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

Irad Ortiz Jr. (winning rider of Final Score)

“He showed speed before but not this kind of speed. I thought it was a little more speed than he would have in the race. I thought we were going to be right behind the speed, but he broke so good and put me in a good position without asking too much. I had talked to the trainer (Todd Pletcher) and he said, ‘If he’s on the lead, fine; let him go.’ 

“He went a little faster than I wanted, but he got the job done. He deserves a lot of credit. He was a little aggressive going into the first turn, but on the backside he switched off really nice. After that, I just bided my time turning for home. Then when we were in the straight, I asked him to go and he gave me a good turn of foot.”

Tyler Gaffalione (rider of runner-up Turf Star)

“Everything went to plan. I just had to sit in there a little bit longer than I’d like to. Irad (Ortiz Jr. on eventual winner Final Score) was riding really patient. He gave me a really good run down the lane, then as soon as we got out, he found another stride and really extended himself well. I thought it was a great effort.” 

Cristian Torres (rider of third-place finisher Gordon Pass)

“The horse ran great. I saved all the ground I wanted. The plan was, I talked to (trainer) Will (Walden), and the plan was just to save as much as possible. He’s a horse that is still learning. He’s run twice, just in Indiana, so first time running against a lot better horses. Our plan was to break, let him sit, relax and make a run at the ending. He responded. He finished up real nice.”