Brian Lynch (winning trainer of Grand Arch)

“Great to see him, as he gets older, just keep getting better and better. We had this race in mind this year after a game effort last year (second by a length to Wise Dan), and (jockey) Luis (Saez) seems to get along with him fantastic. I was worried about the turf getting a little soft today, but he handled it well. Very exciting finish – makes for a great race.”

On whether Grand Arch will race in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) at Keeneland on Oct. 31

“I would have to think so.”

Luis Saez (winning rider)

“He broke well and we got a good position. When we got to the half-mile (pole), I had so much horse (that) I was just waiting for a little room. Thank God when we got to the stretch he got a little room and he kept going. At the end, I saw two horses flying and I thought they were going to beat me, but he’s a fighter. He just kept going.”

Florent Geroux (rider of runner-up The Pizza Man)

“Tough beat. He couldn’t keep up early, so I let him settle. When I asked him to run, it took him a little bit longer than usual because the race is shorter, but the last quarter of a mile he was flying. At the eighth pole he was moving so fast. He’s not even a mile horse. This (performance) just shows how good he is.”

Richard Papiese (of Midwest Thoroughbreds, owner of The Pizza Man)

“He ran huge. If there weren’t so many horses across the track, he gets up for the win. For all the folks who may have thought he couldn’t run a mile: Surprise. It's a question of two turns and he could probably run a two-turn race at six furlongs on a small track and run big. I couldn’t be happier. The instructions were 'where he breaks, he breaks'. We wanted a target and we didn't want to be a target.

“He got more out of this race than you could ever imagine for going into the Breeders' Cup (Turf) and that’s why we ran here instead of any other race. It’s about bigger and better things down the line.”

Jose Lezcano (rider of third-place finisher Tourist)

“He struggled a little bit in the first part where the ground was kind of soft. Finally he jumped in and got comfortable about the three-quarter (pole) and after that he seemed better. He finished up very good.”

Julien Leparoux (rider of fourth-place finisher Seek Again)

“We had a good race, a good trip. My horse ran good. We just got beat. No excuses. He ran his race.”

Jim Crowley (rider of fifth-place finisher and beaten favorite Dutch Connection [GB])

“We had a nice position and he traveled very well until the home bend, where I think (with) the combination of the slow ground and the tight turn he wasn’t able to pick up. But then he stayed on well in the straight. I think he could improve going farther next season.”