Arzak, Rested and Refreshed, Wins Shakertown Stakes
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Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
Arzak wins the Shakertown Stakes at Keeneland
A nice long vacation and a gentle return did a world of good for Arzak , who roared from off the pace to win the $350,000 Shakertown Stakes (G2T) April 6 at Keeneland by 1 length over the favorite, Mischief Magic .
Rallying outside rivals, Arzak closed a significant gap in the final sixteenth and finished the 5 1/2-furlong dash over a good turf course in 1:02.93.
Mischief Magic rallied from next-last of 12 to finish second. He was kept to task while wintering in Dubai and finished third, beaten just 1/2 length in the Dukhan Sprint in Doha in his most recent start. Eamon, a 21-1 chance, was third in the Shakertown with a mild late effort.
"The race was all about him," said winning rider Irad Ortiz Jr. of Arzak. "It was perfect. He broke so sharp. After that I just bided my time riding behind the speed until it was time to ask my horse and he responded really well."
Tyler Gaffalione, who rode Mischief Magic for Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby, said pace factored into his coming up short with the late run.
"Everything went to plan," Gaffalione said. "The only thing was lack of pace in front of us, which was a little more honest. But my horse did everything right, ran his race and just was second best today."
Mischief Magic won the 2022 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1T) at Keeneland in his only previous visit to the United States.
While Mischief Magic was kept busy in the Middle East, Arzak, a 6-year-old entire son of Not This Time , had not raced since finishing a close-up sixth in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) at Santa Anita Park Nov. 4. He warmed up for that with two straight wins, including the Woodford Stakes (G2T) at Keeneland's autumn meeting.
After the Breeders' Cup, trainer Michael Trombetta said, the decision was made to give him time off rather than keep him employed on the Gulfstream Park turf.
"Gulfstream runs real fast," Trombetta said. "We wanted to give him a little break and get him ready for this. He seems to love this track and we've had this on our radar for a long time."
After three months in Ocala, Trombetta brought Arzak back north early to begin a gradual return to condition and, he said, "Mother Nature cooperated."
His only concern after that, he said, was striking the balance between tightening the screws and doing too much.
"You want them ready, but you want something left in the tank," he said.
Trombetta said the Turf Sprint Stakes (G2T) on the Derby Day program at Churchill Downs "is something we'll look at. But there's a lot to look at. That'll be my homework now. Getting back to the Breeders' Cup is the long-range goal."
Arzak was bred by John Oxley, out of the Tapit mare Delightful Melody. Sold as a yearling at the Keeneland September sale for $85,000, he returned to the ring at the Ocala Breeders' Sale Spring Sale of 2-year-olds in training in 2020, where he was sold for $575,000 to Marc Tacher. He races in the name of Tacher's Sonata Stable.
Not This Time stands at Taylor Made Stallions in Nicholasville, Ky., for a fee of $150,000. He has five crops of racing age, including current 2-year-olds, and is already the sire of 14 graded blacktype winners and 34 blacktype stakes winners. His progeny include 2022 champion 3-year-old colt Epicenter and 2023 champion turf male Up to the Mark.