Shackleford to go for Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs
There was some thought put into Shackleford’s last career start, and the connection weighed options between the Grade 1, $350,000 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct Racetrack on 24 November, 2012, and the Grade 1, $400,000 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs on 23 November,
2012.
After real consideration, trainer Dale Romans and the owners Michael Lauffer and W.D. Cubbedge , in partnership with Phillip Racing Partnership decided to race the 4-year-old colt by Forestry in the 1 1/8 mile Clark Handicap against 9 other 3-year-old and
above colts and geldings.
“I guess the main factor is just that we wanted to stay home,” said Romans.
Out of Oatsee by Unbridled, Shackleford has now lost three in a row, starting from the eighth place finish to winner, Poseidon’s Warrior, in the six furlong long Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap at Saratoga on 5 August, 2012.
Shackleford turned in a much improved performance in the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap at Belmont Park over a mile, but couldn’t go all the way, as he played second fiddle to, Jersey Town, on 29 September, who covered the mile distance in 1 minute and 35.25 seconds,
as Trickmeister finished in third behind Shackleford.
The Kentucky bred colt is currently exiting a seventh place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile to winner, Tapizar, at Santa Anita Park on 3 November, 2012.
In the Clark Handicap, Shackleford will be ridden by Jesus Castanon, as the duo will go out as the 120 pound highweight in the final show case of the fall meet.
The second highweight of the Clark Handicap, Neck ‘n Neck at 119 pounds, is a serious threat to Shackleford’s last hurrah, as the Ian Wilkes trained 3-year-old colt is freshly coming off two back-to-back victories in the Grade 2 Indiana Derby and the Grade
3 Ack Ack Handicap under his new jockey Brian Hernandez.
The son of Flower Alley, was sixth in the Travers Stakes, second in the Jim Dandy and won Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes, which also proved out to be a revolutionary race for the colt, who turned in some great performances after that win in June at Churchill Downs.
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