Gormley, Royal Mo point to Kentucky Derby

ARCADIA, Calif. – The first three finishers from the Santa Anita Derby on Saturday all will be pointed to the Kentucky Derby on May 6 at Churchill Downs, and the fourth-place finisher likely is headed to the Belmont Stakes, their trainers said Sunday morning.

Gormley and Royal Mo, who finished first and third, respectively, in the Santa Anita Derby, “both look great this morning,” trainer John Shirreffs said at his barn.

“It was great,” he said of the result. “I was so upset at their last races. It wasn’t typical. I was happy to see it work out. There’s so much hope and anticipation.”

Gormley had finished fourth in the San Felipe in his prior start. His victory in the Santa Anita Derby was his fourth in six starts, and his second Grade 1. He also won the FrontRunner at Santa Anita last fall.

Gormley got a Beyer Speed Figure of 88. It was the lowest figure of the three Derby preps run Saturday. At Aqueduct, Irish War Cry got a 101 for his victory in the Wood Memorial. And at Keeneland, Irap got a 93 for winning the Blue Grass Stakes.

Shirreffs has won the Kentucky Derby once, with Giacomo, who, like Gormley and Royal Mo, was owned by Jerry and Ann Moss.

Similar to his preparation with Giacomo before his Derby win, Shirreffs said he would prefer to bring Gormley and Royal Mo to Churchill Downs as late as possible and do all his serious training, particularly his workouts, at Santa Anita. The Kentucky Derby is four weeks after the Santa Anita Derby.

“I would rather stay here as long as possible and take advantage of the normal California weather,” he said. “I’d rather have the last works here.”

Shirreffs said he’d likely give both runners two works between now and the Kentucky Derby, but that how both recover from the Santa Anita Derby would determine their pattern leading into the Kentucky Derby.

Battle of Midway, who finished second after being part of a strong, contested pace, will be pointed to the Derby, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said.

“If he didn’t get as much pressure in the beginning, surely he would have won,” Hollendorfer said. “I have to talk to Rick Porter,” Hollendorfer said, referring to Battle of Midway’s owner, “but I’d like to try the Derby. I don’t see why we wouldn’t go.”

Trainer Bob Baffert, a four-time Derby winner, is unlikely to have a starter this year after Reach the World did the best of his three runners in the Santa Anita Derby, finishing fourth, earning 10 points.

Baffert said Reach the World came out of the Santa Anita Derby well - “He was dragging his hot walker,” Baffert said Sunday morning - but that both Irish Freedom, who was eighth, and American Anthem, who was 12th of 13, were tired.

Reach the World will be pointed to the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown, on June 10 in New York, Baffert said.

“I always thought the Belmont would be the race for him,” Baffert said.

Baffert is still smarting over the condylar fracture suffered by Mastery when winning last month’s San Felipe, an injury that took him off the Derby trail.

“I sort of silently surrendered the Derby once Mastery was hurt,” Baffert said.