Mshawish Squeezes Out Gulfstream Turf 'Cap

Al Shaqab Racing's Mshawish overcame traffic in the stretch and prevailed in a tight finish with Slumber in the $300,000 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap (gr. IT) Feb. 7 at Gulfstream Park .

Prominent from the start, but under restraint, 7-5 favorite Mshawish became bottled up from the quarter pole to furlong marker before Javier Castellano speared him through rivals in midstretch. Slumber engaged him on the outside from there and dueled him to the finish line before settling for second by a nose. War Correspondent finished third, a length back .

Manchurian High, Grand Tito, Amen Kitten, defending winner Lochte, Imagining, and Golden Rifle completed a tightly bunched field of nine that was separated by only three lengths.

A 5-year-old son of Medaglia d'Oro  , Mshawish completed the 1 1/8 miles in 1:47.22 on firm turf to earn a third consecutive win and sixth overall victory from 17 career starts. Mshawish became a millionaire with Saturday's win, boosting his lifetime bankroll to $1,055,151.

Darley's Central Kentucky sire Medaglia d'Oro had another graded stakes winner on Saturday's card at Gulfstream when Valid landed the Fred W. Hooper Stakes (gr. III) one race earlier.

Golden Rifle was out to lead early in the Gulfstream Park Turf, opening a 1 1/2-length advantage as Grand Tito pursued, with Mshawish a half length back in third. Golden Rifle maintained his advantage through six furlongs, posting fractions of :24.47, :48.33, and 1:12.20, before Grand Tito moved to take a short-lived lead into the stretch while Mshawish got shuffled back. Mshawish appeared to have nowhere to run until Castellano saw a tiny bit of daylight and drove his game mount through.

Castellano said Mshawish had a tough trip all the way.

"It was very tight from the beginning all the way to the end," he said. " I never had a place to go. I had to stay patient and go from there. At some point in the race I got a little bit frustrated turning for home because I never saw any hole. Finally by the eighth pole when I saw the hole he went through a tiny hole and he made a big effort today. I give all the credit to the horse because they way he did it today, it was amazing. Not too many horses can do it the way he did it today."

Mshawish needs to be covered up, trainer Todd Pletcher said after the race, "and we were able to do that."  

"When you have to cover one up in turf races, you have to roll the dice that you get a seam at some point. He was lucky to find one when he did, and he finished like a good horse. It was a very determined effort. He's a really nice horse."

Mshawish has won three of six starts since coming to North America last summer, including the Fort Lauderdale (gr. IIT) Jan. 10 and El Prado Stakes Dec. 13 in his two previous starts, both at Gulfstream.

Mshawish returned $4.80, $3.20 and $2.60. Slumber brought $7.40 and $4.40 while War Correspondent paid $3.80 to show.

Earlier in the afternoon at the Hallandale Beach, Fla. track, Al Shaqab, Pletcher, and Castellano won the Suwannee River (gr. IIIT) with Sandiva. 



Bred in Kentucky by OTIF 2007, Mshawish is out of the Thunder Gulch mare Thunder Bayou. Nicolas de Watrigant's Mandore International Agency purchased Mshawish as a 2-year-old on behalf of Sheikh Joaan Al Than of Al Shaqab Racing at the 2012 Arqana breeze-up sale, paying  €170,000 (US$219,589) to acquire him from Brown Island Stables, agent.