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Originally Posted by philcski
AWESOME performance. I think he's got a huge shot in the BC Mile.
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Agreed!
A UAE press release....
Shakis shatters course record with Bernard Baruch win
Shakis, who raced 11 times in the UAE, has found a new lease of life in the USA evidenced by his win in the Bernard Baruch (copyright Adam Coglianese/NYRA)
After being mightily tested in several of Dubai’s best races over the past three seasons, Shakis uncorked a career-best performance to eclipse a 34-year-old Saratoga Race Course record and win the 49th running of the US$200,000 Bernard Baruch Handicap (Gr.2) on Saturday.
Bred in Ireland and raced by Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum, Shakis broke from the one post and saved ground along the rail during the entire 1 1/8-mile race under jockey Alan Garcia.
With pacesetting Grade 3 winner Ballast taking a lead into the stretch after cutting demanding fractions of :23.10, :47.10 and 1:10.11 on a dried-out course rated firm, Shakis bulled his way through a narrow hole at the hedge and then accelerated to a three-quarter length score in 1:45.33.
The time bested the Mellon Turf Course record of 1:45.40 set by Tentam in 1973 and equaled by Waya in 1978.
Big Prairie rallied to gain second by a head over Grade 3 winner Drum Major, who held a 1 ˝-length advantage over the tiring Ballast. Favored Cosmonaut, who carried 122 pounds and gave six pounds to Shakis, dropped back from second through most of the race to fifth.
“He’s a real professional seven-year-old,” said winning trainer Kiaran McLaughlin of Shakis, a son of Machiavellian out of the Nashwan mare Tawaaded. “He has done everything right in the past. I was happy he was willing, and he had plenty to get through the inside.”
“I wanted to put him in the best position I could,” reported a jubilant Garcia, 21, who counted the victory as among the most significant of his career. “I was not intimidated by being behind horses.”
Shakis has raced 11 times in the United Arab Emirates after beginning his career in France, where he twice placed in Group 3 stakes. He won a handicap during the 2006 Dubai International Racing Carnival and finished second by a nose to Wolf Whistle in the ’05 Al Rashidiya (Gr.3).
Although he had never won a stakes prior to Saturday, Shakis was good enough to be entered in the 2005 Dubai Duty Free (Gr.1) and in the ’06 Dubai World Cup (Gr.1).
In three races at Nad al Sheba during the 2007 Dubai International Racing Carnival, Shakis did not finish better than fourth. However, his career has taken an entirely different turn in the United States, where he has raced four times and won twice since late May, all while treated with the anti-bleeder medication Salix.
On June 9, he finished only a head behind Breeders’ Cup Turf (Gr.1) winner Better Talk Now and multiple Grade 1 winner English Channel while third in the Manhattan Handicap (Gr.1), demonstrating his quality.
With the $120,000 first place-prize from the Bernard Baruch, Shakis boosted his career earnings to $496,889. He has won six of 27 career starts and placed seven times.