Quotes from the $150,000 Perryville

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

Florent Geroux (winning jockey)

“I didn’t do that much different (from his last race), to be honest. I just wanted to have the horse feel comfortable in a nice rhythm. It looked like he ran a nice race last time at Churchill off the pace when he placed second, so that was kind of the same idea today, to be behind the speed. This horse is not really quick early on, so we just found a nice rhythm, got the speed in the turn, and he showed a lot of grit and determination down the lane. I’m very proud of him. (Trainer) Brad Cox and his team did a great job getting him ready today.”

On whether he sensed Ram, ridden by Rafael Bejarano, coming on his outside

“Oh, yeah, I saw it was very close, almost maybe too close for my comfort zone, but my horse was able to hold on. Very proud of the horse.”

Rafael Bejarano (rider of runner-up Ram)

“My horse had a beautiful trip. He comes from behind. This time we tried to stay a little bit closer, but his style is to relax and just make one run. He showed me a better kick this time, and he came flying at the end. I just wanted to get him in the clear and he kept running and for a moment I thought I won the race, but the four (He’smyhoneybadger) was trying so hard.”

D. Wayne Lukas (trainer of Ram)

“We got a little further back but that’s the horse’s style. We really thought he might have won it. Usually the outside horse gets the nod at the wire. I think his best distance is 7 furlongs to a mile, so we will try to find something at Churchill. I’m just bold enough to think about the Clark Handicap (G1).”

John Velazquez (rider of beaten favorite and third-place finisher Pipeline)

“We broke well and I got a good position. I held my position there and when I let him go he gave me a quick spurt, but let up around the sixteenths pole. At the quarter pole I thought he was going to (win) because I hadn’t asked him yet and he gave me a good sixteenth of a mile, but the last sixteenth was a little flat.”