Joe Shiesty sets Mighty Beau record in win
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Joe Shiesty ran a big race off the bench Saturday at Churchill Downs, setting a quick pace and prevailing by a neck over favorite Arrest Me Red in the $225,000 Mighty Beau. It was another 2 1/4 lengths back in third to Run Carson.
The Mighty Beau was for 3-year-olds and up over five furlongs on turf. The course was listed as firm.
Joe Shiesty ($8.54) was making his first start since November and quickly moved to the lead after the start and proceeded to run the opening quarter-mile in 21.56 seconds. Joe Shiesty maintained his advantage through a half-mile in 43.93 and held off a surging Arrest Me Red in 55.87 seconds. It was announced the final time was a stakes record, lowering the Mighty Beau mark of 56.31 set by Forgive in 2017.
Luan Machado was aboard Joe Shiesty for trainer Eric Foster.
“He broke so well and took me right to the lead,” Machado told the press office at Churchill. “I remember the first time I rode him, Eric told me he’s the ‘fastest horse in North America.’ He was right. We went 20 seconds for a quarter-mile at Keeneland. He showed that speed today early without me even asking him. He’s a very talented horse and can run well on any surface.”
Foster said in a post-race interview conducted by Churchill that the five-furlong distance suited Joe Shiesty for his comeback race Saturday.
“The five-eighths distance fit him perfectly coming off a break,” he said. “Regardless of how far they were going, he was going to break well and go hard out front. I think he was just getting a little tired at the end and we’ll look for him to be even stronger next time.”
Joe Shiesty is a son of Air Force Blue who races for Foster Family Racing, Lonnie Reynolds, Vicki Mills, and Donald Coomes. He has now won 5 of 13 starts for earnings of $553,056.
* There is a $241,646 carryover in the late pick five for Sunday, Churchill Downs announced. It will include the featured Matt Winn. The sequence for the 50-cent bet begins in race five and continues through the ninth. There were no winning favorites in the late pick five Saturday. The longest price came in the eighth race, which was won by Math Tudor ($107.98).
* Champion Immersive is scheduled to make her 3-year-old debut next Saturday at Churchill Downs in the $175,000 Monomoy Girl, an overnight stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles. It’s slotted as the fifth race and she will break from post 2 in the field of six. Manny Franco has the mount for Godolphin and trainer Brad Cox. Immersive will be making her first start since winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
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