eight-pound (Grade 2)- $350.000 Purse
KEE- For Three Year Olds and Upward
Five and a Half Furlongs on the Turf
April 8, 2023
A field of ten made their way to KEE for the running of the Grade 2, Shakertown, and one of the big questions surrounding this race would be how much of an impact would the eight-pound weight allowance that the three-year-olds in the race actually be? For this time anyway, it would not make any kind of difference at all, as the top three horses in the race were older. First at the wire was Albaquirky, an experienced turf sprinter coming off an impressive ungraded stake victory. He is trained by Santan Stables and was ridden to victory by F Geroux. For each, it is their first win in the Shakertown. Congratulations to them! The time of the victory was 1:02.24, the quickest winning time of the race since 2015. Let’s take a look at it!
(1/4 Mile- :22.11)- From the outside, Creepy Rocky Party jumps to the early lead for Mb Stables, and he is able to move over to the rail before reaching the turn. There’s a group of three in a stalking position, and this includes Cherokee Raj, who is running directly behind the leader for Night Rider Stables. On the outside, Backup Quarterback, out of Riggins Racing, is also looking good, as is Elijah G, another Mb Stables runner who runs between these two. A length behind them, we have Blanda (Fractious) and The Greek (Arindel) running close to one another, and Solar Goddess (Smokey Stover) is within a half-length of them. Sick House (Spankys Barn) is next, and among our two trailers, we have the eventual winner, Albaquirky, who is five lengths from the lead right now. With him, is Thrift Shop (Arkansas Elite).
(Top of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- Creepy Rocky Party runs well around the turn and begins the run down the stretch with a lead of a length and looking like he is still in full stride. Backup Quarterback, despite taking an outside line around the turn, maintains the second position, holding that by a head over Cherokee Raj, who continues to run in the rail. There is a lot of space in between them, and taking up those lanes are Elijah G, Blanda, and The Greek. Solar Goddess ran on the outside as well, and had not made a push, and we had not seen much out of longshot Sick House. Albaquirky is still running ninth, is four lengths out of it, and really didn’t look like he was about to win this race. Thrift Shop is at the back.
(Finish- 1:02.24)- As Creepy Rocky Party continues to lead down the stretch, Albaquirky starts to make his run from further back. He would initially take the second lane, which was the path behind Blanda, before he needed to move over to the rail in order to get by them. There would not be much room here, because Cherokee Raj was still in that lane further ahead. But we can give him the courteous horse of the race award, because he would just so happen to move down just enough to allow Albaquirky to stay on the rail and to maintain his stride. He would go on by, though surely jockey F Geroux thanked J L Ortiz, the jockey of Cherokee Raj, for that tremendous display of courtesy. Albaquirky would complete the pass in the final strides, winning by a half length over a tight second place photo. In that, Creepy Rocky Party has the edge on Cherokee Raj, Sick House, Elijah G. Finishing it out, we have Thrift Shop, Backup Quarterback, Blanda, The Greek, and Solar Goddess.
About The Winner- Albaquirky, trained by Santan Stables and ridden to victory by L Saez, is a five-year-old gelding by Through The Tulips and is out of Sarah Jessica Parker. He was bred in Zoeller as a yearling in New Mexico, and was acquired by Santan Stables, via Nakamura Stables, in the June 2021 auction for a mere $2.700. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his sixth in 15 starts, his third stake win and first graded win. His career earnings are now $368.880.
Track: Firm
Time: :22 :444 :562 1:021
$2 Mutuel Prices:
$1 Exacta: 4 – 9 Paid 16.00
$1 Trifecta: 4 – 9 – 1 Paid 103.20
Scratched: None
— NS
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES
