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‘That Sort Of Swing, The Glide, The Stride’: Shirreffs Says Honor A. P. Should Go The Distance

Honor A. P., the likely second choice for Saturday's rescheduled edition of the Kentucky Derby, has made quite an impression galloping over the Churchill Downs surface in the mornings. The son of Honor Code has the look of his grandsire, A.P. Indy, and should relish the 1 1/4-mile distance of the Run for the Roses, according to trainer John Shirreffs.

“Obviously he's named after his grandsire, so what he really has is a really big stride,” Shirreffs explained. “He has a long underline, and he has a very big stride, and it's an effortless stride. Like, when you watch sprinters run, they kind of run hard, like they're turning the stride over, turning the stride over, turning the stride over. You're not seeing that swing, that little rhythm to their stride, usually.

“With Honor A. P., that's what you see, that sort of swing, the glide, the stride; swing, glide, stride. That shows or indicates that he's not putting a lot of effort into it, so that helps horses go farther.”

Though he was particularly impressive winning the Santa Anita Derby on June 6, racing pundits may be hesitant to back Honor A. P. after his loss last out in the Shared Belief Stakes. Shirreffs explained that he didn't have the colt completely focused on running ahead of that 1 1/16-mile contest at Del Mar.

“Going into the Shared Belief, we were working on other things than cranking him up for the race,” the trainer said. “We were working on his attitude a little bit, trying to get him to behave a little bit better. He was starting to feel really good, and he was starting to be a little difficult to handle. So we wanted to do everything we could to quiet him, calm him down, get him to relax, and not crank him up and get him stressing.

“The only way you can do that with a big strong animal is to quiet them, and the best way to quiet them is to give them lots of exercise. Wet saddle blankets is the best thing for a high-strung horse.”

Honor A. P. has been on his best behavior at Churchill this week, and while Shirreffs believes he's ready for the challenge, the trainer said he'd just as soon have run the Derby in May.

“It would have been nice to run then, because the sequence would have been perfect,” he said. “I don't think the four months have helped him or hurt him, he was pretty precocious early on.”

Shirreffs knows what a Kentucky Derby winner looks like, after all. He saddled Giacomo to an upset victory in 2005, and told reporters he still hasn't watch the replay from that first Saturday in May.

“The feeling I had after the race was so special, I want to keep that feeling,” Shirreffs said. “I don't want to analyze the race, and go, 'oh, look at this and look at that.' I just want to think of the whole thing and the feeling I got from it.”

He'll miss the fans at this year's September Derby, of course, but Shirreffs is hoping for a big effort from Honor A. P. on Saturday.

“(Listening to the fans is) sort of an electric feeling, but winning the Derby is always special,” said Shirreffs. “But Honor A. P. is a completely different horse, and it's his opportunity, so we want to make the best of that.”

Thanks to the National Turfwriters and Broadcasters Association (NTWAB), which has assembled a group of pool reporters providing independent reporting to members unable to be on the Churchill Downs grounds this year due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The post ‘That Sort Of Swing, The Glide, The Stride’: Shirreffs Says Honor A. P. Should Go The Distance appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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CHRB to Seek DQ of Justify from 2018 SA Derby

The win by scopolamine-positive Justify in the 2018 running of the GI Santa Anita Derby is now going to come under official administrative scrutiny by the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB). But Bob Baffert, the trainer of the eventual undefeated Triple Crown winner, will not have a CHRB complaint lodged against him “due to substantial evidence that the scopolamine resulted from environmental contamination from jimson weed,” the CHRB stated in a Wednesday press release.

As part of a negotiated settlement stemming from a lawsuit filed against the CHRB by the owner/trainer of Bolt d’Oro, the runner-up horse in the 2018 Santa Anita Derby, the CHRB voted during a closed session Aug. 20 to reverse its previous course of no action and to proceed with a complaint seeking the disqualification of Justify and the redistribution of the purse from that stakes.

The CHRB has set a Sep. 20 stewards’ hearing date at Santa Anita Park to begin the complaint adjudication process. Left unanswered at this point–and possibly unanswerable at all–is what might happen to Justify’s subsequent Triple Crown race victories if Justify gets DQ’d from the Santa Anita Derby. Had Justify not finished among the top two finishers in that GI Kentucky Derby points-qualifying race at Santa Anita Apr. 7, 2018, he would not have made the cutoff for entry into the Kentucky Derby. And if he doesn’t get to enter and win the Derby, he certainly wouldn’t have been in the running for the Triple Crown. With regard to that question of eligibility, CHRB spokesperson Mike Marten wrote in an email: “In California, eligibility is determined at the time of the race. In this case, however, the [Kentucky Horse Racing Commission] would be in the best position to make [any Kentucky Derby eligibility] determination. The CHRB is not seeking any disqualification beyond the Santa Anita Derby.”

Darrell Vienna, the attorney for plaintiff Mick Ruis (Ruis Racing LLC), told TDN that he is pleased with the CHRB’s executive session vote to move ahead with a hearing. He added that seeking punishment for Baffert or having Justify stripped of his status as a Triple Crown winner was never the intent of his client’s litigation.

