Gormley to regroup for 3-year-old season

Gormley did so little running in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last Saturday that trainer John Shirreffs took him to the track for light training the very next day.

“For whatever reason, he didn’t run at all,” Shirreffs said.

Early this week at Santa Anita, Shirreffs could not pinpoint a reason for the colt’s seventh-place Breeders’ Cup finish under Victor Espinoza.

“It’s a bit of a mystery,” he said. “He stumbled just a little away from the gate and Victor didn’t know whether to pursue or stay somewhere. It was a little confusing for rider and horse.”

Gormley emerged as one of California’s top 2-year-olds by winning his first two starts, including the Grade 1, 1 1/16-mile FrontRunner on Oct. 1 at Santa Anita. He was the 5-1 third betting choice in the Breeders’ Cup. Shirreffs said Gormley is not likely to travel from his Santa Anita base and run in the CashCall Futurity at Los Alamitos on Dec. 10, the final Grade 1 stakes for 2-year-olds in California.

“If I do that, then we add shipping into the equation,” Shirreffs said. “We want him to run a good race next time, and I don’t want to have that built-in excuse.”

Shirreffs is inclined to wait for the Santa Anita winter meet to launch the colt’s 3-year-old campaign. Gormley, by Malibu Moon, is owned by Jerry and Ann Moss.