Santiva's participation in doubt for the Belmont Stakes, nevertheless he practised for the race
Santiva might not be running at the Belmont Stakes, but his trainer, Eddie Kenneally, is still hesitant about sending the colt to the final leg of the Triple Crown.
Kenneally’s indecisiveness can be deduced from his statement, “We are still playing it by ear in regards to the Belmont, but he will likely end up in the race”.
He is to decide a possible time for shipping Santiva to New York.
Whether Santiva races or not, he is still trying to remain prepared for the race. In order to do so he worked out on May 28, 2011.
Owned by Tom Walters, Santiva breezed five furlongs in one minute and sixtieth of a second, a remarkable performance from the Kentucky Derby sixth-place finisher.
He was working with Brendan Walsh, assistant trainer to Eddie Kenneally.
The work out was done in the company of another three-year-old, Golden Gulch, yet to break his maiden. Together they completed the six furlongs in one minute and fourteen seconds.
Santiva’s trainer, Kenneally, commented on this, saying, “[The workout] went super and I’m really happy with how he’s doing now”.
He was the first horse to work on after the renovation break. His work out ranked fifth of the forty third timed moves at the distance.
Santiva is to have a final work out at Churchill Downs coming Saturday.
Santiva broke his maiden in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby Jockey, but managed to defeat Astrology and get his only victory in seven starts.
Santiva’s reins in his juvenile finale were held by Shaun Bridgmohan, who was riding the three-year-old colt for the first time.
Santiva through this win boosted his bank roll to $195,254 and came second in the Risen Star Stakes held on February 19, 2011 while Mike Smith was aboard Santiva.
The peculiarity about Santiva is that he is a gem among horses.
The son of Giant’s Causeway has raced on almost all surfaces and has handled each surface with great skill. He does not hesitate to take on the challenge any surface might pose.
Giant’s Causeway was a superb horse, never finishing worse than second in his thirteen starts. He passed on his racing skills to his descendants and his other great sires include Aragorn, Carriage Trail and Eskendereya, all of whom have brought great laurels
to Giant’s Causeway’s name.
From his mother’s side, Santiva has been very lucky as well, coming out of Slide, out of Safely Home, who has foaled 8 winners.
In his three-year racing career, Santiva has always shown the ability to take large leaps and fight for his might. If he races he is bound to live up to the expectations of his onlookers.
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