Shakertown (Grade 2)- $350.000 Purse
KEE- For Three Year Olds and Upward
Five and a Half Furlongs on the Turf
April 9, 2022

In 2017, the Shakertown moved from being for four year olds and upward to allowing three year olds to also take part. Since that change, only once has a three year old not ended up as a winner, as they get an eight point weight allowance. That’s significant in any form of racing, but especially in our virtual world, so it was hard to get excited about the chances of the four older horses in the field. One of them was very well accomplished, and with weights equal or close to equal, The Grandmaster would have been a no brainer pick here. He would still go off as the second choice, and he would end up putting in a great performance to beat three of the three’s who finished in the next three positions. His trainer is John Henry, and it is his first win in the Shakertown. That’s also true for jockey E Jaramillo. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:02.30, right in line with other recent times. Let’s take a look!

(1/4 Mile- :22.53)- Breaking sharply out of the gate is the post time favorite, Elijah G, for Mb Stables, and he would be joined at the front by Mo Mentum Farm’s Bad Precedent. These two battle it out, and at the end of the backstretch, it is Bad Precedent with a slight lead. They have two stalking them, one of them being Hopewell Artist who runs in the third lane for Smokey Stover. On the rail, and running fourth is Distant Volcano, for Team 7 Illusions. In the middle of the field, we have the Arindel stablemates, Sharkamaulu and Doug. Our eventual winner, The Grandmaster, is next for John Henry, running in the third lane. C H P (Rock Creek) trails, but everyone is within four lengths.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- Around the turn and into the stretch, we don’t see any change with the front two horses as Elijah G and Bad Precedent continue to run side by side and hope to hold off the rest of the field. They are getting some company, however, as Hopewell Artist begins to make his three wide move. Distant Volcano continues to stalk this group, but needs a lane to open up for him. Further back, we have not seem much out of the Arindel pair, and now they have The Grandmaster making his way around them to their outside. The Grandmaster had about two and a half lengths to catch the leaders. C H P continued to trail.

Finish (1:02.30)- Approaching the wire, Hopewell Artist completed his pass of the pacesetters and was looking pretty good. The Grandmaster, however, was not done, and was making progress on the outside. At first, it didn’t seem like he was going to get there in time, but he would not be dragged down by the weight and put on an impressive last second surge to get up just time for the victory! Hopewell Artist settles for second and late running Sharkamaulu claims third. Distant Volcano gets the final cut of the purse, and Elijah G, Bad Precedent, Doug, and C H P round it out.

About The Winner- The Grandmaster, trained by John Henry and ridden to victory by E Jaramillo, is a seven year old gelding by Cherokee Sunset and is out of the late Run Karly Run. He was bred in New York as a second quarter two year old by Team 7 Illusions, and was acquired by John Henry for $250.000 in a December 2018 private sale. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his 17th in 44 starts, his twelfth stake win, and ninth graded win. His career earnings are now $2,914.990.

Track: Firm
Time: :22²  :45   :56²  1:02¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 5 – 7 Paid 49.30
$1 Trifecta: 5 – 7 – 4 Paid 534.30

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES