Girvin Makes First Visit to Churchill Track

Brad Grady's Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) winner Girvin took his first ever spin around the Churchill Downs oval when he galloped over the surface May 3, one day after arriving in Louisville for his expected run in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1).

The son of Tale of Ekati   shipped in to Churchill May 2 from Keeneland, where he had been based since April 21 and had been receiving treatment for a quarter crack in his right front foot. With former jockey Rosie Napravnik in the irons Wednesday, Girvin went about his business in good order and trained without any obvious signs that he was favoring any ailment.

"I thought the track was really good and he seemed to gallop great. Rosie was very happy with him," said trainer Joe Sharp. "He came out of his breeze (five furlongs in :59 3/5 on April 29) great. He's pretty resilient. He shipped up here in good order and....I wish I had a barn full like him. He makes it all easy even through the tough times."

Girvin's quarter crack saga has been the subject of much discussion and dissection as he prepares for the first leg of the Triple Crown. Since the quarter crack was first discovered April 18, it forced Sharp to have to push back Girvin's work schedule and necessitated trips to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, where he was fitted with a custom bar shoe, and to Kentucky Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center to use both the pool and hyperbaric chamber. 

While acknowledging that timing of the setback has made for some exceptionally anxious moments, Sharp says his camp has remained confident throughout that the quarter crack would be manageable.

"I felt confident we could get it managed the entire time. There was a day or two of where it needed to come our way or else it was going to be a decision maker of whether we could get the breeze in time with him being in good health," Sharp said. "Those days worked and from that point on, I knew we would be okay."

Sharp reiterated Wednesday that Girvin would race in regular shoes for the Kentucky Derby.