Pxg Makes the Outside Work in The Shadwell Turf Mile

By Nynl Stables on October 9, 2022

The Shadwell Turf Mile (Grade 1) (BC)- $1,000.000 Purse
KEE- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Turf
October 8, 2022

It’s never easy to start from the outside, but if there was a horse to have confidence in that was starting from there, that would be Pxg. The gelding came into The Shadwell Turf Mile off a win in the KD Turf Sprint from the far outside. If he could do it there, then surely he could do it here. With the same jockey, R M Hernandez, aboard, Pxg stayed close to the front right from the start, and would take command of the race in the stretch to earn what is now his fifth win in his last six races. He will be back here at KEE for the BC as long as Mb Stables wants him to be, and he will do so red-hot. This victory is the third in the stake for Mb Stables, who also won in 2013 with Hollywood Freak and in 2018 with Spanish Showboat. R M Hernandez is a first time winner. Congratulations to them! The time of the victory was 1:32.73, the fourth quickest in the history of the race. Let’s take a look at it!

(1/4 Mile- :23.17)- The field breaks in an orderly manner of a row of four being followed by a another row of four, with two rows of three right behind them. In the lead group, Sly Prayers has a nose in front for Dawson Farms, with Miami My Amy running right to his outside for Mb Stables. About a half length behind them after a quarter mile, abut running evenly with one another, we have Immoral, also from Mb Stables, on the rail, and Raj The Magician on the outside for Wood Duck Stables. Row 2 includes our eventual winner, Mb Stables- trained Pxg, but for now he is credited with eighth place as he runs in the fourth lane. On the rail is a horse he will be seeing closely at the finish, that being Mickey, from South Shore Stables. Between them are Distant Volcano (Team 7 Illusions) and Two In The Chamber (TwinTowersRacing). Cinnamon Strike (Smokey Stover) pulls away his row, and runs a length ahead of Tiger Claw (London Racing) and On The Turning Away (Gdp Inc). Trailing are Money Truck (Invicta Group Llc) who drew in from the also eligibles, Ags Cherokee (RNP Stables), and Ronaldo Chop (Night Rider Stables).

(½ Mile- :45.98)- Down the backstretch, Sly Prayers is the race leader still, and he is now a half length ahead of Miami My Amy, but that one is certainly not going anywhere. Raj The Magician is still running with the lead group, but Immoral is starting to back out and that is a little surprising. In the stalker row, Mickey needs to move away from the rail towards the end of the backstretch to keep from running into Immoral, and those he was running with are happy to oblige. This would include Pxg, who was now running in the fifth lane and being about two and a half lengths off the lead. Cinnamon Strike was inching a little bit closer from further back, and those behind him were going to need to get moving soon.

(Top of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- The excitement picks up as the field makes their way around the turn. The top spot still belongs to Sly Prayers, who has now moved over to the rail as he continues to battle with Miami My Amy at the front. Raj The Magician loses a length to both of them within the turn. Immoral was holding his own to the inside, and we should not have expected any less from him. This led Mickey to be boxed in momentarily, since Raj The Magician was falling back to him, but he could not advance his position any further. Not having any such issue would be Pxg, who handled the turn brilliantly. He had to do this while running five wide, but even with that, he had plenty of power in his stride to cut into his deficit, and would now only be about a length behind Sly Prayers. For now, Distant Volcano and Two In The Chamber were in striking range still. Cinnamon Strike would make a wide move within the turn, looking to follow Pxg through. On The Turning Away got a little closer, and Tiger Claw was trying to hang with him.

(Finish- 1:32.73)- Things would get very tight in the final furlong of the race, so the outside lane that Pxg had for the stretch proved to be a good thing. He was clear of traffic, and he would prevail in a three horse battle with Sly Prayers and Miami My Amy to take the spot, but the win was not in the bag quite yet. Mickey was able to get some running room late between horses and was in a strong drive in the late moments. For him, the wire would come up a stride too early, as both he and Pxg would hit the wire together. It would be a close photo, but it show that Pxg got the headbob to turn the race victory. Mickey is second, half a length ahead On The Turning Away and Miami My Amy, who were close for third. Cinnamon Strike’s wide trip in the stretch gets him a decent fifth place result, but no piece of the purse. Sly Prayers dropped to sixth in the closing moments, finishing ahead of Distant Volcano, Raj The Magician, Tiger Claw, Ags Cherokee, Ronaldo Chop, Immoral, Two In The Chamber, and Money Truck.

About The Winner- Pxg, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by R M Hernandez, is a six year old gelding by Laffin Five Oh, and is out of the late Peppermint Dove. He was bred in Texas by Broken Spoke Stables as a second quarter two year old, and was acquired by Mb Stables, via Tiratzo in a February 2019 private sale for $35.000. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his thirteenth in 35 starts, his seventh stake and third graded win. His career earnings are now $1,840.590.

Horse Name

Owner Name

Jockey

Odds

Fin

Time

SRF

Pxg

Mb Stables

Hernandez R M

5.25

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