Saturday, March 2, 2013
Rudy Rodriguez, winning trainer of Vyjack (No. 7): "He's a good horse. I wasn't worried when he was last [early on]. He's that type of horse. I was hoping to see him that way. You don't want to gun the horse all the time. He was able to relax good and be comfortable. He showed that he's a really good horse … I told Joel just not to move too soon, let him do his race. I don't think we've gotten to the bottom of him yet."
Looking forward to the
Will he run in the Wood Memorial on April 6? "He's fresh. We gave him two months off for this race. We'll talk with the owner and see what he wants to do."
Joel Rosario, winning jockey aboard Vyjack (No. 7): "A perfect trip. He had always showed a lot of speed, but he was very relaxed today. I let him do whatever he wanted. He looked very good today. He showed he can [come from off the pace]. He was very relaxed."
"He broke OK, and I didn't want to get in a hurry. I just let him do whatever he wanted to do. He was pretty relaxed behind horses, and he did everything right. Turning for home, I was pretty far behind, but that's where he wanted to be. He passed [West Hills Giant], and then he just kept on going."
David Wilkenfeld of Pick Six Racing, winning owner of Vyjack (No. 7): "It's amazing. Words can't describe it. You buy a horse, you hope for this, but it's not something you really think about. I was nervous [when he was so far back] because I've been watching the races all day and everything is first to second and pretty tight. Watching it on the replay it was great, unbelievable. I saw him way back – I saw he broke a step slow – but [jockey Joel Rosario] got him to relax and he ran like we thought he could run.
"That's always been our game plan to stay at Aqueduct [and run in the Wood]. We wanted to get a two-turn race and we thought the Jerome was a little quick [off his previous race], but the Withers was too close to the
John Terranova, trainer of runner-up West Hills Giant (No. 10): "He was a little green; he was laying in a little bit when [jockey Jose Espinoza] asked him to go on. He finally switched on once that horse went by him. He's always been a little green; that's why we put blinkers on him. We may have to close them up a little bit. We have just a small cup on him; we may have to work with that a little bit, but I think this race will bring him on even more.
"If he goes forward, we'll stay right here [and point to the Wood Memorial]. He's a New York-bred – no reason to leave here."
Michael McCarthy, assistant to trainer Todd Pletcher, of beaten favorite and 5th-place finisher Overanalyze (No. 11): "He's got a race under his belt now. Todd and [owner Mike Repole] will put their heads together and figure out a spot for him next time."
John Velazquez, rider aboard beaten favorite and 5th-place finisher Overanalyze (No. 11): "I was where I wanted to be, perfect position, nice pace. He didn't come up with any run at all. When we got to the turn at the three-eighths pole, he let go and just didn't come with any run at all. Sometimes they need to get back to the distance again; maybe he needed the race."
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