Undrafted Takes G2 Shakertown; Reactions and Replay

Wesley Ward (winning trainer of Undrafted)

“He’s a really neat little horse and he loves it here at Keeneland. Before his races, he gets all charged up, no matter where he is. Kind of like his owner (co-owner Wes Welker): a little guy, but tough. Last winter, we came into this race (in 2015, when he finished third) a little compromised by the weather, as he stayed here all winter. This year, it was a really good winter and we never missed a work. He was ready to go.”

Joe Bravo (winning rider)

“(Undrafted) knows what he’s doing. The best thing for me to do is stay out of his way. Wesley gave me one instruction: Get him out and clear. That’s all we had to do. He just exploded turning for home. It’s pretty fun when you have a horse jump underneath you like that. He makes everyone around him look good.”

Shaun Bridgmohan (rider of runner-up Something Extra)

“I thought I was in the garden spot. He hung in pretty good. He’s a hard-trying horse. He gave me everything he had.”

Jose Lezcano (rider of third-place finisher Commute)

“The race went very fast, but I had a good trip. Saved ground when I could. When I tipped him out, he came with a run, but the two horses that finished in front of us are two nice horses. My horse gave me his race like I expected him to.”

Javier Castellano (rider of fourth-place finisher Summation Time)

“They drew off a little bit at the top of the stretch, and I tried to follow the horse I knew was going to come back quick, but when the horse was coming back he wasn’t straight, so I had to check my horse’s momentum before I could go forward. I think I lost the race at the top of the stretch.”

Julien Leparoux (rider of beaten favorite Power Alert [AUS], who finished eighth)

“We didn’t win, but we had a good trip. No real excuse. I was thinking he was going to make a run like he usually does. He did for a little bit but then kinda quit on me in the straight. No excuse today.”

Source: Keeneland