JOCKEY QUOTES

VICTOR ESPINOZA, GORMLEY, WINNER: “It was nice yes. I expected him to run the way he ran today. I know he’s still improving but I think he only gets better and better. Hopefully, he gets a lot better, but with this race and his next, he has a lot of potential to keep growing.

“It didn’t surprise me how well he broke out of there today. When he’s feeling good, he breaks quickly and already running. In the Breeders’ Cup he broke slow but today he came into the race in really good shape and got into it right away.”

MIKE SMITH, AMERICAN ANTHEM, SECOND: “For only his second time out, that was pretty impressive. If we’d been on the outside…I think that probably would’ve helped a little bit getting beat a half a nose.”

TRAINER QUOTES

JOHN SHIRREFFS, GORMLEY, WINNER: “That was a great race. He’s still young. You never know what they’re going to do so it’s always interesting. We’re very proud of him.

“He’s quick. He starts quick, he gets away quickly. But then he checks himself as he gets into the race and he relaxes. It was great to see him pick it back up again and get it done.

“Chantal (jockey, Sutherland who has been working him in the mornings) has given me a lot of confidence in how he’s doing. She’s a rider who really understands what is going on underneath her and is very expressive about it, so she’s been a big help.”

JERRY MOSS, OWNER GORMLEY: “This type of thing never gets old. He’s got a lot of heart and I know he’ll go further than this. John’s doing all the right things as usual. This was a beautiful horse race and the fans got a thriller. No idea where we’ll run next.”

NOTES: The winning owners, Jerry and Ann Moss, reside in Beverly Hills, CA.