Succeeding trainer, Dale Romans points his ace, Shackleford for the Donn Handicap for a more prosperous year than 2011
After eighty-seven wins, 106 seconds and seventy-eight thirds out of 603 starts, Dale Romans, who has stables widely spread over Florida, Kentucky and New York, is in no mood of stopping.
He has had a versatile twenty-six-years’ career but according to him, no other year has been as good as 2011.
“Best year, by far, I ever had,” said Romans, “It’s going to be hard to top.”
Only the revenue generation was up to $7.6 million through the year. He has trained an army of horses but his best ever is the Preakness Stakes' winner Shackleford, for whom Romans has some serious progressive plans for the year 2012.
“I think he can be a really good miler, but I think he can go further than that,” Romans said. “There’s bigger money going further. He did win at a mile and three-sixteenths. He ran well at a mile and an eighth here last year.”
Shackleford won $1.98 million in 2011 and would make the 2012 seasonal debut in the $400,000 Donn Handicap at the Gulfstream Park on Saturday, 10th February.
He will encounter the Belmont Stakes' winner, Ruler On Ice, multiple stakes' claimer, Redeemed, Flat Out who has won the Jockey Club Gold Cup, and the undefeated till now, Trickmeister.
“We’re going to see how he handles himself in the Donn and then go from there,” Romans said. “It’s a long year. A lot of options.”
Judged upon his performance over the weekend would be the decision for the $10 million Dubai World Cup at the Meydan on 31st March in the UAE.
The races that Romans enjoyed the most in the year 2011 were through five of his key horses.
First in line being Shackleford, who won the Preakness Stakes, while his second Breeders’ Cup race was claimed by Court Vision, and Sassy Image has won Grade 1 races twice.
All these were the finalists for the Eclipse Awards.
For the year 2012 Romans ace horse stands out to be Shackleford who if given a wisely laid out plan for the course of the year is capable of achieving and offering way more than he did in 2011.
Saturday’s performance in the Donn Handicap will make quite a few things apparent and easy for the trainer to decide.
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