Tag: John Velazquez

$1,000 Medina Spirit Gives Baffert A Record Seventh Set Of Roses; Velazquez Rides Oaks-Derby Double

The roar of even the smaller crowd of 51,838 beneath the Twin Spires at Churchill Downs sounded louder than ever, after the global pandemic forced the delayed 2020 edition to be held without spectators on Sept. 5. Returning to it's rightful place on the first Saturday in May, the end result was the same: Hall of Famers Bob Baffert and John Velazquez teamed up to win the Run for the Roses.

Last year it was with Authentic, eventual Horse of the Year, tying Baffert with “Plain” Ben Jones for the most Kentucky Derby winners all time with six.

In this 147th edition, the horse was the bargain buy Medina Spirit ($26.20), owned by Derby first-timer Amr bin Fareer bin Mohammed bin Zedan. The son of Protonico cost just $1,000 as a yearling, and Zedan purchased him for $35,000 as a 2-year-old.

Medina Spirit grabbed the lead at the start from post position eight, set all the fractions, and fended off challenges from Mandaloun, Hot Rod Charlie, and the favored, previously undefeated champion Essential Quality through the length of the stretch to win by about a half-length. He ran 1 1/4 miles over Churchill Downs' fast main track in 2:01.02.

“That little horse has got a heart,” Baffert said. “(Velazquez) told me last night, 'Don't underestimate this horse, he's better than you think, Bob. Don't worry, we'll get the job done.'”

The victory was worth $1,860,000 and increased Medina Spirit's earnings to $2,175,200 with a record of 6-3-3-0. Velazquez has won four editions (Animal Kingdom (2011), Always Dreaming (2017), and Authentic, 2020), one shy of the record, and also captured this year's Kentucky Oaks with the Todd Pletcher-trained Malathaat. He is the eighth rider to win the Oaks and Derby in the same year, following most recently Calvin Borel in 2009.

Baffert has now saddled seven winners of the Kentucky Derby (Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet (1998), War Emblem (2002), Triple Crown winner American Pharoah (2015), Triple Crown winner Justify (2018), and Authentic (2020)), more than any other trainer in history.

Baffert has also come under scrutiny over the past year with a spate of medication violations – two at Oaklawn Park that involved champion Gamine (who won the G1 Derby City Distaff earlier on the Kentucky Derby card) and G1 Arkansas Derby winner Charlatan, a second violation involving Gamine in the G1 Kentucky Oaks and a fourth violation at Del Mar with a filly named Merneith. The California Horse Racing Board also reviewed whether or not Triple Crown winner Justify should have been disqualified from the G1 Santa Anita Derby in 2018 after testing above the limit for scopolamine. The regulatory board opted not to disqualify Justify or charge Baffert with a violation.

Medina Spirit was bred in Florida by Gail Rice, mother of Eclipse Award finalist Taylor Rice (apprentice jockey) and mother-in-law to top jockey Jose Ortiz, out of the Brilliant Speed mare Mongolian Changa. The mare failed to produce milk when Medina Spirit was first born, and Rice had to turn to her only other broodmare, Scribbling Sarah, for assistance. The young Medina Spirit thrived, and his own mom started producing milk several hours later.

Unfortunately, Rice's divorce forced the sale of Medina Spirit as a yearling. He brought the bottom-dollar bid of $1,000 at the OBS Winter Mixed sale in early 2019, and she had no choice but to let him go.

“I kept telling people, 'This horse can run!'” Rice said. “Just his body and his leg, and the intelligent attitude he had; I always thought he was special.”

As it so happens, “Sarah” became the dam of Grade 1 Ashland winner Speech in 2020 (delayed to July due to the pandemic). Medina Spirit won the G3 Bob Lewis Stakes in late January of 2021.

“It's just crazy to think about,” Rice told the Paulick Report earlier this year. “I haven't had many broodmares in my whole career, only ever one or two at a time, just playing around. And to have this happen in back-to-back years? It's crazy.”

