Haikal Set for Stakes Debut in Jimmy Winkfield

After a close second and hard-fought victory in a pair of maiden starts last year at Aqueduct Racetrack, Shadwell Stable homebred Haikal will make his stakes debut there Feb. 9 in the $150,000 Jimmy Winkfield Stakes.

Haikal is one of seven 3-year-olds entered for the seven-furlong test. Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin believes the son of Daaher  has matured since he closed 2018 with a neck victory over American Mandate in a six-furlong maiden race at Aqueduct. American Mandate came back to win his next start, a January maiden race at Aqueduct.

"He's made some good progression since his last race," McLaughlin said. "In each of his starts, he's closed well. He's a little more relaxed than Takaful, who was extremely talented and a bit difficult to train in the mornings, but we're still trying to figure out how far Haikal can go. Depending on how he performs on Saturday, we'll keep the ($300,000) Gotham (G3) in consideration going forward."

In his debut race Nov. 10, Haikal finished second by a neck to Family Biz in a seven-furlong maiden test. That win came in Family Biz's fourth start and he earned a stakes placing in his next effort—a third in the Jerome Stakes—and he's also entered in the Jimmy Winkfield.

The field also includes Jump for Alex, a Pennsylvania-bred who has placed in a pair of stakes for state-breds at Parx Racing and Presque Isle Downs.

Entries: Jimmy Winkfield S.

Aqueduct Racetrack, Saturday, February 09, 2019, Race 8

• STK
• 7f
• Dirt
• $150,000
• 3 yo
• 4:34 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Jump for Alex (PA)	Luis A. Rodriguez Castro	120	Guadalupe Preciado	8/1
2	2Joevia (KY)	Christopher P. DeCarlo	118	Gregory D. Sacco	15/1
3	3Haikal (KY)	Rajiv Maragh	118	Kiaran P. McLaughlin	9/5
4	4Tikhvin Flew (KY)	Manuel Franco	118	Steven M. Asmussen	5/2
5	5Direct Order (KY)	Jose Lezcano	120	Jason Servis	6/1
6	6Family Biz (KY)	Dylan Davis	118	Edward R. Barker	6/1
7	7Gates of Dawn (KY)	Junior Alvarado	118	John C. Servis	9/2