| Saturday, April 5, 2014 TwinSpires.com Wood Memorial (G1) Quotes Jimmy Jerkens, winning trainer of Wicked Strong (No. 2): "I thought he was training well enough in Florida, but he didn't show up in the afternoon for some reason. I felt good seeing all the Palm Meadows horses running well today. When I saw him laying five lengths off the lead, just galloping, I really felt we had a big shot. He was really comfortable laying relatively close behind a pretty fast pace."
"We were looking at the Florida Derby and the Wood Memorial, and the closer we got to both races, I decided I was going to train him up to the Wood down in Florida. The horses that come from behind in Florida, the kickback really bothered him down there." "I said to Rajiv, 'It's great to save ground all the way, but if you can get him to that crown on the stretch, go ahead.' They were taking off out there all day." You came close to going to the Derby several years ago with Quality Road, how does this feel? "I'd love to get another crack at it, that's for sure. Looks like a horse where distance shouldn't bother him."
Rajiv Maragh, winning jockey aboard Wicked Strong (No. 2): "It all unfolded well. I was going to let the horse dictate where he wanted to be. He fell into a nice groove early, and he finished up really strong. It seemed like he had a lot left, and coming down the lane I was just thinking 'Let's go to the wire first.' It worked out good."
"Handicapping the race, you would think there was going to be a contested pace. I really wasn't so much concerned with the fractions; I just wanted my horse to get happy early, to get into a nice rhythm and take it from there." "He ran awesome in the Remsen, but he was a little green and that might have cost him the race. I felt like I had, probably, the horse to win that day. Today, he was really more mature, more settled, and it made him have a lot more to finish with, I think." "To me, he's the Derby favorite right now. In my book, anyway. He showed that more distance is going to be better for him. He's really maturing at the right time now, and there's a lot left in the tank, so I don't think we're at the bottom of him, yet." Don Little of Centennial Farm, winning owner of Wicked Strong (No. 2): "Rajiv rode him perfectly. He rode him in the Remsen and did a great job. When we decided to run in this race, we instantly called him. He fits him; he knows him. We talked before the race. He waited, and we were hoping it would go off with the speed like it did in :23 and :47 and a tick and we had something to run at, and he came running."
Rick Violette, trainer of the runner-up Samraat (No. 8): "It's his best race. It's the first time he's been surrounded and covered up, and he handled it. He came back three times. I thought he was going to be fourth the entire [stretch run] and he kept finding more, finding more. Good horses rally from this and get better. Other than win, he got a huge education. As long as he comes out of it all right we'll head to Kentucky. I don't think there's anything he can't do; Jose can put him anywhere he wants - behind horses, on the inside, wherever. I don't think the extra eighth of a mile is going to bother him. We kind of did it the hard way. We made the first charge against the horse on the lead and did everybody else's work, and [Wicked Strong] - who's shown signs of talent - came and ran everybody down. I thought [Samraat] was going to be fourth every step of the way. You just can't ask more from a horse."
Jose Ortiz, rider aboard runner-up Samraat (No. 8): "We had a perfect trip. He broke very sharp and I sat behind the favorite (No. 11, Social Inclusion), and when I asked him to go, he went, but he was looking at the horse in front of him and he didn't see the other horse (winner Wicked Strong) come out, but he came out and passed us. I think he did great. He ran a big race." Manny Azpurua, trainer of beaten favorite and third-place finisher Social Inclusion (No. 11): "It was very good. Next time he'll win; he'll kill them." Luis Contreras, rider of third-place finisher and beaten favorite Social Inclusion (No. 11): "He can run all day. I don't think he had problems with the distance. I had so much horse before the quarter pole, I just tried to open up, and he just kind of ran flat. He was trying hard. Today he was so nervous in the post parade. He was never like that, but this is his third race. He broke a little bit to the outside, but I pushed two or three times from the gate and he was on his game. I just tried to keep him very strong on the bit. He was very strong from the quarter pole, but that horse just went by him late. He wasn't tired. He didn't give me that kick like he usually does. That's horse racing." Gary Contessa, trainer of fifth-place finisher Uncle Sigh (No. 10): "That's not the position we really wanted to be in. It looks like the place to be was 1, 2, 3 or 4. He broke a little awkwardly and wasn't quite the same horse. He was in behind horses for the first time and Corey said he was very green. We expected to be right next to Samraat, not seventh and taking dirt. I'm sure a set of blinkers would have helped today." -30-
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