Gormley Goes Easy in BC Juvenile Work

John Shirreffs is nothing if not patient, and he needed to be Oct. 29 at Santa Anita Park.

As a deluge of workers lined up, eagerly awaiting the second training session to begin near the top of the Santa Anita stretch, the trainer held back Jerry and Ann Moss' Gormley for a few minutes to let the track clear.

As other key Breeders' Cup horses caught undesired or extra company working early in the 7:45 a.m. session, the undefeated Malibu Moon   colt came out late to log his final breeze for the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) and delivered the easiest of workouts under jockey Chantal Sutherland.

Gormley worked in company with stablemate Veneto, a maiden Malibu Moon   colt, and cruised through six furlongs in 1:16 2/5, working a furlong past the wire. Gormley breezed by Veneto in the turn and finished well in front. Veneto was given 1:18 for six furlongs.

"I didn't want him hooking with another horse," Shirreffs said after watching the work from the Santa Anita grandstand. "There was just a lot of horses working and we just wanted a nice, relaxed work."

Shirreffs—seeking his first Breeders' Cup victory since the 2009 Classic (gr. I) with Zenyatta—said Gormley is typically a smooth worker, although he's plenty energetic overall.

"We're lucky, because he's not a really fast workhorse. He just kinda does what he needs to do," Shirreffs said of the FrontRunner Stakes (gr. I) winner. "But he's a high-energy horse. He needs to have the edge taken off of him a little bit."

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Also during the second session, expected Classic runner Hoppertunity covered five furlongs in :59 4/5 for trainer Bob Baffert, working in company with stablemate First Degree Burn. The son of Any Given Saturday also caught unexpected company with Juvenile Fillies (gr. I) contender Champagne Room, who was given five furlongs in 1:00 1/5.

"He worked like that for the (Jockey Club) Gold Cup. ... He went real nice, for him," Baffert said of Hoppertunity's final drill for the Classic. "I was happy with the way he did it. He looked good today. He was wanting to work. He was into it today, so I was happy with him. He ready—as ready as he can get."

Other workers during the second session included Vyjack (gr. IT Mile or gr. I Dirt Mile, five furlongs in 1:02), Union Strike (gr. I Juvenile Fillies, five furlongs in 1:00 2/5), Mind Your Biscuits (gr. I Sprint, five furlongs in 1:02), and Accelerate (Dirt Mile, six furlongs in 1:13 1/5). Phil D'Amato stablemates Metaboss (gr. IT Turf) and Bowies Hero (gr. IT Juvenile Turf) worked in company on the training track and both were clocked in 1:01 4/5 for five furlongs.

Claire Novak contributed to this report.