LEXINGTON, Ky. – Think Big edged clear in the final strides for a half-length win in Tuesday’s Grade 2, $400,000 Shakertown Stakes for turf sprinters, continuing a big start to the Keeneland meet for jockey Ben Curtis. Curtis won his first stakes race at Keeneland on Sunday, taking the off-the-turf Palisades Stakes with Normandy Coast. He won with both of his mounts Tuesday, taking an allowance with Irish Aces before piloting Think Big to the win. “It’s unbelievable,” said Curtis, 35, who moved to the U.S. to ride full-time in late 2023, and continues his upswing after also riding in his first Kentucky Derby last year, finishing eighth aboard Honor Marie. “I have to pinch myself, really, because last year we were a bit scared to come here and we gave it a miss – just the competitive nature of the place. I hate sitting in the room, so we put a lot of work down last year, all building up to this meet. To see it all now coming to fruition is just fantastic. My agent, Ron Faucheux, has done a great job.” :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Curtis has spent many months developing a rapport with Think Big, a Godolphin homebred trained by Michael Stidham. He has ridden the 4-year-old gelding in five of his eight career starts, including all of his outings on turf. Stidham switched Think Big to the surface for an allowance win at Fair Grounds in December, with Curtis aboard. After finishing third in an off-the-turf allowance race, Think Big and Curtis bounced back for another win at that level, then took the Shakertown to remain unbeaten on turf. “I’ve known him for a while, and I’ve breezed him a lot,” Curtis said. “I got on him originally at Colonial, where he put in a dominant performance [in his maiden] and won well. I got back on him at Fair Grounds. We shortened him up and put him on the turf, and he seemed to grow a fifth leg. He really improved with that. "Every run he’s had, he’s improved, and he’s done it in a different style. He came from last and rounded the field last time, and today he sat off near the pace and ground it out to the line. So he’s versatile ground-wise, also surface-wise, so he’s just a dream horse to have, really.” Coppola caught a flyer out of the gate and had his customary early spot on the lead in the Shakertown, turning in opening splits of 22.24 seconds for the quarter and 45.48 for the half on turf rated good, while still holding a clear lead into the stretch. Rogue Lightning and Think Big had been stalking into the stretch in second and third, respectively. Think Big, coming in the three path, was strongest at the wire, edging by Rogue Lightning late. The time for the 5 1/2 furlongs was 1:04.21. Think Big earned a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure. The top two were 2 1/2 lengths clear of Eamonn, who rallied to edge Our Shot for third after racing last of 10 early. Coppola was next, fading to fifth, and was followed, in order, by Run Carson; defending Shakertown winner Arzak, who was sent off as the favorite but faded steadily after briefly stalking; Mischievous Rogue; Petcoff; and Valentine Candy, a six-time stakes winner on dirt. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.