He had the makings to have become one of the legendary geldings of the American turf: speed, push-button acceleration, stamina and heart. What he lacked was luck and time, and both ran out on him on December 3, 2015. Just hours after another strong workout on his way back to the races, Shared Belief was dead, a victim of colic.
Nothing ever came easily to the gelded son of Candy Ride after he won the Eclipse Award as the best American 2-year-old male of 2013. A planned Triple Crown campaign went by the wayside when he came up with a foot injury. When he got back to the races, he ripped off three straight wins, scoring dominant victories in the Los Alamitos Derby (USA-II) and Pacific Classic (USA-I) and then proving he could handle adversity by overcoming an extremely wide trip in the Awesome Again Stakes (USA-I). Luck was no lady no him in the Breeders' Cup Classic (USA-I), however; the best he could do was fourth after being turned into an equine ping-pong ball when eventual winner Bayern and runner-up Toast of New York tangled up the field coming out of the gate.
Undaunted, Shared Belief roared back into action at the winter Santa Anita meeting, After cutting back to seven furlongs and beating good 3-year-old sprinters in the Malibu Stakes (USA-I), Shared Belief threw down the gauntlet against dual Classic winner and 2014 American Horse of the Year California Chrome in the San Antonio Stakes (USA-II). Chrome ran a winning race, but Shared Belief ran a still better one, scoring a decisive victory. After that, the historic Santa Anita Handicap (USA-I) was practically a paid workout. So it was small wonder that fans were utterly shocked when Shared Belief not only didn't win the Charles Town Classic (USA-II) but didn't even finish.
It was almost a relief to find out that the race really was too bad to be true; Shared Belief had fractured a hip. It was even better to find out that the fracture was non-displaced and had a good prognosis. All the gelding needed was time...time that he turned out not to have.
This time, there won't be a comeback. All that is left are the memories of a special horse, and the shadow of greatness that might have been.
Nothing ever came easily to the gelded son of Candy Ride after he won the Eclipse Award as the best American 2-year-old male of 2013. A planned Triple Crown campaign went by the wayside when he came up with a foot injury. When he got back to the races, he ripped off three straight wins, scoring dominant victories in the Los Alamitos Derby (USA-II) and Pacific Classic (USA-I) and then proving he could handle adversity by overcoming an extremely wide trip in the Awesome Again Stakes (USA-I). Luck was no lady no him in the Breeders' Cup Classic (USA-I), however; the best he could do was fourth after being turned into an equine ping-pong ball when eventual winner Bayern and runner-up Toast of New York tangled up the field coming out of the gate.
Undaunted, Shared Belief roared back into action at the winter Santa Anita meeting, After cutting back to seven furlongs and beating good 3-year-old sprinters in the Malibu Stakes (USA-I), Shared Belief threw down the gauntlet against dual Classic winner and 2014 American Horse of the Year California Chrome in the San Antonio Stakes (USA-II). Chrome ran a winning race, but Shared Belief ran a still better one, scoring a decisive victory. After that, the historic Santa Anita Handicap (USA-I) was practically a paid workout. So it was small wonder that fans were utterly shocked when Shared Belief not only didn't win the Charles Town Classic (USA-II) but didn't even finish.
It was almost a relief to find out that the race really was too bad to be true; Shared Belief had fractured a hip. It was even better to find out that the fracture was non-displaced and had a good prognosis. All the gelding needed was time...time that he turned out not to have.
This time, there won't be a comeback. All that is left are the memories of a special horse, and the shadow of greatness that might have been.
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