Flashback: Shared Belief romps in Hollywood Park's final Futurity

Los Alamitos will host the Futurity for the seventh time a week from Saturday, and while it remains the final big 2-year-old race of the calendar year, it just doesn’t seem quite the same away from the old Hollywood Park. Now named the Los Alamitos Futurity, and previously called the CashCall Futurity, it will always be the Hollywood Futurity to me.

The Hollywood Futurity distinguished itself as one of the premier juvenile races of the season in its early years, with excellent winners such as Roving Boy and Snow Chief in the first five editions. Future stars of the game, such as Best Pal, A.P. Indy, Real Quiet and Point Given, graced the winners circle, and the big-name winners of the big race at the old Hollywood Park kept coming until its final edition ran at the historic track. That year was 2013, and the winner was Shared Belief.

Dazzling was the word most used to describe Shared Belief’s victory that afternoon in the $750,000 CashCall Futurity at Betfair Hollywood Park.

Co-owned by sports personality Jim Rome and Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, the near black son of Candy Ride, who had made his career debut less than two months earlier, was clearly the talk of the race heading in.

Making only his third lifetime start, Shared Belief was trying two turns for the first time but was still backed to even-money favoritism in a full field of 12 for his Grade 1 debut. That’s how impressive the gelding had been in his first two starts, rolling against maidens going six furlongs at Golden Gate in October and then again in the seven-furlong Hollywood Prevue (G3) in November.

When the race began, Shared Belief was content letting the speedster Brother Soldier open a clear advantage on the lead through quick fractions of 22.86 seconds for the quarter and 46.59 seconds for a half. The favorite sat comfortably in second, waiting for rider Corey Nakatani to ask him for run.

Even when a less heralded son of Candy Ride, named Candy Boy, made a sudden move heading into the far turn, Shared Belief remained relaxed. The soon-to-be graded stakes winner went right past Shared Belief, but the advantage was short-lived. When asked by Nakatani, the response from his mount was explosive.

Within a few strides of the Hollywood Park stretch, Shared Belief had surged to the lead and quickly drew away from the 11 other well-intentioned juveniles left in his wake. The final margin was a 5 3/4-length win, but it seemed much easier than that.

Shared Belief had completed the 1 1/16 miles on the Cushion Track in 1:42.16, which compared more than favorably against the 1:50.07 final time needed by older horses to complete the 9 furlong Native Diver Stakes a few races earlier. Clearly, a star had been born.

In the short amount of time it took Shared Belief to run away with the last Futurity to be held at Hollywood Park, he had proved himself the best 2-year-old in the nation. An Eclipse Award was bestowed on the juvenile the following month, and high expectations for Derby glory were promised.

Unfortunately, the Kentucky Derby, or any part of the Triple Crown, for that matter, was taken off the table for Shared Belief. A nagging hoof issue put an end to any Derby dreams. When he finally made it back to the races, the talented colt picked up right where he left off, resuming a fantastic racing career that included 10 brilliant wins.

The only blemishes on his record include when he was pulled up injured in what turned out to be his final career race in the Charles Town Classic, and a fourth-place result after a horrendous trip in the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Classic. Other than that, Shared Belief was racing perfection.

Sadly, sometimes the good ones are lost far too soon, and this became true for Shared Belief. On Dec. 3, 2015, barely two years after his quick rise to prominence, the racy son of Candy Ride was lost suddenly after a colic episode that began in his barn at Golden Gate Fields.

The story of Shared Belief is primarily a tragic one, but his electric talent on the racetrack will never be forgotten by anyone who had the opportunity to see him run. Much like the old Hollywood Park, all we have now are memories, and one of the best is when Shared Belief ran away with the final true Hollywood Futurity.