The next stop will be Kentucky for Girvin after his stirring victory in the Louisiana Derby Saturday at the Fair Grounds. He was coming off a courageous win in the Risen Star Stakes.
Joe Sharp trains this speedy runner and his regular rider is Brian Hernandez Jr., who also handles prominent Kentucky Derby candidate McCraken. The colt is owned by Brad Grady, who forked over $130,000 for the runner and the Kentucky Derby is on the horizon.
Rank outsider Hotfoot ran like his name suggests and for a brief moment his backers thought the next stop will be Kentucky for the youngster. He opened up a three-length lead after a half mile in :47 flat but reality set in quickly as he faded into the sunset.
The other speed horse Monaco had the same fate while Local Hero did his best as the other runner with zip. At the top of the lane, Local Hero had visions that his next stop will be Kentucky but he could not get the final furlong and had to settle for third. Patch, who was bothered at the break, was inching toward the winner under Tyler Gaffalione and completed the exacta.
Girvin prevailed by just over a length and he covered 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.77. He earned $600,000 to bring his career earnings to nearly $900,000.
For Hernandez, he may have some decisions to make. After the Saturday card at Fair Grounds he drove all night to Keeneland to work McCraken. That runner is unbeaten, three of his four wins have come at Churchill Downs and he worked Sunday in :49 2/5.
Girvin is named for Grady’s hometown in west Texas. Sharp has been training for only a few years after learning his trade under the sensational trainer Mike Maker. Sharp’s wife is the former exceptional jockey Rosie Napravnik, who now serves as Girvin’s exercise rider in the mornings.
Napravnik rode in three Kentucky Derbies during her stellar racing career, so Sharp is familiar with what goes into preparing for this race.
As for the others, Patch’s jockey he was positive, Gaffalione: “I think the horse will improve major off this race. He got behind another horse in the stretch and didn’t want to run into the dirt, but when I cut to the inside he cut.”
Jockey Florent Geroux, who rode Local Hero, really had no apparent excuse.
For the record, Girvin was coming off a win in the Risen Star Stakes with a 93 Beyer Speed Figure. His next stop will be Kentucky because Saturday he earned a decent 91 Beyer.
In the Louisiana Derby last year Gun Runner recorded a winning 90 Beyer and in 2015 was awarded a 96 Beyer.
There are some other things to know about Girvin. When he was winning the Risen Star Stakes he 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.
As far as pedigree is concerned Girvin sparkled from the day he hit the ground. His sire Tale of Ekati 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 sire Tale of Ekati has the blood of Sunday Silence, who took the 1989 Kentucky Derby, in his lineage.
Girvin is not the leader in the clubhouse with 150 Kentucky Derby points. Patch got on the board with 40 points for his Louisiana Downs effort and Local Hero is right behind with 30 points.
Now, it’s just a case of trying to keep Girvin happy. His connections know that the next stop will be Kentucky so they will try to keep the horse moving in the mornings, comfortable with his feed and improving his conditioning.
The next stop will be Kentucky for Girvin after his stirring victory in the Louisiana Derby Saturday at the Fair Grounds. He was coming off a courageous win in the Risen Star Stakes.
Joe Sharp trains this speedy runner and his regular rider is Brian Hernandez Jr., who also handles prominent Kentucky Derby candidate McCraken. The colt is owned by Brad Grady, who forked over $130,000 for the runner and the Kentucky Derby is on the horizon.
Rank outsider Hotfoot ran like his name suggests and for a brief moment his backers thought the next stop will be Kentucky for the youngster. He opened up a three-length lead after a half mile in :47 flat but reality set in quickly as he faded into the sunset.
The other speed horse Monaco had the same fate while Local Hero did his best as the other runner with zip. At the top of the lane, Local Hero had visions that his next stop will be Kentucky but he could not get the final furlong and had to settle for third. Patch, who was bothered at the break, was inching toward the winner under Tyler Gaffalione and completed the exacta.
Girvin prevailed by just over a length and he covered 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.77. He earned $600,000 to bring his career earnings to nearly $900,000.
For Hernandez, he may have some decisions to make. After the Saturday card at Fair Grounds he drove all night to Keeneland to work McCraken. That runner is unbeaten, three of his four wins have come at Churchill Downs and he worked Sunday in :49 2/5.
Girvin is named for Grady’s hometown in west Texas. Sharp has been training for only a few years after learning his trade under the sensational trainer Mike Maker. Sharp’s wife is the former exceptional jockey Rosie Napravnik, who now serves as Girvin’s exercise rider in the mornings.
Napravnik rode in three Kentucky Derbies during her stellar racing career, so Sharp is familiar with what goes into preparing for this race.
As for the others, Patch’s jockey he was positive, Gaffalione: “I think the horse will improve major off this race. He got behind another horse in the stretch and didn’t want to run into the dirt, but when I cut to the inside he cut.”
Jockey Florent Geroux, who rode Local Hero, really had no apparent excuse.
For the record, Girvin was coming off a win in the Risen Star Stakes with a 93 Beyer Speed Figure. His next stop will be Kentucky because Saturday he earned a decent 91 Beyer.
In the Louisiana Derby last year Gun Runner recorded a winning 90 Beyer and in 2015 was awarded a 96 Beyer.
There are some other things to know about Girvin. When he was winning the Risen Star Stakes he 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.
As far as pedigree is concerned Girvin sparkled from the day he hit the ground. His sire Tale of Ekati 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 sire Tale of Ekati has the blood of Sunday Silence, who took the 1989 Kentucky Derby, in his lineage.
Girvin is not the leader in the clubhouse with 150 Kentucky Derby points. Patch got on the board with 40 points for his Louisiana Downs effort and Local Hero is right behind with 30 points.
Now, it’s just a case of trying to keep Girvin happy. His connections know that the next stop will be Kentucky so they will try to keep the horse moving in the mornings, comfortable with his feed and improving his conditioning.
