2009 Belmont Stakes Undercard Part 2

By Cindy Pierson Dulay, About.com Guide

Gabby's Golden Gal suffered from heatstroke on returning to the unsaddling area and had to be treated by the veterinarian with ice water and an injection of electrolytes. She did not get to participate in the winner's circle ceremony as a result. Winning jockey Javier Castellano said, "I thought when I pulled them up and she came back, she was coming back tired. I watched the replays of the couple races before, and she's a really nice filly. She does break out of the gate, and I took advantage. The track is speedy today and the rail is very good; that's the reason I took advantage. I knew handicapping the race there was a lot of speed in the race, but I broke on top and the filly gave it everything she had."

Winning owner-breeder Arnold Zatcher added, "She's not real big but she puts everything into it. Bob (Baffert, trainer) calls her a little keg of dynamite. This is a good distance for her. When we bred her, at the time, we thought Medaglia d'Oro had good potential, and the dam, Gabriellina Giof, was our first winner; she won the 2002 Manhattan Beach Handicap for us. We wanted to get past that last race (6th in the Kentucky Oaks). We haven't thought about what's next, we really want to enjoy this one."

Tonja Terranova, assistant to trainer Bob Baffert said the next day of the incident, "She's fine, she looks OK. As soon as she got cooled off, everything was fine. Javier said she just got a little overheated at the end. We're just going to give her a few days. Bob wants to come back and take a look at her to make sure she's okay and then he'll make a decision about whether she'll stay in New York or go back to California."