$1 MILLION CURLIN FLORIDA DERBY (G1) QUOTES

Winning Time: 1:49.99
Winning Margins: nose, half, 2 ¾
Winning Payoff: $5.80
Fractions: :24.10, :48.80, 1:13, 1:37.32
Order of finish: Commandment, The Puma, Chief Wallabee, Nearly, Wayne’s Law, Timeless Victory

Trainer Brad Cox (Commandment, 1st): “Proud of the horse. He’s a solid animal.”

“I thought he had a shot. I couldn’t tell. At the sixteenth pole, with the ground he was making up, I didn’t feel there was a tremendous amount of pace on, where he was in the race, when [jockey] Flavien [Prat] called on him inside the three-eighths [pole], I thought he responded well. My mindset was already, this is a good race and it’s going to set him up for the [Kentucky] Derby, win or lose. I’m glad we came out on the right end.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t loving it [trailing the field early]. Even on the far turn it looked like the top flight was traveling well. I think he put to bed the question was how far he wants to go. I think the 1 1/8 miles, the mile and a quarter, with the right trip he can get it done.”

“He’s a big, sturdy horse. I’ve said that several times. He takes his races really well and a couple people told me he was the paddock pick. He’s a big, sturdy horse and once again, once he comes out of it in good order, I think it will set him up for five weeks.”

“The Kentucky Derby is without doubt the hardest race to win, there’s no doubt about it, and that’s why it’s so special. And you need to run as many as you can.”

“A little too close for comfort, but he pulled through. I thought at three-eighths [pole jockey Flavien Prat] kind of had to show him the way, asked him a little bit, he responded well, didn’t seem like there was a tremendous amount of pace on. Obviously, last going into the last turn, he was able to finish up well.”

“To watch the weather in Kentucky and figure out what’s the best time to ship. Give him a couple days to recover, like I said I’m serious about the weather and we’ll map out a plan and on to Kentucky.”

“He’s an easy horse to ride. Just take him away, warm him up, put him where he’s comfortable. And I thought that’s what [Prat] did going into the first turn and into the backside. He responded when he caught up to them inside the three-eighths. He’s a smart horse. He’s very intelligent. He always gallops out well in his works, and [when] he works with his workmate, he doesn’t put him away or anything. He’s kind of easy on himself. He’s a big, strong, physical horse that takes his races well and I think it’s going to suit him well moving forward.”

Jockey Flavien Prat (Commandment, 1st): “I was a bit worried because I wasn’t traveling very well the first part. The pace wasn’t very fast and I was just in the back, and I thought I would be a bit closer. Then I tipped him out turning for home, he swapped leads and from there he gave me a good, solid run.”

“When he turned for home it looked like Junior Alvarado [on Chief Wallabee] had plenty of horse and he was just going to get through and when we turned for home he wasn’t going anywhere. My horse just leveled off nice. From that point, at the eighth pole, I thought I had a chance.”

“I thought I had the bob, but I wasn’t sure. He’s very workmanlike. He’s straightforward, and he’s a fighter. He showed some guts down the lane.”

Trainer Gustavo Delgado Jr. (The Puma, 2nd): “We thought we had him, but other than that it was really, really exactly what we wanted to see before the [Kentucky] Derby.”

Jockey Javier Castellano (The Puma, 2nd): “He ran a huge race. I’m very satisfied. Perfect trip. That’s what we were looking for today. He gave me a very good run. I thought I had it.”

Trainer Bill Mott (Chief Wallabee, 3rd): “The trip was OK. We were saving ground. He tipped him out and he just felt like, as easily as he was traveling, he would probably accelerate a little quicker than what he did. I mean, he came on but maybe not as quick. As well as he was traveling on the bridle, when he released him he thought he would probably quicken a little more. But, you know, it’s only his third race and they’ve got to learn to do that. He’s getting more experience, and it wasn’t a bad race. It was a good race.”

Jockey Junior Alvarado (Chief Wallabee, 3rd): “I had a good trip. To be honest, when I was turning for home I was behind those two horses and I felt like I was very loaded. Once I put him in the clear, he didn’t kick on. He just stayed the same speed. I was hoping the way I got to that point in the bridle, I figured when I ask him he’d give me at least a mild kick, but he didn’t. He just kept the same pace. We needed a little bit of a kick to get the job done. He could feel the horse on the outside and kind of shied a little bit away from him but he’s just a baby. It’s only his third start and all the horses had more experience over him. He has given us what we asked from him.”

Trainer Todd Pletcher (Nearly, 4th): “Maybe he needed this to make him move forward. We'll see. We've got time to see how he comes out of it, train here a little bit, survey the complexion of everything. He [Velazquez] felt like he didn't handle the track the way it was today, the way he handled it previously. He felt like he was sort of just spinning his wheels a little bit. He didn't run bad. He just didn't run as well as he's capable of.”

Jockey John Velazquez (Nearly, 4th): “We got a good position. The track was playing pretty slow. The track was against us today. I might have had him a little too tight. The track was not in our favor. His style before, he was off the pace. Now he was a little too keen, and the way the track was playing, it was not the way you wanted to be there.”