Sovereign Duty, Sweet Shani form Sheppard exacta in Royal Chase

Sovereign Duty, Sweet Shani form Sheppard exacta in Royal

Chase

Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard swept the first two placings in the

$160,125

Royal

Chase for the Sport of Kings (NSA-G1) at Keeneland on Thursday as SOVEREIGN

DUTY (Kingmambo) rallied in the final yards to edge Sweet Shani (NZ) (Kashani)

by a neck. The winner, ridden by Danielle Hodsdon, covered the about 2 1/2 miles and

13 fences in 4:58, giving his trainer and jockey their second straight score in

the Royal Chase.

Sweet Shani and jockey Xavier Aizpuru set a tepid early pace and carried the

field for nearly every step as Sovereign Duty, Best Attack (Bahri) and Orison

(Pulpit) settled some 10 lengths off the leader in the field of six. Best Attack

took up the chase on the final turn and got within a length of the winner only

to be turned aside. Third over the final two fences, Sovereign Duty charged up

the rail to win in the final strides.

At the end, even Sheppard wasn't sure which horse would win.

"To be truthful, (Sovereign Duty) kind of snuck up on me, I had my eyes on the

gray mare," he said. "All of a sudden, boom, here he comes. It's kind of hard to

watch two horses.

"It was a tremendous finish. I think the fans got a big kick out of it."

Sovereign Duty was sent off the 5-2 second pick and paid out $7.20, $3.40 and

$2.40 while keying the $18 exacta, $56 trifecta and $105.60 superfecta

(3-7-2-5). Sweet Shani was worth $3.60 and $2.60 as the 2-1 favorite, while Best

Attack, another three lengths back in third, gave back $3 at 3-1.

Orison, Swimming River (The Wicked North) and Feeling So Pretty (Nordic

Legend) completed the order under the wire, but the latter was vanned off. Her

owner/trainer Lee McKinney said a veterinary exam showed a muscle cramp and that

the veteran mare was OK. Pre-race favorite Preemptive Strike (Roanoke) was

scratched with a tendon injury that will sideline him at least until autumn.

With this win, Sovereign Duty improved to four-for-13 in a steeplechase

career that began in 2006. The $96,075 winner's share lifted his lifetime jump

earnings to $206,330. Bred in Kentucky by Will Farish Jr., Sovereign Duty

completed a full circle as he sold at Keeneland as a yearling in 2003. Purchased

for $425,000 by Overbrook Farm, the now six-year-old gelding began his career

racing for flat trainer Jeff Thornbury, earning less than $2,000 in four starts.

"It's just another example, here's a horse who's bred in the purple and was

basically a complete flop," Sheppard said. "He was getting beaten for maiden

$25,000 at River Downs. It wasn't an immediate turnaround -- it was a slow,

uphill battle. He had some temperament issues and just didn't seem to have it

all together. He lacked confidence, that would be the easiest way to explain it.

As time has gone by, he's gotten more confidence in himself and he's put it all

together now."

The win puts Sovereign Duty in the top spot on the National Steeplechase

Association's 2008 horse leaderboard with $114,075 and a two-for-two mark.

Reigning steeplechase Eclipse Award winner Good Night Shirt (Concern) opened his

season by taking the Georgia Cup (NSA-G1) worth $60,000 at Atlanta on April 12.

Sheppard will wait and see where his latest Grade 1 winner goes next.

"I'm not going to talk about him in terms of the great horses in the past,

but he's certainly a useful horse," he said. "He stays well, he tries hard, he's

game but I can't take anything away from Sweet Shani either. She ran a

tremendously game race and never quit running."