From Breeders' Cup Notes Team

Winning trainer Bob Baffert (Game Winner) – “He’s special. The way he won and the way he did it was impressive. I was worried at the half-mile pole, but (jockey Joel Rosario) wasn’t. He knew he had a lot of horse. This is a huge win for me.”

Winning jockey Joel Rosario (Game Winner) – “He broke fine but it looked like they took my spot and I had to go wide. He seemed like he didn’t mind that. He was comfortable. That’s why we got him moving at that point, instead of getting inside and taking back. Turning for home the more I rode him the more he gave it to me.”

Second-place trainer Ben Colebrook (Knicks Go) – “That was a thrill. Turning for home I thought we might get there, but Baffert’s horse (Game Winner) was the one to beat all along.

“You know, he keeps out running his odds (70-1 when winning the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland and 40-1 today). Maybe people will start giving him some respect now, because he’s a nice horse.

“It’s too early to start thinking about that (the Derby). We’re just thinking about today. We’ll let him tell us what he wants to do next. The Derby’s a long way off.”

Second-place jockey Albin Jimenez (Knicks Go) – “We broke really well and had a great position. We were traveling really comfortable on the lead but just couldn’t hold off the winner. I’m so proud of my horse. He tried very hard until the very end.”

Third-place trainer Kenny McPeek (Signalman) – “I’m very pleased with his race and we felt like form the post (14) that we needed to take back and settle and try to cut the corner and Brian (Hernandez Jr., jockey) did that. We’re real pleased. He galloped out in front. Maybe there’s a race in the spring going a mile and a quarter we were thinking about.”

Third-place jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. (Signalman) – “(Trainer) Ken’s (McPeek) going to get one these someday. Hopefully these 2-year-olds we had today will come back and be in the winner’s circle as 3-year-olds. I loved the way he did it. He overcame the 14 post and was closing on good horses.”

Fourth-place trainer Bret Calhoun (Mr. Money) – “He ran a hell of a race and Gabriel (Saez, jockey) gave him a great trip. He might have been a hair keen on the backside, but Gabe got him to settle in. You could tell going into the far turn that he had quite a bit of horse. I got a little excited about that point in time because he was in a very good position. He ran well, he just got outrun from there. A horse like him will get you excited.”

Fourth-place jockey Gabriel Saez (Mr. Money) – “I had a great trip. Turnfing for home I thought I was going to get there. He did everything good. He was very professional.”

Jockey Jose Ortiz (Complexity, 10^th) – “He broke well, sprinted for the first turn and relaxed once he made the lead. I didn’t have anyone breathing down my neck. On the final turn, I completely ran out of horse. We were afraid he didn’t want to go this far and it just didn’t work out.”