Next Shares Ships In, Takes Old Friends Stakes
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Photo: Reed Palmer Photography/Kentucky Downs
Next Shares wins the Old Friends Stakes at Kentucky Downs
Since he moved to Richard Baltas' barn in Southern California, Next Shares has run well more often than not, but he hasn't been able to put it all together for a trip to the winner's circle.
A change of scenery led to a change in result Sept. 6.
The 5-year-old Archarcharch gelding had run at Kentucky Downs before—when he was trained by Bill Mott in 2017—but returned for the $250,000 Old Friends Stakes and found his best stride late under jockey Drayden Van Dyke to win his first stakes by 1 3/4 lengths.
Eighth early, as eventual second-place finisher Siem Riep ran the first quarter of the one-mile-and-70-yard race in :24.18, Next Shares improved position to seventh but dropped farther behind the leaders as Shut the Box took over to run the half-mile in :48.50.
Next Shares rallied well in the stretch on the outside, passed Siem Riep, and widened his margin gradually to the wire to finish the distance in 1:41.79.
"A change of scenery helped a little," Baltas said. "I think (his last) race at Del Mar (12th in the Del Mar Handicap, G2T), we were on the fence on whether to run, and it was a tough race and a bad post. This horse, you just have to let him relax. He doesn't even want to be moved on early. And he was really comfortable here. We got a couple gallops over the course (before the race)."
Siem Riep had an unusual trip after Shut the Box and Siding Spring challenged him on the front end midway through the race. Initially on the rail and pressed on the outside, Siem Riep dropped back to third in the sweeping Kentucky Downs turn, then angled out and re-rallied on the outside in the stretch under jockey James Graham but could not hold off Next Shares. Parlor completed the trifecta, a nose back in third.
Next Shares—owned by Michael Iavarone, Jules Iavarone, Jerry McClanahan, Christopher Dunn, William Marasa, Ritchie Robershaw, and Mark Taylor—upped his earnings to $467,697 and improved his record to 4-4-2 from 19 starts. He was bred in Kentucky by Buck Pond Farm, out of the Evansville Slew mare Two Dot Slew, and was a $190,000 purchase out of the 2017 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.