Romans hopes for more after 2,000th victory

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Dale Romans celebrated a milestone Saturday when Caroline Lois gave him the 2,000th victory of his training career. But Romans hopes that will just be the tip of the iceberg for him during the Gulfstream Park Championship meeting.

The Romans stable appears loaded and primed for another big winter with such promising 3-year-olds stabled locally as Admire, Blue Steel, and Come On Gerry, along with a number of already established older stars including Mr Freeze, Hollywood Star, and Coach Rocks. Most of them breezed here Sunday and Monday.

Romans said he is eyeing the Grade 2 Holy Bull on Feb. 2 with Come On Gerry and possibly Blue Steel. Come On Gerry was an impressive allowance winner in his local and two-turn debut here last month, while Blue Steel will look to bounce back from a 13th-place finish in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs in his juvenile finale.

“Blue Steel is really doing well,” Romans said after watching the son of Will Take Charge work an easy half-mile from the three-eighths pole in 50.74 late Monday morning. “And I think Come On Gerry can be a very legitimate Holy Bull horse, too.”

Admire may be training as well as any of the large contingent of Romans horses stabled at Gulfstream Park, as has Mr Freeze. Admire, who won his two-turn debut on Nov. 24 at Churchill Downs, breezed a sharp five-eighths in 1:01.60 with jockey Robby Albarado aboard Sunday.

“He’s a great big horse who just seemed to take a while before getting his stuff together,” Romans said of Admire. “I think I’m going to take him to the Fair Grounds and run him in the Risen Star next.”

Romans said he’s been frustrated trying to get an allowance race to go locally for Mr Freeze, romping winner of the West Virginia Derby last year at 3 but idle since a dull performance in the Pennsylvania Derby more than three months ago. Mr Freeze also had Albarado up going five furlongs in 1:01.84 in easy fashion on Sunday.

Romans was genuinely touched after getting his 2,000th win Saturday.

“I can’t imagine ever having a better feeling than I did when I won my first race with a $3,500 maiden claimer at Turfway,” said Romans. “But this is really a credit to all the people I’ve been surrounded with. I’ve really been blessed. You can’t do it without the help and the owners I’ve had.”

Romans, 52, won his first race in 1987.

– additional reporting by Marty McGee