According to Godolphin's assistant trainer Rick Mettee, last year's champion juvenile Midshipman is sitting on ready. "We're looking at a race like the Jerome for him," he said.
But the stronger half of Godolphin's Jerome entry may well be Girolamo (8th, $2.70), who was an impressive first-level allowance winner at Saratoga in his first start of the year, and even more impressive beating older second-level milers by 5 1/2 lengths in 1:35.11 under mild urging from Alan Garcia; consider that the no-threat second-place finisher was Even Raise, who is 14-5-2 from 25 career starts, including a 5-3-0 record from nine starts at a mile.
The one-mile Grade 2 Jerome in four weeks seems like the perfect spot to get Girolamo back into stakes company.
Garcia was back one race later aboard the Bobby Ribuado-trained Grand Couturier (8th, $5.20), who was set up by a kamikaze pace set by Up to No Good and asserted his class to win the Bowling Green decisively over Winchester.
Grand Couturier was stymied in traffic in search of his third straight Sword Dancer win at Saratoga, but had clear sailing after being eased three wide outside the leaders and the outcome was never in doubt through the 11th and final furlong.
