Quotes from Vyjack's optional claiming victory in race 3
Rudy Rodriguez, winning trainer of Vyjack (No. 3): "I was very happy with what I saw. I was a little concerned on the backside, because [pacesetter] Royal Currier is a tough horse to beat when he's on the lead. My horse likes to wait for horses, but having another horse as a target was good for him. He was very, very special. The [Grade 1, $1.25 million Metropolitan Handicap on June 7] is still the target. We'll try to keep him happy until then. So far, so good."
Irad Ortiz, Jr., winning jockey aboard Vyjack (No. 3): "He's a nice horse. Coming back from the layoff, he was ready. I just broke and wanted to give him a chance. When I asked him, he took off."
David Wilkenfeld, winning owner of Vyjack (No. 3): "It was a race he needed. He wasn't fully cranked. It was a good prep race. It probably was a little short for him, but he'll move forward off the race. Anytime you have a horse who was that sick and is coming off a layoff you're a little anxious. We wanted to get a race in, and we did what we needed to do to win. If he comes out of the race well, the Met Mile is our plan."
