Shared Belief (February 15, 2011 – December 3, 2015) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old, he was undefeated in three races, including the Hollywood Prevue Stakes and Los Alamitos Futurity, and was named the American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt of 2013 at the Eclipse Awards.
As a three-year-old, an injury kept Shared Belief out of the 2014 Kentucky Derby, but he returned later in the year to win four races including the Los Alamitos Derby, Pacific Classic, and Awesome Again Stakes. He broke his undefeated record in the Breeders' Cup Classic by finishing fourth, but then returned to win the Malibu Stakes.
In 2015 he defeated champion California Chrome in the San Antonio Stakes and then won the Santa Anita Handicap, before being sidelined for the rest season with a hip injury.
Returning to the track in late 2015, he had promising workouts and was being prepared for a return to racing in 2016. He died unexpectedly on December 3, 2015, due to complications of colic. Emergency surgery was performed at the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary medicine, but surgeons were unable to save him.
Background
Shared Belief was a dark bay or brown gelding with a white star bred in Kentucky by Pam & Martin Wygod. He was sired by the undefeated Argentinian horse Candy Ride, whose other progeny include Gun Runner, Twirling Candy, Sidney's Candy, Mastery, Game Winner, Vekoma, and Misremembered. Shared Belief's dam, Common Hope, won one race and has also produced Iowa Oaks winner Little Miss Holly.
Shared Belief was trained by Jerry Hollendorfer and owned by a partnership which included Solis/Litt Bloodstock (Alex Solis II and Jason Litt), Jungle Racing (sports commentator Jim Rome and Janet Rome), KMN Racing (Kevin Nish and Kim Nish), trainer Hollendorfer, and Dr. George Todaro.
Racing career
2013: two-year-old season
Shared Belief made his racecourse debut in a maiden race over six furlongs on the synthetic Tapeta Footings track at Golden Gate Fields on October 19. Ridden by Juan Hernandez, he started at odds of 2.8/1 against eight opponents. The gelding was outsprinted in the early stages before moving up on the outside to take the lead in the straight. He drew away from the field to win by seven lengths in a time of 1:09.53. On November 10, Shared Belief was moved up in class to contest the Grade III Hollywood Prevue Stakes on the cushion track at Hollywood Park Racetrack.
Ridden by Corey Nakatani, he started 6/4 second favorite behind Kobe's Back in a five-runner field. He disputed the lead from the start before pulling clear in the straight to win by seven and three-quarter lengths. Over the same course on December 14, Shared Belief was moved up to Grade I class for the CashCall Futurity over a mile and a sixteenth and started favorite against eleven opponents.
Nakatani placed the gelding just behind the leaders before taking the lead in the straight and accelerating clear in the closing stages to win by five and three quarter lengths.
In January 2014, Shared Belief was named Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse at the Eclipse Awards, beating Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner New Year's Day by 115 votes to 99. He became only the fourth 2-year-old male champion to have bypassed the Juvenile since that race was created in 1984.
2014: three-year-old season
In January, Shared Belief developed an abscess on his right front foot. In March, it was announced that the gelding would miss his engagement in the Blue Grass Stakes and would not be aimed at the Kentucky Derby. "We'll get him ready to run later on, if he stays good", said Hollendorfer. After recovering from his abscess, Shared Belief came back to win an allowance race against older horses at Golden Gate Fields on May 26.
On July 7, the horse, ridden by Mike E. Smith for the first time, won the inaugural running of the Grade II Los Alamitos Derby, beating a Kentucky Derby participant, Candy Boy, by four and a quarter lengths. On August 24, Shared Belief contested the $1,000,000 TVG Pacific Classic Stakes at Del Mar Racetrack against older horses, going a mile and a quarter for the first time and attempting to emulate his sire Candy Ride, who won the race in 2003. He was ridden again by Smith, who chose Shared Belief as his mount over Game On Dude. The gelding raced in midfield before moving up on the outside, taking the lead a furlong and a half out and drawing away to win by almost three lengths from the British challenger Toast of New York. Game On Dude finished fourth.