Kenner Stakes ($100.000 Purse)
FG- For Four Year Olds and Upward
Five and a Half Furlongs on the Turf
January 21, 2023

The weather did not cooperate with the trainers for the running of the Kenner Stakes, as steady rain forced the turf course to be listed as soft. It did not spoil the day of the horses that we picked to finish as the top two, though they finished in the opposite order. Proving that the rain eight-year-old Shelbags, a horse that had run on off tracks in three of his last four prior to this, but not at as bad as it was today. Those races were not the highlight of his past performances, so if anyone had their doubts about the eight-year-old here, you could understand it. But in this race, it would not matter for the gelding, as he earns his fifteenth win of his career. He is trained by Lindeman Prairie and was ridden by E Jaramillo. For each, it is their first win in the Kenner. Congratulations go out to them! The winning race time was 1:05.15. Let’s take a look at it!

(1/4 Mile- :23.03)- After a solid start out of the gate for mostly everyone, it is Creepy Rocky Party, running for Mb Stables, who emerges as the quickest of them all and ends up with a lead of nearly a length. He still must run five wide now, as he is unable to clear four rivals that are to his inside. Of that group, Scafati is second for Nakamura Stables, and as he runs right to the inside of Creepy Rocky Party, the leader can’t get to the rail right now. Also, a part of this group is our eventual winner, the Lindeman Prairie trained Shelbags, who runs in the second lane. Sleepy Sunday is on his outside for Rampage Stable and Lunar Watch is on the rail for Black N Gold Stable. Behind them, it’s a length to La Rosa Stables’ Grand Connection and another to Stop Being Silly (Jackrussell Farms). It’s another length to the two trailers, Arrest Me Red (First Flight Stable), and Love That Pink (Whitewater Stables).

(Top of Stretch, 2F To Go)- Fortunately for Mb Stables, Creepy Rocky Party found just enough to clear the four rivals inside of him for the turn and was able to move over to the rail. Once there, he looked great and poured it on, extending his advantage to a length and a half, and it was looking like only one of those immediately behind him had a chance of running with him. That horse was former BC Turf Sprint rival Shelbags, who pulled half a length ahead of Lunar Watch, Sleepy Sunday and Scafati. Those three were still running gamely enough, but unless one of them found a new spark, that battle was going to be for third. As for the rest of the field, a large gap opened up, with Grand Connection 2-3 lengths behind that group of three but leading the second pack. Stop Being Silly was nearby to him, and another length and a half to Arrest Me Red and Love That Pink. It would take a monumental effort for one of these last four to get the win.

(Finish- 1:05.15)- Entering the stretch, Creepy Rocky Party was still running well but despite that, it was not going to quite be enough. Shelbags would begin reeling him in, especially within the final furlong, and would overpower the pacesetter to score the big win, getting his eight-year-old campaign off to a great start. Sleepy Sunday had nothing for them, but ran steady to the wire for third, half a length ahead of Scafati. Lunar Watch was a length back of him, then we had a big gap to the rest of the field. Rounding them out, it is Stop Being Silly, Love That Pink, Grand Connection, and Arrest Me Red.

About The Winner- Shelbags, trained by Lindeman Prairie and ridden to victory by E Jaramillo, is an eight-year-old gelding by the late Pop Some Tags and is out of Shelbimes. He was bred in Texas as a yearling by Ekli Stable and was acquired by Lindeman Prairie, via Big Jd Racing, for $7.000 in a June 2020 claiming race. That one sure worked out! Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fifteenth in 51 starts, and his sixth stake win. His career earnings improve to $850.730.

Track: Soft
Time: :23   :46³  :59   1:05

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 2 – 9 Paid 12.70
$1 Trifecta: 2 – 9 – 3 Paid 94.40

Scratched: No

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded