Idiomatic a gate-to-wire winner of the Shawnee under Florent Geroux (JennyPhoto/Past The Wire)
Churchill Downs Press Release
LOUISVILLE, Ky.— Juddmonte’s homebred Idiomatic led every step of the way in Saturday’s fourth running of the $224,750 Shawnee (Grade III) at Churchill Downs to score her first graded stakes win with a 2 ½-length triumph over Sixtythreecaliber.
Trained by Brad Cox, Idiomatic covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.13 under jockey Florent Geroux. That marked the fastest of four runnings of the race that debuted in 2020.
Breaking from post 3 in the field of seven fillies and mares, Idiomatic was unpressured early through fractions of :23.82, :47.87 and 1:11.81. Hidden Connection came within a half-length around the final turn but Idiomatic had plenty of run left. She opened a clear advantage at the head of the stretch as Sixtythreecaliber chased into contention but Idiomatic dominated every step of the way.
“She was quick away from the gate but was able to settle her speed on the front end and moved comfortably,” Geroux said. “This is the first time I’ve been on her during the races but you can tell from her previous starts she likes to be close or on the lead. She’s run primarily over on the Tapeta at Turfway but has shown she’s able to handle the dirt and going longer.”
Idiomatic returned $6.40, $3.82 and $2.66 as the 2-1 second betting choice. Sixtythreecaliber, under Edgar Morales, returned $8.20 and $3.50 at odds of 11-1. Frost Point, the even-money favorite under Junior Alvarado, rallied from last to finish another 1 ¼ lengths back in third and paid $2.30.
Moon Swag, Hidden Connection, Soul of an Angel and Travel Column completed the order of finish. Pauline’s Pearl was scratched.
Idiomatic is a 4-year-old filly by Curlin out of the First Defence mare Lockdown. She was bred in Kentucky by her owner.
With her victory in Saturday’s Shawnee worth $136,520, Idiomatic improved her record to 5-1-2 in 8 starts with earnings of $474,490.
Previously, Idiomatic won the $245,000 Latonia at Turfway Park before finishing second to Pass the Champagne in the $200,000 Ruffian (GII) on May 6 at Belmont Park.
“We’re very proud of her effort today routing on the dirt,” Cox said. “She ran well last time out in the Ruffian going a mile on dirt but it seems like two turns suits her better. She was based at Turfway this winter and ran well over the Tapeta track. We were confident she’d be able to handle the switch back to dirt and she proved that today. We always had in mind running her in the Delaware Handicap. But, we’ll see what happens and how she comes out of this race first and foremost.”
The Shawnee Stakes is named after a neighborhood in western Louisville.
