RESORTS WORLD NEW YORK CASINO WOOD MEMORIAL (G1) QUOTES

Saturday, April 9, 2011

 

 

 

RESORTS WORLD NEW YORK CASINO WOOD MEMORIAL (G1) QUOTES

 

H. Graham Motion, winning trainer of Toby’s Corner (No. 2): “Oh, I’m surprised. I couldn’t see a thing – I honestly couldn’t really see where he was until the eighth pole. I said to Mr. Cotter at the half-mile pole, ‘I can’t see where he is.’

 

“At the eighth pole, he kind of re-broke, it looked to me, and Eddie [Castro] just said he had a great trip on the rail. We always felt the mile and an eighth was going to be a big factor for this horse and Eddie’s really felt very strongly about how talented this horse is since the first time he rode him.

 

“I think [the blinkers] were big, it’s the first time he’s really run straight like that. I should have done it a long time ago. We’ve put the blinkers on him the last couple of weeks and I was worried it was going to make him keen, and he was actually more relaxed with them on. I’ve never had a horse respond like that to them.

 

“We had never talked about [The Derby]. The Cotters never mentioned it to me and I don’t think [Mrs. Cotter] even knew I’d nominated him early on. It’s pretty neat. We’re going, as long as he’s doing fine. It looks like the mile and a quarter won’t be a problem and it’s very wide open now. It’s obviously a very wide open group and I kind of think he ranks right up there with the top ones.”

 

Dianne Cotter, winning owner of Toby’s Corner (No. 2): “Oh, I was very surprised, but there’s always hope. His daddy [Bellamy Road], who we also bred, won much more impressively. We weren’t at the race when Bellamy Road ran, but we certainly watched it at home. It was such a wonderful day. To think this could happen – I can’t stop laughing. It’s just such a wonderful feeling. Graham did such a wonderful job, and Eddie rode him just perfectly today. It’s just been heaven.”

 

Eddie Castro, winning jockey aboard Toby’s Corner (No. 2): “I wasn't surprised. He's a really nice horse. I really like this horse. I rode him comfortably. I kept him in the rear. Once we got some room, he took off.”

 

Tom Albertrani, trainer of second-place finisher Arthur’s Tale (No. 4) (By phone from Florida): “He ran a huge race, he really did. It looked like he got in a little trouble, but in saying that he still ran a huge race and it looked like he ran on at the end. It looks like he’s starting to get his act together now and maybe he’s just a late bloomer. I’ll talk to the Sheikh and we’ll make some decisions this week. A lot depends on earnings, I guess. We always thought he was a Belmont horse – he looks like a horse who wants to go long and he galloped out way ahead today. We were kind of using this as a steppingstone to keep him on a schedule, but now we may be thinking differently.”

 

Ramon Dominguez, jockey aboard second-place finisher Arthur’s Tale (No. 4): “I thought we had the race won. Coming into the stretch, we had the momentum. We went past Uncle Mo. I did have to get into him at the eighth pole because his head was wandering around. Still, I thought we had it until the winner came along the inside to catch us. This was my first time riding him, and I was impressed with the way he ran.”

 

Todd Pletcher, trainer of third-place finisher and beaten favorite Uncle Mo (No. 5): “I can’t make much excuse. Johnny said he wasn’t as relaxed as he would have liked him to be, although the fractions were fair. Obviously he got a little late the last part. I can’t say I’m shocked but I’m disappointed.

 

“He grabbed a quarter [left front] leaving the gate. It didn’t help but I’m not using that as an excuse. After that, he was kind of hounded early on. The fractions were reasonable. It was his first time going a mile and an eighth, first time over the Aqueduct surface. I was a little concerned turning for home at the three-sixteenths pole when he didn’t really kick clear. I thought then that we were going to be in for a fight. You could see the last fifty to sixty yards he was tired.

 

“We weren’t going to handcuff Johnny with too many instructions. We thought there were two potential horses that he could follow, but none of them went fast enough to make that happen. It goes without saying that if he wins by 10 today he goes in there with quite a bit different morning line than he is now. It doesn’t mean we’re not going to go, it doesn’t mean we are going to go. We’ll see how he comes out of it and make sure he’s physically OK, that’s a priority. It’s totally up to Uncle Mo. My confidence hasn’t changed in the horse. He’s got a good win at Churchill and maybe this is what he needed to step forward four weeks from now.”

 

Mike Repole, owner of third-place finisher and beaten favorite Uncle Mo (No. 5): “It’s horse racing. I’m as depressed now as I am after [losing] a $25,000 claimer. That’s why you have to run the races, whether you are 1-9 or 9-1, or whatever the winner was. I have total faith in Johnny and total faith in Todd, and the horse didn’t fire today. In 1973 Secretariat came in third in the Wood, and he won the Triple Crown. I saw “Secretariat” last night; it was probably a stupid idea. Maybe he has an abscess on his tooth. I’m going to check it later.”

 

John Velazquez, jockey aboard third-place finisher and beaten favorite Uncle Mo (No. 5): “I was where he wanted to be. I told Todd he was a little anxious. He never dropped the bit. He came a little flat down the lane. Hopefully, we can get him together and get him back to the Derby.”