“This is what we’ve been fighting for,” Vienna said. “We had never sought to have [the CHRB] file a complaint against Mr. Baffert for anything. We just weren’t privy to those facts.

What we were privy to is the fact that the horse tested positive for a Class 3/Penalty B substance, which requires automatic disqualification.”

Vienna has consistently cited CHRB rule 1859.5, which requires forfeiture of the purse and disqualification of a horse that tests positive for a class 1-3 prohibited substance regardless of the trainer’s responsibility.

“The key terms [of the settlement agreement] were simply that there would be a complaint filed and a hearing with regard to the potential forfeiture and disqualification of the winner,” Vienna said. “All we were ever asking for was a hearing. We weren’t asking for an outcome. We were asking for a process.”

TDN reached Baffert on his mobile phone Wednesday, but he didn’t want to speak about the CHRB’s decision, deferring to his attorney for comment.

“Craig Robertson III, the lawyer who represents Baffert, said “We’re very disappointed and surprised at the action that the CHRB is taking. We don’t think that it has any legal basis whatsoever, and we intend on fully fighting it. We’re contemplating those options right now. There are a number of different avenues that could be pursued, including the courts. But we haven’t made a final decision in terms of which avenue we’re going to pursue.”

Although Justify has been the focal point of the case since the story of his post-race positive test (and the CHRB’s alleged dragging-out over how to handle the results) belatedly broke in September 2019, another Baffert trainee, Hoppertunity, is also going to be the subject of a CHRB hearing over his own scopolamine positive.

“The CHRB is seeking the disqualification of Hoppertunity, winner of the [GIII] Tokyo City Cup S. at Santa Anita on April 8, 2018, and the redistribution of that purse based on laboratory findings that his post-race sample for that race tested positive for scopolamine,” the CHRB release stated. “While not the subject of current litigation, this medication positive was similar to the one involving Justify.”

Baffert has consistently denied that he has ever intentionally administered scopolamine to any of his horses.

A CHRB supporting document emailed to TDN by Marten stated: “The decision to file a complaint against a trainer for a medication positive is discretionary for the CHRB…In certain instances, where environmental contamination occurred, the CHRB has chosen not to file such complaints. Examples of medications often associated with environmental contamination where the CHRB has elected not to file trainer complaints are scopolamine and zilpatero..”

“We determined that the cause of the positives in the Justify and Hoppertunity matters were environmental contamination,” the release continued. “In the last few months, the CHRB did file several trainer complaints alleging scopolamine positives in post-race samples, but recommended, and the stewards issued, warnings based on those violations. Given that the Justify and Hoppertunity positives occurred over two years ago and at most the CHRB would only seek a warning, the CHRB chooses not to file complaints against Mr. Baffert in these matters.”

TDN asked Marten to clarify whether the CHRB’s executive-session votes on these matters were unanimous. He replied via email that “Any action by the Board in closed session requires at least four approvals. As for the breakdown of the voting among the six commissioners, we will need to check with counsel to determine whether that is public information.”

TDN also wanted to know if the CHRB would have undertaken a review of the Justify case had it not been for the pending litigation. Marten wrote back that “The CHRB cannot speculate on a hypothetical question about what the commissioners might have done.”

On July 24, when news broke that Ruis reached an agreement in principle with the CHRB regarding a settlement of his pending litigation in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Vienna told TDN that the agreement would be “in exchange for the dismissal of the entire litigation,” including any possible damages.

Court records indicate that on Aug. 4, both parties jointly petitioned the court to have an upcoming Sep. 4 hearing continued to a future date “because the parties are currently engaged in settlement negotiations.” That request was granted, and the judge in the case set the next court date for Feb. 5, 2021.

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CHRB Will Hold Hearing To Disqualify Justify From 2018 Santa Anita Derby Victory

The California Horse Racing Board voted during closed session Aug. 20 to proceed with a complaint seeking the disqualification of Justify from his victory in the 2018 Santa Anita Derby and the redistribution of that purse based on laboratory findings that his post-race sample tested positive for scopolamine.

The CHRB will not be filing a complaint against trainer Bob Baffert, due to substantial evidence that the scopolamine resulted from environmental contamination from jimson weed.

The hearing for disqualification is a condition of a settlement agreement between the CHRB and Ruis Racing LLC, the owner of Bolt d'Oro, the horse that finished second behind Justify in the Santa Anita Derby on April 7, 2018. In that matter, the CHRB is represented by counsel from the Office of the California Attorney General.

In addition, the CHRB is seeking the disqualification of Hoppertunity, winner of the Tokyo City Cup race at Santa Anita on April 8, 2018, and the redistribution of that purse based on laboratory findings that his post-race sample for that race tested positive for scopolamine. While not the subject of current litigation, this medication positive was similar to the one involving Justify. Baffert trained both horses.

The CHRB investigative unit has filed both complaints for redistribution of the purses with the Board of Stewards at Del Mar Racetrack. CHRB Investigators have also noticed the affected parties by mail or personally if possible. The stewards have scheduled the required hearings for consideration of a disqualification and purse distribution on Sept. 20 at Santa Anita Park.

