Romans 3-year-olds work for 2022 debuts

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – It’s a rare winter when trainer Dale Romans doesn’t show up with some promising young faces for the major 3-year-old stakes here later in the season. And this year is no exception.

Romans breezed the talented 3-year-old prospects Giant Game, Howling Time, and Red Knobs over the main track at Gulfstream Park on Tuesday, with his smile getting wider with each successive work.

Giant Game is the big name on that list, at least for the time being, having closed out his 2-year-old campaign finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. He worked five furlongs in 58.88 on Tuesday under exercise rider Tammy Fox, galloping out three-quarters of a mile in 1:12.56. Howling Time, winner of the Street Sense at 2, may have been even more impressive, covering five-eighths in 59.17 before continuing a full six furlongs in an eye-catching 1:11.74 and pulling up a mile in 1:38.02. The Grade 3-placed Red Knobs, who shaded 59 seconds working five furlongs here last week, completed the same distance in 1:01.33 under Fox on Tuesday.

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“Giant Game is the most accomplished of the three so far, having been third in the Breeders’ Cup, and his pedigree says he should only get better the farther he goes,” said Romans. “And I think he will. Tammy said she was trying to slow him down the other day, but he does it so easily it’s hard to tell when he’s going that fast. And I thought Howling Time worked even better than he did. It’s kind of interesting that I had paired them up as workmates for no special reason well before either had started, and it’s turned out they are both superstars.”

Howling Time finished fifth in Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs in his 2-year-old finale.

“I can’t come up with an excuse for his last race, but I think he’s gotten to be a much better horse since then,” Romans said. “In fact both horses have gone through growth spurts since they last ran.”

Romans said he’s in discussion with the owners of both horses regarding their next start.

“I’d like to keep them separated for now,” Romans said. “We’ll probably run one here in the Holy Bull and the other in the Sam Davis at Tampa. As for Red Knobs, I think he’s a real sleeper. I’ll probably start him off here in an allowance race and then go from there.”