2012 Eclipse Award Champion Two-Year-Old Male
February 27 - Shanghai Bobby
Question: who is the best son of Harlan's Holiday?
Well, before you answer that question, maybe we need to decide what is the criteria for "BEST". Shucks, Harlan's Holiday son, Into Mischief, is on the trajectory to being one of the greatest stallions of all time but if we are looking at "BEST" as being their careers on the race track, I would nominate Shanghai Bobby as potentially the best son of Harlan's Holiday. *Bred by my friends at Stonehaven Steadings Jeff & Chiquita Reddoch and Aiden & Leah O'Meara . . .
Let me argue for the defense of this outlandish statement. Shanghai Bobby was the or an Eclipse Award winner as a 2-year-old Champion following his win as the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita. If we are talking race records . . . well, you see my point.
Where is he now? Japan, and I think it's not just to get a good son of Harlan's Holiday, but I think the Japanese have a soft spot in their hearts for near black horses with a blaze. I think it goes back to the greatest stallion ever in Japan, a horse who has shaped the breed in Japan to this day and his sons, daughters, and following generations dominate racing in Japan for almost the past 40 years, Sunday Silence.
Look at pictures of Sunday Silence and then pictures of Shanghai Bobby and there’s more than a passing resemblance. Oh course, Sunday Silence is by Halo and Harlan's Holiday is a great grandson of a Halo daughter. So, one example . . .
How about when Ken Ramsey was sending two horses to stud duty. One was Kitten's Joy, and the other was Roses In May. Roses In May is a near black horse with a blaze – resembling, yep, Sunday Silence. The Japanese could have possibly had Kitten's Joy who went on to be an outstanding sire, but Japan wanted Roses In May who is by Devil's Bag, another grandson of Halo. See a theme here?
Anyhow, I wonder if given the choice of Shanghai Bobby or Into Mischief in those early years if the Japanese might have chosen differently.
Regardless, I LOVE Shanghai Bobby as a racehorse and as a beautiful near black subject to paint. Just dancing through history playing the "What if?" game.
Shanghai Bobby was the brilliant champion two year old colt of 2012, an undefeated juvenile who looked like he might be a future Triple Crown contender. He was foaled in 2010, a son of the stallion Harlan's Holiday out of the mare Steelin'. He raced for Starlight Racing, the partnership group led by Jack and Laurie Wolf, and he was trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher. Rosie Napravnik was his regular jockey, and the bay colt simply did not lose a race during his entire career.
Shanghai Bobby broke his maiden in the spring of 2012 and quickly began climbing the ladder. He captured the Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga in late summer, then headed to Belmont Park and won the Champagne Stakes. With those Grade 1 wins on his resume, he pointed to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita as the championship target. Todd Pletcher had him primed and ready, and the colt did not disappoint.
The 2012 Breeders' Cup Juvenile was a thrilling battle right to the wire. Shanghai Bobby went head and head with He's Had Enough down the long Santa Anita stretch, and the two colts hit the line together. The photo went Shanghai Bobby's way by a nose, sealing his perfect five for five season and a championship. He was named the 2012 Eclipse Award Champion 2-Year-Old Male, and he headed into his sophomore year as the early favorite for the Kentucky Derby.
Sadly, foot problems forced Shanghai Bobby off the Kentucky Derby trail and ultimately ended his racing career before he could ever start as a three year old. He retired with five wins from five starts and was sent to stud at Ashford Stud, the Coolmore operation in Kentucky. He sired several stakes winners, including the brilliant sprinter Shancelot, before later being exported to Korea to continue his stallion career. Shanghai Bobby is remembered as one of the most talented two year olds of the 2010s, a perfect record champion whose career flashed brightly but ended far too soon.
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