Mshawish Takes the Hal's Hope

Favored deep into the waning minutes of the wagering for Saturday's GIII Hal's Hope S. at Gulfstream Park, Mshawish (Medaglia d'Oro) was eventually off as the third choice, but fought his way past a very stubborn Valid (Medaglia d'Oro) to post a first victory on the dirt, to lead home a one-two for his sire and to give Al Shaqab Racing a stakes double on the program.

Trained through the first part of his career by Mikel Delzangles, Mshawish was a listed winner and Group 3-placed in France at three before annexing the G2 Zabeel Mile at Meydan the following winter. The dark bay ran the table in three starts at this meeting last year, posting narrow successes in the GII Fort Lauderdale S. and in the GI Gulfstream Park Turf H. ahead of a respectable five-lengths' third behind Solow (Ire) (Singspiel {Ire}) in the G1 Dubai Turf on World Cup night Mar. 28. An even fifth in Saratoga's GII Fourstardave H. in his return to action Aug. 15, he rounded out the superfecta in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile Oct. 31 prior to a maiden try on the dirt in the GI Cigar Mile H. Nov. 28. Mshawish traveled well for the opening seven furlongs and looked every bit a winner entering that final furlong, but was overtaken late by the Chris Clement duo of TDN Rising Star Tonalist (Tapit) and Red Vine (Candy Ride {Arg}) as well as the reopposing Matrooh (Distorted Humor) and called it a season.

While it appeared on paper that Mr. Jordan (Kantharos) and Matrooh would be the speeds of the speed, they were the dueling back markers down the chute as Valid took them along from Grande Shores with Mshawish nipping at their heels from third. The two would-be front-runners commenced middle moves–Matrooh up the rail and Mr. Jordan outside–and Mshawish was relegated to last in a tightly bunch field as they reached the turn. Sent up three deep outside of Grande Shores (Black Mambo), Mshawish left Mr. Jordan behind and had his sights set on Valid after making a bit of an awkward move at the head of the stretch. Despite edging to his right late, the Al Shaqab runner did slightly the better work to beat Valid while in receipt of four pounds under the allowance conditions of the race.

“I thought it was a quality effort,” said winning trainer Todd Pletcher. “I'm happy to see him win a big race on the dirt because he's always trained well on it. I have a lot of respect for Valid. He's a tough horse to get by. I was a little concerned when he made the lead. You know when you go to fight with him he's going to fight back. I think Javier [Castellano] knew that as well. That's why he stayed out a little and not try to engage him, but still he dug in.”

Immediate options for Mshawish include the nine-furlong GI Donn H. on the main track or a title defense in the GP Turf H., both scheduled for Feb. 6. He will also be given entries for World Cup night in the G2 Godolphin Mile and G1 Dubai Turf, and, potentially, to the World Cup itself.

Saturday, Gulfstream Park
HAL'S HOPE S.-GIII, $150,000, GP, 1-9, 4yo/up, 1m, 1:34.61, ft.
1–MSHAWISH, 119, h, 6, by Medaglia d'Oro
1st Dam: Thunder Bayou, by Thunder Gulch
2nd Dam: Bayou Storm, by Storm Cat
3rd Dam: At the Half, by Seeking the Gold
($25,000 Wlg '10 KEENOV; $10,000 Ylg '11 KEESEP; €170,000
2yo '12 ARMAY). O-Al Shaqab Racing; B-OTIF 2007 (KY); T-Todd
A. Pletcher; J-Javier Castellano. $93,000. Lifetime Record: SW
& GSP-Fr, GSW & G1SP-UAE, GISW-US, 22-7-2-3, $1,920,651.
Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus* Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.[bullet ad=”woodstock-thrived”][bullet ad=”kbif-g2g3″][bullet ad=”irt-shell”][bullet ad=”mandore-purchased-by”][bullet ad=”al-shaqab-bsw-bloodstock-managed”] 2–Valid, 123, g, 6, Medaglia d'Oro–Grand Prayer, by Grand
Slam. ($500,000 Ylg '11 KEESEP; $115,000 3yo '13 FTNMIX).
O-Crossed Sabres Farm; B-Edward P. Evans (VA); T-Marcus J.
Vitali. $30,000.[bullet ad=”lanes-end-sales-grad”] 3–Grande Shores, 119, h, 8, Black Mambo–Sexy Stockings, by
Tabasco Cat. O/B-Jacks or Better Farm Inc. (FL); T-Stanley I.
Gold. $15,000.
Margins: NK, 3 1/4, 2 3/4. Odds: 2.20, 1.80, 17.60.
Also Ran: Matrooh, Mr. Jordan. Scratched: Midnight Cello. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.