Perfect Officer Bids for Shakertown Repeat
David A. Ross Racing Stable’s Perfect Officer, a nose winner in last year’s Shakertown Stakes (G3), will face eight rivals Saturday when he makes his 2013 debut in the 17th running of the $100,000 Shakertown at 5½ furlongs on the turf.
The Shakertown will go as the seventh race on Saturday’s 12-race program with a post time of 4:05 p.m. (ET).
Trained by Anthony Dutrow, Perfect Officer will attempt to join Soaring Free as the only repeat winner of the Shakertown. Soaring Free won the race in 2004 and 2005.
Unraced since finishing second in the Troy Stakes at Saratoga in August, Perfect Officer will be ridden Saturday by Javier Castellano and break from post position eight. Castellano was aboard for last year’s Shakertown victory.
Chief among Perfect Officer’s rivals are Vinery Stables’ Regally Ready and Silverton Hill’s Havelock.
Trained by Steve Asmussen, Regally Ready also will be making his first start since the Troy Stakes in which he was fifth. A four-time grade stakes winner on the turf that includes victories in the 2011 Nearctic Stakes (G1) at Woodbine and the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G2) at Churchill Downs, Regally Ready will break from post position seven under Corey Nakatani.
Darrin Miller trains Havelock, winner of the Woodford Stakes (G3) here in the fall of 2011. Winner of the Play the King Stakes (G2) at Woodbine in 2011 and the 2012 Hanshin Cup Stakes (G3) at Arlington Park last year, Havelock will break from post position five and be ridden by Garrett Gomez.
The field for the Shakertown, from the inside out, is as follows: Something Extra (Julien Leparoux, 120 pounds), Hogy (Chris Emigh, 118), Berlino Di Tiger (BRZ) (Alan Garcia, 118), Canuletmedowneasy (Rosie Napravnik, 118), Havelock (Gomez, 118), Next Question (Joel Rosario, 120), Regally Ready (Nakatani, 118), Perfect Officer (Castellano, 118) and China (Marcelino Pedroza Jr., 120).