Grade 1 $1,500,000 Preakness Pan Stakes
Pimlico, May 20
Chad Brown (trainer, Cloud Computing, 1st)
“It’s unbelievable. A lot of teamwork. It couldn’t happen to greater clients than Seth Klarman and Bill Lawrence. Seth, he got into racing by coming to Pimlico. He was just telling me he remembers coming out as a kid to the infield. He grew up in Baltimore. They are very deserving owners. It’s just unbelievable.”
Javier Castellano (jockey, Cloud Computing, 1st)
“I think I always had a lot of confidence in this horse but I didn’t have the opportunity to ride the horse. Then Mr. Brown gave me the opportunity to ride the horse in the Preakness. It was a great combination and I am blessed to have the opportunity and enjoy the ride. I spoke to Mr. Brown before the race. We had a plan and we were sticking to the plan and it worked out great. We analyzed the race and handicapped the race together, we had a lot of thoughts and put them together and I think that is the most important thing in a relationship. We have a great communication together and I think that is the key to winning the race.”
Mark Casse (trainer, Classic Empire, 2nd)
“I thought he ran outstanding. I always worry about him starting because he stumbles a little bit. He won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile going out after it and I said to (jockey) Julien (Leparoux), ‘Second doesn’t mean anything.’ I said, ‘Let’s go and try to win this thing.’ It ended up getting us in the end. We were going to be in it, and he said, ‘OK.’ We were going to be aggressive and that’s what we did. I know his mind tends to wander and I was a little worried about that. I was hoping that horse came to him earlier. He tried to kick back, but we were second best today.”
Julien Leparoux (jockey, Classic Empire, 2nd)
“We had a good trip. We got the trip we wanted, outside Always Dreaming. The only thing is, Always Dreaming backed out of the race early, so I got to the lead early, maybe too early. I got to the lead early, and the winner just came at us at the end. He ran a big, big race. No excuses.”
Ken McPeek (trainer, Senior Investment, 3rd)
“It was a great race. I was happy with him. He showed me he could compete against these kind and has continued to improve. He’s a really good horse with a huge future and I think we’re just getting started with him. A mile and a half and the Belmont (Stakes) is going to be really up his alley. The two who finished in front of him are obviously really good horses, but maybe if we would have had a little cleaner trip, we maybe could have finished closer. He’s such a big horse, it was pretty obvious he was going to need time to develop, so it’s not a big surprise that he’s come along. He’s a really, really smart horse.”
Channing Hill (jockey, Senior Investment, 3rd)
“The race went the way I expected. I got a little stopped around the first turn when (trainer Steve) Asmussen’s horse (Hence) got the jump on me. I had to step on the brakes a little bit. Halfway down the lane, he showed his heart. I couldn’t be happier with this colt. He’s got a legitimate chance to win the Belmont (Stakes). See you in New York.”
Todd Pletcher (trainer, Always Dreaming, 8th)
“We were in the position we expected to be and I think the turnaround was a little too quick. He ran so hard in the Derby and today just wasn’t his day. He didn’t seem to relish the track, but I don’t really think that was it. It was just that he put so much into the Derby that it wasn’t meant to be. Initially, it looks like he came back well. We’ll savor the Derby victory.”
John Velazquez (jockey, Always Dreaming, 8th)
“He just got beat. I didn’t have it. That’s it. Not much to say. I knew I was in trouble on the backstretch when the other horse got to him, almost head to head, and engaged him. I knew I didn’t have it. That’s horse racing. He didn’t have it.”
$100,000 Sir Barton Stakes
Pimlico, May 20
Graham Motion (trainer, No Mo Dough, 1st)
“I really liked this horse today. (Jockey) Jose (Ortiz) rides him with such confidence. He showed a lot of ability as a baby and then we gave him the time. He had a minor issue we had to the time. Jose told me the other day at Churchill the horse didn’t even know what he was doing and he still won. He just came out of the race so well. Today he galloped really strongly. I think he won kind easily. He’s a very nice colt.”
Jockey Jose Ortiz (jockey, No Mo Dough, 1st)
“He broke great today. The last couple times he broke kind of slow. He put me in a good position. He was relaxed where he was and when I asked him to run at the three-eighths pole I felt like I had plenty of horse. He’s still a little green, but he’s a nice horse.”
$100,000 James W. Murphy Stakes
Pimlico, May 20
Bill Mott (trainer, Yoshida, 1st)
“That was very impressive. He broke but he was relaxed, and (jockey) Joel (Rosario) said he was very responsive, whenever he needed him, he could put him wherever he wanted. I thought it was a very professional race. He won on the lead last time. I told him in the paddock, he doesn’t need to be on the lead, but he also doesn’t need to be last. I said, ‘Just get where you’re comfortable and go from there.’ Well, I guess he was comfortable trailing the field. The good thing about that is he relaxed early and finished with a big burst. He had plenty of courage. Any time you’ve got to go through the field, you have opportunities to back out of it, and he actually got checked a little bit around the second turn nearing the quarter pole. He had to take up a little bit and wait and finally got through and found his room. He rolled home an easy winner, it looks like. He had his ears pricked and doing it the right way. He was doing it the right way.”
Joel Rosario (jockey, Yoshida, 1st)
“I had a very good trip. I thought I was going to be closer. He definitely didn’t break very sharp, but it looked like they were going pretty fast up front. He was very happy where he was. I just let him do his thing and then he put in a very nice run at the end. He’s a very nice horse.”
$200,000 Chick Lang Stakes
Pimlico, May 20
Horacio DePaz (trainer, Recruiting Ready, 1st)
“The horse does best when he’s on the lead. We kind of let him free run a little bit. If you take too much hold of him, he really isn’t going to settle. He’s a strong horse. I was surprised those other horses went with him, but I was comfortable with where he was at the whole way around. He’s learning to run now. He settles a little bit and he’s making that run at the end. We will definitely keep him sprinting for now. We’ll see how he comes back off of this. He’s also been campaigned pretty hard, so I want to take care of him and maybe focus on Saratoga or something. But we’ll see, everything is open.”
Horacio Karamanos (jockey, Recruiting Ready, 1st)
“He gave me a nice kick at the top of the stretch and was very strong today. He’s a really good horse who ran against some of the best in the country last year. We are 3-for-3 together, so I think we’re a good match.”
