, my horse kept fighting back we were head in head and he was too strong for me down the line.”

TRAINER QUOTES

PHIL D’AMATO, STRONGHOLD, WINNER : “I was hoping we'd get that track and trip. It was a nice little speed battle back there, and he handled it well. He didn't really get the easiest trip coming around the turn, but luckily, he was able to squeeze through a small hole there and prove that he can be the best when it comes down to the wire. We thought we needed a top three performance to get to the Kentucky Derby. We were definitely hoping to get on the winning end here. I think this was a great education for him, and a nice test that he's going to need to win a race like the Kentucky Derby. I've been training him exactly the way he performed this afternoon, sitting him behind teams, having him come get them. That's what you're going to need to win big races like the Kentucky Derby, and he's developing into that horse."

OWNER QUOTES

SHARON WALLER, STRONGHOLD, WINNER: “I’m so happy that we have Stronghold. He has been unique in so many ways. He lays down a lot in the barn in his stall and he is just resting for the big race.

RICK WALLER, STRONGHOLD, WINNER: “I was watching the fractional times of the race, and I knew they were going pretty fast up front and I knew we were sitting back stalking. So I felt pretty good that those horses might want to come back, although that 4 horse (Imagination) was very strong and continued on. Stronghold likes a target. We used that horse as the target and went by him when it counted.”

NOTES: The winning owners/breeders are Rick and Sharon Waller.