Shirreffs Pursues Second KY Derby Victory With Skinner

Eighteen years after winning the 2005 Kentucky Derby (G1) with Giacomo , veteran trainer John Shirreffs is back with a 3-year-old with similarities to the 50-1 Derby upsetter.

Skinner , owned by Lee and Susan Searing of C R K Stable, is like Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Moss' Giacomo  in that he is a late-running Southern California invader, one who has threatened in stakes attempts on the Derby trail without winning.

Skinner, a son of Curlin  , is 1-0-3 in six starts, with his three show finishes coming in the 2022 Del Mar Futurity (G1) and this year's San Felipe Stakes (G2) and Santa Anita Derby (G1), the latter two races being his final Derby preps this spring. His lone victory came in a maiden race in fast time.

Giacomo also had just a single maiden win before venturing to Churchill Downs for the 2005 Derby. He entered the Derby with on-the-board finishes in the 2004 Hollywood Futurity (G1), and the Sham Stakes and San Felipe early in his 3-year-old year. His final pre-Derby start was a fourth in the Santa Anita Derby, a loss that contributed to him flying under the radar with bettors.

But the gray produced beneath the Twin Spires, rallying from 18th under eventual Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith to defeat fellow longshot Closing Argument  by a half-length.

"Giacomo never won any of the preps, but after every time after each race, Mike would say, 'He's coming along--he's coming along," which really gave us a lot of hope," Shirreffs said.  "And, I see the same thing in Skinner and the other thing that's very similar is Giacomo took everything in stride. He never got excited about anything mentally. Mentally he was very strong and Skinner is very similar to that."

Skinner got his first look at Churchill Downs with some light training at 9 a.m. May 1 after arriving in Louisville, Ky., a day earlier. He flew from Los Angeles to Memphis and then had a traffic-delayed seven-hour van ride to arrive at Churchill Downs.

Shirreffs thought about simply walking Skinner Monday but with a short time frame to the Derby, "He needs to go out and see the track anyway and just look around because there's a lot to see out there," the trainer said.

Shirreffs, known for his work as the trainer of the Hall of Famer Zenyatta , a sensational late-running winner of 19 of 20 starts, including the 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita Park, said winning the Derby "was so different than anything I've really experienced before."

"After the race, because we're standing so far up from the wire. I didn't know we won, but (exercise rider) Frankie (Herrarte), he has better eyes than I do. He said, 'We won boss. We won,'" Shirreffs recalled. "After that, I don't even remember anything. It was just a thrilling moment, gratifying moment, exciting moment, all the superlatives."

Shirreffs was back in the Derby the next two years, saddling A. P. Warrior  to an 18th-place finish in 2006, and Tiago  to run seventh in 2007.

Ten years then passed before Shirreffs returned with a Derby starter, with Gormley   running ninth in 2017. His most recent starter was Honor A. P.  , who ran fourth in the COVID-19-postponed Derby that was run in September 2020.

Skinner will be a far shorter price than Giacomo, perhaps at odds of around 15-1 or 20-1, with some bettors keen to support the colt, owing to him earning lofty speed figures and strong performance figures that take into account ground loss. Skinner raced wide in the San Felipe and Santa Anita Derby, losing both times to Practical Move , one of the Kentucky Derby favorites.

"He needs to finish just a little bit better—because he makes a big move. I mean, he's smoking around the turn. So he needs to carry that to the wire," Shirreffs said. "I don't know if he needs to cut a corner, not get hung out so much or get between horses somewhere, or start his run a little bit later, but somewhere there has to be something different."

His connections are making a jockey change in the Derby. Three-time Derby-winning rider Victor Espinoza, aboard Skinner for his last six starts, has been replaced by Santa Anita Park leading jockey Juan Hernandez in the May 6 race. Lee Searing viewed their pairing as "a good fit," Shirreffs said.

Hernandez was aboard Skinner for a six-furlong breeze at Santa Anita April 29.

Shirreffs said he has advised Hernandez, who is riding in the Derby for the first time, to focus strictly on his horse and not on the other 19 starters in the race, which he admits is nearly impossible to do. The Derby annually has the largest field size of any North American flat stakes race.

After defections allowed Skinner to gain entry into the body of the Derby field, having previously lacked sufficient Derby qualifying points and earnings, Shirreffs expressed relief Monday morning in advance of the afternoon post-position draw. 

"It's really exciting (when) you have a horse that's doing well and feel has room to improve," the trainer said.