Gail Rice, breeder of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit

Bloodstock agent Gary Young saw the 2-year-old Medina Spirit at the 2020 OBS July sale, and recommended the purchase to Zedan. The owner, who has been in racing for just five years, is a Los Angeles native, Saudi Arabian businessman, philanthropist, and an international polo player.

The small, nearly black colt broke his maiden at first asking at Los Alamitos in December, and was just three-quarters of a length behind his highly-touted stablemate Life Is Good in the G3 Sham Stakes Jan. 2 at Santa Anita.

Next out, Medina Spirit won the G3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes in an absolute dog fight over Roman Centurian and Hot Rod Charlie. Soundly defeated by Life Is Good in the G2 San Felipe, Baffert decided to perform a minor throat surgery on Medina Spirit, helping the colt to breathe a bit better.

Medina Spirit returned in the G1 Santa Anita Derby to run second to turf-to-dirt winner Rock Your World, after racing off the lead. Velazquez decided to change his tactics for the Kentucky Derby.

“We talked about it over and over,” Velazquez said. “He's all heart. Let's put him in the game and let him fight the whole way around.”

Essential Quality and Rock Your World slammed into one another at the start of the race, taking both out of their element and leaving them near the rear of the field racing toward the clubhouse turn. Meanwhile, Velazquez sent Medina Spirit straight to the lead, tracked by Soup and Sandwich through an opening quarter in 23.09 seconds.

Mandaloun got a perfect inside trip in third position alongside Helium, while Hot Rod Charlie was forwardly-placed as well. Jockey Luis Saez guided juvenile champion Essential Quality forward to take up sixth on the far outside, as much as five paths off the rail down the backstretch.

Medina Spirit continued under a confident ride from Velazquez, ticking off fractions of 46.70 seconds and 1:11.21 for six furlongs, not overly fast for the classic distance. Mandaloun and Hot Rod Charlie were both taking closer aim as Medina Spirit led through the final turn, as was the 5-wide Essential Quality. Velazquez held Medina Spirit well off the inside fence as the pair turned for home in front.

Mandaloun got first run on Medina Spirit, and Hot Rod Charlie was alongside him. Essential Quality made his move as well, making it a four-wide rush across the track from the eighth pole.

Leading group from left to right: Essential Quality, Hot Rod Charlie (red shadow roll), Mandaloun (pink cap), Medina Spirit (red cap), and O Besos (slightly behind leading four) at the sixteenth pole in the 147th Kentucky Derby

Despite everything that was against him, from his bargain-basement purchase price to the atypically humble opinion expressed by his Hall of Fame trainer leading up to the race, Medina Spirit dug deep and delivered the garland of roses to his connections.

Mandaloun and Florent Geroux, rebounding off a flat sixth-place effort in the Louisiana Derby, were hardly disgraced in second, while Hot Rod Charlie fought all the way to the wire as well to finish third, beaten just a length. Essential Quality, who perhaps had the longest trip of the 19-horse field, was also beaten just a length by the winner in finishing fourth.

The full order of finish was as follows: Medina Spirit, Mandaloun, Hot Rod Charlie, Essential Quality, O Besos, Midnight Bourbon, Keepmeinmind, Helium, Known Agenda, Highly Motivated, Sainthood, Like The King, Bourbonic, Hidden Stash, Brooklyn Strong, Super Stock, Rock Your World, Dynamic One, and Soup and Sandwich.

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Malathaat Exits Gutsy Oaks Victory In ‘Excellent’ Condition

“Excellent.”

That was trainer Todd Pletcher's all-encompassing answer to the question of Malathaat's condition on the morning after her gutsy run and neck victory in the Grade I Longines Kentucky Oaks Saturday at Churchill Downs.

With a national television audience taking it in, the well-made daughter of Curlin overcame early troubles, took rider John Velazquez's cues at all points and then dug down deep to win a photo finish and $713,000 in the 147th “Run for the Lilies.”

