Shagaf Far More Than Derby Second String for Shadwell

Shagaf won the Gotham Stakes impressively in March and carries and unbeaten record into the Wood Memorial Stakes on Saturday at Aqueduct. (Photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
By Tom Pedulla, America’s Best Racing
As disappointing as it was for Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum’s Shadwell Stable when Mohaymen ran fourth in the Grade 1 Xpressbet.com Florida Derby on April 2, the deputy ruler of Dubai was not left without hope. Shagaf, his secondary prospect for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands, is hardly a scrub.
Shagaf, undefeated through three starts, will have the opportunity to demonstrate his quality for trainer Chad Brown in the $1 million Wood Memorial Stakes on April 9 at Aqueduct.
“We’ll see how good he is,” said Rick Nichols, the 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 and Travers Stakes winner Bernardini, will break from the rail. He is listed as the 2-1 morning-line favorite to defeat seven other horses in the 1 1/8-mile Wood 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 one mile for 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 came at a mile in an allowance race on Jan. 29 at Gulfstream Park that produced a two-length victory. He passed his first stakes test in the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct on March 5 when he mounted an impressive rally on a speed-favoring surface to defeat Laoban by 1 1/4 lengths.
2016 GOTHAM STAKES

According to the system employed by Churchill Downs, 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 finished in a dead-heat for fourth in 2006. Jazil went on to win the Belmont Stakes.
Nichols, noting the wet surface at Gulfstream Park for the Florida Derby, 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 in 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.”
$1-million Wood Memorial StakesSaturday, Race 10, Aqueduct, 5:30 p.m. ET1 1/8 miles, dirt, 3-year-olds

PP

Horse

Jockey

Trainer

Owner

Odds

1.

Shagaf

Irad Ortiz Jr.

Chad Brown

Shadwell Stable

2-1

2.

Adventist

Kendrick Carmouche

Leah Gyarmati

Treadway Racing Stable

10-1

3.

Trojan Nation

Aaron Gryder

Patrick Gallagher

Julie Gilbert and Aaron Sones

30-1

4.

Tale of S'avall

Cornelio Velasquez

Barclay Tagg

Charles Fipke

20-1

5.

Flexibility

Manuel Franco

Chad Brown

Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence

8-1

6.

Matt King Coal

Jose Ortiz

Linda Rice

Lady Sheila Stable

3-1

7.

Dalmore

Junior Alvarado

Keith Desormeaux

Big Chief Racing, Keith Desormeaux, and Ronald Ortowski

12-1

8.

Outwork

John Velazquez

Todd Pletcher

Repole Stable

5-2