William C Schettine and Dell Ridge Farm’s homebred SHAKESPEARE (Theatrical
[Ire]) came into the $750,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Invitational S. (G1) at Belmont
Park on Saturday virtually untested, but that was not the case on this occasion.
Moving to the fore three-wide entering the turn for home beneath Jerry Bailey,
Shakespeare appeared as though he was going to cruise home to an easy victory,
but the stubborn English Channel (Smart Strike) made him run every step of the
way.
By the time they hit the wire, the 4-5 Shakespeare came out a head on top,
stopping the timer in 2:27 1/5 and rewarding his backers with mutuels of $3.80,
$3 and $2.10. The colt is now perfect from five starts, boosting his bankroll to
$664,140 for conditioner Bill Mott. He was also victorious in the Belmont
Breeders’ Cup H. (G2) and Caltech H.
“I’m very thrilled, Bailey stated. “He’s the kind I get up early in the
morning for.”
French import Islero Noir (Fr) (Septieme Ciel) took the lead early and
crawled early through splits of :24 4/5, :50 3/5, 1:15 4/5 and 1:39 2/5 for the
opening mile. Ace (Ire) (Danehill) tracked that leader early and put his head in
front prior to the stretch, but his lead was short lived, as English Channel and
Shakespeare began to roll. That pair put in a thrilling run with English Channel
not relinquishing the lead until just before the wire and becoming the hard luck
loser. The runner-up gave back $4.10 and $2.40 while completing the $15.80
exacta at 5-1. Ace persevered gamely on the rail to garner third at 2-1, paying
$2.20 for the show and rounding out the $28.20 trifecta (7-3-1) another
three-quarters-of-a-length back.
Meteor Storm (Ire) (Bigstone) was next and followed by Salford City (Ire)
(Desert Sun [GB]), Alost (Fr) (Highest Honor [Fr]) and Islero Noir, while
Evening Attire (Black Tie Affair [Ire]) was withdrawn.
Shakespeare was bred in the Bluegrass State and produced from the Grade 1-winning Lady Shirl (That’s A Nice). He also has an unraced two-year-old
half-sister named Fantastic Shirl (Fantastic Light).
“To come back from six or seven lengths back off a slow pace is a strong
feat”, Mott noted. “If he’s healthy, he goes to the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1).”