DIANA (G1) QUOTES

Saturday, July 31, 2010

 

 

DIANA (G1) QUOTES

 

Bill Mott, winning trainer of Proviso (No. 1): “She was a little bit rank going into the first turn. It seemed like it was a pedestrian pace, but Mike Smith was able to ease out going down the backside. He was in a bit of a trap down the backside with [No. 7 Maram] outside of him. Whether we want to go beyond [1 1/8^th miles], I don’t know. She’s run at a mile and a quarter before and been effective, but we’ll have to sit down and decide whether we’ll want to take the next step. At this moment, I don’t think we have decided where we’ll go. We’ve won three Grade 1s this year, so I suppose the heat is off. Hopefully the rest is just fun and gravy.”

 

Mike Smith, winning rider aboard Proviso (No. 1): “To come back to Saratoga and win a Grade 1 is awesome. It wasn’t a big field but it was an extremely talented field, and she got the job done. I knew it was going to be a tough race, and that no one was going to draw off and win it easily because they were all too good. She made a good move down the backside and that helped us win the race.”

 

Graham Motion, trainer of runner-up Shared Account (No 4): “I really love this filly and I think she really does fit in these Grade 1 races.  I think with another sixteenth of a mile, maybe she gets there.  I think the winner (Proviso) is fantastic - I saw her run against males in California and she was brilliant.  If my filly comes out of the race well, hopefully we will be pointing her towards the Breeders’ Cup.”

 

Edgar Prado, jockey aboard runner-up Shared Account (No. 4):  “It was a good pace, it was the way I expected it to be.  The horses with speed went to the lead but I was surprised to see Maram (No. 7) in there.  My horse had a very nice first part of the race and I was very happy with how it went.  We were waiting for the filly Forever Together to come so we could both cross the finish together at the end and that’s what we did.  (Shared Account) was trying real hard and she ran great but the horse in front never quit.”

 

Jonathan Sheppard, trainer of third-place finisher and beaten favorite Forever Together (No. 4): “She ran well. It was tough for a little while to get her in high gear, but she tried hard and finished strongly. She won by a head last year. She lost by a neck this year. She's still pretty darn good. I'm proud of her.”

 

Julien Leparoux, rider of third-place finisher and beaten favorite Forever Together (No. 4): “She came running late. She ran well and we got a good trip, so no excuses.”