Al Shaqab ‘Wish’ Granted

Mshawish kicked off his career in France with Mikel Delzangles, finishing second in a Group 3 and annexing a listed stakes race as a sophomore. Taken to Meydan for the Dubai World Cup Carnival early this year, the dark bay was second in the G2 Al Fahidi Fort S. at seven panels in January before defeating classy globetrotter Trade Storm (GB) (Trade Fair {GB}) in the G2 Zabeel Mile in February. A distant fourth behind Just a Way (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}) in the G1 Dubai Duty Free Mar. 29, he joined the Todd Pletcher barn after an eighth-place run in Sha Tin’s G1 Champions Mile May 4. 

Backed as the 2-1 chalk in Monmouth’s GIII Oceanport S. July 27, Mshawish was too keen and made a wide, premature move before fading to sixth. He got his nose down on the line in a Saratoga optional claimer Aug. 30, only to be DQ’d to third after having to force his way out of a tight spot, and had last been seen completing the trifecta over a yielding nine furlongs in Belmont’s GIII Knickerbocker S. Oct. 11. Biding his time while in and among horses early, the favorite had to wait briefly for clear running to upper stretch, but exploded through a seam at the first sign of daylight and kicked clear. 

“It’s taken a little while to get the trip we’ve been looking for,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “We kind of liked the turn-back to 7 1/2 [furlongs], because we figured it’d be the first time we’d have some pace to kind of get him covered up, and it worked out well. He got a good trip. By getting him covered up and relaxed early, he was able to kick down the lane like he’s capable of.”

In Sharper Focus…
   Mshawish (Medaglia d’Oro) became the first U.S. stakes winner for Sheikh Joaan Al Thani’s Al Shaqab Racing with an impressive display in Gulfstream Park’s El Prado S. Saturday. “It’s very special,” Al Shaqab USA Racing Advisor Bradley Weisbord commented. 

“At this time, the program isn’t very large yet. I think Sheikh Joaan is doing the right thing by dipping his toe in the American market by having four 2-year-olds and three older horses here. I believe that in time the program will definitely expand. There’s no question that having early success and success in stakes races is what he’s targeting. It’s definitely crucial to get the first stakes win and hopefully the first of many to come for the Al Shaqab team.” 

While Mshawish–winner of the G2 Zabeel Mile at Meydan in February–had his share of excuses in his first three starts on these shores, the dark bay began to put it together since relocating to South Florida this fall. “We were very high on him when he arrived in May,” Weisbord, former COO of Team Valor, explained. 

“It seemed like everything went wrong in his first couple of starts here, though. The only thing that I kept saying to the Qatar group and Sheikh Joaan, who has remained very patient, was that with my experience at Team Valor, it sometimes takes these horses from overseas a few months to really adapt, and with this horse, he’s been very rank in his workouts and Todd [Pletcher]’s finally figured him out now. He’s been much better in his breezes and actually worked with [Harlan’s Holiday S. winner] Liam’s Map last weekend.” 

If all goes well moving forward, Mshawish will target the GI Gulfstream Park Turf H. Feb. 7, and possibly a return trip to Dubai in March. He was fourth in the G1 Dubai Duty Free earlier this year. “In a perfect world, we would like to target the Gulfstream Park Turf H., and if that means running in the GII Fort Lauderdale S. [Jan. 10] next, we would do it if he’s up for it,” Weisbord concluded. 

“We’d love to take him to Dubai and return to the scene of his biggest win and see if he could knock off the Group 1 this time around.”

Saturday, Gulfstream Park
EL PRADO S., $100,000, GPX, 12-13, 3yo/up, 7 1/2fT, 1:28 2/5, fm. 
1–MSHAWISH, 123, c, 4, Medaglia d’Oro–Thunder
Bayou, by Thunder Gulch. ($25,000 wlng ’10 
KEENOV; $10,000 yrl ’11 KEESEP; €170,000 2yo 
‘12 ARQMAY). O-Al Shaqab Racing; B-OTIF 2007 
(KY); T-Todd A Pletcher; J-Javier Castellano. 
$59,520. Lifetime Record: GSW-UAE, SW & GSP-Fr, 
GSP-US, 15-4-2-2, $761,275. 
2–Excaper, 123, h, 5, Exchange Rate–Ada Ruckus, by 
Bold Ruckus. ($30,000 RNA yrl ’10 KEESEP). 
O-Richard S Kaster & Frederick C Wieting. $19,200. 
3–Vinny Goodtimes, 117, g, 4, Stormy Atlantic– 
Eclectic Mix (GB), by Zamindar. ($140,000 RNA yrl 
’11 KEESEP). O-Paradise Farms Corp, Peter Jacoutot 
& Colleen Berrios. $9,600. 
Margins: 2, 3/4, NK. Odds: 1.50, 2.10, 41.60.
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