Godolphin Buys West Side Bernie

Wood Memorial (gr. I) runner-up West Side Bernie, who finished ninth in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), has been purchased by Godolphin from George and Lori Hall for an undisclosed amount and will be pointed for next year’s Carnival events in Dubai, Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford said Thursday.

“The horse is in our barn at Belmont and he will get a break,” Crisford said. “We’ll give him a couple of races in the fall and then bring him to Dubai. We bought him to race in our Carnival races. We feel he will fit in to the program and we’re sure he’ll well. After the races in Dubai he will return to the United States to race.”

Crisford said Desert Party , who suffered a bone chip in the Derby, is doing well following surgery. “It all went wrong for him when the track came up sloppy,” he said. “But Saturday didn’t dampen our enthusiasm for a return to the Kentucky Derby.”

Two other Godolphin horses on the shelf – Vineyard Haven and Midshipman  – are also coming around slowly. Vineyard Haven is progressing well, but we have no major target. Midshipman is in very light training and we’ll point for the second half of the season.”