Belief’ Eyes Malibu, Eclipse Honors

Jungle Racing LLC, KMN Racing LLC, Jerry Hollendorfer, Jason Litt, Alex Solis II and George Todaro’s MGISW Shared Belief (Candy Ride {Arg}) continued his progress toward a likely start in the GI Malibu S., working a bullet five furlongs in 1:01.40 over the all-weather track at Golden Gate Fields yesterday. According to co-owner Alex Solis II, the work was an ideal step towards reaching the starting gate for the seven-furlong test at Santa Anita Dec. 26.

“Jerry was really happy with the work this morning,” said Solis. “He went five-eighths and he galloped out well. His ears were pricked and we couldn’t be happier.”

It was Shared Belief’s third move since a troubled run in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic, where he was bothered at the start and rallied belatedly to be fourth.

“The plan is to go ahead and push towards the Malibu,” offered Solis. “If he keeps on answering the questions, we’ll be there. If he shows he’s not ready for that, we could always pull the plug, but right now he’s doing really well.”

The co-owner said he is hopeful that a victory in the Malibu would bolster his gelding’s chances of earning year-end honors, but also acknowledged the worthiness of the competition. GI Kentucky Derby and Preakness hero California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) recently added a fourth Grade I win to his resume, annexing the Hollywood Derby over the turf at Del Mar this past Saturday.

“I’m going to give a lot of credit to California Chrome for winning another Grade I. If Shared Belief were to win the Malibu, of course I think he could be champion 3-year-old, but I don’t think Bayern (Offlee Wild) or California Chrome will run there,” observed Solis. “I think that’s highly unlikely, but at this point in time, I think California Chrome definitely deserves it over Bayern.”

Voted champion 2-year-old in 2013, Shared Belief is a winner in seven of his eight career starts, garnering Grade I wins against his elders in the TVG Pacific Classic S. at Del Mar Aug. 24 and the Awesome Again S. at Santa Anita Sept. 27, something Solis believes should not be discounted.

“At the end of the day, he’s proven himself against older horses and seeing what happened in the Classic, he only got beat by three lengths,” Solis added. “We had a great year, and we had our chance in the big race and just got unlucky.”