GRADE III, $100,000, AMERICAN STAKES QUOTES

JOCKEY QUOTES

JUAN HERNANDEZ, EXAULTED, WINNER: “He gave me a lot of confidence. This horse is really professional. Peter brought him ready to run today because in the gate, he was moving around and I was like ‘Come on guys let’s open the gate because this guy is ready to rock n’ roll!’ We broke a little slow because he kind of moved before we broke, but it worked out fine, the other horse went and I just stalked him and I was just really confident in him. He was in the bridle and around the three eighths I thought I had a lot of horse.

“There wasn’t a lot of speed, but the fractions today looked really strong. He’s really professional, I just gave him a target and turning for home I shook the reins and he exploded. He’s getting better every race.”

TRAINER QUOTES

PETER EURTON, EXAULTED, WINNER: “We just kind of ran out of options. He wasn’t running as well as a five-year-old…(something) just wasn’t right, so I think as a last resort we thought we’d give him a try on the grass.

“I think (spacing) is the key for him with a long year. He is big, he’s heavy. His first two starts were back-to-back and we kind of skipped around a little bit. Now we will skip a little longer I think. (Juan Hernandez) is just phenomenal this guy. (He)is riding with no fear, he is just so confident in his abilities and it shows you right there and in many other (cases). The barn is getting hot with those two.”

NOTES: The winning owner is C R K Stable.