Next Shares to Begin 2019 Campaign in San Gabriel
Image:
Description:
Photo: Coady Photography
Next Shares after the Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland
Grade 1 winner Next Shares will make his 2019 debut at Santa Anita Park Jan. 5 in the $200,000 San Gabriel Stakes (G2T), but it might not be long before he hits the road.
The reasoning is quite simple, and the supporting statistics are straightforward.
Since the Archarcharch gelding moved to trainer Richard Baltas for his 2018 campaign, Next Shares has gone winless in six starts racing in Southern California, where he is based.
That's not to say he raced poorly in the Golden State—he placed in two grade 1 races at Santa Anita in 2018, after all—but something changed when Baltas shipped the dark bay to Kentucky.
First, he stormed home from 11 lengths back to win the Old Friends Stakes at Kentucky Downs by 1 3/4 lengths Sept. 6. Then he provided a 23-1 stunner in the Oct. 6 Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes (G1T) at Keeneland, where he drew off late to win by 3 1/4 lengths. He closed the season with a 13th-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T).
WINCZE HUGHES: Next Shares Earns Grade 1 Win in Shadwell Turf Mile
"He was happy there," Baltas said of Next Shares' time in Kentucky. "Maybe (the Old Friends) was a step below (the level he was competing at in California), but Keeneland wasn't a step below, and he crushed those horses. He likes a cut in the ground but not soft, and the turf was pretty hard here last year.
"He's a horse that's probably going to end up going somewhere else eventually. But if he runs really well and wins here, we'll see."
Baltas said Next Shares' large ownership group is considering a start in the Jan. 26 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1T) at Gulfstream Park, but the logistics and availability of a spot in the $7 million race won't be fully broached until after the San Gabriel.
Among the other nine entries for the 1 1/8-mile test are five graded winners, including Glen Hill Farm homebred Chicago Style, who scored his first graded victory last time out in the Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes (G2T) at Del Mar in November.
BALAN: Chicago Style Makes Amends in Hollywood Turf Cup
Liam the Charmer is another entry who has shown impressive recent form with a victory in the Sept. 30 John Henry Turf Championship Stakes (G2T) preceding a troubled run in the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T).
Other graded winners in the field include Flamboyant, Big Score, and Big Bend, but it's been more than a year since their top performances.
Santa Anita Park, Saturday, January 05, 2019, Race 7Entries: San Gabriel S. (G2T)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1Liam the Charmer (KY)
Kent J. Desormeaux
124
Michael W. McCarthy
4/1
2
2Platinum Warrior (IRE)
Shane Foley
122
John W. Sadler
15/1
3
3Cleopatra's Strike (ON)
Flavien Prat
120
Philip D'Amato
8/1
4
4Oscar Dominguez (IRE)
Rafael Bejarano
120
Peter Miller
20/1
5
5Chicago Style (KY)
Drayden Van Dyke
124
Thomas F. Proctor
3/1
6
6Flamboyant (FR)
Brice Blanc
122
Patrick Gallagher
5/1
7
7Next Shares (KY)
Joel Rosario
124
Richard Baltas
7/2
8
8Big Score (KY)
Mike E. Smith
120
Tim Yakteen
6/1
9
9Big Bend (KY)
Joseph Talamo
120
Thomas F. Proctor
12/1
10
10Arms Runner (FL)
Martin A. Pedroza
120
Peter Miller
30/1
