Midnight Hawk Wins Sham Stakes

Midnight Hawk Beat out Kristo for the win at the 2014 Sham Stakes

Midnight Hawk took the win at the 2014 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita Park with a posted time of 1:36.48. This was a grade 3 race for 3 year-olds and the prize was a $100,000 purse on a one mile dirt track.

Midnight Hawk was able to take the win by a comfortable 1 ¾ length at the 2014 Sham Stakes. In second place was Kristo, and then in then in third place was Ontology, who was behind Kristo by 3 ¼ lengths.

This win gives Midnight Hawk 10 points towards the Derby later this year and it is the first stakes win for Midnight Hawk. Midnight Hawk is trained by Bob Baffert and was ridden by expert Hall of Fame Jockey Mike Smith in the 2014 Sham Stakes.

After winning the Sham Stakes Mike Smith said that Midnight Hawk “proved he could go long…for such a big, heavy horse, he just floats over the ground.”

Smith stated that he was impressed with colt Midnight Hawk who showed a good gate presence and was able to handle the noise of the crowd better without blinkers on.

Although Kristo took the early lead and dueled with Midnight Hawk on the inside, in the final furlong Kristo could not out run Midnight Hawk. Kristo’s team believes that Kristo can still run better and farther, and Kristo had a good race, but ultimately with having to run head to head with Midnight Hawk, Midnight Hawk was able to gain a comfortable lead for the win.

Trainer Bob Baffert said of Midnight Hawk, “he had to win this one…otherwise I would have been down on him.”

So far, Baffert is pleased with Midnight Hawk, who is gaining in comparison to Silver Charm, another gray colt who Baffert trained and won the Kentucky Derby, and Baffert acknowledges the similarity between the two stating that Midnight Hawk is like Silver Charm in that he is a “big horse who does things effortlessly…so far so good, but we’ll take baby steps with him. There’s a long way to go.”

With a good win at this year’s Sham Stakes we will see how Midnight Hawk continues to perform on his way to the Derby.

2014 Sham Stakes Results and Payouts
6-Midnight Hawk, $2.80 to Win,  $2.10 to Place
1-Kristo , $2.20 to Place
4-Ontology
Also ran: 2 – I’ll Wrap It Up
Scratched horses: Life Is a Joy (Trainer) , Top Fortitude (Trainer)

2014 Sham Stakes Replay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPNft3X3wLw