When 2013 Juvenile Champion Shared Belief faces the starter in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday, November 1, he will be doing more than
just seeking his eighth consecutive career win. The 3-year old gelding will
also be seeking to make history by becoming just the second Classic winner to
earn a victory in the championship race while remaining undefeated.
In the entire 30 year history of the Breeders’ Cup
Championships, only the great Zenyatta
has won the Classic while undefeated. In 2009, the daughter of Street Cry faced
11 rivals in the Classic at Oak Tree at Santa Anita. Utilizing her patented
stretch run, the big mare passed Gio Ponti in late stretch to win by a length and run her career record to a
perfect 14-for-14. The very next year, Zenyatta once again put her perfect
record on the line, looking to make it 20-for-20, when she traveled east to
once again face 11 rivals in the Classic, this time at Churchill Downs. Racing
in dead last for a good portion of the race, Zenyatta unleashed her stretch run
only to see it fall short for the first time. Unable to run down Blame, the champion mare finished
second by a head and showcased her greatness as much in defeat as she ever did
in victory. She retired with a 20: 19-1-0 record and wins in the Breeders’ Cup
Ladies’ Classic and the Breeders’ Cup Classic as well as her infamous runner-up
2010 Classic effort.
Shared Belief has a long way to go before he can be
mentioned in the same category as Zenyatta, but he is well on his way to
leaving a legacy as storied as hers. Named the Eclipse winner for Champion
2-Year Old Male in 2013 after finishing the year a perfect 3-for-3, including
wins in the G3 Hollywood Prevue and the G1 CashCall Futurity, the gelding was
at the top of the list for early Kentucky Derby favorites. Unfortunately, he
missed both the Triple Crown trail and the Triple Crown itself due to lingering
foot issues. He made it back to the races in late May and quickly reeled off
four more victories, the most impressive of which were wins over his elders in
both the G1 Pacific Classic and the G1 Awesome Again.
By virtue of his Pacific Classic win, Shared Belief has
proven that he is more than capable of handling the 1 ¼ mile Classic distance.
He stopped the clock in a very good 2:00.28 for Del Mar’s signature race, less
than a second off the late Dullahan’s
track record time. Shared Belief also answered any questions critics may have
had about his ability to handle traditional dirt. After making his first four
career starts on synthetics, the gelding tried dirt for the first time in the
G2 Los Alamitos Derby. The end result was a 4 ¼ length romp. Shared Belief then
showed that that win was not a fluke by getting up for a neck victory in the
Awesome Again after traveling a good deal further than most of his rivals
thanks to Sky Kingdom and Victor Espinoza floating him wide on the turns. The
Awesome Again also proved that Shared Belief would have no problem handling the
new Santa Anita surface.
Shared Belief has already answered many questions in his
short career. Can he handle dirt after racing exclusively on synthetics? Yes! Can he race successfully at the
classic distance of 1 ¼ mile? Yes! Can
he face his elders and win? Yes! But
for all the questions he’s already answered, he still has one very big question
to answer: Can he face the best horses in the world at the classic distance and
become just the second Classic winner to add their name to the list of Classic
winners and remain undefeated while doing so? With the defections of some of
the nation’s leading handicap males leading up to November 1, Shared Belief’s
chances are looking better and better. History, here comes Shared Belief!
