Shadwell's Shagaf Gets Chance at Spotlight

As disappointing as it was for Sheikh Hamdan's Shadwell Stable when Mohaymen ran fourth in the Xpressbet.com Florida Derby (gr. I) April 2 at Gulfstream Park, the deputy ruler of Dubai was not left without hope.

Mohaymen is capable of a turnaround in time for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), and Shadwell homebred Shagaf is hardly a scrub. Undefeated through three starts, Shagaf will have the opportunity to demonstrate his quality for trainer Chad Brown in the $1 million Wood Memorial Stakes (gr. I) April 9 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

"We'll see how good he is," said Rick Nichols, U.S. racing manager for Shadwell. "Chad is very confident in him. He's always been high on the colt. He thinks he's pretty talented."

Shagaf, a homebred son of 2006 Preakness Stakes and Travers Stakes (both gr. I) winner Bernardini  , will break from the rail. He is listed as a 2-1 favorite to defeat seven other 3-year-olds in 1 1/8-mile Wood Memorial and keep his perfect record intact for regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr.

"The horse hasn't done anything wrong," Brown said. "He's undefeated. He's a big, beautiful, well-bred horse."

Brown's belief that Shagaf will welcome distance was evident when he entered him at the one-turn mile in his debut last Nov. 22 at Aqueduct. The colt launched a five-wide move at the top of the stretch and rolled to a six-length rout in his only start last year.

His first race as a 3-year-old also was a one-turn mile in a Jan. 29 allowance level race at Gulfstream that produced a two-length victory. He passed his first stakes test in the Gotham Stakes (gr. III) at Aqueduct March 5 when he mounted an impressive rally on a speed-favoring surface to defeat Laoban by a length and a quarter.

According to the points system employed by Churchill Downs to determine the Derby field should more than 20 horses be entered, the Wood is worth 100 points to the winner, 40 for second, 20 for third, and 10 for fourth. While other Wood starters such as 5-2 second choice Outwork and 3-1 third choice Matt King Coal are desperate for points, Shagaf all but ensured his place in the Derby starting gate when he secured 50 points awarded to the Gotham winner.

Since Mohaymen has 70 points despite a lackluster Florida Derby that slapped him with his first defeat in six starts, Shadwell looks forward to having him join Shagaf in giving the stable two starters on the first Saturday in May. Shadwell had only one previous Derby starter, when the late Jazil dead-heated for fourth in 2006. Jazil went on to win the Belmont Stakes (gr. I).

Nichols, noting the wet surface at Gulfstream, remains confident that Mohaymen can rebound. "That race is a race where you put a line through it and forget it," he said. "With the track conditions that day, he just couldn't get hold of it for some reason."

The five-week spacing between the Florida Derby and the opening leg of the Triple Crown gives trainer Kiaran McLaughlin ample time to regroup with Mohaymen.

"We're excited about seeing him come back," Nichols said. "He has enough time to get to Kentucky and gain a little more conditioning and strengthen up a bit more and be ready to go."

Brown intends to have Shagaf bound for Kentucky soon after the Wood, believing the youngster will need as much time as possible to acclimate. Brown's staff has worked extensively with Shagaf in schooling him at the starting gate and in loading him onto vans for shipping. He has not been particularly fond of traveling.

"We'll get him to Churchill early, get two works over the track and plenty of schooling," Brown said. "I would anticipate him schooling and adapting well to Churchill—with no guarantees."