Gormley Works Smartly at Santa Anita

The clocker's stopwatch at the top of the Santa Anita Park grandstand may have shown 1:15 4/5 for Gormley's six-furlong workout April 22, but the slow time doesn't tell the whole story.

Jerry and Ann Moss' Malibu Moon   colt went through a deliberate schooling session on the main track Saturday, when he worked behind Oregon early. Gormley began his drill about four lengths behind Oregon and began to move up on the outside in the turn, but at the top of the stretch dropped to the rail and passed his gray stablemate on the inside.

He ran the final furlong to the wire in :11 4/5 and galloped out strongly in the clubhouse turn.

"The goal was to get him relaxed as possible behind another horse," trainer John Shirreffs said. "Then wait, wait, wait and have that kick at the end. That's the whole point, to get that acceleration at the end."

It's been a concerted effort for Shirreffs to get the headstrong colt to relax and it paid off last time out, when he raced behind early leaders and moved by in the stretch to win the April 8 Santa Anita Derby (G1). At a younger age, Gormley struggled to settle behind horses.

BALAN: Gormley Outlasts Rivals in Santa Anita Derby

"The nice thing about it was he wasn't even pulling," Shirreffs said of the work. "Before, when he'd leave the pony, he'd get right into it. Now he doesn't rush. I think that's important for high-end horses. He has so much energy; we want to tone down the speed and finish."

Although the Santa Anita Derby has widely been criticized as a slow race, Shirreffs was left with a positive impression of Gormley's performance.

"He was keen and he wanted to go. (Jockey) Victor (Espinoza) had to be strong with him to take him back, and fortunately Gormley respected that," Shirreffs said. "He reacted in the way we hoped he would. And then you could see, in the race, he was running nicely. But at the same time, Victor couldn't just sit on him. He's not one of those big-striding horses that covers a lot of ground. He had to keep going, keep going, keep going and catch them at the end."

Shirreffs said Gormley will record a final breeze at Santa Anita April 29 before shipping to Churchill Downs May 1 for his run in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1).

Shirreffs also said Saturday that third-place Santa Anita Derby finisher Royal Mo will not make the trip to Churchill with his stablemate, because at 24th on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard, it is unlikely the Uncle Mo   colt will make it into the 20-horse field.

"At 24th, we're not sending him, but he ran the big race (in the Santa Anita Derby)," Shirreffs said. "From the 13 hole—and remember (Gary) Stevens lost the stick at the top of the stretch."

Earlier in the morning, second-place Santa Anita Derby finisher Battle of Midway worked for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. Sent off behind Spanish Eyes, the Smart Strike colt easily passed his stablemate in the stretch and cruised to the wire in 1:00 3/5 for five furlongs under jockey Flavien Prat. Hollendorfer said Battle of Midway is scheduled to ship to Churchill April 29.