Trainer Nick Zito (Catholic Cowboy) – “Gulfstream is always good to us. We were talking today, my son Alex and I, about how Gulfstream’s been good to us the past decade, longer than that. It’s always been a good luck track for us. Our horse seemed to like it.

“What I need to do is try to win another Kentucky Derby. But at the end of the day, if this is what the Good Lord wants, and I can win these things every year, it’s not so bad.

“He went a little funny on us. We didn’t understand why, so we did the next best thing and gelded him. That always helps, because the mind goes back to where it’s supposed to be. He’s been fantastic now. He had some great works. Luis (Saez) wouldn’t give up, and that was the key.”

Jockey Luis Saez (Catholic Cowboy): “He’s brave, and when he’s brave he gets himself in good position. When we came to the three-eighths pole I saw somebody pass me from the outside and he looked like I was done. But when we turned in the stretch and I started riding him, he responded to me. He just took off. Last year we won the same race, so it feels good to win again. It’s great.”