The Shadwell Stable miss now is a perfect five for five in her brief racing career, has three graded stakes on her ledger and is well on her way to millionaire status ($953,000) with a very bright future ahead.

The conditioner wasn't sure yet what the shipping plans were for his star 3-year-old miss. He said the outcome of events Saturday (read Kentucky Derby) for his four star colts would play a big factor into who, where and when would be on the road from his potent string.

“You'd like to think with a filly like (Malathaat) you can be thinking Breeders' Cup (at Del Mar in November),” Pletcher said. “But we've got a long way to go before we get there.”

SEARCH RESULTS – Trainer Chad Brown said Klaravich Stables' Search Results was a tired filly Sunday morning but was none the worse for wear after a heartbreaking and ultra-game second by a neck in the Oaks.

“We checked her out this morning and she looks fine,” Brown said. “She came back good and will ride back to New York on Monday. Right now, we'll look at the (Grade 1) Acorn and Coaching Club American Oaks; those are the two most likely things we'll discuss,” Brown said.

Search Results saw her unbeaten streak end at three but lost nothing in defeat while battling the undefeated Malathaat through the stretch. The daughter of Flatter tracked early leader and second-choice Travel Column 3-wide throughout under Irad Ortiz Jr., made first run off the far turn, and refused to yield to the winner.

“It was a huge race,” Brown said. “I watched the replay a couple of times and I thought Irad used good judgement. It was just the way it unfolded, she was parked out a little bit, and I would have preferred that we were right next to Travel Column and saved a little bit more ground on both turns it may have helped reserve a little bit of fuel. That said, the winner broke a little tardy and had to be used and was pitched out following me just as wide, so she won obviously fair and square.”

Brown was also quick to applaud Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, who gave the winner a flawless ride, while showing a little gamesmanship as well.

“It was typical Johnny fashion,” Brown said. “He rode so smart to follow us, then floated us down to the inside, which is his patented move. It was a smart move. And it was a winning move. She just had a little more and she's a really good horse.”

Sitting back in his office chair in Barn 25, Brown looked back on the last 10-12 days and summarized the proceedings, while admitting the end result might have been right in front of everyone all along.

“At the end of the day, as I've learned with the Oaks and the Derby, there's a big buildup and these are fun races to analyze,” Brown said. “Then you throw into the mix that this is one of the only events where the media is actually watching these horses train every day. And there's a lot of different scenarios and projected paces and trips and opinions, and it's great. But at the end of the day, a lot of times in these big races, when you look at them the next day, it wasn't too hard to figure out; the two undefeated fillies threw down in the lane and that was the way it was probably the way it was supposed to be.”

As for the prospect of facing Malathaat again, Brown took a bit more stoic approach, while noting both fillies might go down a different path this summer, with Saratoga's 1 1/8-mile Coaching Club and 1 ¼-mile Alabama on the calendar.

“I think I'd be foolish to say I'm looking forward to running against her,” Brown joked. “I don't know if you ever want to run against great horses, especially if you have one of your own. I read this stuff sometimes, and I'm not one of these bravado guys that say 'I'm looking forward to a rematch.' I appreciate the sport, and I look forward to the challenges, but I've got a really good horse and there are races out there for all of us. And looking at Malathaat and the schedule going forward, it looks like she won't have any trouble beyond this (distance), like in the Alabama. I don't really see that in our filly's future. Coming in, we thought 1 1/8 miles was fine for our filly, and if you take the winner out, she was well clear of the others. But I don't know if Search Results will relish a mile and a quarter, so they might separate at that point. The mile and an eighth races though, I wouldn't hesitate to run her in any race I saw fit, regardless of who was running, and I say that with the utmost respect to the others.”

WILL'S SECRET – Trainer Dallas Stewart simply described his feelings of Will's Secret's third-place finish in Friday's Longines Kentucky Oaks as, “Proud.”

