Monday, September 3, 2012
THREE CHIMNEYS HOPEFUL (G2) QUOTES
Todd Pletcher, winning trainer of Shanghai Bobby (No. 2b): “Now we’re on a better schedule for the Champagne [Foxwoods Champagne, Grade 1, one mile, October 6 at Belmont Park] . That was a very professional effort from him. So far, he’s been very good. It seemed like he won with a little something left today; he was pricking his ears when he came to the wire. We’re very proud of him.
“We love Saratoga and we try to emphasize the meet. We’ve been blessed with a lot of nice 2-year-olds this year. It’s nice to win the Hopeful to close it out. It would have been kind of disappointing not to close it out with a 2-year-old win. The Hopeful is a very important race; should be a Grade 1, but that’s a different story. We’re happy to get it. We felt like this summer the 2-year-olds were training very well and we were coming in holding a strong hand. Until you get a bunch of them running, you don’t know. When some of them start to win and their workmates come up to run, you kind of get a good feel for it. We’re not surprised, but we’re happy.”
Rosie Napravnik, winning jockey aboard Shanghai Bobby (No. 2b): “He was actually quite a handful today. Usually, he’s a little more relaxed. Today, he was keyed up. It was all positive energy. He was ready to go. He did rate properly and finished really strong. He’s a very talented horse. I really liked this horse since day one. He’s very sensible, and he’s been moving forward every race and really maturing. I thought he was going to excel off his last race. It’s great to have him back and in good shape. I’m sure he’ll move forward off of this as well.”
On the decision to ride Shanghai Bobby rather than Bern Identity, whom she piloted to victory in the G2 Sanford Stakes: “It was an extremely hard decision not only because both horses are talented, but the Halls have been very good to me and have supported me a lot. It was a very tough decision.”
Jack Wolf of Starlight Racing, winning owner of Shanghai Bobby (No. 2b): “The purse is $300,000, you get a $100,000 [NYRA] bonus, and I still have shares in [Shanghai Bobby’s sire] Harlan’s Holiday. I said to my wife, ‘This is a pretty big race.’ It’s nice that NYRA came up with the bonus. It seems to have helped the 2-year-old program.”
Don Lucarelli of Starlight Racing, winning owner of Shanghai Bobby (No. 2b): “He showed today that he’s a good caliber horse and we think the next logical step is at Belmont and hopefully off to the Breeders’ Cup. From a colt standpoint, this [victory] is probably the best for me. At Saratoga to have a colt of this caliber and a lot of potential...it’s very gratifying.”
[Shanghai Bobby is named for Bob Burton, who introduced Lucarelli and Starlight’s Jack Wolf at a party in 2004. Lucarelli is a resident of Duanesburg, N.Y.]
Kiaran McLaughlin, trainer of runner-up and beaten favorite Fortify (No. 4): “He ran very well. He finished second today, but we feel like he’s going to keep improving. That’s a big step up, so we’re happy. He was stuck in there, and that horse got the jump on him, but he was game to finish second.”
Joe Bravo, rider aboard runner-up and beaten favorite Fortify (No. 4): “It’s a shame to get beat and run second, but I’d love to see what his future is going to be like. He’s just going to keep getting bigger and stronger. He didn’t want to give up, did he?”
Ramon Dominguez, rider aboard third-place finisher Bern Identity (No. 1): “I had a great trip and turning for home I started looking for my way out, I was following the winner, and we were able to come running and finish third – I was happy with how much my horse tried.”
