Byrne has high hopes for Just Move On, Silent Decree

Trainer Pat Byrne has high hopes for his pair of 2-year-old colts, Just Move On and Silent Decree, for Saturday’s 90th running of the $200,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (Grade II), the featured event on Churchill Downs’ ‘Stars of Tomorrow II’ program.

Both colts are owned by Chuck and Maribeth Sandford and will enter the Fall Meet’s premier event for 2-year-olds off of efforts over the Churchill Downs main track. Just Move On won a first-level allowance event over the main track last time out on Nov. 10, while Silent Decree was fourth in the Oct. 30 Street Sense Overnight Stakes in his last start. Both horses also enter Saturday’s race off of bullet workouts. Silent Decree breezed five furlongs in :59.20 on Nov. 18 while stablemate Just Move On breezed three furlongs in :36 three days later. 

“They’re both good, solid, hickory colts,” Byrne said. “They both come into this race off nice bullets. It looks like it’s a pretty interesting race on paper. We’re lucky because we don’t have to be here in this position. Sometimes these horses can get hurt but we have two sound ones and here we are. I’m looking forward to watching them both run. I don’t think that there’s much pressure on my colts. I think the pressure appears to be on (trainer) Ian’s (Wilkes) horse (McCraken), but I like their chances and I thought they drew well. I’m in the middle and I like that.”

Byrne noted that the 16-day layoff is somewhat of a concern for Just Move On.

“I’m just a little concerned about how he’ll come back in such a short amount of time but you don’t know until you see,” Byrne said. “It’s better than 14 days like they do for the Derby and Preakness.”

Silent Decree was a bit fractious in the starting gate in his last start, which Byrne believes may have cost him a better effort.

“He was standing real well (in the gate), and then (jockey Jose Valdivia Jr.) told me that day that he was kind of looking off the right and when the gates opened up, he lost position and he was wide,” Byrne said. “He got four weeks, he came back and worked :59, nothing wrong with that.

They’re very sound horses so I can breeze them and stick to some kind of regimen with them. They’re ready to go. I got no excuses, just a little concerned about the 16 days with (Just Move On) but he can overcome it.”