Stewart reported that he and owner Willis Horton will look for additional races down the road for the 3-year-old filly.

CLAIRIERE/PAULINE'S PEARL – Both of Stonestreet Stables' homebreds Clairiere and Pauline's Pearl, who were fourth and eighth, respectively, came out of the Oaks in good order and will be given a brief freshening, according to trainer Steve Asmussen's assistant Scott Blasi.

TRAVEL COLUMN/COACH – Trainer Brad Cox reported both of his Kentucky Oaks entrants Travel Column and Coach exited the 1 1/8-mile race in fine fettle.

Travel Column dueled on the lead until fading in mid-stretch while Coach ran an enigmatic ninth.

“(Travel Column) relaxed well on the front end but just didn't have that final push to continue on. I'm still not sure what ended up happening with Coach but we'll regroup and look for more options down the road.”

MILLEFEUILLE – Trainer Bill Mott said that Juddmonte's Millefeuille was fine Saturday morning, a day after finishing sixth in the Oaks after a wide trip all the way through the 1 1/8-mile test.

“There will be a race for her,” Mott said. “The first two (Malathaat and Search Results) were clearly the best yesterday. She may be able to compete with those with a good trip.”

The day was not a total loss for the Mott barn as Obligatory, who served as Millefeuille's workmate prior to the Oaks, won the Eight Belles (G2) with a last-to-first run. “We thought Obligatory is as good as the other one.”

MARACUJA – Beach Haven Thoroughbreds' Maracuja exited her seventh-place finish in the Oaks in good order and will eye a couple of Saratoga grade 1 races later this summer, according to trainer Rob Atras.

“She cooled out really good and last night she was good and relaxed when we left and ate up as well,” Atras said. “We'll go back to Belmont and regroup a little bit. We'd like to look at races like the Coaching Club American Oaks and Alabama at Saratoga.”

Maracuja was Atras' first starter in the Oaks, and while she may have been 37-1 on the toteboard, the daughter of Honor Code acquitted herself nicely in what was her first start away from Aqueduct.

“She ran well, I can't knock her at all,” Atras said. “We were happy to be here but we also wanted to run well, and I think she did that. She broke a little slow and that cost her some tactical position. I really think, in the Oaks and Derby, having watched them, you need to have a horse with tactical speed and she doesn't quite have that like those top fillies. But she's still learning and developing and I really think she's got a bright future.”

CRAZY BEAUTIFUL – Phoenix Thoroughbred LTD's Crazy Beautiful received a superficial cut to her left front leg during Friday's Oaks, in which she finished 10th.

“She'll be fine. It won't have any impact on her,” said Greg Geier, assistant to trainer Kenny McPeek. The team will regroup and figure out where the filly and King Fury, a scratch Friday from the Derby after he spiked a temperature, race next.

MORAZ – The dark daughter of Empire Maker reported back to Barn 37 late Saturday afternoon none the worse for wear following her front-running, but unplaced finish in the $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. The filly lay second for nearly a mile in the mile and one-eighth Grade I headliner, but couldn't sustain her bid under rider Flavien Prat.

“She came out of it well,” reported assistant trainer Justin Curran. “She ate up last night and is feeling fine this morning.”

Curran wasn't sure of head trainer Michael McCarthy's shipping plans.

“She'll go back to (Southern) California (McCarthy's base) at some point but I'm not quite sure when,” Curran said.

PASS THE CHAMPAGNE – Pass the Champagne emerged from her 12th-place finish in the Kentucky Oaks in good order and was being hand walked around the barn Saturday morning by her trainer George Weaver.

“She's good,” Weaver said. “We'll get her home and make next race plans from there.”

COMPETITIVE SPEED – John Minchello's Competitive Speed is scheduled to return to her home base at Gulfstream Park on Sunday after exiting the Oaks in good order for trainer Javier Gonzalez.

