Catching Up With Shanghai Bobby

Shanghai Bobby now lives at Ashford Stud in Kentucky. (Photos by Coolmore)
Bought by Starlight Racing for $105,000 during the Keeneland September sale, Shanghai Bobby was a 2-year-old star by the time he arrived at Santa Anita for the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
Shanghai Bobby had shown his precociousness earlier in the year when he won his April 19 debut by four lengths at Aqueduct and followed it up in June with a win in the Track Barron Stakes. Trainer Todd Pletcher gave him most of the summer off before pulling off a Hopeful-Champagne double with him in his final races before the Breeders’ Cup.
Getting into a duel with Title Contender soon after they broke from the gate, Rosie Napravnik finally got Shanghai Bobby to relax enough to stalk his rival as they entered the backstretch. Shanghai Bobby didn’t have to wait too long until he was in front again, taking over from Title Contender in the far turn when Napravnik let the reins out a notch.
Shanghai Bobby had to show his grit in the stretch when he was challenged by He’s Had Enough. He’s Had Enough came close to taking over the lead from Shanghai Bobby but the dark bay found another gear to hold off He’s Had Enough and spurted to a half-length lead with about 100 yards left. He’s Had Enough put in one more challenge close to the wire to gain on Shanghai Bobby and closed the margin down to a head at the line.
2012 BREEDERS’ CUP JUVENILE

Video courtesy of Breeders’ Cup World Championships
“It’s great to have an undefeated 2-year-old and go all the way from April to November; it’s pretty hard to do," trainer Todd Pletcher told Blood-Horse. "It’s a real feather in his cap. He has got everything you want. He’s fast and he’s courageous. He has handled everything we’ve thrown at him, from 4 1/2 furlongs to 1 1/16 miles. He just keeps coming.”
Shanghai Bobby ended his year with a perfect 5-for-5 record with $1,687,000 in earnings to be named champion 2-year-old colt.
Hopes were high the following year when Shanghai Bobby returned in the Jan. 26 Holy Bull for his first 3-year-old Kentucky Derby prep. He shot straight to the lead with a half-length advantage over Clearly Now for the first three calls. But by the time the field reached the quarter pole he was dueling with Itsmyluckyday, who went on to end Shanghai Bobby’s win-streak with a two-length victory.
After an uncharacteristically bad run in the Florida Derby where he finished fifth at the end of March it was announced that Shanghai Bobby had suffered an injury during the race. The injury forced the colt to miss all the classics and summer races with him returning in the Aljamin Stakes in late September.
While he was able to win the Aljamin by a neck, he suffered a suspensory ligament injury during the race. Nine days later he was retired to Ashford Stud, the farm owned by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, who had bought into the colt during his 2-year-old season.
Retired with six victories in eight starts for $1,857,000 in earnings, Shanghai Bobby entered stud in 2014 with a $20,000 fee. He proved to be popular with breeders with 160 mares visiting him in his first season. Breeders were so impressed with those first foals born this year that he was sent even more mares in 2015.
“He has been at stud for two seasons and both years he has been very well supported,” said Scott Calder of Coolmore Stud. “In fact, he covered more mares in his second season, which is unusual. Typically a stallion covers their biggest book when they are fresh off the track but Shanghai Bobby has carried that momentum which is a good indicator that breeders liked what they saw when his first foals hit the ground this spring.”
SHANGHAI BOBBY

Just like he did with racing, Shanghai Bobby has jumped into his breeding career with all four feet. Standing in the United States in the spring before going to South America for their breeding season in the fall, he enjoys his new career just as much as he did his old one.
“Shanghai Bobby is in great form. He has taken to his new life as a stallion like a duck to water. He is a high-energy horse and is a particularly good breeder so he makes everyone’s job very easy. With a couple of years at stud under his belt he has filled out and let down into a very attractive stallion, he’s a really athletic looking horse and his dark black color really makes him stand out,“ said Calder.
Shanghai Bobby’s sire Harlan’s Holiday died the winter before Shanghai Bobby entered stud and many hope that he will follow in his father’s hoofprints as a successful stallion. With many breeders impressed by his first foals, it looks like Shanghai Bobby is well on his way to making that dream a reality.