Saturday, November 24, 2012
CIGAR MILE HANDICAP (G1) QUOTES
Todd Pletcher, winning trainer of Stay Thirsty (No. 1): "I wasn't sure; it was a very tight photo. I thought we got a good bob, but I still wasn't 100 percent sure we got there."
"He was successful at 2 and won races like the Jim Dandy and Travers at 3, and the breeders love milers. He proved today he can be versatile enough to do all of those things. It was a huge win for him."
"We wanted to be aggressive with him early and put him into the race, and he didn't break real well. With the way it unfolded we were just sitting behind the other three. It seemed to work out in the end, but I was a little concerned at the break because he didn't jump away real well from the one hole."
Ramon Dominguez, winning jockey, Stay Thirsty (No. 1): "I would have loved to have been sitting closer, but it turned out I was happy with the position. When I had a chance to go outside, I did. [Groupie Doll] was game and she was hard to get by. It was great to see him do that and show a different style today. I wasn't sure [in the stretch], but he was running."
Mike Repole, winning owner of Stay Thirsty (No. 1): "Aqueduct is not the prettiest place in the world, but it means a lot to me, it means lot to my friends, it means a lot to my family. I grew up 10 minutes from here. I said, 'this is my Breeders' Cup weekend.' We won four graded stakes. I don't care how long I'm in racing, you're not going to win three graded stakes in a row, two with 2-year-olds and one with Stay Thirsty, who means so much to me. This is a special, special bittersweet moment, to go out a winner, beating Groupie Doll, who's going to win the Eclipse Award. He had the lead one time, and it happened to be when the wire came up. What a great feeling to win three stakes in a row; just amazing."
Buff Bradley, trainer of beaten favorite and runner-up Groupie Doll (No. 7): "She ran a hell of a race. I'm glad we came. I knew Stay Thirsty was coming at us, he ran a great race, too. I thought she ran her race and ran very well. I'm very proud of her. I knew she'd gotten nosed out. Tough field."
Rajiv Maragh, jockey aboard beaten runner-up, Groupie Doll (No. 7): "The pace didn't develop fast and I was close. I thought I won the race, just a head bob. The pace was slow. She naturally put herself in the bridle. I got the trip I wanted to. Just a tough beat."
Please note, in addition to today's Demoiselle, Remsen, and Cigar Mile, Mike Repole won Thursday's Grade 3, $150,000 Fall Highweight Handicap with Caixa Eletronica.