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FLORIDA DERBYMarch 30, 2019Jason ServisLuis SaezHallandale Beach, Florida LUIS SAEZ: He took the lead, we took it, and everything went so well. Q. Jason, why wasn't he in the 16,000 three months ago? JASON SERVIS: You know, I tell everybody I didn't think he could claim, he's a homebred. I had to bug on him. If I'm claiming a horse, and I've claimed a lot of horses, to me it wasn't attractive. You know, Wests now at the end of the year, it's not like he's a hundred thousand dollar yearling or two -- he's a homebred. His confirmation -- I just didn't think I'd lose the horse. Q. Is there something you didn't like about him? JASON SERVIS: He had some stuff that I'd rather not get into, but yeah, he had a few things. You know, and who's to say that if somebody claimed him that day they didn't jump in something the Swale or right back in the Fountain of Youth or something and maybe he runs fourth and then they run back in the Florida Derby and maybe he runs sixth. I was careful to hand pick his next two races. He came into the race, he was pretty confident. He made an easy lead, I thought. I thought he made it easy. 50, 49 and 4, 48 and 4. When I saw that, I was feeling okay. Q. When he didn't get claimed, how were you feeling? JASON SERVIS: I was feeling pretty good. Q. A sense of relief or -- JASON SERVIS: Yeah, I think I called the office right away, was there any claims, and they said no, and I was like, whew. Q. When did you begin to get over your initial impression of him not being -- thinking he could run a race like this? JASON SERVIS: Romero Maragh kept, man, Jay, this horse, I'm telling you. I said, well, you know, he beat him soft bunch, and when he rode him the second time -- LUIS SAEZ: I was in the race. JASON SERVIS: That's right. He was very -- Maragh, which he's an apprentice, but he thought he was a stake horse. Q. They said that you had told him this morning you were not overly confident; is that correct? JASON SERVIS: I really wasn't. I didn't really know what to expect. I was telling Mike, you know, he really -- he's been beating up on lesser horses. I think the last race was a six-horse field maybe, so the jury was still out. If he'd have run sixth, would I have been surprised? No. I thought Luis did a great job of getting him out there and backing it up. Great job. Q. Looking down the road, Jason, (inaudible)? JASON SERVIS: I talked to Gary briefly on the phone, but we'll get with Team West. They've got a couple managers that are very knowledgeable, and I'm sure we'll get our heads together. Just a little story, when I think -- when he won the last race, one of the managers called me from California, and I guess our post here was early enough that he was at Baffert's barn, and I could hear Bob in the back, we'll have something to -- Game Winner will have something to run at. It was just kind of funny. Q. Do you think he's the kind of horse that needs to be on the lead like that? The Derby is a tough race to win wire to wire. LUIS SAEZ: Yeah, I don't think so. I think he can be from behind, too. He can be in good spot. I think he can run anywhere. JASON SERVIS: He did like third his second race, pretty soft. Q. When you said that you didn't have an overabundance of confidence this morning and yet you saw how well he ran today and how he won going away, how much more respect do you have for him right now? JASON SERVIS: You know, suppose he doesn't break that good and I get hung up three wide, you know, and then he ends up a mediocre fifth. I mean, I thought he had things pretty -- he made the easy lead and he was tough to get by. I mean, he won a great run, and it's the Florida Derby and I know there's a couple horses come back and win the Kentucky Derby. I always felt there was a plan that God had, that I was going to be the first two brothers to win the race, if my brother won it, I was going to win it, and we'd be the first brothers. Might not be this year, but I'm trying. Q. Why did the Wests decide to send him east rather than run him in California? JASON SERVIS: I think the managers divvy the horses up. They've got several trainers, and I was fortunate enough he came my way, yeah. Q. Jason, was there anything surprising about the race today, looking at the competition, the way it was run, anything surprise you? JASON SERVIS: I mean, I didn't think he made that easy of a lead. 24 and 2, right? Yeah, I thought the Bode horse would go. We had talked -- yeah, we talked, I talked to Luis, we thought that maybe we'd tuck in behind him. LUIS SAEZ: Yeah, the thing was if somebody took the lead, just follow him, be in a good spot, good position. But when the gate opened, you don't know if we took it, and if we wasn't in a good spot right there. It was easy, and he did it. Q. Did you have any concerns about stretching him out this much all at once in seven furlongs? JASON SERVIS: I mean, God, he won by whatever he won by last time, ran fast. And with his pedigree, I thought he would get the distance, yeah. Q. When did you start thinking about this type of race, big jump from -- JASON SERVIS: After his last race. The second race I wasn't thinking this. No. I was actually kind of wishing I was in the Hutcheson -- was that the short field, the other -- yeah, was kind of thinking, well, maybe we should have been in there. But I'm glad we were in here. LUIS SAEZ: Me too. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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