Shoemaker Mile (Grade 1)- $300.000 Purse
SA- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Turf
May 26, 2025

Memorial Day action is plentiful, and among the card on this holiday where we remember our fallen heroes is the 21st running of the Shoemaker Mile, a race that may have only drawn a field of six, but among them will be the last two winners of the race. We can also count on talking about this race often over the next five and a half months as the focus turns away from the TC and towards the BC. The Shoemaker Mile has been held at SA since 2014 and has seen the purse range from $300.000 and $500.000 during that time. Only one horse has won this race twice, that being Jagged Account back in 2006 and 2008. We have a good chance of that happening for the second time here with two of the six horses being previous winners, but the other four will have something to say about that. Let’s meet the field:

1- Jakarta (Nakamura Stables, ridden by A A Gallardo)- We start this off with the 2023 Shoemaker Mile winner, a win that at the time was third of three graded wins for Jakarta. A year prior, he ran second in this race, but he never made an effort to defend his title here last year. In early June of 2024, Jakarta took part in the Grade 3 Poker Stakes at SAR and came out on top and his next win after that would come in none other than the BC Mile. This year would start off the same way as last year, by running dead last in the Pegasus World Cup Turf. He would not win until his fourth start of the year in 2024, and this is his fourth start of 2025.

2- Hackett (Royalty Stables, ridden by B Curtis)- After getting his debut race out of the way, Hackett has never failed to finish somewhere in the top four, and has five wins in twelve starts overall. It’s also pretty impressive that in the races that he did not win, he’s never been beaten by more than a length. The majority of those races are in overnights, but when moved into the stakes ranks, he has still run well and was second in the Grade 2 Mathis Brothers Mile in December. He’s only made one start since then, which does make me wonder why to an extent, though there is no regression in his public works to be concerned over.

3- Rogerius Catalinus (Rock Creek, ridden by P Husbands)- Won the $80.000 Lure Stakes here last October, but it has not been pretty for him in the three races that have followed. Back-to-back ninth place efforts in Grade 3’s here in his last two races, with differing tactics used. These cold spells are not new for Rogerius Catalinus, and he has snapped out of them with wins before, like in the $100.000 Wickerr Stakes at DMR last summer. His last public work was a good one, so if he becomes a real high price, which is possible, it might not hurt to take a small shot with him just in case this is another Wickerr, but still, it’s tough to pick him in this field.

4- Poison Arrow (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- As a three-year-old, Poison Arrow won four straight KYD prep races and then ran second in the KYD itself and then third in the BEL a month later. He would fizzle out over the summer and would not be a part of BC day. In fact, he’d be dropped pretty far, all the way into an open allowance at BTP and even in that, he was only third of four. He’d be moved to the turf after that, and seemingly out of nowhere, won the $350.000 Opening Verse at CD earlier this month on soft going and will look to carry that momentum into this race.

5- Electric Blue (Spankys Barn, ridden by L Saez)- Last year, Electric Blue won the Shoemaker Mile by a length and earned a 103 SRF for his efforts. Afterwards, things have continued to go well for him, showing he could sprint as well in the $2,000.000 KD Turf Sprint, placing second in that. While the BC Mile was not a career highlight, Electric Blue has bounced back well by running first or second in the three races that followed, including in a Grade 1 Kilroe Mile win right here. He likes it here, going a perfect 3-for-3 in his SA starts (all graded stakes). Before last year’s breakout season, he mainly ran in overnights but has taken to new heights with Spankys Barn and isn’t done writing his story yet.

6- Absolutely Grande (Grimley, ridden by K Carmouche)- Rounding out the field is this eight-year-old gelding that ran in the Shoemaker Mile back in 2023, though he finished at the back of the pack. He’s only raced twice since winning the Grade 3 Arlington Stakes on soft turf almost a full year ago at CD, and while he showed little in the FG Stakes, he was a lot better last time out in the Grade 1 Makers Mark Mile at KEE last month. He was fifth but beaten by less than a length. If he can duplicate that, he’ll have a good shot here.

Prediction: 5-2-4-6

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES