Girvin on his toes in advance of Travers

Brad Grady's Grade 1 Haskell Invitational hero Girvin was on his toes Sunday morning, walking the shed row with marked enthusiasm, much to his hotwalker's chagrin. The nearly black colt exited his Saturday morning work - five furlongs in a bullet-of-11 59.98 seconds over the Oklahoma training track - in good order, according to trainer Joe Sharp. 

Girvin, first or second in six of seven starts, will be Sharp's first Travers starter. The 32-year-old native of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, expressed confidence in his star pupil, whose only poor showing was a 13th-of-20 in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby. That effort came after a rough trip over the wet going and on the heels, literally, of a quarter-crack that has since healed.

"You definitely take a deep breath after you've won a Grade 1 with a horse like we did in the Haskell, both for the horse and the barn, being our first Grade 1," said Sharp. "It's good to get that behind us on the big stage. I haven't really thought about a championship, but I think that if he wins another Grade 1 it definitely moves him to the top of the list as far as the 3-year-old division, especially with all the graded stakes wins he has."

In addition to the Haskell, Girvin won the Grade 2 Risen Star and Grade 2 Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds Racecourse. Always keeping good company, he defeated Grade 2 Amsterdam runner-up Excitations on their co-debut in December.