Shakhimat passed a test of stamina with flying colours, travelling gate-to-wire to capture Sunday’s $250,800 Coronation Futurity, at Woodbine.
Trained by Roger Attfield for owner Dan Gale, the dark bay son of Lonhro-Reggae Rose, with Emma-Jayne Wilson in the irons, dominated a field of 10 in the 1 1/8-mile test, a key event on the racing calendar for Canadian-foaled juveniles.
Shakhimat, from the inside post, set splits of :23.66 and :48.18 under pressure from Hard Catch with Scholar Athlete and Conquest Twister stalking the early pace. The field was closely bunched down the back straight with longshot Hey Bear emerging up the rail to be heard from through the turn, while Conquest Twister and Scholar Athlete were given their cues.
Wilson, sensing the pressure, shook the reins on Shakhimat for the stretch run and the colt responded with a tremendous turn of foot to burst away from the field to score a 9 3/4-length win. Conquest Twister held place over Scholar Athlete with Hey Bear up for fourth money. Shakhimat stopped the clock in 1:51.10.
A rider’s claim of foul from David Moran, aboard Hey Bear, against Alan Garcia, on Scholar Athlete, was disallowed along with Garcia’s separate claim against Patrick Husbands and runner-up Conquest Twister, all regarding traffic trouble at the top of the lane.
Wilson was keen to be forwardly placed on a Woodbine main that has played kindly to speed over the weekend.
“The way the track has been playing the past few days, we had the advantage on the inside,” said Wilson. “There were a couple horses that had shown speed in the race and as soon as we broke he was pretty keen to be there. I was happy with the position and he was doing it easy enough.
“When we straightened away, I asked him and turned him loose. I took a peak up at the Jumbotron after that eighth of a mile and I couldn’t believe the ground he’d opened up. There were some nice horses behind him. That’s a testament to how good this horse is.”
The last horse to win the Coronation Futurity and go on to win the Queen’s Plate was the Attfield trained Norcliffe who accomplished the feat in 1975-76, providing the multiple Hall of Famer with the first of a record eight Plate wins, an honour he shares with Harry Giddings Jr.
Shakhimat, a maiden winner on debut when sprinting seven furlongs over the ‘Poly’ on September 19, arrived at the Coronation Futurity from a third-place run in the grassy 1 1/16-mile Cup and Saucer Stakes, held October 11.
“He’s showed me a lot of ability, but I’ve always questioned what his best distance would be eventually. I was feeling he might be a sprinter or miler type horse,” said Attfield. “After the Cup and Saucer, I’d decided I was going to put him away until next year. I was trying to let him down and he wouldn’t let me let him down. I kept taking him to the track, and the horse was doing so well I decided to give him a go at it.”
Shakhimat, bred in Ontario by Adena Springs, banked $150,000 in victory while improving his record to 2-0-1 from three career starts.
He paid $10.80, $5.80 and $4.70, combining with Conquest Twister ($3.50, $3) for a $39.10 (1-3) exactor. A 1-3-2 triactor (Scholar Athlete, $3.60 to show) was worth $128.40, while a $1 Superfecta [1-3-2-4 (Hey Bear)] came back $1404.60.
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