Betting On Horses – Rebel With A Cause
“He has a high cruising speed,” is what trainer Dale Romans told the sports betting television audience after his star student Shackleford put in a game performance winning the 2011 Preakness Stakes betting Saturday but guess what, James Dean had a high cruising speed, too.
Shackleford, despite bobbling early, tracked pacesetter Flashpoint during the early stages of the race but that rival could not stand the heat in the kitchen and ended up dead last.
The son of Forestry took the lead at the top of the lane and repulsed the belated charge of the Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom to hold on by a half length while recording a career best 104 Beyer.
The pace was fast early but not all that quick and rider Jesus Castanon was able to slow it down after 6 furlongs and that is what won him the race. Compared to the pedestrian splits in the Kentucky Derby, they were flying on Saturday.
The splits Saturday were :22.69, :46.87, 1:12.01, with a mile time of 1:37.22 and a final destination time of 1:56.47.
In contrast, last year’s Preakness winner Lookin at Lucky tracked a 1:11.22 split at the three quarters marker to post a 102 Beyer.
After a wide debut, Shackleford graduated and took a N1X fray but was dull in the Fountain of Youth before running his eyeballs out in defeat in the Florida Derby.
At Churchill on Derby Day, Shackleford did all the work on the front end but could not sustain his speed in the drive.
Shackleford is a horse betting homebred for Mike Lauffer and William Cubbedge and the way he has stayed with his owners is an interesting tale.
Lauffer and Cubbedge liked Shackleford and wanted to keep him, but they are commercial breeders and cash flow is important. So they put him in the 2009 Keeneland September sale with a $275,000 reserve.
When the last live bid came in at $25,000 short, Shackleford became the first colt the partners ever bought back. In the past, they only would take back fillies due to their residual value for breeding.
Shackleford is out of the Unbridled mare Oatsee, which the partners purchased in 2006 for $135,000. The week they purchased Oatsee at the Keeneland January sale, one of her daughters—Baghdaria, by Royal Academy—won the Silverbulletday Stakes (gr. III).
Another of Oatsee’s daughters, Lady Joanne, would go on to win the Alabama Stakes (gr. I). Shackleford was the last foal Oatsee produced before Lauffer and Cubbedge sold her in foal to for $1.55 million in 2008.
Lauffer has an experienced eye for a horse and a proven eye to boot.
Shackleford is Lauffer’s first classic winner but the second with whom he has an association. In late 2008, Lauffer purchased a half-interest in a promising 2-year-old filly named Rachel Alexandra for $500,000.
After Rachel Alexandra won the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) Lauffer and Dolphus Morrison, her breeder, sold the filly to the late Jess Jackson’s Stonestreet Stables and Harold McCormick for $10 million. Rachel Alexandra won the 2009 Preakness and was later crowned Horse of the Year.
As far as Shackleford’s connections are concerned, know he is in very good hands.
Dale Romans is no one-hit wonder. He started training when he was 18 and he saddled his first winner in the winter of 1987.
He saddled the winner of the Secretariat Stakes several years ago, also won the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic 6 years ago and he cashed in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf 2 years ago.
His biggest win before the Preakness came when his student Roses in May cashed in the $6 million Dubai World Cup.
The Preakness winner deserves a chance to try the Belmont Stakes and with Animal Kingdom’s style, he also figures to get his chance in New York. Throw in Derby runner-up Nehro and a few new shooters and the final jewel of the Triple Crown should be very compelling.
