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Pat O'Brien StakesDEL MAR, CALIFORNIA SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2009 PAT O’BRIEN STAKES
$300,000, Grade I, 3-y-o & up, 7 f VICTOR ESPINOZA (Zensational) – “He’s fast. He’s REALLY fast. I’ve ridden some very good, very fast horses. But I’ve never ridden one like him. If you’re talking sprinters, he’s the fastest horse I’ve ever ridden. I wanted him to break quiet today. I didn’t want him to come busting out of there. He came away easy and I had a hold in the first part. He ran :23 and something (:23.10) and I knew I was getting away with it right there. I thought we’d be going at least :22 and change. Twenty-three for this horse is just for fun. From there I just eased him on out. I let him run a little bit down the lane, but that was it. Never drew my whip. No reason to. Like I said, he’s fast. And when we pulled up, he wasn’t breathing hard at all. Not at all.” JOEL ROSARIO (Noble Court) – “A good race for him. That’s how he runs, coming from the back. He closed, but the other horse (Zensational) he’s just too fast.” JOSEPH TALAMO (Nikki’sgoldensteed) – “I thought I had dead aim. I thought I was at least going to get up for second, but then Noble Court came and got us. But a very respectable race for him. A good try.” GARRETT GOMEZ (Talkin to Mom Roo) – “I had a good trip and I thought I was right where I needed to be to dictate how the race was going to be run. Then on the turn I was out of horse.” TYLER BAZE (Big Bad Leroybrown) – “He was a little hard to settle. But once he did, I thought we’d be OK. But then he just didn’t have anything to fire.” BOB BAFFERT (Zensational) -- “It’s great to win these two races [Bing Crosby and Pat O’Brien Stakes] down here. It’s nerve-wracking to have a horse this good. He’s an incredible animal; so fast. You have to be careful with him. If you move on him, he takes off. I asked Victor [Espinoza] to get me a 23 [second] quarter, and when I saw that, I knew it was a cakewalk from there. I liked the way he behaved today. This is all the racing for him for now. I want to keep him real sharp for the Breeders’ Cup [Sprint]. You know, trainers live for the Classics and the Breeders’ Cups.”
FRACTIONS: :23.10 :45.37 1:09.66 1:22.31 The stakes win was the second of the meeting for Victor Espinoza and his sixth victory in the Pat O’Brien. He now has 61 stakes wins at Del Mar. The stakes win was the fourth of the meet for Bob Baffert (the most by any trainer at the session) and his third in the Pat O’Brien. He now has 84 stakes wins at the track, which continues to add to his record for all conditioners in that regard. Espinoza and Baffert had teamed up earlier in the meet with Zensational to win the Grade I Bing Crosby Stakes at six furlongs. |
Today's Card
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