Ballerina (G1) Quotes

December 10, 2019

"Win and You're In Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint Division"

Tom Morley, winning trainer of Haveyougoneaway (No. 10): "I'm dripping in sweat. I'm glad my assistant hosed me down. What a thrill. You can't beat that. It's Saratoga, we just won a Grade 1. It's as good as it gets, it really is."

"There was a question mark about [the pace] and I said to [jockey] Johnny [Velazquez] in the paddock, 'I don't know whether they're going to go a rattling good pace here. There's no signed-on speed. There's fillies that have been prominently placed before.' This filly, she's good enough to win going six [furlongs] and she's got plenty of gears; you can be tactical with her. We knew she'd stay; she'd only just got there in the Honorable Miss and she ran a very good second to Bar of Gold going a mile at Belmont. The seven-eighths is absolutely her wheelhouse and Johnny had her in the right spot the whole race. It was a great ride and a great result."

"Now obviously we'll have to plot our route to California carefully. She's run three times in pretty quick succession. She ran at the back end of Belmont and won a stake, came up here and won opening week and then came back and won the Ballerina in just under four weeks. She's had three big efforts in relatively quick succession, so we might just train up to the Breeders' Cup."

First Grade 1 victory of career: "First one means everything. It's the Ballerina, it doesn't get much bigger than this. It's Travers Day, we're here in Saratoga. That's the icing on the cake."

John Velazquez, winning rider aboard Haveyougoneaway (No. 10): "Perfect trip. She broke well and got in good position. I was just trying to follow Joel Rosario there [No. 10, Carina Mia]. Then, all of a sudden, he took off at the half-mile pole and I sat there and decided to wait. I didn't want to make a premature move. When I asked at the quarter-pole she responded right away."

"I was right next to Carina Mia so I knew we were going a bit slow. When she went on at the half-mile pole, I was just patient. I didn't want to get involved early, so I waited to the quarter-pole and it worked out good."

Michelle Nevin, trainer of runner-up By the Moon (No. 2): "She ran a winning race today. I'm very happy with her. It was a big effort. She fits in well with these [Grade 1] horses."