Shalaa Invincible at Newmarket

Very few horses can run up a sequence of wins in the G2 July S., G2 Richmond S. and G1 Prix Morny and still win a G1 Juddmonte Middle Park S. with relative ease, but Al Shaqab’s Shalaa (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) was able to do just that in a strong renewal at Newmarket on Saturday. In front as usual with Frankie Dettori keen to hold on to him, the 1-2 chalk just kept rolling and was always in charge despite the game effort of Buratino (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}). With Dettori dropping his hands near the line with the race in safe keeping, the bay had a cozy half-length margin to spare over that rival. “He didn’t feel that great coming down into the dip and changed his legs a few times which cost him momentum, but showed good determination as he could easily have given up,” his jockey commented. “He’s the fastest 2-year-old I’ve ridden. In the mornings, you put him behind a horse and he goes to sleep but at the races I haven’t met a horse fast enough to lead him yet. On a flatter track, he would see it through to the line much better and if he stays a mile next year he’ll be the next Frankel but from what I see he is a sprinter.”

Saturday, Newmarket, Britain
JUDDMONTE MIDDLE PARK S.-G1, £180,000, NEW, 9-26, 2yo, c, 6fT, 1:11.92, gd.
1–SHALAA (IRE), 126, c, 2, by Invincible Spirit (Ire)
1st Dam: Ghurra (GSP-US, $145,494), by War Chant
2nd Dam: Futuh, by Diesis (GB)
3rd Dam: Hardship, by Drone
(100,000gns Wlg ‘13 TATFOA; 170,000gns Ylg ‘14 TATOCT). O-Al Shaqab Racing; B-Mogeely Stud (IRE); T-John Gosden; J-Frankie Dettori. £102,078. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Fr, 6-5-0-0, $636,323. Werk Nick Rating: C. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
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2–Buratino (Ire), 126, c, 2, Exceed and Excel (Aus)–Bergamask, by Kingmambo. O-Godolphin; B-Darley (IRE); T-Mark Johnston. £38,700.
3–Steady Pace (GB), 126, c, 2, Dark Angel (Ire)–Cool Kitten (Ire), by One Cool Cat. (80,000gns Wlg ‘13 TATFOA). O-Godolphin; B-T G Roddick (GB); T-Saeed bin Suroor. £19,368.
Margins: HF, 2, HF. Odds: 0.50, 6.50, 25.00.
Also Ran: Ajaya (GB), Rouleau (GB), Venturous (Ire), Madrinho (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result, the brisnet.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

After a clueless beginning when last of eight in the six-furlong Olympic Glory Conditions S., on Newbury’s Lockinge card May 16, Shalaa has come forward in leaps and bounds and quickly set the record straight with a maiden win in this town a fortnight later 10 days prior to registering an upset in the July S. Defying a subsequent three-pound penalty when following up from the front in the Richmond at Glorious Goodwood July 30, the bay had to deal with the testing surface that often blights Deauville in the Aug. 23 Prix Morny but was just too good for the admirable G2 Prix Robert Papin and G2 Flying Childers S. scorer Gutaifan (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) regardless of unfavorable ground conditions. Kept company by Ajaya (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) throughout the early stages of this prize, Shalaa’s relentless tempo eventually saw off that rival and it was only Buratino who gave any kind of threat as Newmarket’s undulations came into play. Despite giving the Johnston runner a brief glimpse of hope as he lost some sparkle running downhill, he was able to reassert his superiority on the rise to the line. “He’s been on the go since March and I was a little mindful to bring him here fresh,” trainer John Gosden said. “He was probably a little short of work, but at this stage of the year if you keep working the two-year-olds you can flatten them. He’s gone very fast–Ryan Moore came in and said he’d never been so fast over the first four furlongs over the Rowley Mile as he had in this race–and he’s got a bit unbalanced going into the dip and changed his legs three or four times, but all in all we’re delighted with him. He’s the fastest 2-year-old I’ve had and is very professional–Harry [Herbert] said he was clocking 41mph there and that is very quick. He’s got a good mind on him, too, which is very important and he reminds me all of Oasis Dream who broke the juvenile record here. He was also champion sprinter at three and this horse looks like a pure fast 2-year-old who will be a fast 3-year-old.” The runner-up’s conditioner Mark Johnston said of Buratino, “I just wonder if he was an early-season horse, but one thing I do know is the horse is very well and everything was right for today. I was confident the ground would dry out, I don’t think there were any excuses and today we’ve seen what he was made of. His win in the Coventry was possibly a career-best and interestingly for a horse that showed so much speed at the beginning of the season, it looks like another furlong won’t be a problem to him.”