TODD PLETCHER (Trainer of Ashado, winner) - "I always thought we had the filly up front (Madcap Escapade, who led the entire race), but I was more concerned with the filly who ran second. She made a big run at us and my filly had already made a run of a sixteenth of a mile to get by the leader. But she's a tough filly and she hung on."

"This is the first time we've showed up at a marquis event and brought over the favorite. I've surely had my shots at big races - the Kentucky Derby, the Breeders' Cup. But this one carried some extra pressure. She's done so well since the Ashland (in which she finished second); she's been training great, just doing really well. I expected to win this race today and with that comes a lot of pressure. We were feeling it."

"No, there was never any real consideration about running her in the Kentucky Derby. Some people were saying this was a tougher race than the Derby. But it was a filly race. When you run fillies against colts, you've got to be dominating. Look at the fillies that have beaten colts in the Derby and you'll see fillies that were dominant. My filly is very good and has been doing very well, but she hasn't reached the dominant stage yet. There will be second thoughts about running her here instead of the Derby."

"I don't know what we'll do with her next. We'll see how things are back at the barn and how she's doing. She's a big, strong filly and she might be able to match up with the colts. The Preakness? We'll keep our options open."

LARRY JONES (Trainer of Island Sand, second place) - "I'm on top of the world, although I could be just a little more on top! Really, the Kentucky Oaks is the second greatest race in the world...of course, the Kentucky Derby is the greatest. I knew Ashado was going to be the horse to beat here. Going in, I knew if we could beat Ashado, we could win. "She stepped on her shoe in the paddock, just before we were to put the riders up. They fixed it right away. "Her next start? Don't know. She's headed for Ellis Park tonight. We'll celebrate on the way home, maybe stop at McDonald's."

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