Galilean, Gunmetal Gray ‘have to do better’ for Kentucky Derby trip

Terry Finley, president and CEO of the West Point Thoroughbreds partnership, made no excuses when discussing the Rebel Stakes (G2) finishes of Galilean in third and Gunmetal Gray fourth exiting last weekend’s split division races at Oaklwan Park.

“Look, we have to do better,” he said.

Finley has shared optimism with his group that both colts can improve given the chance to run a final 2019 Kentucky Derby prep. Horses “just can’t run over the top time after time after time,” he told West Point partners.

“Would you like to win the Rebel by five and just be galloping? Yes,” Finley said, “but we know, and we see it every year that there are horses who run super well and go backwards. I’d like to think we’re in a position — we’ve got a couple weeks now — to move forward with these horses.

“We have to move forward. If we don’t, we won’t go to the Derby, and we’ll figure out wha to do next.”

Galilean, who ran 2 1/2 lengths behind the dueling Improbable and Long Range Toddy, exited a series of dominant California-bred stakes victories. Gunmetal Gray, 9 1/4 lengths behind Omaha Beach and Game Winner, won the Sham Stakes (G3) and ran second in the Robert B. Lewis (G3) to open his season.

Finley said both colts will go under consideration for any of the final Derby preps, mindful that running in any of the April 6 stakes would give an extra week before the Kentucky Derby than a return trip to Oaklawn for the April 13 Arkansas Derby (G1).

“We’ll take a deep breath, give these horses a shot to go back to the racetrack, have them breeze a time or two, then pick our spot and go after it,” Finley said.

While Finley didn’t make excuses, it’s reasonable to think his horses had them in the Rebel.

Having earned 7.5 Derby qualifying points, it's likely Galilean still needs a win or runner-up finish in a final prep to advance to Churchill Downs. In his move to open company, the a pace-setting type of horse, got away a step slow and never made it to the lead in the Rebel.

“You can’t blame that too much,” Finley said. “I think sometimes we get locked in on that and don’t look at the other horses and the trips they had. There were two horses that ran better than us. At the end of the day, that’s what you take away from the Rebel. We’ve got to get a better trip, be a little bit sharper, and hopefully we run a better race the next time.”

Gunmetal Gray, meanwhile, is certainly not going his best distance at 1 1/16 miles. With 21.75 qualifying points accumulated, he'll need to finish third or better next time.

“He’s a grinder,” Finley said. “He’s a different type of horse. He doesn’t have the brilliance and pizazz that Galilean has. He looks good. He was running the last part of it. Can’t wait to have him go a little farther and see if he can close the gap there.”