Saturday, July 10, 2010
MAN O'WAR (G1) QUOTES
Christophe Clement, winning trainer of Gio Ponti (No. 8): "The grass is green, and even greener now! I'm delighted with Gio Ponti. Everyone made a big deal of him getting beaten the last time, [but] I never had a doubt that the horse was the leader of his division and I'm delighted with the way he ran today. The race was completely against him; they walked in front, he was last, but he's good enough to be versatile and win the race. He's back winning and we'll go for the Arlington Million or the Pacific Classic, one of the two. Now we can enjoy it a little bit, see how he comes out of it. His well-being is the main thing. As long as the horse is doing well, we'll be back in one of those two races."
Ramon Dominguez, winning jockey aboard Gio Ponti (No. 8): "I was a little concerned about the way the race was going to unfold. I knew there wasn't a whole lot of speed, and that there were a lot of horses with similar running styles to mine. As the race unfolded, I was a little concerned about the slow pace, but I was very happy with the way he was traveling. Turning for home, I felt it was a matter of getting a little racing luck. When he split horses, at that point, I felt a little more confident, and that he would get there. The five horse [Mission Approved] ran an excellent race. I am very happy, not only for myself but for the horse."
Naipaul Chatterpaul, trainer of runner-up
Jose Espinoza, rider aboard runner-up Mission Approved (No. 5): "They were going along slow through the first half half-mile and then Gio Ponti kicked in really well at the end to catch me in the last jumps."
NOTE: This was the second straight Man o'War victory for Gio Ponti, who won last year's edition by 1 ¾ lengths over Musketier.
