Trainer John Shirreffs not concerned by Gormley’s inconsistent campaign

Reporting from Louisville, Ky. —  Parents remember when their A-student brings home their first B, or, heavens, even a C. Maybe the parents react with a stern lecture or by taking away privileges or even removing the device that seems to be growing out of their hand.

Rare is the parent who just views it as part of growing up. No big deal. Move along, nothing to see here.

You would be lucky to have John Shirreffs raising your kid, or in this case, your horse.

The 71-year-old trainer of Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo, and the best female horse of all time, Zenyatta, has shrugged aside the uneven campaign of Gormley, his entrant in this year’s Kentucky Derby, as just part of growing up.

Gormley entered the scene last September with a win in his first race and followed that with a three-length victory in the Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes at Santa Anita. The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile looked like his for the taking at his home track in Arcadia. He finished seventh.

Did everyone misjudge this horse? Nope.

After two months off, he outdueled American Anthem to win the Sham Stakes by a head but then finished a disappointing fourth in the San Felipe.

Then, at a disrespecting 6-1 odds, he won the Santa Anita Derby by a half-length. And here he is at Churchill Downs.

So what was the thinking that made Shirreffs the Benjamin Spock of young horses?

“You want a horse to develop on his own,” Shirreffs said. “As a trainer I don’t want to do a lot of different things with him. I want to give him the opportunity to take things as far as he can and whatever knowledge I have, I can add to it.”

Gormley, who is named after British sculptor Antony Gormley, has a lot of speed but it was Shirreffs’ job to get him to conserve the energy until he needs it at the end of the race.

“I just think it’s important for a horse to take themselves as far as they can,” Shirreffs said. “Everybody learns from their mistakes, horses can learn from their mistakes, too. I didn’t want to change something we didn’t need to change. Maybe I have an idea that sounds real good to me, but doesn’t work with that particular horse. I didn’t want to make a lot of changes too soon.”

Besides conserving energy, Shirreffs’ other changes were subtle to all but the most astute horsemen. He wanted Gormley to be “long and low,” adjusting his walk to a nice stride and having his head bob up and down to get a rhythm going.

“What they do in one gait, they can learn to do in another gait,” Shirrefffs said.

Kerry Thomas of THT Bloodstock studies both horse psychology and kinesiology. He’s an expert in herd dynamics and has looked at video of Gormley’s races but has never inspected him personally. He thinks Shirreffs, who he calls a savvy trainer, is spot on in his thinking.

“You have to identify your horse’s natural tendencies before you try and adjust or eradicate them,” Thomas said. “You can’t take away those tendencies, you have to work within them in the midst of the herd tendencies during a race.”

Thomas has also picked up on the horse’s personality.

“He’s a very expressive horse,” Thomas said. “Very expressive horses wear their hearts on their sleeves. He’s almost all or nothing in some cases. But one thing that can benefit him is how he glides across the ground on sloppy surfaces. He knows where his feet are. Slop will play in his favor.”

According to weather.com, heavy rain is a certainty for Thursday, an 80% chance on Friday and 60% chance on Saturday.

Jockey Victor Espinoza, who knows a thing or two about horses as the regular rider of California Chrome and American Pharoah, sees Gormley as acting his young age.

“Gormley is just a troublemaker,” Espinoza said. “He’s a different type of horse. He’s happy and he just wants to play around. … He’s like a little child. He likes to bite. He likes to do a lot of silly things.

“But when it comes to the races, he’s forward, he’s focused. He’s got a lot of experience going from behind, in front, from the outside, so it’s a bonus for me.”

It’s easy for a trainer to be patient, but it’s sometimes tougher for an owner. Shirreffs is fortunate to have a longstanding relationship with Jerry Moss, who along with Herb Alpert founded A&M Records.

Moss, 81, has learned patience with his past successes.

Giacomo, at 50-1, won the Kentucky Derby in 2005. He never won another race.

Zenyatta didn’t start racing until late November of her 3-year-old career, missing the filly Triple Crown races. In 20 races, Zenyatta never lost a race until her last one.

“Gormley was a work in progress,” Moss said after Wednesday’s draw. “But now the work is done. He had some early speed and John has taught him to hold on to it for a while and finish at the end. I think the Santa Anita Derby showed that he was gifted in that regard.”

Gormley drew the 18 post, not the greatest of spots in the 20-horse field. But 18 was the number Espinoza was wearing when he won the Kentucky Derby with American Pharoah, so he considers it lucky.

Gormley is 15-1 on the morning line, a rather long price for the winner of any Santa Anita Derby.

Despite Shirreffs’ willingness to look the other way at Gormley’s past foibles, he’s not a parachute trainer who insists on babying his colt.

“Just knowing all the activity around the Derby, you want them battle tested,” Shirreffs said. “You want to get dirt in their faces. You hope they’ll get in tight somewhere. And you want to see how they can handle the pressure of getting bumped a little. All those things are going to happen, so you want them to develop a certain amount of mental toughness.”

How tough or successful Gormley will be in the 143rd running of the first Triple Crown race may not be determined by skill but rather by luck.

As every parent knows, you can do everything right and things might still go wrong.

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@jcherwa