breeders' cup sprint - reaction

Corey Nakatani (jockey, Thor's Echo, 1st): - "He really had a good break, and Henny Hughes did not have a good break. I was on the rail, so my main thing was getting him in the clear. He was traveling so well beneath me and on the backside, I was just looking for the spot to go. He ran a tremendous race. He was handling the track and my main thing was getting him enough room. As I was turning for home, I turned him loose and what a race he ran. I think the key today is that the horses that handle the track the best are going to win. The inside is tight. I just put him in a place to win. I've always had a tremendous amount of respect for this guy. They ran him in Dubai and they gave him some time off. In his first race back, he ran good on grass. We were just looking to get him on the track against the best sprinters in the country. He deserves to be a champion."

Doug O'Neill (trainer, Thor's Echo, 1st & Areyoutalkintome, 13th): - "Someone asked me if I believe in things divine. The answer is yes. I know I am blessed. Corey (Nakatani) gave this horse a marvelous ride. He had been training wonderfully coming up to the race, but Corey's ride was the key. We were joking about the post (1), and saying we could sell it to somebody for good money. But in the end, the post turned out to be to our advantage. This is just a great, great experience for me and for my people. (Areyoutalkintome) Victor Espinoza said he never got a hold of the track. He said he was just spinning his wheels out there."

Ramon Dominguez (jockey, Friendly Island, 2nd): - "I thought we'd be a lot further back than we were but he was all keyed up today and I was a lot closer than I thought I would be. He's a very good old horse and you knew if the pace fell apart, he had a real chance to be there."

Michael McCarthy, assistant to Todd Pletcher (trainer, Friendly Island, 2nd): - "It's a special effort, especially since he was 60-1. Todd told Ramon to take him back and make one run. He tried and this horse had running on his mind. He's such a game horse."

Edgar Prado (jockey, Nightmare Affair, 3rd): - "He broke good. We got a good spot in the middle of the back, and we got a good trip. He was full of run, but the horse in front of him kept on running."

Patrick Valenzuela (jockey, Bordonaro, 4th): - "He just wasn't handling the track at all. He was spinning his wheels and never did get comfortable."

Richard Schosberg (trainer, Atilla's Storm, 5th): - "Somebody made the stretch longer than we thought. He ran great. They went 1:08 4/5 over this track. He did everything he had to do. I have no regrets. Coming form the 13-hole, he had to commit and he did. He put the 6-horse (Bordonaro) away. He made them run. He made them go as fast as they could go."

Alex Solis (jockey, Silent Lure, 8th): - "We didn't have any problems. Going into the turn, he was having trouble getting a hold of the track"

John Velazquez (jockey, Henny Hughes, 14th): - "He never took to the track at any time. After the first three jumps, I knew we were in trouble. He just kept spinning his wheels. At one point, his hips were sideways. He just kept spinning, spinning and spinning."

Kiaran McLaughlin (trainer, Henny Hughes, 14th): - "He (Velazquez) said he just didn't handle the track. Obviously, it had to be something like that but he never was into it. He said he just spun his wheels. You could see he just wasn't going anywhere. It has to be something like that. He's handled every other track, so it's kind of too bad, but this track can be like that. Churchill is a little different."