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

Luan Machado (winning rider of Percy’s Bar)

“She was pretty (much) a handful all the way around there and I was just holding her and waiting for some kind of room to let her go through. As soon as she got a little bit of a chance to make it through, I just gave it all to her and she ran right through it. All credit to her and the whole team.”

On the team sticking with him and coming back to win after disqualification to second from first in the Darley Alcibiades (G1) last fall in her last start:

“It is very special. (Trainer) Ben (Colebrook) and his whole team have been working very hard, not only for her but the whole barn has been doing pretty good. It means a lot after (being disqualified from a win in the Darley Alcibiades-G1). She deserved that win.”

Ben Colebrook (winning trainer)

“I’d still probably rather have the (Darley) Alcibiades (win), too, but this takes the sting out for sure. She deserved it more than anybody else, and my team and everybody else — that’s such a big part of everything that happens. It was a great ride by (jockey) Luan (Machado) and it all came together. I think she could have had the lead today. I was kind of worried because the pace was so slow and she was kind of bottled up back there, but it looked like he always had horse; it was just whether he was going to get that seam. When he got half a seam she was just gone. That was pretty impressive.” 

Bret Jones (son of the late Brereton Jones, who bred Percy’s Bar)

“Records are meant to be broken, but I don’t know that they’ll ever break the record for how many people just fit into this winner’s circle with this filly. (The interviewer) grabbed me but should have grabbed Gatewood Bell (of owner Hat Creek Racing) or (trainer) Ben Colebrook, who did the impossible bringing her off a layoff to do what she just did in the (Central Bank) Ashland. Nothing’s more fun than this.”

On having the winner’s circle crowded with families and children

“That’s what this is about: making lifetime memories. These kids just made a lifetime memory today. They’ll remember this forever. That’s incredible. Just a very special day.”

Todd Pletcher (trainer of runner-up Zany)

“I thought she ran very well. She was closing well at the end. We just didn’t have time going to the first wire to get up in time. But I liked the way she finished, I liked the way she was gaining at the end, I liked the way she galloped out. She got a good education in it, got a lot of kickback, got some cover, a lot of things that I think will help her at Churchill. 

So still on for the Kentucky Oaks (G1)?

“Absolutely, that’s been our main target all along.”

Irad Ortiz Jr. (rider of runner-up and beaten favorite Zany)

“It was a slow pace and I tried to move the pace. But that horse (Percy’s Bar) cut the corner on me. (Luan Machado on Percy’s Bar) was lucky to get through there. Otherwise they had to go around me. That’s what it is. That’s racing.”

Junior Alvarado (rider of third-place finisher Star Actress)

“It was a good race. We were a little slow, I was back in the back, so I was hoping for a little more speed, but she came with a good run at the end.”

Cristian Torres (rider of fourth-place finisher and pacesetter French Friction)

“I had a great trip. She broke well. Everything went the way we planned, slowing the pace. She was traveling really nicely. When we passed the three-eighths (pole), I thought I had a little bit more horse, but when it was time to run, she just wasn’t there for me.”