Giacomo hides out for trainer

NEW YORK – If trainer John Shirreffs were looking for a “quiet place” for Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo, he found it.

Unlike the hustle and bustle of the Preakness barn at Pimlico, where the Derby winner is always center stage, Giacomo is preparing for the Belmont Stakes in a peaceful annex behind the barn used by trainer Shug McGaughey for the Phipps family.

No media hordes, no visitors, no flashbulbs – and that’s exactly how Shirreffs wants it.

“We were looking for a quiet place and this is it,” Shirreffs said Thursday morning after Giacomo galloped around Belmont Park for the first time. “What’s better than coming to Belmont Park and stabling in the Phipps’ barn?”

Of course, had Giacomo won the Preakness and headed into Saturday’s Belmont with two-thirds of the Triple Crown under his girth, there would be nowhere to hide, not even in the sequestered grassy enclave in the middle of Belmont’s vast barn area.

But after Giacomo finished third behind Afleet Alex in the Preakness, Shirreffs was able to take the same tranquil approach he did before the Derby, when there were few interested in a 50-1 shot.

Shirreffs sent Giacomo back home to California for a little rest and relaxation after the Preakness and to determine whether his 3-year-old gray colt was fit enough to return for the grueling 1 1/2 -mile Belmont.

Giacomo, it seems, hasn’t lost a step. He had two workouts at Hollywood Park, one at seven furlongs and the other at six furlongs last Sunday – the same training schedule Shirreffs employed at Churchill Downs before the Derby.

When the decision was made in favor of the Belmont, jockey Mike Smith knew he’d be climbing aboard a horse sitting on a big race.

“If John says he’s doing good, he’s doing good,” Smith said. “He wouldn’t send him all the way here if he wasn’t.”

Although Giacomo has won just two of nine races for owners Jerry and Ann Moss, the son of Holy Bull has a running style that suits the sweeping turns of the 1 1/2 -mile Belmont perfectly.

Though, not as quick as his sire, who was also ridden by Smith, Giacomo is a relentless runner who always finishes strongly.

“Giacomo is a distance horse,” Shirreffs said. “When he was going 1 1/16 miles, he looked like he would like 1 1/8 miles. And when he was going 1 1/8 miles he looked like he’d enjoy going 1 1/4 miles. And the same thing with this race, but until you’ve actually done it, you don’t know.

“A mile-and-a-half is a very long, long race for a young horse.”

But for a veteran like Smith, 0 for 9 in the Belmont, the distance seems just right.

“I think that is something he won’t mind,” Smith said. “After all the races, he’s always galloped out strong, always had energy at the end, he’s always finishing and nobody’s running by him.”

Giacomo is the 4-1 second choice on the morning line, with Afleet Alex the 6-5 favorite.