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DERBY THEY SAID IT MAY 5, 2011 "He's always trained on it, but sometimes you don't know. He may or may not like it. We just don't know. A lot of good turf horses will train good on it, but they won't run good on it. We're going to be hoping for a good race." —trainer Tom Albertrani musing on whether BRILLIANT SPEED (Dynaformer) will handle dirt in the Derby "We got horses here at the last minute three times when I was with D. Wayne Lukas -- Charismatic, Proud Citizen and Scrimshaw -- all by winning the Lexington just like Derby Kitten. They did pretty well, too, with a win (Charismatic) and a second (Proud Citizen). I worked closely with them here in Louisville and we sent them over to Keeneland." —conditioner Mike Maker on his Derby duo TWINSPIRED (Harlan's Holiday) and DERBY KITTEN (Kitten's Joy), who just made the field as 19th and 20th on the graded earnings list "I think whoever wins this race could step up. This is where you could have a horse going for the Triple Crown. We have horses that are going to be improving, horses that are getting good and getting right at the right time. I know that my horse would be able to handle (a race) two weeks later. He'll get better as he goes along." —Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, who will saddle MIDNIGHT INTERLUDE (War Chant) in the Derby, speaking of a possible Triple Crown bid this year "I think at the Trainer's Dinner (Tuesday), it really hit me that we're really here, that we'd really done it, that all the work and planning had come together, and we were a part of this thing. It's just mind-boggling and you've got to pinch yourself to wake up from this dream. We've been really blessed and we're enjoying the ride." —Dean Reeves, co-owner of MUCHO MACHO MAN (Macho Uno) "For me, I imagine there are two scenarios. One where they're going fast enough to stretch the race out and the other one that they're not and it looks like the Wood (Memorial [G1]), where they're just all clumped up. Which one would I like? I'd like them to stretch the race out." —trainer Steve Asmussen mulling the Derby pace; his starter, NEHRO (Mineshaft), will break from post 19 "We took him to the gate to introduce him to the gate crew. I think that's very important when you go somewhere new. You want the gate crew to know who the perfect gentlemen are and who the bad actors are, so they know how to handle you if there's a delay or it takes a while to load. Soldat, he's a perfect gentleman, and today the gate crew got to find that out." —conditioner Kiaran McLaughlin explaining why he schooled SOLDAT (War Front) in the gate Thursday
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