Adam Coglianese Photo

G1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets Post Position Draw Quotes

by NYRA Press Office

Chad Brown, trainer of Sierra Leone [post 9, 9-5ML]: "He's been doing great, bounced out of that Derby which can obviously be a tough race on horses, and he's bounced out well. He shipped up great and he's training really good here, just hoping for a good trip. Obviously, we have half as many horses to run down so that should hopefully be a little easier on him. I just hope he runs the same race as in the Derby.

"We made a little bit of a change with his bit just to try and give the jockey a little bit more steering and he's drawn outside in this race versus the Derby, so hopefully Flavien [Prat] can survey the inside and just pick his spot where he wants to be in the first turn and just be prepared for him, a couple of his races he's leaned in a bit and he cost himself in his two losses and his three victories he hasn't done it as much. So as long as you are prepared for him and he runs straight, he should run big.

"The horse has never been a problem in the morning. So it is hard to recreate a race event sometimes as a trainer when you are not going at full speed, when you are not in a full field, to really capture that event that happens late in a race when they are at their ultimate stress and fatigue level, so those are tricky situations to try to resolve or work on. You can't recreate them. That said, I do like how he has accepted the bit now that he is more mature. He's had more experience racing. He's going to run in it. It is a common adjustment for trainers for horses that maybe are lugging in or out. Obviously it gets a lot more attention because it is being used on a horse that lost the Kentucky Derby by lugging in a bit, so we will see how it goes."

Ken McPeek, trainer of Mystik Dan [post 3, 5-1ML]: "Lance Gasaway sent me a message this morning that said go there and get post three. It's his lucky number I guess. I'm thrilled with that, so it is out of our control [and] now it is up to Brian [Hernandez, Jr.]. I'm just excited to be back up here again at this wonderful event.

"He is a very consistent horse. I think that is the biggest deal. We've kind of been a little careful with the spacing of these races nowadays. And I have been worried about it, you know making sure he's right, but he's been very consistent all the way from the Arkansas Derby through today. Once again, we are hopeful that he runs a big race and you've got to compete in these kind of races to prove yourself. There's some great horses in here and it is going to be interesting.

"We kind of had to re-school him from two to three. He sprinted a couple times and we showed how fast he was, but then stretching him out, he's handled all that very well. He's a lovely horse to be around. It's been a real pleasure.

"My horse has got some natural speed if you need it. And I think it is going to kind of depend on what Dornoch does out there, but we will leave it up to Brian. He's very talented and someone who obviously knows the horse and we trust, so we are going to let him do his thing."

Todd Pletcher, trainer of Mindframe [post 10, 7-2ML], Antiquarian [post 5, 12-1] and Protective [post 7, 20-1ML]: “I didn’t see any major draw impact. I mean, it’s good for Mindframe that he drew outside – he doesn’t have that much experience and it will give Irad [Ortiz, Jr.] the opportunity to [work out] a trip around there.

“I was happy with all the posts.”

On Mindframe: “The horse trained really, really well before his debut and then goes out and wins by 13 and three-quarter lengths, a really fast time. He comes back in an allowance race and handled that pretty easily. With his two races and all we’ve seen from him in the morning… it’s a lot to ask, but we wouldn’t ask him if we didn’t think he was talented enough.”

On Antiquarian: “He really has [flourished at Saratoga]. He’s been doing great since the Peter Pan and the Peter Pan was a breakthrough performance that we thought he had in him. Hopefully again he can make another move forward.”

On Protective: “He needs to continue to move forward, but I think he’ll appreciate the added distance and this opportunity at a mile and a quarter. He shows up and tries hard every time. I think he can get a piece.”

Emily Bushnell, co-owner of Resilience [post 2, 10-1ML]: “We’re so excited to be here. We listen to [Bill] Mott and he listens to the horse. He’s doing great and we’ll see what happens on Saturday. [The Derby] was such an incredible day. We had all our closest people with us. He ran a great race and it’s such a connection for all of us in our family through the horse and it felt so special.

“It’s such a beautiful track [Saratoga] and I loved coming here growing up with my dad. It’s such an iconic venue and I’m happy to be here this week.”

Caitlin Dunne of MyRacehorse, owner of Seize the Grey [post 1, 8-1ML]: “The best part about this whole ride is to have 2,500 friends and we all stick together and enjoy the whole experience and the Preakness worked out. I think he kind of woke up after the Preakness. We are ready to see what he’s got.”

Danny Gargan, trainer of Dornoch [post 6, 15-1ML]: "I wanted to be more outside. Hopefully, we break good and can lay on the outside and get a nice clean trip. He [Seize the Grey] will probably be on the lead. Mystik Dan breaks fast - he outbroke us in the Derby and came over on us. He's inside us and I'm happy about that. Other than that, it just depends what Todd [Pletcher] does with Mindframe. We'll break running and hopefully stalk or sit right there.

"He never got to run in the Derby much. He's worked tremendous up here. We'll just see how the week goes. He's training great.

"He didn't get a chance to run in the Derby and he didn't run bad in the Blue Grass - we rated him that day and he got checked. You can't give up because he ran one bad race.

"Sierra Leone shows up every time. If he shows up we're all in trouble unless he does something to get himself beat. I'm one of the few that has beat him - there's two of us in the race that have beat him and if we could run our race and beat him one more time this would be a great time to do it."

Whit Beckman, trainer of Honor Marie [post 8, 12-1ML]: "The outside draw is fine - this horse has won inside, outside.

"The difference in taking that next step is always one horse and this horse has been the one to let us dip our toes in these types of races. I think he can take us the rest of the way.

"The more speed and the more pace plays to his running style. He's one that wants to close. I don't want to see him as far back as he was in the Derby or even the Louisiana Derby. If we can change that a little bit and have a better spot going into that first turn, I think it would be a good thing for him.

"Flo [Geroux] has actually breezed this horse prior to the Risen Star, Louisiana Derby, the Kentucky Derby and this. He's always been that guy we were hoping Brad [Cox] didn't have one for and now that he's open it's a good chance to do what he's been doing in the morning in the afternoon. He gets along with this horse so well. The way Flo and this horse communicate when I watch them work and the way this horse responds to him, I think it's a great match."

Mike Maker, trainer of The Wine Steward [post 4, 15-1ML]: “The horse is doing great. I have no complaints about the post.

“If there’s was more of an honest pace last time, he would have appreciated it and maybe would have won it [the Peter Pan]. We will hope for better luck this time. The owner has been very supportive of me and of New York. It would be great to win for [Paradise Farms and David Staudacher].”