Friday, August 10, 2012
THE
Dale Romans, winning trainer of winner Quick Wit (No. 6): “This horse has form on the dirt. I thought if it came off [the grass] he might have a better chance. It was just a matter of if he would move up. He has steadily improved and gotten better and better. We bought him out of the [2011 Keeneland Association November Breeding Stock Sale] relatively cheap and he’s gotten better and better. I’m a huge fan of [Quick Wit’s sire] Sharp Humor because he was my horse. When they hit the wire, I thought we’d won.”
Rajiv Maragh, winning jockey aboard Quick Wit (No. 6): My horse ran an awesome race to get the win. It was a very tough race and he had to fight hard for it, but he prevailed in the end. I was just working my horse as hard as I could and trying keep him motivated until the end. Fortunately, he held on to win. [Dale Romans told me] to try to get him in a good, forward position out of the gate. It seemed like the track was really favoring the speed horses, so we didn’t want to have too much work to do. He was just always there for me. He put me where I needed to be and finished up strong.”
Phil Gleaves, trainer of runner-up and beaten favorite Csaba (No. 4): “Good trip. Easy pace. I thought he ran game when he was headed. It looked like he was going to back up, and he came back again. I don’t know how the race is going to shape up time-wise, but I was very proud of his effort. It was a long way to come to get beat a nose.”
Julien Leparoux, rider of runner-up and beaten favorite Csaba (No. 4): “I had a good race, he was relaxed in front. He gave me everything. The winner had a better kick than me but my horse didn’t quit. He kept on going and at the end tried to catch him back, he ran a great race.”
**Please note that The National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes was moved from the inner turf (1 1/16 miles) to the main track (1 1/8 miles), and its grade is subject to review by the American Graded Stakes Committee.**
