Shancelot , a speedy son of Shanghai Bobby who never finished off the board in six lifetime starts before a tendon injury cut short his racing career, will enter stud this year at Doug Arnold's Buck Pond Farm near Versailles, Ky.
"I had inquired about him a couple of times," said Arnold Jan. 11. "Unfortunately for the owners he injured his tendon so I reached back out to them, and we made a deal."
Arnold said he bought a portion of the 5-year-old horse from Crawford Farms Racing and will stand him for $7,500.
"I think when you have a horse as fast as he is, he could be a very, very important horse—a potential breed-changer," Arnold continued. "Word is just getting out, so I've heard from a lot of people at the (Keeneland January Horse of All Ages Sale) who are interested in breeding to him. We are also buying mares to breed to him. We're late to the table, but I feel very good about things."
Shancelot had been training this winter at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, where he last worked five furlongs in 1:01 1/5 Jan. 4. Trainer Steve Asmussen, who took over as the horse's conditioner last year, had hoped to run him in the Riyadh Dirt Sprint, a $1.5 million race on the undercard of the $20 million Saudi Cup Feb. 20 at King Abdulaziz Racetrack.
"Tremendous horse, extremely disappointing, but the right thing to do," Asmussen said Jan. 7.
The speedy Shancelot raced for Gelfenstein Farm and Al and Michelle Crawford with trainer Jorge Navarro for most of his career before making his final start solely for Crawford Farms Racing in the 2019 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1), when he led future champion sprinter Mitole for five furlongs before losing by 1 1/4 lengths. In the Sprint, he led the field through blistering fractions of :21.47, :44.04, and :56.19. That race followed earlier stakes efforts that included a 12 1/2-length romp in the Amsterdam Stakes (G2) at Saratoga Race Course, a third there in the H. Allen Jerkens Stakes (G1), and a second in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes (G1).
Bred in Kentucky by Charles Muth and Patrick Murphy, Shancelot is one of four black-type runners out of the stakes-winning Is It True mare True Kiss. The mare has also produced multiple graded-placed winner One True Kiss (Warrior's Reward ), grade 3-placed winner Tiz Kissable (Tiz Wonderful), and stakes-placed winner Sweet Kisses (Carpe Diem ). One True Kiss, in foal to Into Mischief , sold in 2020 at Fasig-Tipton's The November Sale to Larry Best's OXO Equine for $1.3 million.
True Kiss is a half sister to Silver Max, a multiple graded stakes winner who defeated Wise Dan in the off-the-grass Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes (G1) over Polytrack at Keeneland in 2013. The family has also produced 2017 betfair.com Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) winner and sire Girvin and grade 1-winning sprinter and sire Yes It's True.
