JOCKEY QUOTES

            VICTOR ESPINOZA, EXPRESS TRAIN, WINNER:  “I always look forward to a chance to win this race. This year was a little more special for John. I really wanted to get a win for him after so many years.

“Express Train is amazing, John Shirreffs has done an amazing job with this horse. To be able to keep him on track and train him race by race requires teamwork. John Shirreffs has an amazing team and everyone is important. It makes my job easier when it comes to the race.

“As soon as he’s in front, he knows he’s got it. He just gave me a little bit of a hard time at the end to get me excited and pump up my muscles. I thought it was an exciting race. He is a powerful horse and he needs to find rhythm. It doesn’t matter how wide I go on the turns as long as he is comfortable enough to stretch his legs and do his thing.

“The Santa Anita Handicap is a dream for a lot of people. When I have a horse that has a chance to win the Santa Anita Handicap, it’s always exciting.”

TRAINER QUOTES

            JOHN SHIRREFFS, EXPRESS TRAIN, WINNER:  “It feels great. It’s just thrilling, exciting, wonderful. You dream about winning the Santa Anita Handicap and to actually have it happen and with a horse like Express Train, who has done everything (right) along the way. He’s made the little steps, the big steps. He participated in all the big races we had in the West Coast and he’s been there and shown up. To have him win the Santa Anita Handicap, it’s just thrilling.

“Victor really gets along with Express Train.  It was a Hall of Fame ride because Johnny Velazquez (aboard Stilleto Boy) wasn’t going anywhere and he just kept kicking in and digging in and I thought I got away from him and he came back on. It was a great ride by both.

“Lee Searing has to be thrilled, over the moon. He’s been such a patron of the sport and it’s just great.”

 OWNER QUOTES

LEE SEARING, EXPRESS TRAIN, WINNER: “I’ve been coming to Santa Anita since 1956, at eight years old, I attended 25 straight Santa Anita Handicaps and they were the highlights of my years as a young boy. To own horses and to have only run three in the Handicap, never until today with really a chance.  But to see this horse as the favorite….The more he ran the more he gave. It is just so exciting to me and John and Dottie and everyone who loved the horse and my wife and kids. David (Ingordo, Dottie’s son) bought the horse…It just can’t be anymore exciting. This is a really nice older horse and to be able to keep on training him after recovering from that injury he had, its just all because of John.

            NOTES: The winning owner is C R K Stable LLC.