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

A field of nine older females have made their way to CD to take part in the sixth running of the Grade 3 Shawnee, which will send them a mile and a sixteenth around the main track. As time has gone on, the race has seen gradual purse increases and has settled into the $275.000 amount now for the second year. This is the third year that the stake will carry a Grade 3 designation. 2024’s winner was El Salvador, for Iolaus Racing, and it would be the final win for that mare. After two more starts, she has been retired and has already produced three foals. We’ve also seen Jinxed Artist and Terra Command win the Shawnee, so there have been some great horses that have run here and that continues this year with a great field. Let’s meet the horses:

1- Vanessa (Royalty Stables, ridden by M Franco)- She’s been knocking on the door of her first stake win, but for now is still looking for it. Her last win was about a year ago, here in an allowance at the start of June, but that doesn’t mean she has not been productive. She has been the runner up three times and was a half-length away from capturing the Grade 2 Santa Monica Stakes at SA in February, beaten only by the great Lady Sammyantha. Another close call last time out shows she is doing everything but win and may just need a fortunate break or two.

2- Wavy Girl (Saratoga Stud, ridden by P Lopez)- A two-time runner in the BC Distaff, and was the runner up in 2023. But you don’t have to dig back far to see where she had run exceptionally well, because Wavy Girl is off to a good start if she wants to get back to the BC again. She’s won two of her last three, taking the Grade 3 Royal Delta at GP before heading to OP to win the Azeri (Grade 2). Off of that, she ran here in the mud in the Grade 1 La Troienne, and there was nothing wrong with her effort as she settled for third. This figures to be the first time since February where she will run on a fast track.

3- Fringe Benefits (Mo Mentum Farm, ridden by O Murphy)- This six-year-old mare has had a lengthy 32-race career, which had mostly been in overnights until joining the ungraded ranks. In her last five starts, she’s been competitive and near the front but is still looking for her first stake win. Last time out, she did win, but it came in an optional claimer at WO where she convincingly won by three, telling her trainer she needed to be back at this level. Fringe Benefits is not a graded newbie and will face her biggest challenge here.

4- Storming Sunset (Rock Creek, ridden by P Husbands)- After running in claimers for most of her career, this filly stormed into bigger and better once in the silks of Rock Creek. The Hirsch was too much for her over the summer, but afterwards she rolled off a string of consistent performances which led to her return to the graded level last month in the Santa Maria (Grade 2). It was a small but strong field, so her fourth place effort could be seen as being inconclusive as to whether or not she is fit for this level. I like that she’s getting the chance here.

5- Untidy (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- With ten wins in 25 starts, and making over $2,600.000 for her career, there is no question that Untidy should be one of the favorites every time she is out there while she in on top of her game. As a five-year-old, she has made four starts, kicking off the year with wins in a pair of Grade 3’s, the La Canada Stakes and the Bayakoa, and following it up by running third in the Azeri BC and the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff. Mb Stables opted for that race over the La Troienne that weekend, the latter being a race she won here in 2024. She’ll go back to her normal distance this time.

6- Right As Rain (Alydar Stables, ridden by G Corrales)- Last summer, Alydar Stables moved Right As Rain from the dirt to the turf and after running second in both the BEL Oaks and SAR Oaks, she looked like she might become a top horse on the grass. While she was never poor after that, a string of mid pack efforts after tempered the excitement with her. In February, she’d make a lone dirt start in the LAPN Distaff for LA-Breds, and while she was third, she never threatened the winner. We’ll see now how she handles another start on the main track, and I’m really uncertain as to how this may go.

7- American Sky (Riggins Racing, ridden by F Geroux)- The peak of her career, as of now, was a stretch of four wins in a row in late 2023 into early 2024, followed by a runner up here in the La Troienne. She continued to run well after that and later was third in the Personal Ensign. After being sold by Iolaus Racing to Riggins for $200.000, she was third again, this time in the BC Distaff. While she is regularly hitting the board, she has not won a stake race since last July. Her lone win since then came in an open allowance at FG, a race that included Lonestar Annie, who won the Grade 1 Gamely at SA last week. Should be considered a contender here, and figures to have her normal “in the mix” finish.

8- Menacing Shadow (La Canada Racehorses, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- When you look at the names of the horses that are participating in this race, Menacing Shadow is not going to stand out at you. However, she may very well be the one to beat here. She’s impressively won six of her last seven, and eight of her last ten. Those are not all at the stake level, and most of them are in overnights or ungraded stakes. In her last two starts, Menacing Shadow has been entered into the Grade 3 Distaff Handicap and the Grade 2 Ruffian Handicap, and won both of them as well, and earned her first triple digit SRF’s along the way. So, she knows how to step it up, and I don’t see why that won’t continue here. Eventually, her name might become the first one to stand out.

9- Balius (Threshold, ridden by J Lezcano)- Balius ran in the Shawnee last year, and would run third, which is pretty typical for how she has been racing since the beginning of 2024. She’s picked up a few wins along the way, which are highlighted by the Grade 3 Maple Leaf Stakes at WO in November. She’s only run two times since then, and she could use a good bounce back run here. After struggling in the Royal Delta, she was third of five though beaten by three lengths in the Grade 2 Santa Maria Stakes. In itself, I would not worry about that, but on the heels of the Royal Delta and the fact she’s only run twice since November, I have a bit of a red flag on her, and I don’t have that on several others here. It’s possible, but I’m looking elsewhere. Threshold’s probably happy to see that!

Prediction: 8-5-2-1

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES