Al Shaqab Racing’s Mshawish won his first Group 1 on Saturday, at Gulfstream Park, in the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap. After being boxed in while going easily, Mshawish found a gap 100m from home and got up to win by a nose. This was also a first Group 1 success in the USA for Al Shaqab Racing.
Todd Pletcher, who trains Mshawish, said: “He needs to be covered up and we were able to do that. When you have to cover one up in turf races, you have to roll the dice that you get a gap at some point. He was lucky to find one when he did, and he finished like a good horse. It was a very determined effort. He’s a really nice horse.”
Winning jockey Javier Castellano added: “It was a tough trip all the way in the race. It was very tight from the beginning all the way to the end. I never had a place to go. I had to stay patient and go from there. At some point in the race I got a little bit frustrated turning for home because I never saw any hole. Finally by the eighth pole, when I saw the hole, he went through a tiny gap and he made a big effort today. I give all the credit to the horse because the way he did it today, it was amazing. Not too many horses can do it the way he did it today.”
Mshawish is entered in the Dubai Turf, on the Saturday of the Dubai World Cup. He was fourth in this Group 1 in 2014.