Stabled
three stalls away from Belmont Stakes winner Ruler On Ice in the barn of
trainer Frank Alexander, Santiva munched on some grass and walked the
shedrow Sunday morning following his eighth-place effort in the 1 ½-mile “Test
of the Champion.”
Brendan
Walsh, assistant to trainer Eddie Kenneally, said it was relatively quiet at
the barn following the race. Ruler On Ice shipped to Belmont
on Saturday morning and returned to New
Jersey shortly after his upset victory.
“Some
guys were just there with him,” Walsh said. “There was no drama; they were just
hanging out. He’s a nice-looking horse.”
Santiva
had run once on an off track before the Belmont,
finishing third in his career debut at Saratoga Race Course last July for
original trainer Ken McPeek.
“He
seems fine this morning, which we’re glad about,” Walsh said. “[Jockey Shaun
Bridgmohan] said he just didn’t handle the track at all, and was beat a long
way out. I’m disappointed because we really had him going good and he was doing
so well, and you know how hard it is to get them as right as we had him. I
guess the weather is something you can’t control.
“Not
taking anything away from the winner, but the race was kind of a funny result.
It’s just that some horses go in it, and some don’t. [Bridgmohan] said
[Santiva] was spinning his wheels. He was in a perfect spot, in the second
flight just off the lead, going down the back … but once they started to go, he
wasn’t finding anything.”
Santiva
is scheduled to return to Churchill Downs early Monday morning, and will likely
be part of the group Kenneally brings to Saratoga Race Course this summer.
“We’ll
get him back and make sure he’s OK,” Walsh said. “I would think there’s
probably something at Saratoga
for him now. We’ll bring him up there and see what happens. Obviously, he’s a
horse that’s worthy of going up there. We’ll see how he comes out of it, and
hopefully he’s fine. He looks good this morning. He’s in a good mind and he ate
up last night, which is a good sign. Thank God for Shaun; when he was beat, he
didn’t beat him up.”