WHITNEY INVITATIONAL HANDICAP (G1) QUOTES

Saturday, August 4, 2012

 

 

WHITNEY INVITATIONAL HANDICAP (G1) QUOTES

 

Ian Wilkes, winning trainer of Fort Larned (No. 9): “It’s a huge honor to win the race named for the Whitneys. I was very pleased. Brian did a tremendous job; first time over this track. He rode a perfect race and moved him at the right time. He put some open lengths between him and the closers. You couldn’t let the closers get to you. He’s been around for a while, and he’s a good young rider.”

 

“This is a free-running horse. He can do a lot of things. I always thought he belonged [up there] in the division. You question yourself coming off a race like the Stephen Foster; you got beat, you got your head handed to you there. So you question yourself. But this horse keeps rattling off those 108 Beyer Speed Figures. He stays consistent.”

 

(Next?) “Let’s enjoy today. Obviously, you’ve got the Woodward [Grade 1, September 1], but let’s see how he comes out of this.”

 

Brian Hernandez, Jr., winning jockey aboard Fort Larned (No. 9): “On the second turn I knew I had a lot of horse. I just stayed out of his way and he toted us around there and took us home. I had a lot of confidence in him today. Ian called the other day and told me how great he had been training going into this race. The assistant was bragging on him all week. We all just had a lot of confidence in him knowing he would run this kind of race today.”

 

“He’s kind of a horse where you need to stay out of his way. After they put the blinkers on him he’s gotten a little more forward. If you just grab a long line on him and let him do his thing he seems to run better.”

 

“He got to Ramon’s horse [Trickmeister] pretty easily, and when he got by him as fast as he did I got him to switch leads and hit him a couple times left-handed. From there it was all him.”

 

Bill Mott, trainer of runner-up and beaten favorite Ron the Greek (No. 6) and third-place finisher Flat Out (No. 7): “Both horses ran excellent. They were head and head coming down the lane, and both horses ran well and tried hard. I think we got parked out a little bit on the turn with Ron the Greek. Last time he had an inside trip and got up by a nose. Today he went around and it cost him that length [that he lost by].”

 

“It looked like they kept coming. The Jockey Club Gold Cup [Grade 1, September 29, Belmont Park] and Breeders’ Cup [Grade 1, Santa Anita November 3] shouldn’t be a problem for either one. We have to see [if they’ll go straight to the Gold Cup from this race]. Most likely for Ron the Greek the next race will be the Jockey Club.”

 

Jose Lezcano, rider on runner-up and beaten favorite Ron the Greek (No. 6): “I rode this horse the whole way. I had a lot of horse. I couldn’t take away his momentum [by trying to find a better path off the far turn]. The winner was very good. The only thing is I had to go wide.”

 

Rosie Napravnik, jockey aboard third-place finisher Flat Out (No. 7): “He ran excellent; he ran his race. We were a little wide coming off the turn, but he came down the lane with a strong run.”

John Velazquez, rider on fourth-place finisher Hymn Book (No. 8): “Perfect trip. He was a little flat down the lane. I was behind the winner the whole way, and I thought I had a chance to get him, but [Hymn Book] was a little flat.”