Jerry and Ann Moss's Gormley (Malibu Moon) and Royal Mo (Uncle Mo), first and third respectively in Saturday's GI Santa Anita Derby, emerged from the race in fine condition and will be pointed towards the GI Kentucky Derby May 6, trainer John Shirreffs confirmed Sunday morning. The colts earned 100 and 20 points, respectively, towards a spot in the Churchill starting gate with their performances Saturday. The Mosses and Shirreffs won the 2005 Kentucky Derby with 50-1 outsider Giacomo (Holy Bull).
“They looked good this morning,” said John Shirreffs, who trains the colts. “They ran just like we had hoped and we're happy to be going to the Derby again.”
While Gormley received ample credit for his stalk-and-pounce victory, Royal Mo ran an admirable race from post 13, pressing the pace while wide and hanging on to finish third in a blanket photo for the win. On top of his post position misfortune, Royal Mo's jockey Gary Stevens lost his whip inside the final sixteenth of the race.
“It was an excellent race for him,” Shirreffs said of the bay. “He was wide from a bad post position. I thought he ran super.”
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