Humana Distaff (Grade 1)- $500.000 Purse
CD- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
May 4, 2019

On yet another wet Derby day, there was plenty of good racing on the undercard at CD as well. The Humana Distaff featured a field of eight, after Sports Creek ended up scratching, and a few in the field looked like they may enjoy running in the slop. They would have done fine if it was raining, but Our Athletes surely just shook off the weather report when it came to his filly, knowing that she had been quite successful on off tracks in her past. Shake It Off, an accomplished six year old mare, was our pick to win, and would not disappoint. She joins a list of past winners that is very impressive, and scores the first win in the race for trainer, Our Athletes. Jockey J R Velazquez is also a first time winner. Congratulations to them! The time of the win in the slop was 1:26.26. Let’s take a look!

(1/4 Mile- :24.04)- Indian River Queen gets off to a fast start for South Beach Racing and soon has the field clear by a length. Running second is D J C Racing Stables’ Starlite Run, and to her outside is our eventual winner, Shake It Off, for Our Athletes, keeping the leader in close sight. Are We Dreamin is next, about a length further back for Mb Stables. Next come Wolfslayer (Maxmillion Farm), Wbf No Regrets (TwinTowersRacing), and Eros (Smokey Stover), who are all three wide, ahead of the trailer, Snakie Pleasure (Maxmillion Farm). Five lengths separate first from last at this point.

(½ Mile- :48.23)- Indian River Queen pours it on over the backstretch and extends her advantage to two and a half lengths as they approach the turn. Starlite Run is still second, but has not applied any pressure to the leader, and seems to be on the verge of losing several positions at this point. Interestingly, Shake It Off backs off quite a bit in the back stretch, and a handful of rivals get around her. She is now sixth, and four lengths off the pace. Getting around her were Are We Dreamin and Eros, and both had clear lanes in front of them for the turn, and eventually the stretch. Wolfslayer was a head in front of Shake It Off, on her inside. Wbf No Regrets and Snakie Pleasure ran together, another length back.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- On the front end, Indian River Queen continues to run very well, and if she was able to maintain this stride, or something close to it, she may have gotten away from the field. Shake It Off made up the ground in the turn that she conceded in the backstretch, and came on through between Are We Dreamin and Eros. Starlite was fifth, but backpedaling now. Wolfslayer was not showing much, but Snakie Pleasure was looking to make a move to the outside. Wbf No Regrets lacked a response.

(Finish- 1:26.26)- Shake It Off comes on through between both Are We Dreamin and Eros, and gracefully goes on to the win while splashing away in the slop. Indian River Queen, the early frontrunner, packed it in midway through the stretch, and did not pose a challenge to her. Eros completes the exacta with a good outside trip throughout the race, and third goes to Are We Dreamin. Coming on very well in the stretch would be Snakie Pleasure, and she gets a fourth place check for her efforts. Indian River Queen dropped all the way to fifth, but does defeat Wolfslayer, Wbf No Regrets, and Starlite Run.

About The Winner- Shake It Off, trained by Our Athletes, and ridden to victory by J R Velazquez, is a six year old mare by Quench, and is out of Majic Dust. She was bred in Pennsylvania as a fourth quarter two year old by Australia Wide, and acquired by Our Athletes, via Smokey Stover, in a $10.000 private sales transaction last June. The win is her 10th in 29 starts, seven of which are graded wins. Congratulations to the connections! Her career earnings are now $2,848.270.

Track: Sloppy
Time: :24   :48¹  1:13¹  1:26¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 7 – 6 Paid 91.60
$1 Trifecta: 7 – 6 – 4 Paid 273.30

Scratched: Sports Creek

Winner picked by NS

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES