Bank On Shea Wins NY Stallion Series Stakes at Aqueduct
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Chelsea Durand
Bank On Shea (inside) wins the NYSS Great White Way at Aqueduct Racetrack
Owner Danny Shea has a rather simple formula for success that paid off handsomely in one of the two richest races this winter at Aqueduct Racetrack.
It starts with having bloodstock agent Lawson Walston pick out a horse for him. Then he turns it over to trainer Jason Servis.
And then, several months later, you win a half-million-dollar race.
It's that easy—for Shea.
"I take a secret weapon to the sales in Lawson Walston. He has a really good eye. Then it's easy. We send them to Jason Servis. He is so solid. I would not trade Jason Servis for anyone," said Shea, who races under the Shea D Boy's Stable banner with his brother Dennis Shea Sr. and nephew Dennis Shea Jr. "Jason has been so good to me. I can't believe he takes my horses. He's a great guy. He won the Kentucky Derby, you know."
Well, technically. Servis' horse Maximum Security only crossed the wire first in the opening leg of the Triple Crown. But there was surely no reason to quibble with Shea after a memorable day for his stable, as their 2-year-old son of Central Banker named Bank On Shea came charging out of the fog to edge Repole Stable's Dream Bigger by a nose in the $501,500 New York Stallion Series Great White Way Division Stakes on an usually warm Dec. 14 afternoon at Aqueduct.
"What a huge race this was," Shea said, referring to the hefty purse supplied by the New York Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund to support the breeding industry in the Empire State. "This series is wonderful. I started out 20 years ago at Charles Town claiming horses for $2,500 but was able to step up my game with the help of my brother and nephew. It's the biggest race we've ever won."
The change in venue from a couple of decades ago at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races to Aqueduct paid off for Shea, his wife, Christy, and his partners as they collected $275,000 in purse money from a 2-year-old they bought for $110,000 from the Niall Brennan Stables consignment this year at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.
Out of the Uncle Mo mare Miss Moultree, Bank On Shea was bred in New York by Dr. Scott Pierce.
On a day with temperatures in the 50s, misting rain and melting snow combined to create fog that obscured large portions of the race. Bank On Shea rallied from seventh, a little more than seven lengths behind, in a field of 12 2-year-olds on a sloppy (sealed) track to catch Dream Bigger in the final strides of the seven-furlong stakes. The 10-1 shot returned $23.40 on a $2 win bet.
Shea said he will discuss plans for his colt's 3-year-old season with Servis but believes they will be content to mine New York-bred sprint stakes.
A winner of his July 14 debut at Saratoga Race Course, Bank On Shea missed some time after kicking his stall and was given a tightener for Saturday's stakes when he finished third to Dream Bigger in the Notebook Stakes Nov. 17 at Aqueduct.
Dream Bigger, a son of Mission Impazible who was the 6-5 favorite, was third while four wide in the early stages behind fractions of :23.51 and :46.97 set by the dueling Colormepazzi and Moonachie. He grabbed the lead leaving the eighth pole but could not hold off Bank On Shea, who rallied inside of him to hit the wire in 1:26.59 and record his second win in three starts. Jose Lezcano had the winning ride.
Dream Bigger, who beat Bank On Shea by six lengths in the Notebook, earned $100,000 for his runner-up finish for trainer Rudy Rodriguez.
Team Hanley's Captain Bombastic, a son of Forty Tales who was sent off as the 3-1 co-second choice, was 3 3/4 lengths back in third. August Dawn Farm's Moonachie, another son of Central Banker, was a length back in fourth.
The $500,000 New York Stallion Series Fifth Avenue Division Stakes for 2-year-old fillies tops the Dec. 15 card at Aqueduct.