The 15th Running of The Shuvee-G3

July 25, 2021 15:00

SAR Race #8 $200.000 1¹/₈ Dirt

4YO+ Fillies and Mares 123 Lbs (plus penalties)

Track Record-1:46.34 (Jesse James-2012)

Stakes Record-1:47.94 (La Marseillaise-2021)

We’ve seen it in boxing and mixed martial arts many times: the champion wipes out their division and moves up in weight for greater challenges and conquers them too.  Maybe, just maybe, La Marseillaise is a fighter that is looking to be the next champ-champ.  Last year’s BC F&M Sprint champion took a major step towards that goal when she won the $200.000 G3 Shuvee on Sunday in a stakes record time of 1:47.94 for the 1¹/₈ over the SAR dirt.

Racing sixth, down in the two path, La Marseillaise was able to save ground around the first turn and down the backstretch as Speedy Ginger took the field through splits of :23.86 and :47.61 for the quarter-mile and half, respectively.  After settling on the rail, J. Velazquez shifted his 5yo mare off of the rail with five furlongs to go and appeared ready to ask La Marseillaise for run; however, after a brief second, he changed his mind and maneuvered back to the rail.

After six furlongs in 1:11.20, Speedy Ginger had a two-length lead over Tenrikyo and Toothless as that duo started going after her in earnest.  Now back off the rail, La Marseillaise made the decision that it was time to go for Velazquez.  Sitting in sixth, she dispensed with Envy, on her inside, and Five Star Queen, on her outside, and set her sights on the only three horses left in front of her.  Tenrikyo made the front with a furlong to go, but La Marseillaise had closed the gap to just a length.  The Spa stage was set for two of the classiest mares in the game to throw down.

Tenrikyo, already outside of La Marseillaise, started to drift out even more as Speedy Ginger did the same to the inside of the eventual winner.  That seam was all the encouragement Whiteout Stables‘ champion needed to close in on the Smokey Stover-trained leader.  Inside the final ¹/₁₆, La Marseillaise put her nose in front and gradually began pulling away from her stubborn foe.  In the end, the top two were separated by a half-length with La Marceillaise getting the better of her rival on this day.  Speedy Ginger was two lengths behind Tenrikyo in 3rd as she held off an always-wide Toothless; as an aside, both Speedy Ginger and Toothless ran races that were indeed good enough to win most G3’s in this division and they both deserve extra carrots back at the barn.

With the win, La Marseillaise claimed four BC Distaff points and improved her overall record to 26-10-2-5 with $1,497.200 earned.  Tenrikyo, who also broke the stakes record in defeat, claimed the two BC points awarded for the place and Speedy Ginger claimed the last BC point for her third-place effort.  The winner cleared a major hurdle with the win, being that it was her first victory going past one-mile; the runner-up showed that she will not go quietly into the night just yet.  We should be so lucky to see them hook-up down the line, for, when they do, the fans are all winners.

Congratulations to Whitewater Stables and La Marseillaise, the conquerors of the 2021 $200.000 G3 Shuvee!

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES