Shanghaied Roo stuck on rail in Bashford Manor

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Shanghaied Roo was the first 2-year-old colt to win in Kentucky this year, and Bret Calhoun is hoping he’ll be the latest when the curtain comes down Saturday on the Churchill Downs spring meet.

Shanghaied Roo is one of 13 colts and geldings in the 117th running of the Grade 3, $100,000 Bashford Manor Stakes, the last of three stakes on a 12-race program. Bred and owned by Tom Durant, Shanghaied Roo will be ridden by Gabriel Saez when he breaks from the inside post in the six-furlong race.

“The colt is coming into this the right way,” Calhoun said, referring to six local works since mid-May. “Drawing the 1 hole usually isn’t ideal for a young horse, but if I had to pick one to overcome it, he’s it. He’s pretty tough mentally.”

Shanghaied Roo sped to a 2 1/4-length debut triumph on April 6, opening day of the Keeneland spring meet, and was one of the favorites for the Kentucky Juvenile during Kentucky Derby week. But the colt was scratched as the field approached the gate when he “tied up,” or had muscle cramps.

“It was a perfect storm, unfortunately,” said Calhoun. “It was a combination of the crowd and some nerves and the warmer weather that day. It was disappointing because he’s always been a sensible colt. We treated him after that, and he bounced back real quick.”

If not Shanghaied Roo, then Tales of Chaucer (post 9, Julien Leparoux) could be the Bashford Manor favorite, although trainer Norm Casse was undecided this week whether to withhold the colt in favor of the July 14 Rockville Centre against statebreds at Belmont Park. In his lone start, the Forty Tales colt earned a field-high 84 Beyer Speed Figure in a June 1 maiden win at Belmont.

Other Bashford Manor considerations include Weiland (post 2, Carlos Villasana), who will be out to prove that his 19-1 upset in the Kentucky Juvenile was no fluke; Sir Truebadour (post 4, Ricardo Santana Jr.), fourth in the Tremont at Belmont earlier this month following a sharp debut score at Churchill for Steve Asmussen; and Toothless Wonder (post 11, Mario Gutierrez), a supplementary entry whose California connections won the Grade 1 Stephen Foster here two Saturdays ago with Pavel.

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The Bashford Manor goes as the 11th race on a card that starts at 12:45 p.m. Eastern. The Bashford Manor (post, 5:56) and the two other closing-day stakes, the $100,000 Debutante and $75,000 Kelly’s Landing, all are part of a Single 6 sequence (races 7-12) that carries a mandatory payout of the jackpot pool, which stood at $55,538 when the final three-day stretch of the 38-day meet began Thursday evening.

In recent years, Churchill has run its final spring card at night, but officials opted instead to hold the night card earlier this month. After Saturday, live action on this circuit moves the following afternoon to Ellis Park in western Kentucky for a 31-day summer meet that runs through Sept. 3.

Debutante (race 7, 3:50)

The filly counterpart to the Bashford Manor, the Debutante appears to have less depth in its lineup of nine, but it shapes up nonetheless as a competitive race.

Durant, Calhoun, and Saez will team with a top contender in Shanghai Rain (post 9), a maiden winner last out over the Churchill surface. Her main opposition figures to be O’Keeffe (post 4, Jose Valdivia Jr.), in from Chicago for Larry Rivelli, and Restless Rider (post 5, Brian Hernandez Jr.), whose trainer, Kenny McPeek, won the Debutante last year with Sunny Skies.

This is the 118th running of the six-furlong Debutante, a longtime Derby Day feature moved to later in the meet in 1982.

Kelly’s Landing (race 10, 5:26)

Chief Cicatriz was assigned the outside post in a field of 10 older horses in the seven-furlong Kelly’s Landing, and is a certain favorite after earning a gaudy 110 Beyer in winning the Grade 3 Aristides under the lights here June 2.

Trainer Shawn Davis said Chief Cicatriz incurred a minor foot bruise in a workout last weekend, but he felt the injury was “99 percent behind us” as the Kelly’s Landing approached.

“He likes this track, and this should set us up for some bigger races,” said Davis.

The main threats figure to be Mr. Crow (post 3, Joe Rocco Jr.), Warrior’s Club (post 6, Saez), and C Z Rocket (post 9, Shaun Bridgmohan).