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Coil rallies to take $1 million Haskell Invitational
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Coil came from last of eight after six furlongs with a super-impressive final half mile to wear down Shackleford and win the $1 million Haskell I. (G1) by a neck on July 31 at Monmouth Park. One of the summer's signature races for 3-year-olds, the Haskell puts Coil squarely in the picture for divisional championship honors.

Owned by the partnership of Karl Watson, Mike Pegram and Paul Weitman, Coil got off to a near disastrous start in the 1 1/8 mile race. Stumbling slightly and slow to get into stride, he was last by some eight lengths going into the first turn. Martin Garcia bided his time down the backstretch, allow the chestnut colt to relax. Once he hit the far turn, though, he made up ground quickly while four wide. Hooking up with Shackleford outside the furlong marker, those two battled until Coil wore him down in the final strides to complete the nine furlongs on the fast track in 1:48.20.

Coil gave Bob Baffert his fifth win in the Haskell, and second in a row following Lookin' At Lucky's victory last year.

“He didn’t break well, and at that point I thought the race was over,” Baffert said. “Down the backstretch, I thought he was going to have to be like his dad, Point Given (who won the 2001 Haskell for Baffert), to win.

“In the stretch, when he was passing Shackleford, it was almost like I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” Baffert said. “Martin knows this horse. He knows him better than I do.”

“I was sitting on a ton of horse turning for home,” Garcia said. “When I got to Shackleford my horse kind of waited. He tends to do that when he makes the lead. I just kept getting into him. I knew I had Shackleford, but my horse made it interesting.”

Coil, whose previous graded stakes win came in the Affirmed H. (G3), earned $600,000 for the Haskell win and has now bankrolled $748,560. His record stands at 4-1-1 from six starts.

With the victory, Coil earned an automatic starting berth in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) that will be run on Nov. 5 at Churchill Downs.


Baffert 2013