Mister D Stakes (Grade 1)- $600.000 Purse
AP- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Quarter on the Turf
August 14, 2021

John Henry didn’t bring Dead Madness to run in the rebranded AP Million, so we couldn’t see that one try to win the race three years ago, but that didn’t mean the trainer couldn’t accomplish the feat. This year, John Henry brought Winter Solstice to this race, a horse that had won three of his last five races but needed to rebound after a tough outing. Winter Solstice would accomplish exactly that, running in the middle of the field most of the way before striking in the stretch to get the win, the trainer’s third. Jockey S R Bahen wins the race for the first time! Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:58.32, a middle of the road such time. Let’s take a look!

(½ Mile- :47.48)- The field breaks out of the gate in three groups of three, and they run that way early in the frontstretch before some shuffling happens in the middle of the pack. Our first trio sees Nakamura Stables-trained Hollywood Capo take the third lane and be half a length in front of the two that he runs with. To his inside, it is Technic, from Fractious, and on the rail runs Immoral for Mb Stables. The second group of three consists of our eventual winner, Winter Solstice, comfortably riding the rail early on for John Henry. His running mate to his outside is Feathers Not Dots, from Night Rider Stables. Initially breaking with them was Anoush Command (Fractious), but he would eventually back off of them and situate himself a length and a half behind them. The back three are Concerto Of Eggs (TwinTowersRacing), Ptyrannical (Arindel), and Forbidden Blush (Smokey Stover).

(¾ Mile- 1:10.77)- There is essentially nothing new to write about at this point, which is not terribly surprising for a ten furlong race when the field runs down the backstretch. Still, not a single horse breaks out of line to try and make a move towards the lead. The lone excitement was Winter Solstice moving down a lane, perhaps seeing that Technic may be about to lose touch with the frontrunners, Hollywood Capo and Immoral, who still held those spots. Let’s move on!

(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- As we move around the turn, Immoral takes the lead from Hollywood Capo by a neck, and moves over to the rail as Technic does start to back out of it. Technic, by the time we reach the top of the stretch, has fallen to the sixth position. Winter Solstice was looking very good in the turn, and calmly moved over one more lane to be able to pass Immoral and Hollywood Capo in a single sitting. He had a half length to go at this point, but it seemed as though the pass was imminent. Feathers Not Dots was doing a great job staying glued to his outside around the turn, and it looked like he may be able to run with him. Anoush Command was inching closer as well, pulling to within two lengths of the frontrunners. Perhaps, Concerto Of Eggs was going to try and get involved here as well, but were not seeing much from Ptyrannical nor Forbidden Blush.

(Finish- 1:58.32)- Both Hollywood Capo and Immoral put up a great fight, and for a little while in the stretch it was looking like Hollywood Capo was going to hold for the win. But even though it was more difficult than it had seemed like it was going to be, Winter Solstice and S R Bahen stayed with it all the way to wire, and in the closing moments of the race, he would take the lead and ultimately win in a photo with Hollywood Capo, with Immoral half a length behind in third. Anoush Command got closer, but as the frontrunners still had plenty left in the stretch, that effort was only good enough for fourth. Feathers Nots Dots was not able to mount a challenge in the stretch, but does finish ahead of Concerto Of Eggs, Forbidden Blush, Ptyrannical, and Technic.

About The Winner- Winter Solstice, trained by John Henry and ridden to victory by S R Bahen, is a six year old gelding by Winter Warrior, and is out of Dangerous Lady. He was bred in California as a first quarter two year old by EasyMoney Stables, and acquired by John Henry, via Maxmillion Farm, in private sales for $550.000 in October 2019. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his tenth in 35 starts, and his eighth stake win, all of which are graded. His career earnings are now $2,786.990.

Track: Firm
Time: :47²  1:10³  1:34¹  1:58¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 3 – 9 Paid 63.00
$1 Trifecta: 3 – 9 – 8 Paid 190.60

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES