Hancock: “We were hopeful Blame could stand her off because we knew she’d be coming. Hell, she always was.”

Gomez: “We went into the far turn and Lookin at Lucky was probably five wide and started to make a run. Instead of going with him, I felt like I could drop in and cut the corner without asking my horse to run and still stay at almost the exact same spot with Lookin at Lucky. All the sudden, when I cut the corner, it was weird because Blame jumped up into the bridle and knew it was race time. Before I knew it I was even with Lookin at Lucky again, and the first thing in my mind was, ‘Don’t forget about her.’”

Denman: “Blame got the perfect trip. I’m using a little poetic license, but Garrett Gomez’s boots were touching the horses next to him, which means there was exactly enough room. If either of those horses on either side of him had moved over one foot, he would have been stuck. But the gap was perfect, and he exploded through it.”

Drape: “When Zenyatta sailed into that far turn, Mike went inside, which he normally doesn’t do. I saw him go inside and knew he was doing everything he could to make up ground.”