There was a time last year when trainer Kiaran McLaughlin believed he had a Triple Crown prospect in Shadwell Stable’s Takaful.
“He’s a son of Bernardini and with that type of pedigree you had to try to stretch him out,” he said.
A third-place finish in the Remsen Stakes (G2) was promising, but at age 3 the longer distances compounded with some quirky training habits caught up with Takaful. After dismal losses in the Grade 3 Jerome Stakes and Grade 2 Xpressbet Fountain of Youth Stakes, McLaughlin opted for Plan B.
There was a time last year when trainer Kiaran McLaughlin believed he had a Triple Crown prospect in Shadwell Stable’s Takaful.
“He’s a son of Bernardini and with that type of pedigree you had to try to stretch him out,” he said.
A third-place finish in the Remsen Stakes (G2) was promising, but at age 3 the longer distances compounded with some quirky training habits caught up with Takaful. After dismal losses in the Grade 3 Jerome Stakes and Grade 2 Xpressbet Fountain of Youth Stakes, McLaughlin opted for Plan B.
He gave the dark bay colt a four-month break, converted him into a sprinter and was rewarded Sept. 30 with an automatic spot in the TwinSpires Breeders’ Cup Sprint Nov. 4 at Del Mar.
Facing older horses for the first time, Takaful outdueled 1.30-1 favorite El Deal to prevail by a length and capture the Vosburgh Stakes at Belmont Park, a Breeders’ Cup Challenge series “Win and You’re In” race.
“From his first race, I thought he could be a grade 1 sprinter," said McLaughlin. "He’s a special horse and I’m so happy to win a Grade 1 for [owner Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum] and [Shadwell vice president/manager] Rick Nichols and all of Shadwell. They’ve all been patient.
“To win a Grade 1 with anyone is great but to win a Grade 1 against older horses with a 3-year-old is very special.”
Typically a front-runner, as he was when he finished second to Practical Joke in the Aug. 26 H. Allen Jerkens Stakes at Saratoga Race Course, Takaful showed a new dimension in tracking the pace-setting El Deal through fractions of :22.31 and :44.76 for a half-mile and then outfinishing Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap winner El Deal in the final furlong.—Bob Ehalt