Gormley Pulls Upset Over Heavily Favored Klimt in G1 FrontRunner [Replay and Quotes]

JOCKEY QUOTES

VICTOR ESPINOZA, GORMLEY, WINNER: “I was really surprised. Like anything you go into it with a plan, but when that gate opens, everything can change. I originally wanted to take back a little bit and let him run in the end but next thing I know, something happened to the three horse (Secret House, who broke from the gate without rider Santiago Gonzalez and declared a non-starter.) I was on the rail and didn’t want to take him back then, so I let him run. This horse can run well wherever he runs. He’s a very talented young horse and he’s going to improve for the future.”

TRAINER QUOTES

JOHN SHIRREFFS, GORMLEY, WINNER: “You know, it’s always a surprise as you well know. You train in the morning and you hope they can improve in the afternoon. You don’t ever know until the afternoon. After you’ve won your first race you settle in and you just move on. He’s a young horse, he’s learning. He needs to focus a little bit and once he gets focused he’s got it handled. He looks like a million bucks, he’s a beautiful horse and he’s doing really well. I like that when he got into that big gear he has, he didn’t get too excited for a young horse and today he was all business.”

BOB BAFFERT, KLIMT, SECOND: (BEATEN FAVORITE): “He got pretty far back early, and that gave him a lot to do. He just didn’t fire away from the gate, didn’t break like we were hoping he would. But he ran a good race – he closed. We know he can handle the distance. This will sharpen him for the next one. I think he got a lot out of it today. He got a lot of dirt in his face and handled it pretty well. The quality is there – it just needs to come out of him.”

STEWARD GRANT BAKER, REGARDING FULL REFUND OF ALL MONIES WAGERED ON #3 SECRET HOUSE, WHO WAS RIDDEN BY SANTIAGO GONZALEZ:  ““The horse moved forward and crowded the front portion of the starting gate and then Gonzalez stepped off.

“This was a little bit different than what happened at Los Alamitos (last Sunday, when Gonzalez stepped off a horse in the day’s third race). We are going to have him into the office tomorrow morning to discuss this. Because he stepped off, we felt a refund was in order.”

NOTES: Owners Jerry and Ann Moss reside in Beverly Hills.

Santa Anita Park