Momentous:
Victory in the Lewis Stakes elevates Royal Mo in Derby discussion.
Trainer John Shirreffs is back with a vengeance on the Southern California horse racing scene.
Shirreffs, the trainer of Zenyatta, the 2010 horse of the year, and Giacomo, the 2005 Kentucky Derby winner, took most of his stable to New York after Hollywood Park closed in 2013. He returned full time last year and now has two of the top 3year-olds on the West Coast after Royal Mo scored a 31⁄2-length triumph Saturday in the $150,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita.
Royal Mo and Shirreffs’ other top 3-year-old, Gormley, are both owned by Jerry and Ann Moss, who also owned Zenyatta and Giacomo.
“It never gets old,” Jerry Moss said.
Royal Mo, a son of Uncle Mo, won in his first stakes appearance and did so in impressive fashion. He was sent to the lead by Espinoza soon after the start in the 11⁄16-mile race and had to withstand repeated challenges by second-place finisher Irap before pulling away in the stretch.
“He’s such a big horse, he doesn’t have that quickness for the first couple of strides,” Espinoza said. “As soon as he gets into rhythm, though, he’ll keep going.… He’s improving a lot. From the last few races to this race, he’s really coming along. He’s going in the right direction. Hopefully, we keep going that way.”
Shirreffs, Espinoza and Moss could have a nice problem in deciding how to keep Royal Mo and Gormley apart as they seek a path to the Kentucky Derby.
“We haven’t had two horses in this position in a long time and it’s fun,” Moss said. “I’ll have to talk to John, but I think we’ll go to Arkansas with one and stay here with the other. We really don’t see anyone coming up that scares us. This horse has been working great and the Derby is a great thing to dream about.”
In a maiden race run before the Robert B. Lewis Stakes, trainer Bob Baffert showed off another of his promising 3-year-olds when the Tapit-sired Reach The World won by 31⁄4 lengths going11⁄16 miles.
“This horse we’ve really always had high hopes for,” Baffert said. “It took him a while to come around, but we needed to win today.”
In the $200,000 Palos Verdes Stakes, St. Joe Bay won by 21⁄4 lengths under Kent Desormeaux. In the $300,000 San Antonio Stakes, Baffert-trained horses finished one-two as Hoppertunity, under Flavien Prat, defeated Mor Spirit. In the $200,000 San Marcos Stakes, Prat won his fourth consecutive race, guiding Isotherm to victory in the 1 1 ⁄4-mile turf stakes.