Dan Peitz Quotations

So many people are thinking they have a Derby horse that we're going to need a big effort.

I don't think we're far behind Lawyer Ron. We lost enough ground in the Rebel on the first turn and were a little wider than him in the second turn to make me think that he wasn't three lengths better than us.

If the track is muddy, that won't be a problem. I just don't want him out there if there is thunder and lightning.

He has never been a problem at the gate. I just wanted to familiarize him with the gate crew and the crew with him. I don't want any surprises Derby Day.

Going a mile, I didn't know if we could handle everything. Our horse wants to run farther.

He's going to be a colt that is going to want to run all day.

He galloped a mile and a half, as planned. I didn't think the track was that bad when he went. It was wet but it was in good shape. The track is not going to bother us regardless anyway.

Like I've said before, I can't get to a mile and an eighth fast enough.

I think he'll be running at the end. Will that be good enough to beat Lawyer Ron? I don't know.

We hope we get some halfway decent pace in front of us, and then we'll see if we can reel him in.

We want him to take us on a magic carpet ride. If we get to Kentucky, who knows?

We want him to take us on a magic carpet ride. We're going to need a big effort.

When you've got a come-from-behind horse, that's more horses you've got to come through.

I've never had a horse in the Kentucky Derby. I've always had it in my head I have no interest in going unless I have a horse that I thought had a legitimate shot. And I think this is a mile-and-a-quarter horse.

We're hoping to get a little better pace scenario for us, and that Robby maybe won't have to move as soon with a little longer stretch. Maybe somebody will kind of go with Lawyer Ron the first part. We hope it works out.

When we mapped out his schedule two months ago, we planned it so he would have a change of shoes before he worked at Churchill, if he got that far.

Well, he's not a one-dimensional horse. We thought he had to have the lead. Obviously, that's not the case.

A little turn of foot in the middle of the race you like to see, and most good horses have it. It was something we hadn't seen in any of his previous races, so that was definitely a step forward.

If Lawyer Ron runs his race, then we're all probably running for second. He's been very impressive.

So far, from what I can see, he really hasn't done anything wrong on dirt. He's got qualities those good horses have. He's got speed and he can carry it.

I'm not saying he would have gotten to the winner, but had he had a good trip, he would have made the finish closer.

I'm figuring we're probably going to be in the back half of the field the first part of the race and see if we can reel them in.

His energy level is real high and he seems pretty happy.

If you're the big horse, you're going to get the attention. That doesn't bother me.

He's still the horse to beat. At a mile and a sixteenth, he's still the horse to beat. If it sets up like it did the last time, we're probably all running for second again.

He's a pretty cool customer. We take him out after we train him in the morning and like to get him out in the afternoon. It's nice to have this because he enjoys picking a little grass.

It was just what we were wanting, a nice easy half. It was a little maintenance move, to let him stretch his legs a little bit. He did it the right way. He finished up well and galloped out good.

It's not going to affect me that much. I may have done a little more with him, but it's not going to screw me up.

This was another good morning and if we gets eight more days just like that, he will be ready to go. He is galloping good and doing good. When I got here, I said I wanted three good weeks and he is halfway there.

He's obviously a nice colt. But I can't see them having him all cranked up to win. Their objective is the Arkansas Derby and the Kentucky Derby, so I think they're using it for what it is a prep.