Also-Rans Jockey Quotes

MIKE SMITH (Jockey, Proud Citizen, 2nd) - "He ran really, really well. He ran a tremendous race. I told Wayne (Lukas) that the only difference between the two of us (Proud Citizen and War Emblem) was that my horse was getting over the ground good, he was getting over the ground well, but not real well and the other horse was relishing over it. I noticed that right away, so I tried to stay within striking distance of him. He just kicked on away from us. I thought at one point that my horse could quit, but he just reached down and cut again. Hopefully we can turn the tables in the next one (Preakness Stakes)."

EDDIE DELAHOUSSAYE (Jockey, Perfect Drift, 3rd) - "They were walking. I thought there would be five or six horses in front of me, but nobody was going with the leader. I thought they'd go the half in :46, not :47. I was up front, but I didn't want to be. I was just being dragged along with the race. Go watch the tapes and you'll see that I was strangling the horse - like we were going a mile and one half. But there was no pace. I just don't know where those other horses were. I thought there'd be some push up front, but no. What can you say? That's horse racing."

LAFFIT PINCAY, JR. (Jockey, Medaglia D'Oro, 4th) - "He didn't break that great and we got squeezed back. So instead of being close to the pace like I wanted, I found myself behind a lot of horses. I couldn't get him out of the jam in time. To me, he's still a top horse, but things happen in racing."

ROBBY ALBARADO (Jockey, Request For Parole, 5th) - "I had a great trip. Unbelievably no trouble. I saved ground all the way. The horse tried all the way. We just couldn't catch that horse in front. I thought I had a big chance at the half-mile pole, but the winner, he has improved a lot his last two races."

CHRIS McCARRON (Jockey, Came Home, 6th) - "War Emblem was up there, and he had to do all the running. He took a little heat from Proud Citizen and he was able to shake him off and kept on marching. I was a little wide around the first turn, but that was to be expected. We had an opportunity to draw inside the other day and I chose outside, and Paco (trainer Paco Gonzalez) chose outside because I wanted to be outside the speed. We were not flying out there by any means, but it was a good, honest pace. Mike (Smith) on Proud Citizen was able to keep War Emblem honest, so to speak. If he had gotten away with a 48 or 49 pace, then we would have had a lot of hot trainers to deal with, for letting War Emblem go that slowly. He ran a legitimate pace. It was probably a little slower than I thought he might go. He was the best horse. He set all the fractions and didn't look back. A couple races I won on him this year, he kind of stalled on me going around the turn which makes it a little confusing to me to understand how much horse I have left. Especially in the Santa Anita Derby when he let Easy Grades go by him on the outside. But then he re-broke. At the three-eighths pole today, he responded in kind but straightening out for home, he wasn't really able to sustain his run."

EDGAR PRADO (Jockey, Harlan's Holiday, 7th) - "He broke okay, but he didn't pull like he usually does. When we hit the backstretch, he didn't give me any confidence. He wasn't responding like he has been. Then I had to put him in a drive a lot sooner than I wanted to. He really didn't respond."

GARY STEVENS (Jockey, Johannesburg, 8th) - "A half-mile out of the gate I was urging him to keep his position. And when you've got to do that at that point in the Kentucky Derby, you know you don't have much chance. It didn't seem like the fractions were too fast, but I was too far back to make an impact. This was a big task for him. They asked an awful lot for him to come all this way and to try and pull this off. But he wasn't disgraced."

DAVID FLORES (Jockey, Essence Of Dubai, 9th) - "There was no pace. I was waiting for someone to challenge War Emblem but when nobody did I knew I was in trouble. My horse just didn't run at all.

On Getting tossed in the paddock: "He's just a little goofy. The horses in front of us were too close and he got a little excited."

JOHN VELAZQUEZ (Jockey, Saarland, 10th) - "He really didn't want to run today. He was steady the entire way and had no push whatsoever."

PAT DAY (Jockey, Blue Burner, 11th) - "I finished way back. He was aggressive going under the wire the first time and more forwardly placed than we would have liked. We were right behind Came Home going around the first turn and up the backside. We were not able to tuck in like we had anticipated. We really thought we would be near the rear of the field and be able to angle in and save some ground. At the half-mile pole, everybody started to pick it up, and he did not respond."

JERRY BAILEY (Jockey, Castle Gandolfo, 12th) -"There's not much to say. Our concern was not to be too far back. We were in good shape but he couldn't quicken like the others."

JORGE CHAVEZ (Jockey, Easy Grades, 13th) - "He broke good, but when I asked him for run at the five-eighths pole, I got no response. That was it for us."

DONNIE MECHE (Jockey, Private Emblem, 14th) - "Everyone was trying to predict the race before it was run. Everybody's thinking there's a lot of speed, but they don't ride their horse. I knew that one horse was going to go out there and crawl and that's exactly what happened. Here I am trying to take off the pace and my horse is wanting to be up there. They come around me and shuffle me back and my horse drops the bit at the 3/8th's pole."

GLENN CORBETT (Jockey, Lusty Latin, 15th) - "I only beat a couple of horses, and didn't really have any excuse. Had a little bit of a slow pace, and everybody just kept running. Nobody really backed up. I had a great trip and I loved riding in the race. I had the time of my life. It is THE best experience of my life. I got nothing to complain about."

EDDIE MARTIN (Jockey, It'sallinthechase, 16th) -"The race went great because we had a clean trip and nobody shut me off but we just didn't have enough pony today. This was my first Derby and it was very thrilling. I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be. I felt composed and rode hard just like I do in every other big race day."

ALEX SOLIS (Jockey, Ocean Sound, 17th) - "He just didn't handle the track; not at all. At the half-mile pole I was asking him, but he was just spinning his wheels. I had a good trip; no problems. But my horse just wasn't with me today."

RENE DOUGLAS (Jockey, Wild Horses, 18th) - "I wish I had a horse who would have responded. I had a perfect trip inside and saved ground but when I asked him to go, he didn't respond."

« Back To Derby News