Click here for a replay of the race and the post-race interview with winning connections.

John Velazquez (winning rider of Adonius-IRE)

“He didn’t behave in the gate quite as I expected. I knew he would break slow out of there. With a lot of speed in the race, I was expecting that, but I wasn’t expecting to be that far back. In his other races, I know he was normally on the lead or close to the lead over there (in the UK). I took the other route. Obviously he broke bad, I tried to cover up a little bit the first part of the race. He was a little uncomfortable, so I took him outside of horses — now he’s trying to get away from the horses. I tried to cover up and he was much better following somebody. Once I got him out, he had a nice kick. For a horse who’s never come behind, he was very professional.”

Rebecca Menzies (winning trainer)

“(My heart sank) a little bit (when he broke badly), but they were going a good gallop, and he’s never had a pace to aim at in the UK before, and (jockey) Johnny (Velazquez) got him really settled. I was pretty happy because I know he’s a very honest horse and when (Velazquez) pulled him out wide and came late, I know he always tries to the line. I actually thought, ‘Oh, great, he’s probably going to finish fourth here.’ Then when I saw him really rallying and putting his head down, it’s a testament to the horse.”

“I have so many people to say thank you to. There’s an absolute army of people at home and here, since we got here, that helped us get him to this stage. It’s our first winner, our first runner abroad, and it’s absolutely magical. It probably won’t sink in for a while. We’ll keep him here now, and on to the Breeders’ Cup (Juvenile Turf Sprint-G1).”

“He was well backed all day, and I think (all the messages I’m getting are from) his fan club back home. There’s thousands of people behind this horse. It’s a testament to the owners to say, ‘Let’s roll the dice and bring him here.’ They’ve been brilliant all the way through and the plan has just been executed beautifully and we had such a smooth prep into this race. We were full of confidence with our horse; we just didn’t know what we were going to be up against. It’s absolutely amazing that he pulled it off.”

Sean Clancy (of winning co-owner Riverdee Stable) 

“For us, it’s just such a thrill. For the horse to come over here, travel here, deal with all of that, then to break like that — he’s never been in that position in his life, to keep trying and keep digging. I thought, in the middle of the stretch, ‘Aww, he’s going to be a gallant fourth,’ and we’ll be thinking, ‘Oh, if he broke, if he did this, maybe it would have happened,’ so for him to get there — I honestly didn’t think he got any part of it. I was walking down and thinking, ‘I can’t believe he ran like that and got beat. Anybody who plays this game, it’s an honor to come here with a horse like that and win at Keeneland, it’s just a lifelong dream for all of us.”

Luis Saez (rider of runner-up Love a Warrior)

“We were hoping he’d like the turf. When he first broke out of there, he was a little lost but he got into it and finished well.”

“I expected the fractions. I knew there was going to be a lot of speed. We were in a great spot, but the winner came running. I felt like he was going to get there, but the winner just surprised us.”

Flavien Prat (rider of third-place finisher Wood Island)

“He ran a really good race. I think he got a little confused when that horse (Adonius) got in front of us. But he gave me a good fight, so I think it’ll be a good learning experience.”

Irad Ortiz Jr. (rider of fourth-place finisher and beaten favorite Ruiva)

“Ran a big race, nice filly. Everyone ran today; it was a good race. She set the pace and held on.”