What are they doing with this horse?
 

Girolamo to Vosburgh

Mettee confirmed that Girolamo would make his next start in the Grade 1 Vosburgh on Oct. 2.

Girolamo came off a 10-month layoff in the Grade 1 Forego, where he finished fifth, beaten just 4 1/2 lengths by Here Comes Ben.

On Sunday, Girolamo breezed four furlongs in 47.36 seconds over the Belmont main track in his first work back since that race.

“Shortening up to six furlongs should be good for him,” Mettee said.

Mettee said Regal Ransom, who worked four furlongs in 47.12 seconds on Sunday, is on target for the Kelso on Oct. 3. Regal Ransom could earn a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile with a good performance in that race. Godolphin is already pointing Gayego to that race.

Mettee said plans for Vineyard Haven are unclear though he would not run in the Vosburgh, a race to which he received an invitation.

I don't get why they think he needs to shorten up. The reason why he got tired in the Forego was because he hadn't run in 10 months, not because he can't go 7. He should be pointing for the Mile.........he's not a sprinter.

Once again, they don't care about racing and winning.
They only care about breeding.

Sheik Mo spends millions on Buying and breeding to get a horse as brilliant as Bernardini.
What does he do???
He retires him to the shed ASAP.

Like you, I am very high on this guy, but they have all but ruined him. Maybe this spot comes up soft with the Assman monster being out. Who knows? I did not think his Toga race was all that bad. He was right there turning for home and had every right to weaken off the layoff vs that company. I would have loved to see them run him long. Where though? Is he ready to go 10f off 1 prep and take on Blame? Do they really believe he is a sprinter? Im lost on the article and the comments that have been made.

They wasted his year, so obviously the Classic is out. It seems to me that Gayego should be going in the Sprint and Girolamo in the Mile.........I think he can win the Vosburgh, but it's really a waste as he is very talented and has already proven he can win at a mile.

If they cared about breeding this guy, they shouldn't be running him in sprints. I thought he was going to have a great year this year; instead he's going to end up with a mere handful of starts - similar to Music Note last year

Retiring Bernardini was stupid - I'm still not quite over it.

Like Vol Jack said it's all about breeding. Because of that it appears they are trying to get a grade 1 win with him.

You'll drive yourself crazy trying to make sense of some of their decisions.

if you think he can win, i can't understand why you're questioning the move. the horse has missed much of the year, he's most likely not ready for a longer race, and a grade one is in the offing.
you also mentioned music note; i'm sure you saw she's about to make a start with hopes of getting into the distaff.

i'm no fan of the sheik, but i'm not sure why this move is causing an uproar. it's late in the year, racing options are thinning. if he missed much of the year due to illness/injury, then no one 'wasted' the year.

Lots of Godolphin's runners seem to ultimately become long sprinter/milers. Not all, but a lot do.

I agree he's not ready for longer races, but the Kelso? That seems right up his alley. I didn't get Mettee's comment about how shortening him up would work. Yes, he can win because he's talented, but he's not a pure sprinter and I think he'd be better off in the Mile. He wasn't injured or sick that I know of............and I'm not sure what your point is with Music Note. These abbreviated campaigns (which are planned on purpose) are annoying. I looked forward to seeing Girolamo run this year, so yes - to me this year was a waste. I don't think this move is resulting in an uproar - it's just a couple of us disagree with it.

They ran him the Classic last year, on a surface he wasn't familiar with, and he got clobbered. I think it had more to do with the surface and competition (they rushed a lightly raced horse) than with the distance so ordinarily I think he'd get another shot at running longer. Since they chose to miss 90% of the year with him, that's out of the question. I assume he will be retired after this year, so if that's the case, they will never know if he could have gone longer. Of course, the Sheikh had no problem retiring Bernardini and living with the what ifs (he'd have made a terrific 4 year old).

No doubt about that..............

They're potentially running Vineyard Haven and Regal Ransom in the Kelso.

I'm no fan of the way they campaign their horses but cutting Girolamo back is fine. He's pretty overrated when you get down to it, he got pummeled in stakes as a 2YO then came back last year with a jaw-dropping win over Burley's Gold and Kensei in the Jerome, big deal.

NT

what would the darleys do with a real trainer like linda rice ..if she can make karakorum anything win ....

Overrated based on what and compared to who? I disagree with you. He came back strong last year and was forced in the Classic. Now he comes back sprinting and now cuts back again. He is being handled the wrong way.

Yeah, I know that - and I disagree with them. I also disagree on Girolamo, but that's fine.

They did a similar move with Music Note last year after a ho-hum Ogden Phipps, cutting her back to the 7f Ballerina which she crushed. Not that I agree with the move, but I suppose they are hoping for similar luck with this horse.

The other issue is all the other nags they have all pointing to the same races. For whatever reason, Vineyard Haven, the most likely candidate of theirs, is not pointing to the Vosburgh. Gayego, second in line, just broke a track record at a flat mile in a stakes after a few disappointing sprint efforts, so he's not going either. Regal Ransom, who probably should be sprinting (or trying to steal the JCGC on the front end), hasn't sprinted since his 2yo debut. Thus they really have no horse for the Vosburgh. So might as well throw Girolamo, who has never won around 2 turns, in there.

By the way, I wonder if anyone ever gave the Phipps Stable any hell for cutting back Dancing Spree in races like the True North and Forego in '89, even though he won the 10f Suburban the same year.

Of course, he ultimately won the BC Sprint, so if they did, they had to shut the fucl< up when it was all said and done.

Cuz the BC has the final say in all of this.