No specific race has been targeted for a return to the races according to Gonzalez.

“The result was not what I wanted but it was a good experience,” Gonzalez said. “I always learn, so let's see what happens next time.”

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The Sun Shines Bright On Kentucky Derby Day In Louisville: Scratches, Odds And Statistics

For the first time since 2015, there will be no rain falling on the Twin Spires of Churchill Downs for a Kentucky Derby held on its traditional date in Louisville, Ky., on the first Saturday in May.

The 2020 Run for the Roses was contested under clear skies and a fast track on Sept. 5, with no fans in the grandstand due to the coronavirus pandemic that caused track officials to delay the race. A limited number of tickets are being sold for this year's renewal.

Dawn broke cool but clear, with temperatures expected to reach 73 degrees by the 6:57 p.m. ET post time for the 147th running of the Derby. Forecast calls for sunny skies throughout the day, the first mostly sunny Derby day in May since 2005.

First post for the 14-race card is 10:30 a.m. ET. The Derby is the 12th race.

There was one scratch announced on Friday for the Derby, with Kenny McPeek having to withdraw King Fury (No. 16) due to a fever and elevated white blood cell count. This year's Derby, thus, will run with 19 starters.

Other scratches on the Derby day card announced at 8 a.m. Saturday: race 2, the also eligibles (Nos. 13 through 16); race 3, Harvard (No. 1); race 4, the also eligibles (13-16); race 8, the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile Stakes, Ultimate Badger (No. 2); race 10, the Grade 1 Churchill Downs Stakes, Attachment Rate (No. 6), who ran in Friday's Alysheba Stakes, finishing sixth; race 12, the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, King Fury (No. 16); race 13, Triple Tap (No. 6, a half brother to American Pharoah), Santa Cruiser (No. 10), Shadow Matter No. 1A).

NBCSN will air Derby coverage from noon until 2:30 p.m. ET, with the NBC network picking up coverage from 2:30-7:30 p.m. Coverage is also available to stream live on NBCSports.com and on the NBC Sports app.

This will be the second year Churchill Downs officials are using a new starting gate that can accommodate up to 20 horses. Prior to 2020, an auxiliary gate was used to start 20-horse Derby fields, with 14 runners in the main gate and up to six in the auxiliary gate.

The winningest post position since a starting gate was first used in 1930 is No. 5, with 10 victories from 91 starts, the most recent being Always Dreaming in 2017. Next is post one, with eight wins from 91 starts, the most recent being Ferdinand in 1986.

Win bet odds for the Kentucky Derby (as of 9 a.m. ET) are:

1. Known Agenda, 16-1
2. Like the King, 54-1
3. Brooklyn Strong, 54-1
4. Keepmeinmind, 53-1
5. Sainthood, 42-1
6. O Besos, 44-1
7. Mandalounn, 40-1
8. Medina Spirit, 15-1
9. Hot Rod Charlie, 7-1
10. Midnight Bourbon, 15-1
11. Dynamic One, 45-1
12. Helium, 51-1
13. Hidden Stash, 39-1
14. Essential Quality, 6-5
15. Rock Your World, 9-2
16. King Fury SCRATCHED
17. Highly Motivated, 16-1
18. Super Stock, 46-1
19. Soup and Sandwich, 30-1
20. Bourbonic, 33-1.

Essential Quality was installed the 2-1 morning line favorite, but his odds plunged on Friday after James “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, a well-known horse owner and furniture store owner from Houston, Texas, made a $500,000 win bet on the gray colt by Tapit. McIngvale said he will be betting between $2 million and $4 million as insurance against a promotion he's doing that will refund mattress purchases if the Derby favorite wins.

Favorites won six consecutive Derbies, from 2013-18, with 4-1 favorite Improbable running fourth in 2019 and 7-10 favorite Tiz the Law second in the delayed Derby of 2020.

