/ Graeme North / 11 February 2012 / Leave a Comment 
Shackleford: Takes on Ruler On Ice in the Grade 1 Donn Handicap
"Shackleford... posted one of Timeform's best timefigures of 2011 in North America when winning the Preakness..."
Timeform's Graeme North previews the Grade 1 Donn Handicap and the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap....
The road to Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby takes a back seat this weekend as some of the best of the older horses still around converge on Gulfstream Park where the highlight of a strong Saturday card there is the reappearance of two of last season's Classic winners, Shackleford and Ruler On Ice, in the nine-furlong Grade 1 Donn Handicap due off at 21:45 GMT.
So strong is the field that neither the Preakness nor the Belmont winner is top weight; that honour goes to the Jockey Club Gold Cup winner and Breeders' Cup Classic fifth, the largely consistent Flat Out.
Flat Out's subdued recent reappearance can be overlooked on account of it being his turf debut, but even back on dirt and at his best he looks to have something to find - around 4lbs on Timeform ratings - conceding weight to both Classic winners.
Shackleford, who posted one of Timeform's best timefigures of 2011 in North America when winning the Preakness before looking a non-stayer behind Ruler On Ice in a well-run Belmont on a slow track, is the more interesting of that pair despite his draw in stall 9 and the short run to the first turn.
Not only did Shackleford show marginally the better form of the pair subsequently when beating his old rival in the G1 Haskell Invitational (before ending the year with an excellent second in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile after compromising his chance by disputing a strong pace that set things up for the winner) but Timeform's unique Early Position Figures - which indicate how today's race might well be run based on the in-running positions adjusted for field size of the runners at various points of call in recent races - suggests the Donn Handicap could be set up ideally for him.
Only the unbeaten and promising but still relatively-unproven Trickmeister seems likely to head him down the back stretch in a race that promises to test speed more than stamina and Shackleford's top-level mile form could prove decisive in the dash for home.
Of the others, Redeemed seemed to show quite a lot of improvement on just his second try in Graded company when winning the G3 Discovery Stakes on his final start but a timefigure of 92 for that win suggests it might be dubious form, while Mission Impazible is a regular foe of Flat Out's but looks to have a bit to find at the weights. Soaring Empire has already had a pipe-opener this year, but didn't do enough to suggest he's up to winning such a warm contest as this on just his second start back from a long break.
The other highlight at Gulfstream is the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap (off 22:13 GMT) over the same trip, with the weights headed by the consistent Get Stormy who was much improved in 2011. For the second November running he didn't do himself justice in the Breeders' Cup Mile but before that he'd won a couple of Grade 1 events at Keeneland and Churchill Downs when allowed to set a leisurely pace.
Not withstanding his excellent chance at the weights on Saturday - he looks to have around 3lb in hand on Timeform ratings as it is on a couple of bits of 2011 form - that front-running angle might be the key to the race with few of his rivals inclined to go forward.
Yankee Fourtune has made the running in the past while Yummy With Butter did take the field along steadily in the Grade 3 Ft. Lauderdale Stakes over a slightly shorter trip here on his reappearance before being run down in a tight finish by the re-opposing Silver Medallion, but that's not his normal style and in any case he looks vulnerable again to the very progressive and younger Todd Pletcher runner, as well as perhaps too to Kindergarten Kid who was barely a length behind Silver Medallion in that race despite having started his run from further back. Morning Line odds of 4/1 look very fair on Get Stormy, with forecast favourite Sangaree (who is also entered in the Donn Handicap) still to prove he's as effective on turf as dirt or equitrack.
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