by Jeff Renton, media/communications, the Woodbine Entertainment Group

Scott Bell, trainer of the 2-1 morning line favourite Feelin Friskie, on selecting post two (as one of the elim winners), with driver John Campbell

“Last year, he was a pretty nice colt. We thought he was a nice colt. But he had a couple of minor issues. When they’re babies, sometimes it affects them more than most horses.”

“His feet bothered him a lot when he raced last year. He’s just matured. There’s no problems right now, knock on wood.”

“It’s actually good [that some horses start their careers at small tracks]. The horses get in with cheaper horses, they get their confidence and they learn how to race.”

“He’ll definitely be tighter [for the Cup final]. I might not have worked him as much as I should have, with the week off. The other night here, a half hour after the race, he was still blowing pretty well, so he was a touch short. I think he should be a lot better this week.”

“I know typical John Campbell. He’s going to let them all do what they want to do [at the start of the race], but once somebody taps the brakes, then you’ll see John come. He knows a lot more than any of us.”

“The colt’s pretty versatile. He can leave, too. He can get them all sitting, pretty quick. It’s all up to John, but you never see John really leave real hard in these races.”

“In the Jersey Sires races, he was just all right. John and I discussed a few things. We made some equipment changes [this year] and he’s been a lot better. He’s had that hood with cups on [blinkers] for three starts and hasn’t been beaten yet.”

George Teague, trainer of both Total Truth (PP5, Ron Pierce, 9-2) and Western Ace (PP7, Brian Sears, 5-1)

“I liked the draw. The five-hole [for Total Truth] is a really good spot here, especially with the horses who have drawn the inside. Just like the inside positions, so many things about the middle of the track can work to your favour as well.”

“I think both [Total Truth and Western Ace] have a legit chance. I don’t find [posts] five and seven to be a bad spot.”

“The thing about both of these colts is that they’re very versatile. They’ve won on the front-end as well as from off the pace.”

Driver Jody Jamieson, about Doonbeg, 7-1 in the morning line, from the three-hole

“He’s a good horse and he’s going to have the toughest race of his life on Saturday night. I don’t think he’ll have any problem showing the world that an Ontario-bred like Doonbeg is a good horse, and I think he’ll show up well for the race.”

“Obviously, anything could happen, but I’m really happy about the draw. I’ve got Dave Panlone * when raced out of his skin in his elimination * to my inside. Feelin Friskie, who is obviously a monster, is in the two-hole and I’ve got the three-hole. I’ll be able to watch what those guys are going to do and I’ll be able to hold my position. I should get a great trip. I couldn’t be an happier with the draw.”

Jim Dean, trainer of Doonbeg, 7-1 in the morning line, with driver Jody Jamieson

“We got lucky and got the first pick, and Jody wanted the three-hole. He’s the driver, and I want to keep the driver happy, so things couldn’t have gone better.”

“I’m hoping someone battles it out up front and kind of sets it up for us. [Doonbeg] doesn’t have a whole lot of gate speed, but if they wear themselves down up front that’s our best shot. But, we can’t race them head to head, so a second- or third-over trip would be perfect.”

Driver Paul MacDonell, on last year’s juvenile champion, Jeremes Jet, drawing post 10, at 6-1 in the morning line

“It’s only where you start. At least he’s got his nose on the gate I’m sure the horse will be in tip top form and ready to rock on Saturday night.”

“I don’t know [if I’m going to send him]. We’ll just have to see where everyone else lines up and go from there.”

“He’s definitely not been in top form yet. But he’s a great horse. And I have a lot of confidence in him. I know he’ll be a great horse. Good horses show up for big races and I’m sure he will.”

“We had the luck of the draw on our side [to draw in]. But we didn’t have the luck for the post position draw.”

“I think it may have been a bit difficult [to win the elim]. I think the horse needed that race. He was in the fastest division [1:49.4] for his second start back. If he can improve off that a little bit, he’ll be heard from, no doubt.”

Driver Randy Waples, about Impeccable, 30-1 in the morning line, from the nine-hole

“I don’t know what we’ll do. He’s versatile. He can go either way [to the front or from behind]. In his elim, he got a couple of lucky breaks. A couple of horses made breaks and scattered the field and allowed him to pick up the pieces.”

“But he raced well. He was the only one that was gaining at the end of it. He’s only had a few starts this year. Each start, he seems like he needs it to get himself race-tight. He should be okay.”

“He can go with these horses. It would have been nicer to make things easier with a better draw but sometimes the sweetest victories aren’t the easy ones.”

“It depends what they do leaving the gate. Last year, they went some crappy fractions early. I think [driver] John [Campbell] is going to get a lot of respect with his horse [Feelin Friskie]. But it’s probably one of your most wide-open [Cup] fields in quite some time.”

Dr. Ian Moore, trainer of Impeccable, 30-1 in the morning line with driver Randy Waples

“The nine-hole is a little bit rugged, but I just it could’ve been worse, we could’ve drawn the 10.

“He finished up well for us in the elimination and came out of it well. He had his couple of days turned out in the paddock and he’s feeling really good. I jogged him this morning and everything’s fine. So we’ll have him as good as we can come Saturday night.”

Driver Mark MacDonald, about Fox Valley Tribal, 30-1 in the morning line, from the eight-hole

“For my horse, I think it [post position eight] is alright. I’d rather be sixth or something like that, but eight is okay.”

“I think there’s going to be a lot of speed on the inside. It’s a very competitive and wide open race this year. To me, it looks like any horse * right from one to 10 * can win it. It’s going to be interesting.”

“We’ll hopefully get in the middle somewhere and just follow the pace. I watched the replay [of Fox Valley Tribal’s elimination] and he raced really well. He paced hard down the lane and it looks like he is that type of versatile horse.”

“In a field like this where there are six or seven horse who look like they can win, we should be okay.”