Brad Cox, the Eclipse Award-winning trainer of 2020, will be saddling his first Derby starters in Essential Quality and Mandaloun. Cox is a Louisville native who grew up in the shadow of the Twin Spires.

Trainer Bob Baffert will sent out Medina Spirit in an attempt for a seventh Kentucky Derby victory from 34 starts. That would make the Hall of Fame conditioner the winningest trainer in Derby history. Baffert is currently tied with another Hall of Famer, Ben Jones, who won six Derbies from 11 starters. (Read more about “Plain Ben” Jones here.)

At the other end of the spectrum is Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, who has the unfortunate distinction of saddling the most Kentucky Derby starters – 21 – without a victory. He will be represented by Midnight Bourbon and Souper Stock.

John Velazquez is the winningest Derby jockey among this year's riders, with three from 22 mounts. He'll ride Medina Spirit. Javier Castellano, who rides Highly Motivated for trainer Chad Brown, has the most Derby mounts without a victory among active riders. Dating back to 2005, Castellano carries an 0-for-14 record into this year's Derby dating

Sixteen of the 19 runners were bred in Kentucky, with the other three Florida-breds.

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Malathaat Guts Out Emotional Victory In Kentucky Oaks

It was an emotional Friday under the Twin Spires for members of the global racing and breeding operation Shadwell Stable. The organization's founder, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, died on March 24, 2021, just five weeks before the running of the 2021 Kentucky Oaks.

The rangy bay filly with a wide star on her head may have understood the extra significance of the day. Malathaat, a daughter of Curlin out of Grade 1 winner Dreaming of Julia, was undefeated entering the fillies' classic for trainer Todd Pletcher.

This afternoon at Churchill Downs, Malathaat (5-2) faced a field of 12 other sophomore fillies all vying for the coveted garland of lilies. At the head of the lane, there were three across the track putting on a show for 41,472 fans at Churchill Downs.: Malathaat on the outside, frontrunner Travel Column (7-2) at the rail, and the also undefeated Search Results (5-1) between them.

Try as they might, neither of those rivals could get by Malathaat and John Velazquez. Not on this day. They brought home a first U.S. Classic victory for Shadwell, carrying the white and blue colors across the line a neck in front of Search Results. Malathaat completed nine furlongs over the fast main track in 1:48.99.

“It's just fantastic for our whole operation, such a big lift,” said Rick Nichols, Vice President and General Manager of Shadwell Stable. “I know in my heart he saw her win. He loved racing too much to miss this one.”

After the wire, Search Results' jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. reached over to congratulate Velazquez with a pat on the back.

Irad Ortiz, right, congratulates John Velazquez, left, after his Kentucky Oaks win aboard Malathaat.

Malathaat's triumph marks the fourth Kentucky Oaks win for Hall of Fame nominee Todd Pletcher, and the second for Velazquez. Velazquez and Pletcher teamed to win the Oaks in 2004 with Ashado, as well as the 2017 Kentucky Derby with Always Dreaming. Pletcher's other Oaks victories came with Princess of Sylmar in 2013 and Rags to Riches in 2007.

The victory puts Pletcher and Velazquez in position to make history Saturday in the $3 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). No trainer since Ben Jones in 1952 has won the Oaks and Derby in the same year. Jones also did it in 1949 and Dick Thompson did it in 1933.

Seven riders have won the Oaks and Derby in the same year with the most recent being Calvin Borel in 2009.

Bumped from each side at the start, Malathaat looked as though she'd be shuffled back to the rear of the field. Instead, her Hall of Fame jockey sent her through a narrow hole to be three-wide in sixth position around the clubhouse turn.

Up front, Travel Column set a mild pace of :23.60 and :47.47, a half-length ahead of Moraz and Search Results. Pauline's Pearl got a cozy spot against the rail in fourth, while Malathaat was able to secure the outside position in fifth for the run up the backstretch. After six furlongs in 1:11.31, both Search Results and Malathaat were winding up and bearing down on Travel Column.

