Worth His Weight In Gold: Inshallah 'Willed' To 'Rising Star'-Dom
The $2.1-million Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale topper Inshallah (Flightline), whose name translated from arabic means 'God willing', had both the will and the way Saturday, rocketing out from the gate at Del Mar and opening up an insurmountable margin to win his debut in 'TDN Rising Star' fashion.
Purchased by bloodstock agent Pedro Lanz in May on behalf of KAS Stables, the racing operation owned by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and his sons, Inshallah was bred in New York by Chester and Mary Broman and is the latest to the races out of their Breeders' Cup hero Bar of Gold.
Bet down to 3-5 in this stacked maiden special weight field, the heavy favorite broke in a line but was pushed upon by jockey Joel Rosario to clear in the opening furlong and did so easily, going right out to the front and putting several lengths on the rest of the field by the time the opening quarter ticked by in :21.52.
Under a motionless Rosario, Inshallah turned for home looking very much like his undefeated sire and, while fellow firster Icanthelpmyself (Mo Town) did well to cut into the margin late, it was all for naught as the favorite was a clear, wrapped-up winner.
“I'm obviously very happy with the win,” Lanz told the TDN. “Whenever you acquire such an expensive horse, there's pressure and expectations, but we knew what we had in our hands. He had done everything right, both on the lead and sitting off the pace in the mornings. John [Sadler] did a wonderful job getting him ready. He was prepared for any scenario. The number one plan was to go to the front, since he had shown a lot of speed from the gate. They simply couldn't keep up with him, and in the end, he had the class to hold on. I hope he continues to progress so we can aim for the best races for 2-year-olds. The speed and the class are there, we just have to manage him the right way.”
“We thought we had a good prospect,” trainer John Sadler added. “[He was] faster than I thought.”
Inshallah is the fifth winner for his freshman sire (by Tapit) and his second 'TDN Rising Star', joining Flight Command.
GISW Bar of Gold, who took down the 2017 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint en route to earning more than $1.5 million on the track, has seen plenty of success in her young broodmare career as well. Her first foal, 2019's Coinage (Tapit), won the GIII With Anticipation Stakes and she now has four winners from five to race. Bar of Gold, herself is a full-sister to MGISW Spirit of St Louis, lost her 2025 full-sibling to Inshallah but did produce a Not This Time filly this spring and was covered by Mindframe for 2027.