Takaful will complete major Breeders' Cup preparations at Belmont base

Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin reported Sunday morning that Shadwell Stable's homebred Takaful exited his one-length victory over El Deal in the Grade 1, $350,000 Vosburgh on Saturday in good order.

With Jose Ortiz aboard, the 3-year-old Bernardini colt stayed close to El Deal, favored at 6-5 as the expected pacesetter, throughout and dug in to beat a field of older rivals in the six-furlong dash, a "Win and You're In" qualifier for the Grade 1, $1.5 million TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Sprint on November 4 at Del Mar.

"When Jose came to the paddock, I asked him what he thought, and he said, 'We're fast, it's only six furlongs and we're going to be pretty close to him.' And I said, great. He decided to be very close to him and it worked out. Jose had a lot of confidence in the horse. El Deal ran well and so did the third-place finisher [Stallwalkin' Dude]."

The Vosburgh was Takaful's second win at six furlongs, and third lifetime victory from seven starts. He was Grade 2-placed as a juvenile, finishing third in the Remsen last November, but finished off-the-board in a pair of two-turn Kentucky Derby prep races in early 2017. Following an eighth-place finish in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth, Takaful returned from a 3 ½-month layoff on August 21 at Saratoga to register a 5 ¼-length gate-to-wire win in a six-furlong allowance. He went on to finish a game second in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens on August 26 at Saratoga.

"It was a great win, we're excited. He's not the easiest horse to train, but [assistant trainer] Joe Lee, his exercise rider Eduardo Delgado, and the whole team have done a great job with him," said McLaughlin. "He was difficult for us down in Florida. He was tough on himself. He was too keen, got cuts in his mouth, had a few feet issues - this, that, and the other. No injuries, he was just hard on himself. Luckily, Shadwell just let us stop on him. We walked him for a few weeks then jogged for a few weeks, just to get his battery fully recharged and be able to train on, and it's gone very well."

McLaughlin's other entrant, Zilla Racing's New York-bred Celtic Chaos, rallied from last to secure fourth in his open company debut.

"Celtic Chaos ran well too to be fourth," he said. "That was his first try against open company and the first Grade 1 for Zilla, so it was nice that he ran well. That's his style to come from last and he likes the track wet, so everything was in place for him to run a big race."

Celtic Chaos, a 4-year-old chestnut colt by Dublin, will be pointed to the $150,000 Hudson for New York-breds on October 21.

Takaful will complete his major Breeders' Cup preparations at McLaughlin's Belmont base and will catch the last flight to Del Mar on October 31. 

"We'll have all his training done, so when we get there, he might go out and gallop one day and jog another day," said McLaughlin. "He's comfortable here, so we'll get there as close as we can to the race."

Takaful was McLaughlin's second winner on the day's card, following the 2-year-old Avery Island's impressive maiden victory in Race 3. By Street Sense, Avery Island let gate to wire with Joe Bravo, drawing off to a 5 ¼-length score in his second career start. 

McLaughlin added that the colt will be pointed to the Grade 2, $200,000 Nashua on November 5 at Aqueduct Racetrack, a race the trainer has won four times, including in 2013 with Cairo Prince and in 2015 with Mohaymen.