Saturday, July 28, 2012
JIM DANDY (G2) QUOTES
Kiaran McLaughlin, winning trainer of Alpha (No. 1): “We’ll most likely go in the Travers [Grade 1, $1 million, 1 1/4 miles on August 25] now. We’ll speak to Simon Crisford, and we’ll go over it, but this was the plan all the time, to run in this and back in the Travers. Hopefully, everything goes well for the next four weeks.”
“[Ramon and I] both thought about [going to the lead] and talked about it. We both thought the same. In the Wood Memorial, he didn’t break well and then he got smashed going into the first turn, and we thought he would be forwardly placed. Here, when you’re in the one hole, you have to go. Ramon thought the same way I did and said, ‘If he breaks well, I’m going.’ I said, ‘I’m all for that.’ He wasn’t going to rush him off his feet, but he wanted to be on the lead. So it was a great call, and it all worked out.”
“He’s really done very well since the
“Into the first turn, I was happy. If he was there, I knew he was handling [the track] well. I felt like he should handle it. He’s got a very small, narrow foot, so he should handle it with his pedigree and his foot size. We were very happy.”
Ramon Dominguez, winning jockey aboard Alpha (No. 1): “He was superb all the way around there. Turning for home when I shook him up, he just took off for me. It’s an indication he’ll handle farther, and I love the way he was handling himself prior to and after the race.”
“Turning for home, I could feel [Neck ‘n Neck] coming for me, but the more I got after my horse, just opening up my reins, the more he was finding. I felt pretty confident at that point.”
Jimmy Bell, representing Godolphin Racing, winning owner of Alpha (No. 1): “He was fit and Kiaran’s always had good luck, he can run them off the bench. We had a little hiccup before the
Ian Wilkes, trainer of runner-up Neck ‘n Neck (No. 4): “Congratulations to Alpha, Kiaran. The horse took the initiative, he went to the front, and he won. But, I was very pleased that my horse ran great. [More pace] will help a lot. This horse is getting better. This is another big race, another step forward.”
Travers next?: “I don’t see why not.”
Leandro Goncalves, rider aboard runner-up Neck ‘n Neck (No. 4): “He’s drastically improved from race to race. He’s in good form right now. I expected him to run like he did. He ran a good race. We were second-best in a race with really no pace. I think he could give me my first Grade 1 win. I think we’ll be back in four weeks. I was concerned with the off track. When the gates opened, it took him a little bit to get his feet together. Once I got him to the outside, he started traveling good. When we got to the quarter-pole, we started moving, and I thought we had a chance to catch Alpha, but Ramon had a lot of horse left.”
John Terranova, who saddled third-place finisher Liaison (No. 7) for trainer Bob Baffert: “It looked like he ran well. He is kind of an even-paced type of horse. [Jockey] Martin [Garcia] seems to think it was a good effort. Martin said he didn’t seem to mind [the off track] at all.”
Martin Garcia, rider aboard third-place finisher Liaison (No. 7): “Well, it was the first time he ran in the mud. He handled it well. He wasn’t very sharp out of the gate, but I tried to get a position. I tried to pick it up from there, but we got beat by very good horses.”
