Royal Mo goes coast-to-coast in Robert B. Lewis

Under a confident ride by Triple Crown winning jockey Victor Espinoza, Royal Mo took the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes field wire-to-wire to pick up some all important Road to the Kentucky Derby points.

Breaking from the rail, Royal Mo lost no time in establishing himself on the lead. Heading into the clubhouse turn, Royal Mo had a great position on the rail but Irap floated Sheer Flattery and Dangerfield wide while Term of Art tucked in behind them in fifth and last.

Correcting himself in the turn, Irap joined Royal Mo on the lead, getting within a head before Royal Mo put a length between them halfway down the backstretch. With the trailing trio comfortably behind him, Royal Mo, shadowed by Irap, set comfortable splits of :23.86, :47.37, and 1:11.50.

At about the 5/16ths pole, Irap drew on even terms with Royal Mo while behind them, Sheer Flattery passed Dangerfield to the inside to take over third. Hitting the top of the lane, Irap was the first to feel the whip while Dangerfield continued to weaken.

While Mario Gutierrez already had the whip out on Irap, Espinoza was so confident aboard Royal Mo that he continued to simply shake the reins at his mount until they were inside the final 3/16ths. At that point, Espinoza gave Royal Mo a few taps to keep his mind on business.

At the wire, Royal Mo had put 3 1/2 lengths between himself and Irap while Sheer Flattery found some get up and go late to miss second by about a neck after plodding through the early part of the stretch. Term of Art continued on evenly for fourth while Dangerfield faded to last. The winning time was 1:43.48 for the 1 1/16 mile event over Santa Anita’s fast main track.

Winning jockey Victor Espinoza had plenty to say about Royal Mo post-race. “I drew the inside. I wanted to be on the outside so I could track the leaders but I didn’t want to take any chances so I went to the front,” Espinoza said in regards to race tactics. “I knew there wasn’t going to be much speed. The fractions weren’t too quick so I took advantage,” he continued.

“He’s such a big, heavy horse. He doesn’t have that quickness for the first couple of strides. As soon as he gets into a rhythm though, he’ll keep going,” Espinoza said about Royal Mo’s racing style, something that was much in evidence during the early running of the race.

Sent off as the 3/2 second choice, Royal Mo paid $5.00, $3.40, and $2.20. Four-to-one selection and maiden Irap returned $4.20 and $2.60, and favorite Sheer Flattery paid $2.20. The $1 exacta paid $12.10, and the $1 trifecta returned $20.50.

By Uncle Mo, and out of the Saint Ballado mare Royal Irish Lass, Royal Mo was bred by Brandywine Farm. Current owners Jerry and Ann Moss picked up the colt for $300,000 out of the Keeneland 2015 September Yearling Sale. The son of Uncle Mo began his career with two runner-up performances sprinting but has been undefeated since stretching out to two-turn routes back in November. He now boasts a 4: 2-2-0 record for total purse monies of $144,200.

“There’s a big difference. He’s improving a lot. From the last few races to this race, he’s really coming along,” Espinoza said about how far Royal Mo has come since his debut. “He’s going in the right direction. Hopefully, we keep going all the way.” Espinoza has been aboard the colt in all four of his career starts.

Doug O’Neill, who had 60% of the field with the 2^nd, 4^th, and 5^th place finishers, gave all the credit to the winner. “Royal Mo just ran lights out. I think pace makes the race and the first half wasn’t overly quick. When you give a horse like Royal Mo an uncontested lead you’re going to be in trouble,” he explained.

O’Neill went on to say that Irap ended up being rank with the addition of blinkers and that jockey Tyler Baze indicated that 4^th place finisher Term of Art might be better with blinkers. As for Dangerfield, O’Neill stated that he got caught behind a less than ideal pace and that they should have used him more early.

Royal Mo picked up 10 Road to the Kentucky Derby points while Irap earned 4, Sheer Flattery gained 2, and Term of Art acquired 1 point.

Winning trainer John Shirreffs thought Royal Mo got a good bit out of the Robert B. Lewis. “I was very happy with how he ran, the pace, the fractions, having that horse (Irap) outside of him, hooking him a little bit, so I think he showed a lot of character,” he stated.

When asked about fellow Kentucky Derby hopeful Gormley and the possibility that his two colts would hook up in the March 11^th San Felipe Stakes, Shirreffs said, “You take it as it comes. Obviously you don’t really want to run them together. We’ll just have to see how it goes. I haven’t spoken with Mr. Moss about that, so we’ll see.”

While Shirreffs was not sure about future starts for Royal Mo and Gormley, owner Jerry Moss was already thinking ahead. “This has been an amazing experience. We haven’t had two horses (Gormley and Royal Mo) in this position in a long time and it’s fun. We’re going to keep those two horses separated as long as we can. I’ll have to talk to John (Shirreffs), but I think we’ll go to Arkansas with one and stay here with the other. (Royal Mo) is almost 17 hands, but he’s still got some growing to do…We really don’t see anyone else coming up that scares us…This horse has been working great and the Derby is a great thing to dream about,” he indicated.