Can anyone give me some info on these horses ?

[Echo Farm]

Shakespeare, Exclusive Quality on shelf 6/8/2006

Saturday's Belmont Stakes undercard is very good, but the addition of a few horses could have made it even better.

Shakespeare, a Grade 1-winning turf horse from last year, would have added to an already loaded Manhattan field. But Shakespeare has been ailing this year, and trainer Bill Mott has sent him home. Mott wouldn't be specific about Shakespeare's problems, but said Shakespeare would be off for some time.

"It's been stop and go all year," Mott said. "He needs not to be at the track for a while. He doesn't need the trainer training on him for a while."

Shakespeare won the first five starts of his career, including the Grade 1 Turf Classic Invitational, in which he beat English Channel. He last raced in the Breeders' Cup Turf, where he finished 12th of 13. Shakespeare resumed training in late January and showed two three-furlong works at Payson Park before being sent to Dell Ridge Farm.

http://www.drf.com/drfNewsArticle.do...1&subs=0&arc=1

Some nice photos of Shakespeare can be found here: http://www.barbaralivingston.com/gallery/album92http://www.barbaralivingston.com/gallery/album92

He also had a 16 month layoff due to injury from March 2004 to July 2005, returning to win a 50K allowance, a G2, and a G1 before the BC Turf where he was 12 out of 13.