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Shirreffs Has An ‘Emotional Connection’ To Shared Belief Favorite Honor A. P.

Del Mar will be the venue for a Kentucky Derby prep race Saturday, the $100,000 Shared Belief Stakes.

Weird, right?

“Nothing feels weird this year, weird is the norm,” said John Shirreffs, trainer of 8-5 morning line favorite Honor A. P.

Amen to that.

Back on March 30, Churchill Downs announced that, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Run for the Roses – a worldwide sports calendar fixture on the first Saturday in May – would be moved to the first Saturday in September for its 146th running. Likely a somewhat unsettling announcement to many trainers with Derby candidates in their stables. But, of course, not to Shirreffs.

“It didn't require any big adjustment,” Shirreffs said matter of factly – his default attitude on most matters. “We waited for the San Felipe and then the Santa Anita Derby, which was the regular plan.”

Honor A. P., a son of Honor Code and grandson of champion A.P. Indy, made his racing debut at 6 furlongs with a fast-closing runner-up finish at Del Mar on August 17 of last year. Stretched to a mile two months later, he was a 5 1/4 –length winner at Santa Anita to end a 2-year-old campaign that, while brief, caught the eye of Derby watchers.

He was second to Authentic in the Grade II, 1 1/16-mile San Felipe on March 20, beaten 2 ¼ lengths, but turned the tables in the COVID-delayed, 1 1/18-mile Santa Anita Derby on June 6, winning by 2 ¾-lengths.

The win elevated Honor A. P. to the top, or near it, on Derby Watch lists. But it necessitated a decision for Shirreffs and owners C R K Stable of Lee and Susan Searing of Arcadia, CA, regarding the next stop on the Derby trail. Go east for one of several large-purse races or stay in Southern California for the Shared Belief?

In anticipation of being a Derby prep — one that would offer Derby “points” (50-20-10-5 to the first four finishers) — the Shared Belief had been moved back a few weeks on the Del Mar scheduled and advanced from a mile to 1 1/16 miles in distance. The next race call went to the Shared Belief.

Honor A. P. has worked four times over the Del Mar surface and Shirreffs said: “I think he's coming into this race as well as he was for the Santa Anita Derby.”

Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, aboard for all four of Honor A. P.'s starts, describes him as a “big, strong, developing colt,” who could wind up benefitting from the delay of the Derby with the extra time for maturity and experience.

Shirreffs says: “He's got a great stride on him and he's light on his feet. My job is finding ways to get him to relax; to learn a little more race by race.”

Shirreffs trained the colt's dam, Hollywood Story. “That gives me an emotional connection,” he said. “But I really benefit from training his sister Hollywood Girl. That helps a lot because they're alike in that they're really competitive and have similar dispositions.”

Honor A. P. has reunited Shirreffs and Smith for a third Derby run in the past 15 years. In 2005, they combined for a victory in Louisville on 50-1 Giacomo, to that point the second-biggest longshot winner in Derby history. Giacomo paid $102.60 to win and was the front of a superfecta that returned more than $1.7 million.

Giacomo had finished fourth in the Santa Anita Derby a month earlier and was part of a crop of California 3-year-olds that was largely dismissed as contenders.

“(Giacomo) had run a creditable Santa Anita Derby but he hadn't won any of the preps,” Shirreffs recalled. “Mike was the one who encouraged us to go on; he thought he'd do better at the mile and a quarter.”

Unlike the betting public, Smith was sold on Giacomo – owned by recording executive Jerry Moss and his wife Anne and named for the son of the musician Sting.

“I really believed going in that he had a good shot,” Smith remembered. “I told everyone I knew 'Don't leave him out.' I knew the mile and a quarter would be right up his alley.”

A stone closer, Giacomo was 17th of 20 in the early going, well off a blistering pace, but stormed down the stretch to win by a half length and provide Smith with his first Derby victory in his 12th start.

“None of the Southern California races set up for him,” Smith said. “He ran in a tough year and didn't get credit for being as good as he was. But he was a really good horse. For him to come back (to Del Mar) the next year and win the San Diego Handicap was really something.”

Giacomo went into the 2006 San Diego Handicap winless in four starts following the Kentucky Derby. He was the sixth Derby winner to race at Del Mar, but only fourth choice in a field of eight at 5-1 on the morning line. Reminiscent of the Derby, he made a gritty stretch run and prevailed over Bob Baffert trainee Preachinathebar by a head in the final jump.

“He might have redeemed himself today. And he might have redeemed me too,” Smith said after the race.

“It was like the Derby again wasn't it,” Shirreffs said. “He won the Derby, so anything (negative) anybody said about him has gone in one ear and out the other.”

The win by Giacomo was the 15th of a now 70 total stakes victories in 19 seasons at Del Mar, 10th all time, for Smith. It was the fifth stakes win for Shirreffs, who has added 11 more in subsequent years, three of them coming in consecutive runnings of the Clement L. Hirsch (2008, '09, '10) by his marvelous mare Zenyatta.

What does Smith think of riding in a Kentucky Derby prep at Del Mar?

“It's very different, but this has been a very different kind of year,” the rider said.

That makes it unanimous.

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