Girolamo lives up to billing in Jerome

Godolphin's GIROLAMO (A.P. Indy) justified his lofty reputation, and lived up

to his exquisite pedigree, with a 1 1/4-length victory in Sunday's $147,000

Jerome H.

(G2) at Belmont Park. Expecting him to fulfill his abundant promise, the

public dispatched the Saeed bin Suroor sophomore as the 4-5 favorite, and he did

not disappoint on the class rise.

Girolamo did not break in good order for Alan Garcia, but rapidly recovered

to track the pace in third. The established class of the race, multiple Grade 2

winner Kensei (Mr. Greeley), was one spot ahead of him, watching longshot leader

Pitched Perfectly (Pleasantly Perfect) as he rattled off splits of :22 4/5 and

:45 4/5.

When Kensei made his move on the far turn, and clocked six furlongs in 1:09

1/5, Girolamo followed in hot pursuit. After a brief tussle at the top of the

stretch, Girolamo subdued Kensei and went on to finish one mile in 1:33 4/5 on

the fast track.

His final time in the Jerome ranks as the co-third fastest in the race's

history. Noble Nashua holds the stakes record of 1:33 1/5, set in 1981. French

Deputy posted 1:33 2/5 in 1995, and Afleet clocked 1:33 4/5 in 1987.

"It was a very good trip," Garcia said. "The pace was a little fast and my

horse didn't break that quickly like I thought he would. But I was very

comfortable, relaxing, and my horse was very comfortable. I only had to hit him

a couple of times in the stretch, and after that I knew I had the race won. I

stopped riding and let him do it on his own. He's a very nice horse. It was a

nice race for him." 

"It was a best-case scenario," assistant trainer Rick Mettee said. "We

thought we'd be laying where we were. Alan did the right thing laying off Edgar

(Prado) on Kensei. He was able to outfight that other horse (Kensei), who's

obviously a good horse. He was able to sit off and make the run. It's not like

we had to go ding-dong around there."

Burley's Gold (Touch Gold) passed the tiring Kensei in deep stretch to finish

second by 2 3/4 lengths. Kensei crossed the wire 13 1/4 lengths ahead of Denver

(Fusaichi Pegasus), while Pitched Perfectly weakened to last.

Girolamo returned $3.60, $2.80 and $2.10. Burley's Gold, the 5-1 third

choice, paid $4.30 and $2.10, and Kensei yielded $2.10 as the 7-5 second choice.

The exacta was worth $13.80, and the 3-2-4 trifecta totaled $17.40.

Girolamo's first stakes win improved his record to 6-4-0-0 while increasing

his earnings to $201,300. His only two losses came in stakes company as a

juvenile. Then trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, the dark bay was a smart debut

winner at Saratoga, but could manage only fourth in the Futurity S. (G2) and

sixth in the Champagne S. (G1). Girolamo did not make his three-year-old, and

Godolphin, bow until August, when he crushed allowance foes by four lengths at

the Spa. He posted another emphatic allowance/optional claiming score at Belmont

last time out, rolling by 5 1/2 lengths and booking his ticket to the Jerome.

Bred by B.P. Walden, P. Steinberg and WinStar Farm in Kentucky, Girolamo is a

full brother to Grade 2 victress Daydreaming, Grade 3 scorer Accelerator and the

unraced She's a Winner, herself the dam of Haskell Invitational (G1) star

Bluegrass Cat (Storm Cat). Girolamo is also a half-brother to Canadian stakes

winner Harborage (Monarchos). Their dam, Grade 3 winner Get Lucky (Mr.

Prospector), is a full sister to Rhythm, the champion two-year-old male of 1989,

as well as successful sire Not for Love. Get Lucky's youngest offspring are a

pair of Storm Cat colts -- the winning juvenile Fighting Brave, who broke his

maiden at the Irish track Dundalk on October 4, and an unnamed yearling.

Girolamo's second dam is Grade 1 heroine Dance Number (Northern Dancer), and

his third dam is Numbered Account (Buckpasser), the champion two-year-old filly

of 1971. Girolamo therefore hails from the family of noted sires Private Account

(Damascus) and Woodman (Mr. Prospector).

While the Jerome is a logical stepping stone to such major races as the

November 7 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Santa Anita and the November 28 Cigar

Mile (G1) at Aqueduct, Girolamo's connections have not yet firmed up his agenda.

"I haven't spoken to Saeed," Mettee said. "There are a lot of ways to go."