The August 31 Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) debut marks the 10th anniversary of Shared Belief’s win at Del Marmost important race. Son of 2003 Pacific Classic winner Candy Trip wearing the Jungle Racing colors of sports media star Jim Rome for the Hall of Fame team of Jerry Hollendorfer and Mike Smith.
“I was shocked when I saw it,” Rome said this week. “Time is a strange thing. Sometimes it makes me depressed, but I can’t believe it was 10 years ago.”
Shared Belief made his sixth start at the 2014 Pacific Classic. He had an easy run over the 2014 Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G2) winner Candy boy in the Los Alamitos Derby (G2). Among the 10 entrants in the Classic is defending champion Game on my friend 2014 Gold Cup at Santa Anita (G1) winner Majestic Harbor, and Command The latter had a $3 million career. New York Greetings winner of the 2014 UAE Derby (G2) and The Mystery Train The winners of the group 1 race in Argentina, are the ones with the special entry.
After being bothered by Mystery Train for speed, Game On Dude opened up a decent lead into the final bend. Toast of New York, under Victor Espinoza, passed him first, but Smith had Shared Belief on the way. Shared Belief overtook Toast of New York and Game On Dude in a sudden, exhilarating burst to win by 2 3/4 lengths, although the awarding of the trophy had to wait for an investigation based on Espinoza’s contention that Smith had dropped out before he passed. Victor had passed well, but not well enough.
Shared Belief’s brief time on the track was marked by a series of unforgettable performances. He lost just two of his 12 starts, but to beat him you had to take extraordinary measures.
He made his last start in the 2015 Charles Town Classic Stakes (G2), suffering a fractured right hip after a rough start. Shared Belief entered that race six weeks after winning the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) by 4 1/4 lengths. Moreno —it was Moreno who won that fateful Charles Town Classic. Previously, Shared Belief had handled California Chrome at the 2015 San Antonio Invitational Stakes (G2), a clash of champions.
Shared Belief defeats California Chrome in the 2015 San Antonio Invitational Stakes at Santa Anita Park
“He was a super horse,” Rome said, rightly so. “It was his extreme athleticism, his resilience, his enthusiasm, his competitiveness. He was the horse of a lifetime that took us on the ride of a lifetime. I’ve thought about him every day since.”
Rome’s “since” dates back to December 3, 2015, the day he received a call from Alex Solis II, a racing consultant and part owner, who arranged the purchase of Shared Belief from his breeders, Pam and Marty Wygod. Shared Belief had been working that morning at Golden Gate FieldsThe fever subsided, but then he developed severe abdominal pain. He was transferred to the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, where heroic measures failed to save him.
By that time, Shared Belief had fully recovered from his hip injury and was well on his way back. As a gelding, his future was solely as a racehorse, and he had proven himself to be one of the best. His only defeat in 11 starts before Charles Town came in the tough 2014 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), when Bayern ‘s erratic play clearly hurt Shared Belief and the others in a chain reaction. Once settled, Bayern surged forward and led all the way to handily defeat Toast of New York—the same Toast of New York Shared Belief had easily handled in the Pacific Classic.
The 2014 Pacific Classic’s renewal came amid a golden streak of victories. When Game On Dude entered the race in 2013, he was coming off a run of six consecutive major wins, including the 2013 Santa Anita Handicap and the last Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap (G1) run at Hollywood Park. The 2015 Pacific Classic was the backdrop for Observer A stunning 8 1/4-length victory, she remains the only woman to win in the 33 runnings of the Classic.
And how did California Chrome fare at the 2016 Pacific Classic? Beholder, who had won eight of his previous nine starts, finished five lengths behind in second place.
Rome can’t help but think of countless what-ifs when it comes to Shared Belief’s short-lived career.
“Even though his life ended tragically, and we never know what could have happened, I still think he’s a Hall of Famer. I think he did enough. He met a lot of very important criteria.”
Rome has a point. In the years since Shared Belief’s death, his record has stood at 10 wins in 12 starts, Arrogate (11 starts) and Alignment (six starts) was elected to the Hall of Fame, while Flight route (six starts) will be eligible for consideration in 2028. True, Shared Belief has not won a Triple Crown event or a Breeders’ Cup race. But he is a champion, a Grade 1 winner in each of his three seasons, has beaten older horses twice at age 3 and won races from six furlongs to 1 1/4 miles. Time will tell.
Prior to joining Shared Belief, Rome won back-to-back Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) races in 2012-13 with Wrong direction The Mike Puype-trained daughter of Mizzen Mast made her first start for Jungle Racing in the Hollywood Prevue Stakes (G3) eight days after her second win. She then had a run in the CashCall Futurity (G1) to win the Eclipse Award for Champion 2-Year-Old Male.
Rome is still in the game, both as a director of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and as an owner of various partnerships. He was asked if he ever revisits the memories of the Shared Belief videos.
“I do, although not as much as I used to,” he said. “Probably my favorite race is the one I didn’t go to because I was away. It was the race with California Chrome, because there was so much to be made of their rivalry, and it meant so much to the sport. The way he dug in and finished it was amazing. I still wonder what could have happened between those two, because of the way California Chrome continued such a great season. So that race I still watch.”
Jim Rome shares a moment with champion Shared Belief after winning the 2014 Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita Park
Shared Belief’s remains are buried at the Del Mar infield in a plot that also holds the remains of Star Fiddle and Native Diver. Star Fiddle won the first Del Mar Futurity Stakes in 1948 and led the Futurity parade for many years after his retirement. Native Diver, a Cal-bred Hall of Famer, won the final start of his 81-length racing career in the 1967 Del Mar Handicap at Del Mar before dying that fall, also of colic. His remains were originally buried at Hollywood Park.
“It means a lot to me that Del Mar is honoring him like that,” Rome said. “I was there on opening day.
“The truth is, I am incredibly grateful for the time we had with this horse,” Rome added. “I understand that. But at the same time, if I’m really transparent, a part of me died when that horse passed. I loved all of our horses, but this one in particular. I miss everything about him.”
