Makers Mark Mile (Grade 1)- $600.000 Purse
KEE- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Turf
April 14, 2023

Some of the best turf horses in the game today will be making their way to KEE on Friday for the 19th running of the Makers Mark Mile, a race that was initially a Grade 2 but quickly changed over to its Grade 1 designation, in 2007. Using the Grade 1 standard, the purse for this stake has not always been that high and would only see an increase to the current $600.000 level last year. That was a race won by Nevada Silver, a four-year-old gelding for Nakamura Stables. He will not be here to try and defend his title, as arguably, he is not racing at this level anymore, though that could change. Other past winners include Desolation Island, who did it twice, as well as Jamfest and Immoral. Even Fusion, who is not known for running on the grass, won this race in the past. This year, we have ten horses going to post, many of them very well accomplished but there are some up and comers mixed in who would love to make a career statement by scoring a victory over the type of competition that they go up against. Here is a look at our horses!

#1- Great Bonkers (Aer Stables, ridden by Ru Silvera)- Claimed by Aer Stables for $18.000 last July and he has done a great job with him. On the surface, it didn’t seem like he changed up much, but a month later whatever he may have done was enough to win the Grade 2 King Edward BC Stakes at WO. Then, just a couple of months later, Great Bonkers would become a BC champion, taking the BC Mile right here. Three weeks later, it was off to the dirt for the Grade 1 Clark, and he won that too. That’s the last time that he’s had Ru Silvera in the saddle, and the last time that he won. Will their reunion be all it takes to get him back in the winner’s circle? Regardless, kudos to Aer for what he did with this horse.

#2- Specialize (Night Rider Stables, ridden by T Gaffalione)- Aer showed us that you can bring a horse from a claimer into graded stake and win, so Night Rider is hoping he can do the same. Technically, he acquired him in private sales, but he has not run since a $50.000 claiming win at LRL. The difference here is that Specialize is a seven-year-old gelding with only $24.000 in earnings. Running at the free track so often will have that type of impact. Otherwise, it’s tough to like him in this field, as I will have to see it first. I might not be as surprised as others though, as there is more talent at the free tracks than some may think.

#3- Valvano (Royalty Stables, ridden by E Jaramillo)- This four-year-old has been inconsistent over his career, though he has won four out of seventeen starts. Unfortunately, he has several disappointing efforts on his resume that make him a little hard to figure out. He has not done much turf racing overall, but it has been a recent trend. His biggest career win was right here about a year ago in the $400.000 Lafayette, on the dirt, and he is actually 2-for-2 here at KEE. Perhaps he needs to show up more often, then.

#4- Lets Do It Big Boy (RNP Stables, ridden by J C Ferrer)- It is start #68 for this incredible nine-year-old Cherokee Sunset gelding. He’s won fourteen times and was a half-length away from a fifteenth in his last start, coming in the Grade 1 Kilroe Mile, and he nearly was a BC champion right here last year, placing second in a photo to Great Bonkers. It won’t be his first time in the Makers Mark, as he appeared here back in 2021, though was a non-factor. He’s been consistent in his old age and has been able to get positive results recently with J C Ferrer aboard. He’s seen many of these before and should be able to get at least some portion of the purse, if not the grand prize.

#5- Penal Hockey Party (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Hockey season is winding down, and as we get excited for the Stanley Cup playoffs, we can sit back and enjoy a horse that enjoys his own hockey parties, even if they are penal ones. He was here last fall as well for the BC Mile, but it was not a highlight for him. That didn’t stop him, and he bounced back to win the Grade 2 Mathis Brothers Mile in the start the followed. In his last race, he was second best in the Kilroe Mile with a good closing effort, nearly catching Mickey.

#6- Mr Shark (Arindel, ridden by R M Hernandez)- He’s only made one graded start in his career, coming last September up at SAR for the Grade 3 Saranac, where he was fifth. Mr Shark followed that up with some less than exciting efforts, as even his third-place result saw him beaten three lengths. Finally, he returned to the winner’s circle in his last outing, an optional claimer for NY-breds on soft going at AQU. While he seems capable of running well here and I can understand his placement, I just don’t think this is a horse I can trust by picking.

#7- Absolutely Grande (Grimley, ridden by E J Zayas)- His last race was not his graded stake debut, but it was definitely not something that he had a habit of running in. For the most part, before that, Absolutely Grande in optional claimers, and many were with the NY-bred condition. That changed last month, when he ran in the Grade 3 San Simeon Stakes at SA, on soft turf, and placed second. That is a sprint, but Absolutely Grande has been able to get the job done just fine when running a mile or more. Typically, a consistent horse, and I look for him to run well here.

#8- Proud Bo (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by A Cedillo)- Two starts ago, Proud Bo snapped a winless skid that lasted a little more than a year, and that was in the $100.000 Bradley Stakes on a rain-soaked FG turf course. His only other non-maiden win, interestingly enough, also came on an off-track. At this time, there is a 37% chance of rain for Friday, so the trainer will be hoping that percentage increases over the next couple days. I think that he could get it done without the rain, though, because lately, he usually seems to be in the mix. May just have some tough luck.

#9- Mickey (South Shore Stables, ridden by L Saez)- Like Great Bonkers, Mickey became a BC champion over this turf course five months ago. Mickey ran longer to do it, taking the BC Turf by a length. He doesn’t need to run a longer distance, and after the BC, he went on to win the HOL Derby, at nine furlongs, placed second in the Pegasus World Cup Turf, and then won the Kilroe Mile in his last start. In summary then, this is a horse that is still on top of his game, with five triple digit SRF’s in his last six starts. That should continue here.

#10- Pxg (Mb Stables, ridden by P Lopez)- After a dominant weekend last week, Mb Stables looks to stay hot and if the old Pxg shows up, he should have a good chance too. This seven-year-old gelding has thirteen wins and has earnings approaching $2,000.000. Two of his last three have not been as good, and the effort in the Kilroe Mile last time out is concerning, given the top three from that race are running here. Sandwiched between those duds, is a third-place effort in the Pegasus World Cup Turf, so we can’t write this one off. We just need to see that version of him here.

Prediction: 9-4-5-7

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES