X Y Jet Blazes Early, Holds on to Win G3 Gulfstream Park Sprint [Replay and Quotes]

$100,000 Gulfstream Park Sprint (G3) Quotes

Trainer Jorge Navarro (X Y Jet): “Coming into the paddock, he wasn’t the same horse as last time out. He was ready. I was like, ‘Oh my God, they’re in trouble.’ My biggest concern with X Y Jet has always been the gate. I don’t know what happens back there, if he’s not paying attention to what goes on, but I always tell Jaramillo, ‘Please make sure of a clean break, that they’re holding his head up so he’s not looking down.’ We went through that last year, and he was a nightmare. I know what kind of a horse he is. Last year we thought he was a  nice horse.”

“I felt pretty comfortable. Once I saw the 43 [seconds for a half-mile], I was like ‘6 1/2 [furlongs], 43, whoa, we’re not going three-quarters today.’ You know what, he likes a challenge. If you look at it, every time he got beat last year he got beat by a nose, a head. I knew he was going to come right back.”

“I’m going to keep him happy now. In a way, the 43 I kind of loved it because I’m not planning to do anything with him right now. I’m going to keep him happy, that’s it. I’m going to go [to Dubai] and go on a vacation.”

“I’m going to go on the 12^th or the 13^th [of March]. He’s going to go on the 15^th. I want to make sure I’m there before he gets there and everything is fine.”

Gary Hartunian (Rockingham Ranch): “This is a nice way to get in.  Its unbelievable. I didn’t love the start and I didn’t love the half. When I saw that fraction of 43 I said, ‘Oh, my God, what’s this horse doing.’ Plus he’s stretching out from 6 to 6 1/2 furlongs. I was wondering if he was going to have enough, but he did. And they say he’s just peaking…just starting to get going.”

Jockey Emisael Jaramillo  (XY Jet): “He stumbled when he left the gate. He didn’t break good today. After he stumbled, he gathered himself and he made the lead. They put pressure on him, but when they looked him in the eye, he got in the bridle. When he turned for home, he got in a different gear. In the lane, it looked like he was waiting on horses, but he has so much class, when I called on him, he just drew away again.”

Source: Gulfstream Park