By Ben Massam
When Greyvitos (Malibu Moon) crossed the wire in front in Sunday night's $400,000 Springboard Mile S. at Remington Park, he not only stamped himself as a colt to watch on the 2018 GI Kentucky Derby trail, but also demonstrated a level of maturity that is hard to find in young horses. A week-and-a-half earlier, the Adam Kitchingman trainee and his fellow barnmates were among the first horses to be evacuated from San Luis Rey Downs as the training facility was becoming engulfed by the Lilac wildfire, which ultimately led to 46 equine deaths and the destruction of much of the property.
After avoiding the worst of the devastating situation, Greyvitos regrouped at Santa Anita Park and ultimately shipped to Oklahoma shortly thereafter to look to build on his win in the Nov. 11 GIII Bob Hope S. at Del Mar.
“He went from San Luis Rey with a good friend of mine–he went to their farm, and then he went to Santa Anita,” Kitchingman said. “He had smoke around him and stuff, but he didn't have to deal with the fire. I didn't have to turn him loose, but I'm sure it was still pretty traumatic.”
Greyvitos passed his test at Remington with flying colors despite drawing widest in a field of 12, working his way over to secure an ideal stalking position beneath jockey Victor Espinoza and rallying to notch a 2 1/4-length score over a persistent Combatant (Scat Daddy). His win earned him 10 qualifying points toward a berth in the starting gate for the Derby.
“It's what every trainer dreams of,” Kitchingman said. “I really believe in the horse and he does a lot of things right. He's had to overcome a lot of things, from the shipping around to going to a new environment to racing at nighttime. He was still jumping shadows and looking around a lot. If he had more competition around him, he probably would've focused a bit more.”
Kitchingman said that while the win was encouraging from a maturity perspective, it also bodes well for the colt's ability to handle increasing distances as he progresses into his sophomore season.
“He still has a lot more improvement, I think,” Kitchingman said. “He definitely liked the two turns and he galloped out strong. We're going to back off on him for a few weeks, and then come back and go from there.”
While it might be tempting to keep Greyvitos at home and follow Santa Anita's path to the First Saturday in May, Kitchingman said he will not hesitate to ship the gray to an unfamiliar venue once again.
Greyvitos, whose two career wins from four starts have both come in stakes, is not the first Kitchingman trainee to emerge victorious from the devastating situation at San Luis Rey. One week removed from the fire, the native Australian saddled Scathing (Grazen) to capture a starter allowance event at Los Alamitos.
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