Gormley Looks to Parlay FrontRunner Success to the Breeders' Cup

Photo Credit: Gary Tasich

How often does John Sheriffs win two-year-old stakes races? Not often I would dare to say, but yesterday was a different story.

Sheriffs sent out a colt named Gormley, for his second start in a Grade I race against some top-notch California-based colts, including Klimt, the obvious favorite.

Klimt came into the race off of two graded stakes wins in the Best Pal and the Del Mar Futurity. The FrontRunner(GI) would mark the colt’s first try around two turns, which was the case for rest of the field. However, the completion of the race changed when Klimt broke slowly and was made to sit farther back than anticipated, giving the race a new dynamic.

Gormley, a juvenile by top stallion Malibu Moon, went to the front after a good break and never looked back. The colt went through fractions of 23.72, 47.18, 1:11.48, and 1:36.79, finishing the 8.5 furlongs in 1:43.57. The final time was not exactly fast by the comparison to the rest of the card, but was quick enough for juveniles.

So, who is Gormley?

The colt was a $150,000 RNA at the 2015 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He was then sold privately to Ann & Jerry Moss, before winning a maiden special weight event going six and one half furlongs.

Gormley is by Malibu Moon, who stands at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, KY. The stallion is best known for his classy fillies, but also can sire valuable colts, including Declan’s Moon, Orb, Stanford, and Donegal Moon. He is also the sire of Governor Malibu and Mr. Z.

Malibu Moon was injured before he ever tried graded stakes company during his brief career, but has made up for it in the breeding shed. His offspring’s average winning distance is 7.09 furlongs, which has an impact on his colts’ and fillies’ ability to get route distances of 10 furlongs or more.

Gormley’s dam, Race to Urga, was a stakes winning turf runner, consistently winning at 8.5 furlongs. She is a young mare, having Gormley and a yearling by Smart Strike, who recently went through the Keeneland sales rings, but was a $70,000 RNA.

Race to Urga was sired by a top turf runner and stallion. Bernstein, who stood in Argentina and the United States for some time, but passed on in 2011. The stallion sired multiple grade one winners, such as Miss World and Tepin, who will likely take home an Eclipse Award this year.

Gormley has shown he can effectively carry speed around two turns, and looks like he had plenty left in the tank after winning the Grade I FrontRunner easily, being geared down by rider Victor Espinoza. He will again be asked to go two turns again in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, over the same distance of ground as the FrontRunner. After such an impressive performance last Saturday, he has an excellent chance to repeat in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

#Gormley #FrontRunnerStakes #Klimt