Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Geroux’s ride questioned
ELMONT, N.Y. – The manner in which Florent Geroux rode Restoring Hope in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes – won by his stablemate Justify, who completed a Triple Crown sweep – was a source of frustration and ire for some horsemen involved in the race.
Restoring Hope, like Justify trained by Bob Baffert, broke slowly but then was rushed up by Geroux while being kept wide entering the first turn. He appeared to come out in front of Noble Indy, one of the horses expected to show speed, then came back over a path or two to keep Bravazo pinned inside. All the while, Justify, under Mike Smith, cruised to an uncontested lead and eventually won the Belmont by 1 3/4 lengths over a slow-starting but fastfinishing Gronkowski.
Mike Repole, co-owner of Vino Rosso, who finished fourth, and Noble Indy, who finished last, said he was confused by Geroux’s tactics on Restoring Hope, who ultimately finished eighth.
“It baffled me,” Repole said. “I would have thought Baffert would have wanted Restoring Hope nowhere close to the pace. When Geroux broke next to last I would have thought that was a great scenario, he doesn’t have to worry about him. We watched him rush up like he was a Quarter Horse, make a quick right-hand turn, then turn left, pinned [Bravazo] on the rail. He looked like a bodyguard making sure nobody got close to Justify.”
Baffert said Sunday he wanted Restoring Hope to lay second.
“The plan was to sit off Justify,” said Baffert, who trains Restoring Hope for Gary and Mary West. “He got really rank with him. He had to get away from him so they wouldn’t go so fast.”
John Velazquez, the rider of Vino Rosso, said he felt Geroux rode Restoring Hope in a manner to protect Justify.
“Why would you send a horse that breaks bad and take everybody out, then come back in?” Velazquez, a Hall of Fame rider, said. “That’s his job, to protect the other horse and it worked for them. You have to give it to them.”
Geroux, back in Kentucky on Sunday morning, said that he wanted Restoring Hope to be forwardly placed and in the clear but that the horse got rank with him entering the first turn.
“When he broke a step slow – he’s kind of an aggressive horse to ride, he pulls very hard – I wanted to make sure I put him in the clear,” Geroux said. “I didn’t want to break, get the horse covered up, and then the horse starts getting aggressive behind horses. It would have been even worse if he was behind horses.”
Geroux said if Restoring Hope had broken better, he might have been ahead of Justify entering the first turn.
“Bob just wanted me to get good position,” he said. “He wanted the horse to be forwardly placed, second or third. You don’t see too many closers from Baffert. If my horse would have broke on top, I would have been on the lead and Justify laying second. My horse broke a step slow and Justify was already in front of me.”
Repole said he hopes the New York stewards talk to Geroux about his ride. Steve Lewandowski, the New York Gaming Commission steward, said Sunday that there is no plan to talk to Geroux.
“Nothing was brought to our attention,” Lewandowski said.
Repole also was frustrated with jockey Javier Castellano, who rode Noble Indy for him and WinStar Farm, which also co-owns Justify. Repole said he and Todd Pletcher, the trainer of Noble Indy and Vino Rosso, instructed Castellano to make the lead.
Castellano said Noble Indy broke slowly and hit the side of the gate. He said he tried to get the horse forwardly placed, but soon realized he wasn’t going to be able to get ahead of Justify.
“He wanted me to be on the lead, but I didn’t have enough speed to get to the lead,” Castellano said. “I made an effort, but I got to the point where I had to give up. How far can I go – 10 wide – and try to go to the lead? I can’t.”
Pletcher confirmed that the plan was to have Noble Indy in a forward position early.
“Javier opted to go to his plan B,” Pletcher said. “Mike and I didn’t discuss a plan B.”
Repole said Castellano will likely not ride for him for the near future.
“You get to run in this race one time in your life, you would expect to follow directions,” Repole said. “He chose an audible. That doesn’t sit well with me. It’ll be awhile before you see Javier in the blue and orange silks.”
Despite how the race played out, Repole still said he has respect for Justify.
“Justify’s a freak, super horse, undefeated, amazing what he’s done,” Repole said. “Who knows if he would have won the race anyway? We’ll never know. At the end of the day, Bob had a game plan for his two jockeys, we had a game plan for our two jockeys. His two jockeys executed his plan, Johnny executed our plan, and Javier didn’t execute the plan.”