GRADE II, $200,000, SAN PASQUAL STAKES QUOTES

JOCKEY QUOTES

JUAN HERNANDEZ, NEWGRANGE, WINNER: “I think what made a difference is, he broke really good and I was able to get a nice position. I just left him alone and when those horses got away from us a little bit, he kind of idled by himself. I didn’t take him back, I just wanted him to be comfortable. I was hoping those two horses would come back to me, but they weren’t. I was riding really hard and this horse showed he’s got a lot of heart. Turning for home, he was lugging in a little bit, but when he straightened up, he gave me another gear and got the job done.”

TRAINER QUOTES

PHIL D’AMATO, NEWGRANGE, WINNER: “He is a nice horse, I have to thank Gary Hartunian, Kim Llyod for finding him and Billy, Little Red Feather, Fenton and great job by my crew, Jessica Pyfer and a beautiful ride by Juan Hernandez.

“I was confident at the three-eighths pole, I was definitely not confident at the quarter pole but, I just kind of saw Juan stay with him and re-engage. This horse does this in some of his races, he likes to kind of disengage at the three-eighths pole and then come back on. He did that last time. I told Juan this horse is probably going to do that and don’t give up, just stay with him, he did that, and he got the job done.”

OWNER QUOTES

BILLY KOCH, LITTLE RED FEATHER RACING, NEWGRANGE, WINNER: “Kudos to Phil D’Amato for having this horse ready today. To be honest, like Phil said, at the quarter pole, I thought we might run last, this horse just does the strangest things, and great job to J.J. for just sticking with him. Thank you to Gary Hartunian and his crew for allowing us to participate in this. It is just awesome for the partners, everyone is up in the Champagne Room, this is what it is all about.”

NOTES: The winning owners are David A. Bernsen, LLC, Little Red Feather Racing and Rockingham Ranch.