LEXINGTON, Ky. – My Boy Prince was already an accomplished horse when Saturday dawned, as the millionaire boasted seven career stakes wins, and a Sovereign Award as Canada’s champion 2-year-old male of 2023.
But the champion had yet to win a graded stakes race, and ticked off that box Saturday by taking the Grade 2, $400,000 Shakertown Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths sprinting on the Keeneland turf.
My Boy Prince ($12.12), who is trained by Mark Casse for Gary Barber, had knocked at the door with five prior graded stakes placings – including, last year, finishing second in the Grade 1 Jaipur and second in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile, the latter to eventual Eclipse Award champion Notable Speech. As he started his 5-year-old season, Casse felt the best opportunities for the gelding timing-wise were sprints in Florida; he responded with a third-place finish, beaten just a neck, in the Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint in January, then a win in the Turf Dash in February at Tampa.
“Last year we started him in turf sprints in New York, and he ran pretty good,” Casse said. “We tried different things with him, but this year I gave him a break, brought him back, and that’s what was presented to us. We tried it at Gulfstream, then we took him to Tampa, and I always felt this [Keeneland] course would really suit him.”
My Boy Prince was handy throughout for Jose Ortiz. He was never far off and stalked inside after breaking from post 2 in the large field of 12. Up front, Joe Shiesty, who was coming off back-to-back stakes wins at Turfway Park, had emerged in the scramble for the lead through a sharp opening quarter of 21.53 seconds. He was still working along through the half in 44.22 seconds, but was set upon by foes both inside and outside when straightened away into the stretch. My Boy Prince, tipped to the four-path, came strongest of those, edged clear, and held sway, stopping the clock in 1:02.11 for the 5 1/2 furlongs on turf rated firm.
“He jumped very good out of the gate, and that helped me a lot,“ Ortiz said. “I was able to put him into a good position going into the turn. I just was waiting for the right time to tip him outside and let him go, and when I did he was there for me.”
Yellow Card was an unlucky second. Racing along the inside on the backstretch, he was pinched off and shuffled back. He came to the top of the stretch in eighth, and finished willingly to be second by a nose over Mondogetsbuckets. Favored Litigation was just another neck back in fourth, nosing out Joe Shiesty for the minor award.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.