Kentucky Derby Jockey Quotes

May 04, 2015

Victor Espinoza, jockey of American Pharoah, winner – “I feel like the luckiest Mexican on Earth. He has been a special horse since the first time I rode him. He has a lot of talent and is an unbelievable horse. Turning for home I started riding a little harder. At the eighth pole, I just couldn’t put that other horse (Firing Line) away, but he got it done.”

Gary Stevens, jockey of Firing Line, second – “Going into that first turn, he was pulling hard. I looked over and saw that Martin’s horse (Martin Garcia on Dortmund) was pulling just as hard as mine. I eased back off him a little bit and gave both horses some breathing room. He (Firing Line) was aggressive today. He was on it. Coming for home I thought I might get there, but it wasn’t to be. My horse showed his braveness today. He just got beat. I’m very proud of him.”

Martin Garcia, jockey of Dortmund, third – “He’s a really good horse and he ran like it today. He always comes to run; that’s the kind of horse he is. He got beat today by really good horses. That can happen.”

Joel Rosario, jockey of Frosted, fourth – “He had a good trip. He didn’t have any trouble. He tried really hard and finished strong.”

Julien Leparoux, jockey of Danzig Moon, fifth – “He was running good we got pushed back a little bit in the first turn, but actually that ended up being perfect because we sat up front around the first turn and second turn. We had a real good trip.'

Javier Castellano, jockey of Materiality, sixth – “My horse didn’t break at all.  I think I got eliminated out of the gate. He got a lot of dirt kicked back in his face. Unfortunately he missed the break and was almost last around the first turn, but I like the way he finished and I liked the way he closed. I really liked the way he finished in the last part of the race. He handled the track so well, I won’t complain about the track at all. I’ll complain a little bit about the start and the beginning.'

Kent Desormeaux, jockey of Keen Ice, seventh – 'I just had to wait. I wouldn't stay stopped, but I had to wait.'

Christophe Soumillon, jockey of Mubtaahij (IRE), eighth – “It was a good performance. We didn’t finish too far back. We’ll see him again later.”

Luis Saez, jockey of Itsaknockout, ninth – “My horse broke good. We had a little bit of bumping but he got a nice position. I asked him and he responded and it looked like he was coming, but the others kept going.”

John Velazquez, jockey of Carpe Diem, 10th – 'The horse that was laying third won the race. It doesn't matter what the fractions are if you keep running. I just didn't have it today. (Did you have any problems starting on the inside near the rail? ) 'Nope. Perfect. He did everything perfect today. No excuse.'

Corey Nakatani, jockey of Frammento, 11th – “Considering the pace scenario, our intention was to get momentum from the half-mile pole and get him in the clear. Unfortunately the pace wasn’t fast enough to close.”

Rafael Bejarano, jockey of Bolo, 12th –“No excuses. We had a good trip and he tried. But he’s a much better horse on grass.”

Ramon Vazquez, jockey of Mr. Z, 13th – 'I had a lot of trouble in the first turn and I had to hold my horse. Then I try to take a position, but after a half of mile, my horse was done.'

Elvis Trujillo, jockey of Ocho Ocho Ocho, 14th – “The horse tried very hard. It was a perfect trip. I sat fifth, saving ground. He was moving good at the three-eighths but just didn’t stay with them. He was relaxed behind horses and it was just a perfect trip. Everything was good.”

Mike Smith, jockey of Far Right, 15th – 'They were just too slow early. They picked it up half way through the race, but by that point it was just too late to get into gear.'

Joe Talamo, jockey of War Story, 16th – 'We were moving great. He broke so well. I was able to get to the rail and save ground around the whole turn. And really down the backside, everybody started going off, and I was able to inch up a little without me using him up. Whoever it was at the three-eighths pole, he slammed him pretty hard, and it was just when I was getting his momentum going. It's hard to recover from that.'

Manny Franco, jockey of  Tencendur, 17th – 'I had a perfect spot going into the first turn, but that was it.'

Jose Ortiz, jockey of Upstart, 18th – “I had a good trip, but he broke a step slow. I was a little wide on the first turn and then I saved as much ground as I could. At the quarter pole, I had no horse. I don’t think he handled the track.”