Shanghai Bobby kept his record a perfect 5 for 5 in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and shot to the top of the 2013 Kentucky Derby contenders list.
Under jockey Rosie Napravnik, the heavy favorite kept close to fast fractions set by Title Contender and drew away in the final turn. Mid-stretch, the colt seemed to lose momentum when Doug O'Neil's He's Had Enough raced up on the outside to challenge. Shanghai Bobby found another gear and held him off by a head. Capo Bastone closed for third.
The Juvenile was the first Breeders' Cup win of the weekend for trainer Todd Pletcher, and his second career win in the BC Juvenile. Shanghai Bobby is sired by Harlan's Holiday and owned by Starlight Racing.
Shanghai Bobby paid $4.60 for the win.
Quotes:
Todd Pletcher (trainer, Shanghai Bobby,
1st) – “I kept going back on the Track Barron (at Belmont Park)
in his second start. He went pretty fast early, and it looked like he was in
trouble, but when horses engaged him, he fought on and found more. I was hoping
he was going to be able to do that today. But I was concerned about the
fractions. That was our strategy, to be aggressive, the way the track was
playing. We didn’t want to get shuffled back.
“It’s great to have an undefeated
2-year-old and go all the way from April to November; it’s pretty hard to do.
It’s a real feather in his cap. He’s got everything you want. He’s fast and
he’s courageous. He’s handled everything we’ve thrown at him, from 4 ½ furlongs
to 1 1/16 miles. He just keeps coming.”
Rosie Napravnik (jockey, Shanghai Bobby,
1st) – “We were in a great spot. As a matter of fact, down the
backside, I was having déjà vu of the Kentucky Oaks (win aboard Believe You
Can) and being in that golden spot. He outran the one horse (Title Contender)
way too early because once he gets to the lead, he gets a little bit lost. I
was worried at that point, because he just came to a walk. I was hoping those
horses would come up to him sooner than later. They did, and he kicked on
again. He’s a terrific horse.”
Doug O’Neill (trainer, He’s Had
Enough, 2nd) – “To
overcome all that trouble, he ran dynamite. Right to the end, I was still
thinking he was going to get there. He got beat by a nice horse.”
Mario Gutierrez (jockey, He’s Had Enough, 2nd) – “He ran
very good, but we did get shut off twice on each turn.”
John Sadler (trainer, Capo Bastone,
3rd) – “He ducked out a little on the first turn. We lost ground,
and that may have made all the difference He got a little further back than the
trip we thought we were going to get. But he ran a great race.”
Joel Rosario (jockey, Capo Bastone,
3rd) – “I was a little far back. That’s where he wanted to be. I
thought the leaders were going to come back to me, but the winner is a good
horse and just went on.”
Ramon Dominguez (jockey, Fortify, 4th) – “It was a good
trip, but on the first turn, I was wide. He gave me what he had. I just think
he lost a little too much ground. He ran all the way. I was happy with that.”
Rafael Bejarano (jockey, Power Broker, 5th) – “The number
eight (Fortify) rushed out of the gate and I tried to get position, but he went
out and pushed me way wide on the first turn. It probably cost me the race.”
Luis Contreras (jockey, Dynamic Sky,
6th) – “He ran well, but we got shut off at the quarter-pole and got
bucked around.”