NEWS
Midshipman wins champion two-year-old male award
Posted: Monday, January 26, 2009 7:51 PM
MIDSHIPMAN
Benoit & Associates photo
by Jeff Lowe
In August, trainer Bob Baffert told owner-breeder Robert McNair that Midshipman had as much talent as any horse he had trained for Stonerside Stable since five-time Grade 1 winner Congaree retired in 2004.
Midshipman made up plenty of ground on Congaree over the next two months, winning the Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) and Del Mar Futurity (G1) and finishing a close second in the Norfolk Stakes (G1).
The only twist in Baffert’s assessment came a few days before the Del Mar Futurity, when McNair and his wife, Janice, finalized a deal to sell nearly all of the Stonerside roster, both racing and breeding stock as well as land, to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum.
Midshipman raced in the colors of Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley Stable in the Juvenile and set himself apart in the Dubai ruler’s quest for glory in America’s signature race, the Kentucky Derby (G1).
The Unbridled’s Song colt is Sheikh Mohammed’s first champion two-year-old male in North America, and he will be routed through the United Arab Emirates this winter to prepare for the first led of the Triple Crown.
Baffert turned Midshipman over to Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin Racing operation in November. Following a stint in quarantine, he was shipped to Godolphin’s winter base outside Dubai in mid-December to resume his career with trainer Saeed bin Suroor.
Jeff Lowe is a Thoroughbred Times senior writer
| 2008 record |
|
|
|
|
| Starts |
Wins |
Second |
Third |
Earnings |
| 4 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
$1,380,200 |
