Hall of Fame - Shrouded In Myst

Original article written by Nathan Klein posted 3 years 0 weeks ago

It was the end of year 17 in the SIM and year 18 was right around the corner. You couldn't do much during this time other than breed, sell and buy horses. But during this time Karen Shields would buy a moderately sized bay gelding named Shrouded In Myst. He was bay in color with a blaze covering his face and a bright pink upper lip. He seemed worthless on paper about to turn 6 years old an advanced age for a racehorse. He had not raced in nearly 3 SIM years and had only earned $1,330 on the race track. He was sold for almost nothing just $100. But Karen turned this $100 into a millionaire.

Karen immediately went for a different route instead of running on dirt like his pedigree suggested he was, turned into a Steeplechaser and would make his chasing debut in the $75,000 Carolina Cup. That day he set himself up for success taking himself back early and gaining ground throughout the race. He cleared hurdles with grace making no mistakes. By the final quarter of a mile, it was a 2 horse race between him and Radar. But Shrouded in Myst opened up in the stretch to win by 2 lengths. The rest were over 9 lengths behind. He had flipped the script from a maiden who could barely make a thousand dollars to a stakes winner. After that, he built on his success managing an easy win next time out then showing his fighting spirit, in the grade 2 Saratoga Steeplechase Cup. There fought down the stretch with Flaming Sky getting up by 1/4 of a length. But his streak would be spoiled when another champion sprinter Legendofthepeople beat him in the Steward's Cup Steeplechase.

It was a good tough defeat and to kick off his 7-year-old season he took the Grand National Trial. But after that, a losing streak began where he would lose 7 races. This losing streak lasted from the rest of his 7-year-old season all the way through his 8-year-old season. He was only off the board once during this time but he simply didn't have the edge to win. He was always a step below the best. A strong second in the Steward's Cup Steeplechase but just a neck behind Evacuee meant he would return for a 9-year-old season. To start, he ran in the grade 3 Mother Of All Chasers Cup where he and Fire Ablaze fought it out in the final quarter. But by the stretch Shrouded In Myst was back, he fought and won by a length and ran a perfect 100-speed figure.

He went into grade 1 company next time out in the Imperial Empire recovering early from a stumble at the third jump. By the far turn, he looked home clear but Legacy of Princz made a bold late bid however Shrouded In Myst had a big heart and used it to take him the rest of the race holding off the late charge to win by a length. He would then get revenge on Evacuee by beating him in the Dead Poets Challenge. All that was left for the rags to riches jumper was the Steward's Cup Steeplechase, a race he had lost 3 times before.

At the start, he took the lead but eventually settled. At the final jump came his last literal and metaphorical hurdle. Over it he went but when he landed he bobbled. It would give Aziz Amir a chance to catch up. In the stretch the 2 were close with Shrouded In Myst just trying to keep his lead for just a bit longer. Aziz Amir was fighting hard but so was Shrouded In Myst. Shrouded In Myst and his jockey Tina Shields had enough of losing on steeplechasing's biggest stage, they simply would not let this one slip. Shrouded In Myst stretched his old bones across the track with everything he had and at the wire he just held on by a quarter of a length. With that the 9-year-old had nothing left to prove. He had risen up the ranks from a low-level maiden to year 21's Champion Older Male Steeplechaser. Shrouded In Myst is a good example of how anything in the SIM is possible even turning a $100 horse into a legend, immortalized in the Hall Of Fame. He may not be the greatest steeplechaser of all time but he is one of the greatest rags to riches story.

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