Girvin sparkled in Risen Star Stakes Saturday at the Fair Grounds and similar to his namesake, George Gervin, he finger rolled his way into the winner’s circle.
To be honest, my selection in the Risen Star Local Hero kind of screwed up the entire race. The feeling going into the race was that this runner could rate a bit off the lead and that would be his best shot at winning. But when the gates opened jockey Florent Geroux was hell bent on the front and it proved to be the runner’s downfall.
One of the reasons Girvin sparkled at Fair Grounds was because the favorite, Mo Tom, was expended chasing Local Hero early on. The colt was fresh and he figured to be on the muscle off that fact alone but there could be some issues there. Mo Tom’s trainer Anthony Dutrow was not all that positive about his runner’s chances basically calling his last win in the Remsen a soft victory.
The way it shook out was that Local Hero led through six furlongs in 1:11.98. By the time they got to the top of the lane, Local Hero was gasping and Girvin sparkled in the final stages. The son of Tale of Ekati took over and despite running a bit erratically, Girvin extended and won by two lengths. Girvin did run a bit greenly as he switched leads repeatedly but still kept to his task.
When a horse switches leads, it can be similar to a person carrying a heavy bucket of water. When the bucket gets too heavy in one hand, the person tends to just put the bucket in the other arm. It is a sign of wilting but it can also be a sign of just growing up and figuring out the game.
Girvin, under jockey Brian Hernandez Jr., sparkled as far as his final time of 1:43.08 was recorded. The classy filly Farrell got the same mile and a sixteenth distance at Fair Grounds Saturday in 1:44.09 in the 9th race on the Saturday card. The older runner Honorable Duty won the Mineshaft Handicap in 1:43.03 in the 8th race Saturday.
Girvin earned a 93 Beyer Speed Figure for his Risen Star success and he earned 50 points toward qualifying for the Kentucky Derby. Untrapped ran second and Local Hero held on for third.
Girvin paid $18.20 and improved his earnings to $274,400. He was a $130,000 purchase so he already repaid his purchase price
Trained by Joe Sharp, the up and coming trainer was giddy, Sharp: “It’s unbelievable, I lost my voice. We believed in this horse all along, but you never know how good they are until you stack them up against the competition. We had all the confidence in the world in Brian Hernandez. But we’re in shock. He will stay here and probably run in the Louisiana Derby. We’ll let him tell us, but that’s my inclination.”
As far as pedigree is concerned Girvin sparkled from the day he hit the ground. His sire won at a mile and an eighth and was fourth in Big Brown’s 2008 Kentucky Derby. His dam was unraced but the dam dropped Cocked and Loaded. That runner was precocious enough to win his debut at 2 and also carried his speed long successfully winning the Grade 3 Iroquois. Cocked and Loaded earned nearly $500,000.
If one goes deep in Girvin’s blood, several six figure earners appear and Tale of Ekati has the blood of Sunday Silence, who took the 1989 Kentucky Derby, in his lineage.
If Sharp stays with his master plan and goes to the Louisiana Derby on April 1 with Girvin, the runner will have to step up. In 1972 No Le Hace won the Louisiana Derby and went on to run second in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. Golden Act won the Louisiana Derby in 1979 and went on to run in the money in all three Triple Crown races.
D. Wayne Lukas trained Grindstone to win the Louisiana Derby and that runner parlayed to victory in the 1996 Kentucky Derby.
Sure, Girvin may not have been beating any monsters in the Louisiana Derby but he has a shot to be a major player moving forward because of his positional speed.
