2011 Wood Memorial and Bay Shore Stakes

By Cindy Pierson Dulay, About.com Guide

Owner Mike Repole said, "I have total faith in Johnny and total faith in Todd, and the horse didn't fire today. In 1973 Secretariat came in third in the Wood, and he won the Triple Crown. I saw "Secretariat" (movie) last night; it was probably a stupid idea. Maybe he has an abscess on his tooth. I'm going to check it later."

Trainer Todd Pletcher added, "He grabbed a quarter (left front) leaving the gate. It didn't help but I'm not using that as an excuse. After that, he was kind of hounded early on. The fractions were reasonable. It was his first time going 1 1/8, first time over the Aqueduct surface. I was a little concerned turning for home at the 3/16 pole when he didn't really kick clear. You could see the last 50 to 60 yards he was tired. It doesn't mean we're not going to go, it doesn't mean we are going to go. We'll see how he comes out of it and make sure he's physically OK, that's a priority. My confidence hasn't changed in the horse. He's got a good win at Churchill and maybe this is what he needed to step forward 4 weeks from now."