Mongolian Saturday Tops Shakertown Nine-Horse Field

In October 2015, the connections of Mongolian Saturday brightened the Keeneland winner’s circle with their colorful native wear following the gelding’s scintillating upset victory in the TwinSpires Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1T).

The Kentucky-bred son of Any Given Saturday, who also showed his affinity for the Keeneland turf course by winning last year’s Woodford Stakes (G3T) Presented by Keeneland Select, headlines the field of nine entered in the $200,000 Shakertown Stakes (G2T) at 5 1/2 furlongs.

Carded as the seventh race on the card that features five stakes, including the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2), Central Bank Ashland (G1), and Madison Stakes (G1), the Shakertown is slated to go at about 4:28 p.m.

Trained by Enebish Ganbat for Ganbaatar Dagvadorj's Mongolian Stable, Mongolian Saturday has traversed the world en route to compiling a record of 8-8-7 from 39 starts with earnings of more than $1.1 million. The now-7-year-old was bred by Normandy Farm and purchased for $60,000 at the 2011 Keeneland September yearling sale.

Following his Breeders’ Cup success, Mongolian Saturday traveled to Hong Kong for two off-the-board efforts in international group 1 company and then finished ninth and 11th, respectively, in similar company twice in England.

Returned to the U.S. last fall, Mongolian Saturday annexed the Woodford before shipping to Santa Anita Park to finish ninth in an attempt to defend the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint title. In his 2017 debut, the gelding was 10th, only four lengths off the winner, in the Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint. Most recently, Mongolian Saturday rallied from last to get third in the Silks Run Stakes at Gulfstream.

Mongolian Saturday will have the services of jockey Jose Lezcano as he breaks from post 6 while carrying 122 pounds, compared with the 120 impost for the other eight starters.

Another horse with Keeneland success in the Shakertown field is RGH Bloodstock and Dan Gale’s Shakhimat.

Trained by Roger Attfield, the 4-year-old son of Lonhro who won last year’s Transylvania Stakes (G3T) Presented by Keeneland Select and will be making his first start since finishing fifth in the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine in July. Julien Leparoux will have the mount on Shakhimat for the first time and the pair break from the outside post position. Lightly raced, Shakhimat has won three of seven starts.

Durable veteran campaigner Hogy will be seeking his second stakes in a row after defeating Green Mask by a length in the Colonel Power Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots Feb. 25. Trained by Scott Becker for William Stiritz, the 8-year-old gelding has a closing style that has resulted in 16 victories and 15 placings in 41 career starts, with earnings of $848,727. Florent Geroux has the services on Hogy.

Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Partly Mocha has been no worse than third in his previous 11 starts as the 8-year-old Half Ours gelding enters off a pair of turf sprint victories at Sam Houston Race Park. Trained by Mike Maker, Partly Mocha has a record of 9-8-7 in 36 starts while earning $445,392.

Trainer Wesley Ward, who took the 2016 Shakertown with Undrafted, sends out Zayat Stables’ Justin Squared, a front-runner who accounted for the Chick Lang Stakes at Pimlico Race Course last year and is making his second grass start in his seventh career effort.

Green Mask, conditioned by Brad Cox for owner Abdullah Saeed Almaddah, seeks to rebound off a facile second to Hogy in the Colonel Power when he was caught late as the 9-10 favorite. The 6-year-old Mizzen Mast   gelding who has earned $610,716 won the Bonapaw Stakes at the end of 2016 after finishing fifth, only 2 ¾ lengths behind winner Obviously, in the the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.

Rounding out the field are Live Oak Plantation homebred Holding Gold, making his first start since an unplaced finish in last year’s Woodford; New Farm’s Rainbow Heir, the winner of 10 of 24 starts coming off a runner-up finish in the Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint; JSM Equine’s Element, making his first start for trainer Rusty Arnold.

Shakertown S. (G2T)

Keeneland, Saturday, April 08, 2017, Race 7

• 5 1/2f
• Turf
• $200,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 4:28 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Holding Gold (FL)	Joel Rosario	120	Mark E. Casse	12/1
2	2Rainbow Heir (NJ)	Trevor McCarthy	120	Jason Servis	3/1
3	3Green Mask (KY)	Robby Albarado	120	Brad H. Cox	4/1
4	4Justin Squared (KY)	Jose Valdivia, Jr.	120	Wesley A. Ward	12/1
5	5Element (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	120	George R. Arnold, II	30/1
6	6Mongolian Saturday (KY)	Jose Lezcano	122	Enebish Ganbat	7/2
7	7Hogy (KY)	Florent Geroux	120	Scott Becker	4/1
8	8Partly Mocha (WV)	Jose L. Ortiz	120	Michael J. Maker	6/1
9	9Shakhimat (ON)	Julien R. Leparoux	120	Roger L. Attfield	12/1