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
June 1, 2024

Rain made a mess of CD on Saturday, leaving the track sloppy and soft for the day’s races. That also meant a couple scratches for The Shawnee, leaving us with a field of seven for the race. The weather forecast likely made Iolaus Racing thrilled even before the race, since El Salvador has proven she is a mudder. In the slop, this five-year-old mare picked up her third win in four races, and they have all been on tracks that were muddy or worse. This isn’t meant to imply that she could not beat these horses on a dry track, but she certainly loves it when it rains. The victory in the race is the first for both trainer Iolaus Racing and jockey F Geroux. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:47.01. Let’s take a look at it:

(1/4 Mile- :23.62)- From the outside, Always A Virgin jumps out to the lead for Tinkey and tries to open up by a length, but the unexpected post-time favorite, Threshold’s Balius, won’t let her get away completely and is within half a length. Closer to the rail, Maxmillion Farm’s Queen Evade Party is neck and neck with the Nakamura Stables- trained Smiling Lucy. There’s a gap of about length and a half, where we find Present Tense, the Mb Stables filly that seemed like the one to beat, running alongside the one that no one would be able to beat, Iolaus Racing’s El Salvador. At the back, Port Star ran by herself for Fractious.

(½ Mile- :48.20)- Balius takes the lead as they enter the backstretch, and Always A Virgin is not able to keep up with her at all. Balius is now clear by a length and a half as both Smiling Lucy and Queen Evade Party catch Always A Virgin for second. There’s an almost two length gap to the fifth-place horse, which is El Salvador. She’s pulled away from Present Tense by a little bit. Port Star remains by herself at the back.

(Top of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- Balius is able to run at her own pace at the front as they run around the turn and enter the stretch, as no one is challenging her quite yet. About midway into the turn, F Geroux swings El Salvador four wide to prepare to get around the ones in front of her. El Salvador was responsive right away, easily passing Always A Virgin and preparing to get by Queen Evade Party and Smiling Lucy early in the stretch. Present Tense was looking to split those two horses as she tried to extend her winning streak. Port Star was way back.

(Finish- 1:47.01)- Balius looks to hold off the field in the stretch, and for a little while it looked like she might be able to do so. In the final furlong, there was no denying El Salvador, as she would be much the best approaching the wire to pick up the big win! Present Tense ran well in the stretch to be second, getting by Balius in the closing strides. Smiling Lucy takes home the final cut of the purse, but never threatened for more. Queen Evade Party was next, and then it was five lengths to Always A Virgin and two more to Port Star.

About The Winner- El Salvador, trained by Iolaus Racing and ridden by F Geroux, is a five-year-old mare by Sneaky Little Pirate and is out of Kamiko. She was bred by Waldo in California as a yearling and was acquired by Iolaus Racing via Sir Edward Estates in an April 2023 private sale for $50.000. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her eighth in 22 starts, and her first stake win! Her career earnings are now $515.120.

Track: Sloppy
Time: :23³  :48¹  1:13³  1:47

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 6 – 4 Paid 41.00
$1 Trifecta: 6 – 4 – 8 Paid 38.00

Scratched: Ifyerwokeyerajoke, Queen Mother

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES