Multiple grade I winner Mshawish has been retired from racing after a minor soft tissue injury was discovered June 3 at Belmont Park.
After conferring with veterinarian Duncan Moir, the team of owner Al Shaqab Racing determined that it was in the best interest of Mshawish for him to be retired, since the timing would likely call for the son of Medaglia d'Oro to miss the key prep races leading up to his year-end goal—the Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I). Mshawish will now be sent to his new home at Taylor Made Stallions in Nicholasville, Ky., where he's set to stand stud in 2017.
Winner of this year's Donn Handicap (gr. I) at Gulfstream Park, Mshawish had been preparing for a start in the $1.5 million Metropolitan Handicap (gr. I) June 11 at Belmont.
"Although it's sad to miss the Met Mile next Saturday and to not finish out the rest of 2016, it's hard to do anything but smile looking back at Mshawish's long career," said Bradley Weisbord, U.S. advisor to Al Shaqab Racing. "He was a rare grade I winner on both turf and dirt. He was as consistent of an elite racehorse that there is. ... He is an incredibly special horse for the entire Al Shaqab team, and really helped us get the U.S. operation off the ground.
"We are looking forward to seeing him pass that top-class grittiness and consistency onto his progeny, and having quite a few run in the Al Shaqab colors. We will undoubtedly support him heavily."
Trained by Todd Pletcher, Mshawish won five graded stakes and seven stakes races during his decorated racing career. Mshawish captured his first grade I win in the 2015 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap (gr. IT).
"The positive is that Mshawish is an exciting stallion prospect that's had a tremendous racing career, which he was able to take to another level when he switched to the dirt," said Ben Taylor, vice president at Taylor Made. "The injury is a relatively minor one that he'll get over, and if he were a 3-year-old, you wouldn't even hesitate about bringing him back. We really look forward to standing Mshawish and introducing him to breeders. Medaglia d'Oro is one of the top stallions in the world, and Mshawish is his most accomplished son, with fast grade I wins on both dirt and turf."
Mshawish also owns graded wins in the Zabeel Mile (UAE-II) on turf at Meydan, Fort Lauderdale (gr. IIT) , and Hal's Hope (gr. III).
"Mshawish has always impressed me with his versatility, high-cruising speed, and neat ability to also have an exciting turn of foot," Pletcher said. "He was top-class on both surfaces, and showed up every time we led him over there. It's a shame he's going to miss the Met Mile, as that race would have suited him perfectly. He was a fun one to train, one that the stable will really miss. I look forward to training his babies a few years down the road."
Mshawish retires with eight wins from 24 starts and earnings of $2,421,351, making him the most accomplished son of leading sire Medaglia d'Oro to retire to stud.
