By Ben Massam
Although Joe Sharp was forced to steer Brad Grady's Girvin (Tale of Ekati) on a somewhat unconventional course during the month of January, the young trainer said his star sophomore colt has matured markedly throughout the soon-to-be-concluded Fair Grounds winter meet, culminating with an appearance as the likely favorite in Saturday's GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby. Girvin's rallying two-length victory in the GII Risen Star S. Feb. 25 [video]–his first try over a route of ground on dirt–represented a significant step towards a potential start in the May 6 GI Kentucky Derby, according to his trainer.
“He did it the right way,” Sharp said of Girvin's recent triumph on an NTRA teleconference call Tuesday. “He came out of it as more of a man than he went into it. He hasn't missed a beat [since], and that's pretty much been him since the day he walked into the barn. Every work has been what we expected it to be, and we feel as good as we ever had about him–physically and mentally–going into the Louisiana Derby.”
Sharp added that Girvin showed flashes of his serious talent since day one at Grady's Grand Oaks Equine Training Center in Ocala, where he drew high praise from farm manager Bobby Dodd. Girvin promptly rattled off a gritty front-running victory in his six-furlong debut in New Orleans Dec. 16, but was unable to compete in the ensuing seven weeks after Sharp relocated him to the locked down Evangeline Training Center during Fair Grounds' equine herpesvirus outbreak.
“It cost us not being able to run in the [Jan. 21 GIII] LeComte,” Sharp explained. “But we thought it would be paramount to have a two-turn race before the Risen Star, and the only option we were given was the [Feb. 4] Keith Gee [Memorial S.] on the grass. I talked to Brad about it, and we saw it as an opportunity to give him a good schooling going two turns–and it served as that.”
Girvin closed resolutely to come up less than a length shy of then-undefeated Cowboy Culture (Quality Road) and continued on under steady encouragement past the wire to secure a useful learning experience in the Gee [video]. While Sharp acknowledged that turf is clearly not Girvin's preferred surface, his adaptability to different race scenarios gives him confidence heading into Saturday's $1-million tilt.
“He won on the lead when he needed to be in his maiden race, he stalked just off the pace in the turf race, and he came from considerably further back in the Risen Star–so he's shown three levels of versatility,” Sharp noted. “Having said that, we did put another horse in the Louisiana Derby to ensure a good pace to run at.”
Grady's Hot Foot (Aikenite), who has led in seven of his nine previous starts, will serve as the rabbit to keep speedy Risen Star third-place finisher Local Hero (Hard Spun) honest on the front end. Nevertheless, Sharp said he views lightly raced 'TDN Rising Star' Patch (Union Rags)–who ships in from South Florida for trainer Todd Pletcher–and LeComte winner Guest Suite (Quality Road) as his chief rivals in the nine-horse field.
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