Grade 2-winning millionaire Sir Shackleton (Miswaki) was represented by his first
winner as a sire Thursday night when Sir Fox captured the 5TH race at Prairie
Meadows. The bay colt shot straight to the lead from his rail post and held by
at least a head throughout before eventually pulling away to score by a length
on the wire under Alfredo Juarez Jr. Trained by owner H. Ray Ashford Jr., the
juvenile finished up five furlongs on the fast dirt in :58 2/5 while making his
third career start.
Sir Shackleton took two tries to break his maiden, getting the job done at
Gulfstream Park in March of 2004. The Nick Zito runner proceeded to go on a
three-race win streak that culminated in the Derby Trial S. (G3) at Churchill
Downs. He ran sixth in the Preakness S. (G1), then took a slight break before
returning to finish third in the Dwyer S. (G2). The chestnut got back to winning
form when adding the West Virginia Derby (G3) to his line, and rounded out his
sophomore campaign with a fifth in the Travers S. (G1) and a fourth in the
Indiana Derby (G2).
Sir Shackleton’s best season came as a four-year-old, when he captured the
Richter Scale Sprint Championship H. (G2) in a track-record 1:21 3/5 at
Gulfstream and placed in such prestigious events as the Woodward S. (G1),
Whitney H. (G1) and Metropolitan H. (G1). He was also fourth in the Suburban H.
(G1), Commonwealth S. (G2) and Churchill Downs H. (G2) during that year. The
game chestnut just made two starts as a five-year-old, setting a new track
record at Tampa Bay Downs in 1:22 1/5 when scoring in the Super S. and then
rallying for sixth while making his turf debut and career finale in the Lure S.
He retired with a 20-7-2-3 lifetime mark having banked $1,051,500 in earnings.
The second foal out of Grade 1-placed Naskra Colors (Star de Naskra), Sir
Shackleton has a pair of Bernardini half-brothers, a juvenile filly and a 2010
colt. His family includes the likes of Grade 2 heroine Castle Royale (*Slady
Castle).
The nine-year-old stallion stands for a $2,500 live foal fee at Dana Point Farm near
Lenhartsville,
Pennsylvania.