Shoemaker Mile (Grade 1) (BC)- $400.000 Purse
SA- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Turf
June 4, 2016
A field of seven (originally eight) is set to do battle in the 12th running of the Shoemaker Mile at SA. This is a Grade 1 Turf event that will have Breeder’s Cup points on the line, and it has attracted an impressive field! There’s a lot of time between now and the BC, but more then likely when the BC previews do roll around, you will be seeing a lot of references to this race! Last year’s race ended up in a dead heat between Irish Flu and Silver Bullet. Both of them would participate in the BC Mile last October, but neither would finish in the money. Most past winners of the Shoemaker Mile have chosen the BC Mile, but some have also gone to the BC Turf. Regardless of the race chosen, a Shoemaker winner has yet to win a BC race in the same season. The closest call was 2005 winner Royal Randwick, who lost in a photo that year to stablemate Jagged Account. Jagged Account was a Shoemaker winner in 2006 and 2008, and is the only two-time winner in this race. This is a race that Australia Wide had a nice stranglehold on in the early days of the game. More recently, in having one of the winners in the dead heat last year, Sanny Village has won the last two editions of this race. Neither have a runner in this race. Also, historically, this is a race where the elite trainers of the game strut their stuff, so we’ll see if that happens again here! This looks like it will be a fantastic race, let’s meet our entries!
#1- Hold The Mach (Night Rider Stables, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- After running in the BC Mile last fall, the now six-year old gelding has won two out of four races so far this year. It started with a win in the SSM Turf Sprint, showing that he doesn’t necessarily need to go long to win a big race. However, going long is exactly what he did when he defeated one of last year’s Shoemaker winners, Irish Flu, in the Grade 3 Appleton at GP at the beginning of April. Last month he tried sprinting again, but in an open Grade 3, and it did not go well. Hold The Mach never has two bad races in a row, so he should be expected to come back in a big way here. In a race where the field is so strong and evenly matched, Night Rider Stables will be hoping for an ideal rail trip to get it done.
#2- Iron Mann (Aer Stables, ridden by J Alvarado)- The Ironbound colt won over $800.000 as a three year old last season, which included a fourth place finish in the BC Mile last fall. He was within a length of the winner, Sir Tom, that day. This year got off to a good start, winning an optional claimer in January at SA before going to the Kilroe Mile at the same racetrack. It wasn’t a bad performance, but he was never a factor en route to a seventh place finish in a typical HRP tight pack. Three weeks ago, he was back to an optional claimer again, and only finished fourth. However, the turf was soft that day, so that could be used as an excuse, but he had been good on off tracks up until that race. This race needs to be about bouncing back. Iron Mann can win the race, of course, but short of that, this needs to be a result to build on back in the right direction.
#3- Desolation Island (Mb Stables, ridden by R Bejarano)- Noticed that the trainer, Mb Stables, is currently sitting on 250 career graded stake wins. Not sure if that has otherwise been picked up on yet here, so if not, congratulations! One race that Mb has not won yet is the Shoemaker Mile, and Desolation Island will give him a great chance to do so here. He was the runner up in the BC Turf last year, to Tundra Kenny, and he has picked up where he left off so far as a four year old. Desolation Island has won two out of three races so far this year, but his last effort is very impressive. That was in April in the Grade 1 Makers Mark, when he met up with the likes of Sir Tom, Seven Years, Tin Lizzie, Jamfest, and Spotted Cat, and beat ‘em all (well, except Jamfest, as it was a dead heat between them)! There were a lot of highly successful horse names just mentioned there, so certainly that was quite a race! After earning a 101 SRF in that race, Desolation Island has been allowed to rest and prepare for this race. It’s an even field, but look for Desolation Island and Jamfest to be battling it out all the way to the end.
#4- Eastern Townships (Harrell Racing, ridden by J Rosario)- As the only three year old in the field, Eastern Townships will be carrying three less pounds then all of her rivals in this race. Recently, we have seen the weight be such an incredible advantage for three year olds, but that probably won’t be the case here today, as the allowance is smaller. This will be the first race for Eastern Townships in the Harrell silks, as he was picked up in private sales on May 10th for $225.000. He had some good runs in the FL Sire Series as a two year old including a win, but his claim to fame right now was his win in the Grade 3 Transylvania Stakes at KEE in the beginning of April. It was a good field that featured the reigning BC Juvenile Turf winner in Icicle Dawn, and Eastern Townships got it done. This field is an upgrade over that, but he is capable an interesting to see how he fares against this crowd.
#5- Antelope Storm- Scratched
#6- Tin Lizzie (Stald Gullis, ridden by R J Albarado)- The gelding by Thats Entertainment is a veteran of 20 career races, seven of which have resulted in wins. After a promising three year old campaign, Tin Lizzie scored a big win in the Grade 1 Kilroe Mile against the likes of Iron Mann, Jamfest, Seven Years, and even Mister Major made an appearance there. To get that win, he came from way out of it, being 11th and four lengths out with just two furlongs to go. That race was so impressive, that you would think he would have built on that even more, but that hasn’t happened. His last two races are a pair of sixth place efforts, although they continued to be against the best, in Grade 1’s just like today’s: The Maker’s Mark and The Woodford Turf Classic. Note though that the pace was almost a full second quicker in the Kilroe then it was in the Maker’s Mark, and that may have had a lot to do with his ability to pick up the pieces in the stretch. He needs to bounce back here, and maybe not necessarily win, but to remind everyone he is still a top horse in the division.
#7- Jamfest (Jkk Racing Stables, ridden by K J Desormeaux)- The two-time defending BC Turf Sprint champion may very well be one of the most underrated horses in the game, considering his accomplishments. The list of those who have won two BC races is very small, and with the way Jamfest has started off his eight year old campaign, don’t rule out the hat track this year. First things first, though, will be to see if he can get career win #19 in his 56th career start. He’s been a part of the exacta in each of his last six races, including sharing a dead heat win with Desolation Island in the Maker’s Mark at KEE in mid-April. Both Desolation Island and Jamfest are coming into this race fresh off of that effort. Prior to that, he was second in a photo to Tin Lizzie in the Kilroe. How can you not love the fact that all three of them are in this race? If you want to go back further on Jamfest’s record, the only two recent blemishes are on off tracks. Otherwise, Jamfest is doing everything right while flying under the game’s radar. I’m looking for him to a win a thriller here.
#8- Charley Sweetback (Delta Farms, ridden by J R Leparoux)- Only recently has the five year old been running at the graded level, and the last two such races have turned in a couple of good results. Right here at SA, he was strong in winning the Grade 3 American Stakes. But let’s face it, the best in the division were not in the American Stakes, and this Saturday he is up against the toughest company that he has ever seen. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a shot, because he has the ability to be right there with the field because he is very consistent, and he seems to be improving. His career seemed to be revitalized last September when the trainer made an add switch from bute to lasix, and helped again when he was recently moved from dirt to turf. With all those pieces in place now, Charley Sweetback can contend with this field.
Prediction: 7-3-6-1
— NS
Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES
