Hansen, Hansen, Hansen!

And I thought all the talk after Union Rags winning the Fountain of Youth was impressive. Due to some combination of his looks and his talent, clearly Hansen has captured the imagination of race fans throughout America. Here is just a small sampling of what they were saying about Hansen on Social Media after his impressive win in yesterday’s Gotham Stakes … 

On Twitter, the experts were saying this:

@NTRA  Wow. Hansen was impressive in the Gotham! #horseracing

@raypaulick  Hansen showed a slightly different dimension, winning G3 Gotham S at Aqueduct, rating just off lead, and taking over on stretch turn.

@HRTVGary  Yes I am, but Hansen moves back up. RT @TydoubleT: @HRTVGary are you still on the Union Rags bandwagon after the Gotham? #Kentuckyderby

@EJXD2  I just want to let everyone know that I voted for Hansen as champion 2yo male. Clearly this win as a 3yo shows I was right.

@andyserling  Not a lot of surprises today. The Tom Fool was a great horserace and Hansen rated kindly and beat an inferior field easily.

@overlayapparel  The Great White Hope. #Gotham #Hansen

@trifectabox  @allangarcia47 I knew if Hansen could learn to relax and take back, he could get the job done. With that approach he can get 1 1/4-miles.

@AndyScoggin  Hansen Makes a Statement in the Gotham! @HR_Nation

@JerseyTom  Oddly quiet @TurfwayPark for Hansen's win.

@MollyJoRosen  I like watching good horses run: Hansen and Union Rags have made me a very happy lady of late. 

Meanwhile on Facebook, the Hansen talk was relentless…

Ernie Munick  This is about today, the Gotham. Not the Wood. Not the Derby. Hansen was terrific today. Props.

Connie Tunstill  Love the Grays, especially by Tapit!!!!

Sally Spencer  HE IS AWESOME!

Jennifer Pinkerton Cook  Whew! Man he looked good.

Becky Ryder  He paced himself today.

Lanie Wright Johnson  Ohhh Brian..he's BAD alright!!

Dani Pugh  Very good. After that where does he rank?

Andy Diggs  He actually looked somewhat relaxed.

Lori Hahn  Not bad at all! Go Hansen! :-)

Vincent DiSpigno  Outstanding.

Sue Hynes  Nope, he "ain't"!!!!

Deborah Grondin  He looked great!

Jody Leonard-Lawrence  My God He looked AMAZING!!!

Dunewood O'neil  He really showed those naysayers who had him offthe Derby Trail before the race!

Sarah Wilson Grice  And he's not hard on the eyes, either. ;)

Patti Henker  I just hope both him and UR stay healthy and we justmight have an exciting TC this year.

Suzanne Brownrigg  It's Tricky won as well--looking forward to seeing some of my 2011 favorites this season! I wagered on both to win!

Marsha Goldberg  That Hansen, he's all white with me too! :-)

Jessica Tugwell  I was impressed. Didn't expect him to rate so kindly, and although I didn't consider him a serious Derby threat before today, I do now. Not sure if he has the talent of a few of the others, but he's got time to keep improving and he's much more of a contender than I thought before today's performance.

Michael Carrelli  The Derby will be a repeat of the BCJ except Hansen won’t make the pace he will sit 3 off the rail and three off the pace. He learned ALOT today, and is still improoving. WATCH OUT RAGS ! 

And of course, my split second reaction, and corresponding comment after the race, demonstrated by strong grasp of the obvious… 

Brian Zipse  That Hansen ... he ain't bad! 

And finally, a little straight from the horse’s mouth...

Hansen  My trainer told me that he will probably take me back to Kentucky, to train there. My next race could be at Turfway Park in the G3 Vinery Stakes or in G1 Wood Memorial Stakes at NY, Aqueduct Racetrack. Here's a pic of me after the G3 Gotham Stakes yesterday.