Shagaf Two-for-Two, Heads to Stakes

Shadwell Stable's homebred Shagaf was an easy winner of a 3-year-old allowance race at Gulfstream Park Jan. 29 and appears headed to his stakes debut in his next start.

The Bernardini   colt rated just off the pace early in the one-mile race, took the lead entering the stretch, and wasn't threatened thereafter under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. Shagaf, who won his career debut at Aqueduct Racetrack last fall in his previous start, captured Friday's race by two lengths over Southside Warrior. Rally Cry, who didn't have the best of trips, finished third.

Shagaf, who paid $4.80 to win, completed the mile in 1:37.21 on a fast track.

"I was very impressed," trainer Chad Brown said. "He has trained like a super-quality horse since he came into the barn. The whole Shadwell team came down for the race. Obviously they have Mohaymen in for the (grade II Lambholm South Holy Bull Stakes Jan. 30), and it's a homebred of theirs. I'm very lucky they sent this horse to me. He's special.

"(Ortiz) said basically from the quarter-pole home he had absolutely nobody around him to keep him focused. It's only his second career start. He started to maybe let up a little bit before the wire and he had to get after him a little bit. He said on the gallop out when he heard the horses coming behind him and tried to pull him up, he tried to break again."

Brown said he would talk with Shadwell's United States-based racing manager Rick Nichols about a next race for the late-emerging Triple Crown prospect next, with the $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes (gr. II) Feb. 27 at Gulfstream one of the possibilities.