Jerkens remembers Effinex fondly

ELMONT, N.Y. – The sudden passing of Grade 1 winner Effinex on Oct. 18 due to a ruptured pulmonary artery stunned his trainer, Jimmy Jerkens. Effinex, 7, was at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds following his first season at stud.

Jerkens trained Effinex for the final 21 starts of his career, during which he won five stakes including the Grade 1 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs in 2015. That victory was particularly gratifying to Jerkens because it came just four weeks after he finished second to American Pharoah in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland.

“There were a lot of naysayers who said he just sucked up to be second,” Jerkens recalled. “There were a lot of good horses that were behind him.”

The Clark, Jerkens added “was one of the most satisfying wins I ever had.”

Effinex won two editions of the Grade 2 Suburban Handicap, both coming off races in which he performed poorly.

“For him to bounce back off subpar efforts the way he did, you have to have class to do that,” Jerkens said.

Meanwhile, Jerkens said that Shaman Ghost, his current top older male, is getting close to returning to the work tab. Shaman Ghost, winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap earlier this year, was stopped on in September to undergo a throat procedure.

“We kicked him down the stretch [Thursday] a little bit,” Jerkens said. “He’s coming around slowly, but I think he’s going to be okay.”