MIKE SMITH (Vale Dori, winner) – “I was surprised to find out how much horse I had. I gave her one little bit of encouragement and she just threw me in the back seat. She’s got some kick. She’s going to get better, too. I got on this filly when they first brought her here and she was all nervous. But now she’s cool and calm. Have to give a lot of credit to Bob (trainer Bob Baffert) and his crew. They’ve brought her far along.” 

 

JAVIER CASTELLANO (Wild at Heart, second) – “Good race for her; good effort. At the quarter pole, I’m thinking I can catch the winner. But then she just widened on us. The winner was too good. We were a good second best today.”

 

NORBERTO ARROYO, JR. (Moyo Honey, third) – “She ran well, very well. She gave me confidence all the way around there. She tried hard.”

JIM BARNES, assistant to Bob Baffert (Vale Dori, winner) – “She did it like a (1-2) favorite should. We’ll take that. It played out like I expected. I thought the three (Gloryzapper) would be out there and we’d be able to sit right off her and that’s the way it worked out.” 

 

 

FRACTIONS:  :23.56  :47.68  1:12.41  1:38.06  1:44.79

 

The stakes win was the third of the meet for rider Smith. He now has 61 stakes wins at Del Mar, 11th most of any rider.

 

The stakes win was the second of the meet for trainer Baffert. He now has 121 stakes wins at Del Mar, far and away the most of any trainer.