The Shawnee (Grade 3)- $275.000 Purse
CD- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
May 31, 2025

The Shawnee would be a close race all the way to the end, but that did not stop us from having a wire-to-wire winner, as Balius at one point jumped out to a two-length lead before having her trainer, Threshold, yell for the wire to hurry up and get there. In the end, Balius does prevail in a race that she had finished third in last year. It’s the second time that Threshold has won this race, as his previous victory came in 2022 with Terra Command. B Curtis is the winner rider, his first such win. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:41.36, and that is a new stake record in what was the sixth running of the race. Let’s take a look at it:

(1/4 Mile- :23.33)- Rock Creek’s Storming Sunset and Mo Mentum Farm’s Fringe Benefits were the quickest out of the gate, but it would not take long for our eventual winner from Threshold, Balius, to assert herself as the race leader and she’d be ahead by about half a length. Storming Sunset and Fringe Benefits ran evenly with one another for second, and it would be a gap of a length and a half to Right As Rain, who ran in the third lane for Alydar Stables. To her inside were the two big names of the race, Untidy (Mb Stables) and Wavy Girl (Saratoga Stud). Vanessa (Royalty Stables) would be next along the inside, half a length ahead of American Sky (Riggins Racing) and Menancing Shadow (La Canada Racehorses).

(½ Mile- :46.85)- Down the backstretch, Balius is able to pull clear of Storming Sunset and Fringe Benefits, and this will allow her to move over to the rail. Those two are content to stalk the pace while Right As Rain moves up a little bit further back. Untidy and Wavy Girl are not concerned with how things were going in front of them and were happy to run in the middle of the field, trailing by four. Vanessa would trail by about six, with Menancing Shadow indeed being her shadow, and American Sky running at the back.

(Top of Stretch, 2F To Go)- Balius looks great up front, maintained her steady stride, something that would be too much for both Storming Sunset and Fringe Benefits. Those two would be put away as she stretches out to lead by two and await any possible new challengers. Untidy was starting show more interest, moving into fourth and hoping for more. Vanessa was also one to watch, as she has moved off the rail in the turn to the fourth lane with hopes of sweeping by the competition. Right As Rain had packed it in, and Wavy Girl had still not made a push despite having plenty of room to do so on the rail. Menancing Shadow and American Sky had a lot of work to do at the rear of the field.

(Finish- 1:41.36)- Early in the stretch, and even with a furlong to go, it looked like Balius was about to win comfortably. Untidy had moved into third, and on the outside, Vanessa was coming on nicely, but even with that, Balius still had a good enough cushion to make it, without any worry, we would have thought. That would not be the case in the closing strides, as getting closer to the finish, Vanessa and Untidy were cutting into their deficit quickly, but ultimately, Threshold could exhale as they hit the wire, seeing Balius hang on in a photo. Vanessa has a good-looking run to be second, narrowly over Untidy. Wavy Girl is the best of the rest to be fourth but never threatened for more. The rest of the order will read American Sky, Menancing Shadow, Storming Sunset, Fringe Benefits, and Right As Rain.

About The Winner- Balius, trained by Threshold and ridden to victory by B Curtis is a five-year-old mare by Kavorka and is out of Macoumba. She was bred in Ontario as a first quarter two-year-old by Threshold, the only trainer of which she has ever known. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her eighth in 25 starts, her fifth stake win and second graded win. Her career earnings are now $828.530.

Track: Fast
Time: :23¹  :46⁴  1:10⁴  1:41¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 9 – 1 Paid 78.60
$1 Trifecta: 9 – 1 – 5 Paid 1,395.80

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES