Masochistic Makes Racing Return in Harris Farms Stakes

When owner Will Shamlian and trainer Kristin Mulhall brought grade 1 winner Masochistic out of retirement and back into training, a lot was up in the air.

They said a return to racing was not a guarantee, but if he showed signs he wanted to race, they would let him.

A few months later, the 8-year-old Sought After gelding has shown enough. Masochistic will race for the first time since he was retired in March in the $100,000 Harris Farms Stakes Oct. 6 at Fresno .

BALAN: Grade 1 Winner Masochistic Back in Light Training

"Will said to give him one shot to see if his heart is still in it," said Mulhall, the architect of Masochistic's training regimen, which doesn't have the gelding go through conventional daily gallops but allows him to breeze and pony around the track. "He's doing really well and working really well. He's acting like he still wants to do it. He's aggressive, he's eating, and he looks good.

"We were looking for the easiest spot possible for him."

The group of six California-breds for the six-furlong dirt sprint features two other stakes winners—Intimidate and Isa Firecracker—but neither comes close to Masochistic's back class. But that's exactly what it is—back class. In two starts this year, when he was trained by Bob Baffert, Masochistic was not competitive.

"If we can get him out to the lead, he's going to be super, super fresh," Mulhall said of the speedster, who last reached the winner's circle in the 2016 Pat O'Brien Stakes (G2). "If he's the same horse and he likes this type of training, they shouldn't catch him. If his heart isn't in it, he'll run like he has (in 2018)."