Trainer Jose Garoffalo (Wildcat Red): "We proved that we were right, that the horse could get the distance. I thought (General a Rod) was the horse to beat and the race was a copy of the last race, the Gulfstream Park Derby, but this time I got lucky and I beat him.
"I was expecting him to be right next to or right behind me. Javier knows my horse, that's why he went after him very early. When my horse feels another horse alongside, he runs harder. Now we can think seriously about the (Kentucky) Derby. He never quits and he likes that - to feel the horse next to him. I was very confident at the wire. I knew that he was going to beat him this time. Last time, the post position wasn't good, but now it was a different story, thank God.
"The Florida Derby (March 29) will be the next step, depending on how the horse comes back, and then we'll see. If everything goes the right way, we will go straight to Churchill Downs, hopefully. I go to the sales with a limited budget and I liked everything about the horse--the way he breezed, his athletic body, and more than anything, his attitude. I got lucky that he exactly fit the budget ($30,000). (Jockey Luis) Saez deserves to ride the horse again unless he changes his mind (also rides Cairo Prince), but for the moment that's not the issue. I won a Grade 2 a couple of years ago, but this is for 3-year-old colts and that gets the most attention because it's the road to the Derby."
Jockey Luis Saez (Wildcat Red): "At the top of the stretch, I knew I was going to win the race, because my horse, all the time he tries so hard. When we came into the stretch, he fight, and he never let the other horse pass him. He's a great horse."
"(At the wire), I wasn't sure, but I thought I got the win."
"I feel good. He's a nice horse, champion horse, too. So, I'll wait to ride another race and to win another race."
Co-Owner Josie Delfino (Wildcat Red): "This feels great...it's so emotional. We've been in racing for two years. We're what you call newcomers. We had a good friend from Venezuela introduce us to Jose. We always wanted a horse - we rescue animals in Venezuela - but didn't know it would be a racehorse until after we met Jose. We didn't think we'd get this far so quick, but after we got Red we thought we'd go far. He has the heart of a winner."
Trainer Mike Maker (General a Rod): “The horse ran super. What else can you say?â€
Jockey Javier Castellano (General a Rod): “I had a beautiful trip. It was where I wanted to be. He’s such a nice horse. It was a competitive race. I had a lot of chances to win the race. The horse gave me everything he had. Unfortunately, he just got beat by the bob.â€
Trainer Shug McGaughey (Top Billing): "We just couldn't catch them. He made a good run, I thought at the quarter pole we probably had them, but we just couldn't get to them."
Joel Rosario (Top Billing): "He broke well and he's the type of horse that takes a little time to get in the race. It looks like the track is holding speed today, but I think he ran well. He's a smart horse and he finished well. They were going pretty quick and didn't let up. That was a good race for him I think."
Trainer Todd Pletcher (Commissioner, We Miss Artie): On Commissioner – “I thought he ran pretty well, better than it probably looks on paper. He broke well and put himself into a decent spot, but the way the track’s playing speed is so, so good right now and it’s hard to make up much ground. He tried to chase him the whole way and I think he wants to settle. I think he needs longer and he probably needs to get off Gulfstream.â€
On We Miss Artie – “He moved up into a decent position and (jockey) Joe (Bravo) said he was always getting a lot of dirt in his face and never really leveled off and never got into a comfortable rhythm.â€
$400,000 Besilu Stables Fountain of Youth (G2) Quotes
December 10, 2019