Search Results and Travel Column appeared to bump one another at the head of the lane, while Malathaat stayed in the clear in about the four-path. Despite her wide trip early in the race, Velazquez allowed Malathaat to drift in as Search Results did, the pair ending up against the rail with Malathaat on the outside. In the final eighth of a mile, Malathaat was all heart to fend off Search Results in the shadow of the wire.

“She got away from there just a bit slow, but Johnny (Velazquez) moved her up and got her in a much better position,” Pletcher said. “He had to lose some ground and go wide to do it, but it was the right thing to do. She wants a target to run at and she got one here. Delighted with the outcome.”

Malathaat was a neck in front of Search Results at the finish. It was three lengths back to Will's Secret in third, just a nose in front of late-running Clairiere. The remaining order of finish was: Travel Column, Millefeuille, Maracuja, Pauline's Pearl, Coach, Crazy Beautiful, Moraz, Pass the Champagne, and Competitive Speed. Ava's Grace was scratched earlier in the week.

Chad Brown, trainer of runner-up Search Results, said: “I'm so proud of the filly and the way she ran. She put it all out there on the track for us and you can't ask for anything more than that. She ran her eyeballs out, she really did. She battled all the way to the end and we got beat by a really good filly. She delivered and hopefully we'll get one of these one day.”

The winner was bred in Kentucky by Stonestreet Thoroughbreds, who campaigned her dam, Dreaming of Julia (A.P. Indy), with Pletcher to earnings of $874,500. Malathaat is the second foal out of the mare, and commanded a final bid of $1.05 million from Shadwell at the Keeneland September Yearling sale.

She broke her maiden at first asking, won a listed stakes race at Aqueduct, and then the G2 Demoiselle to cap her juvenile season. Malathaat returned off a four-month layoff to post a gutsy win in the G1 Ashland, and now the Kentucky Oaks victory has the filly's record standing at 5-for-5, with earnings of over $1.1 million.

Malathaat (Curlin) wins the Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs on 4.30.21. John Velazquez up, Todd Pletcher trainer, Shadwell Stables owner.

Shadwell's legacy began in 1980, when Sheikh Hamdan founded his racing and breeding operation.

It peaked in the U.S. with an Eclipse Award as outstanding owner in 2007. That season was led by Hall of Famer Invasor, who won the Dubai World Cup and Grade 1 Donn Handicap that season.

However, the Shadwell operation's U.S. interests will probably be best remembered for its 2006 campaign, when Invasor secured Horse of the Year honors with victories in the Breeders' Cup Classic, Whitney Handicap, and Pimlico Special. That season also saw Sheikh Hamdan win his first U.S. classic when Jazil executed his signature closing move to win the Belmont Stakes.

While Shadwell's operation was successful in the U.S., its true power lied in Europe, and especially in the U.K. The stable was represented by two winners of the English 2000 Guineas (Nashwan in 1989 and Haafhd in 2004), and two Epsom Derby winners (Nashwan in the same year and Erhaab in 1994).

Sheikh Hamdan also had five winners of the English 1000 Guineas and three Epsom Oaks winners. He was also a regular presence at the prestigious Royal Ascot meet, where he earned the meet's leading owner title in 2020 with six winners.

Shadwell has earned Great Britain's leading owner title on five occasions, most recently in 2020. Shadwell won the Irish Derby in 1990 with Salsabil, the Irish 2000 Guineas with Awtaad in 2016, and five runnings of the Irish 1000 Guineas from 1985 to 2010.

In his native U.A.E., Sheikh Hamdan won the signature Dubai World Cup on two occasions, first winning it with Almutawakel in 1999, then taking it again with Invasor in 2007.

Shadwell also had an extensive Southern Hemisphere operation, particularly in Australia, where Sheikh Hamdan won the Melbourne Cup on two occasions: At Talaq in 1986, and Jeune in 1994.

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