The Poker Stakes (Grade 3)- $200.000 Purse
BEL- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Turf
June 10, 2023

We continue to look at the action on the big day at BEL Saturday by taking a look here at the 19th running of The Poker Stakes, which is a Grade 3 for older horses, sending them on a mile on the grass. The race first appeared on the schedule in 2004, and has been run in every year except 2010, first debuting with a purse of $100.000 before peaking at $300.000. It had been at $250.000 for the last three years, so this is a deduction from that level. Last year, the race was won by eight-year-old gelding Banshee Star, who had an excellent career with multiple trainers. He may end up having another one soon, as he is in the auction right now with a sale date of June 18th. There will be eleven going to post in this race, so let’s take a look at them now!

#1- Kings Poker (Wood Duck Stables, ridden by M Franco)- No, Kings Poker does not automatically win the Poker Stakes just because of his name. This is a lightly raced horse that can be remembered from running in the BC Turf in 2021. That was not his best day, but he has only made six starts since then, including just one race this year. Ran in and won an optional claimer in May at PIM to end that layoff but was rather quiet in 2022. Give the trainer credit for not giving up on this one if he comes through, and perhaps the rest paid dividends.

#2- Atomic Eclipse (Spankys Barn, ridden by F Prat)- Picked up in private sales for $25.000 last July, but did not do much to be excited about until February, where he ran third the Grade 3 San Marcos . Since then, we have seen him in the Muniz Memorial Handicap, where he ran well, as well as the Grade 1 Man O War, which may have been a little too much for him. His only actual win since the July sale was in a $75.000 claimer, which was also the last time he ran exactly a mile. Might get a piece of this purse, but it’s hard to put him on top of this field based on that.

#3- Booker (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by L Saez)- Claimed for $25.000 from Royalty Stables in January and since then he has, well, he hasn’t done much of anything. In his three races in TwinTowersRacing, he has failed to hit the board and has been beaten by a combined twenty lengths. Thirteen were in one race, but still, the point stands. This will be his turf debut, so excitement for that has led to his entry here, but I have to see it out of him, first.

#4- Head Under Frock (Night Rider Stables, ridden by D Davis)- It will be the graded stake debut for this Winter Warrior gelding, a horse that has won three of his 13 races thus far. He’s run ungraded a couple of times and just missed the head bob in the Mohawk last October. Despite the promise shown there, he has only run in overnights since then, winning two out of those four races. It was only a matter of time before he returned to this level, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he got a piece of the purse here.

#5- Brevard (Grimley, ridden by P Lopez)- A horse that has been claimed six times since April of last year, so safe to say we know where he has been running and that none of the previous owners have felt as highly of him as Grimley does right now. This is his second start for the trainer, with the first being a runner up on yielding turf in a $25.000 claimer at WO. Unlike Booker, where he’s at least doing something different, it’s more of the same for Brevard in the type of race he has been in, so it’s hard to be excited.

#6- One Eyed Man (Sheffler Stables, ridden by F T Alvarado)- Acquired by the trainer in the previous auction for $32.770, and has made two starts since then. Prior to the auction, he had run fourth in the Grade 3 Thunder Road at SA, so the potential has always been there for Sheffler Stables to get great value. In April, he destroyed the field in the $60.000 Wildcat at TUP, winning it by seven lengths then a few weeks later, looked good on this track in the Grade 2 Fort Marcy. He earned a 101 SRF there in his fourth-place finish. Has a great work at CD coming into this, so plenty of reason to like him!

#7- Xmas Snow (Rock Creek, ridden by J R Velazquez)- It does not need to be cold out for Xmas Snow to have success, as the eight-year-old gelding is just a little bit shy of $2,000.000 in career earnings. Like One Eyed Man, he also ran in the Fort Marcy here last month, and for this one, it was a second place showing. Had he won, he would have won that race in back-to-back years. The 2022 Fort Marcy is still his last win, but he has been either second or third in his last four starts and looks to have a good shot against this company.

#8- Deactivation (Mb Stables, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- This four-year-old has won three of 15 career starts, with his signature win coming back in 2021. He did run in the BC Juvenile Turf that season but has not won a stake since his two-year-old campaign. That has not been from a lack of attempts, as he has regularly been placed in such races and he has turned in consistent performances that have earned some portion of the purse. Looked great last month at CD in the $300.000 Opening Verse, but great was only good enough for third. More of the same and a little bit more luck is what he needs here.

#9- Hawaiian Lord (Our Athletes, ridden by T Gaffalione)- Known more for finishing second than for winning, as he finished in the second spot ten times over his 27 starts. There have been three wins, but none of them have been in any of the stakes that he attempted. Ran last month in the Grade 1 Forester Turf Classic at CD and earned a 102 SRF as he missed out on his favorite place to finish by one spot. Won two back in an optional claimer at GP with a good-looking winning race time. Should be a contender here, but can he do one better than second?

#10- Commanding Officer (Winning Link Stables, ridden by F Geroux)- Took on a few of these last month in the $300.000 Opening Verse at CD, and beat all of them. It would be his sixth career win, ending a winless streak that last a little more than a year. He had been hot and cold for a while, but after a long layoff, he seems to have found his best stride, running second in the Appleton two back. Now, can he continue this positive momentum? This will serve as a great test!

#11- Mock Galaxy (Nakamura Stables, ridden by D E Centeno)- Rounding out the field, we get another runner from that Opening Verse, but Mock Galaxy failed to hit the board in the race. This is a horse that has not won since July 2021, and that stretches his entire time with Nakamura Stables, who picked him up in the December 2021 auction for $77.010. He’s been third a few times with some very close calls, but the trainer would love to celebrate a win with him. The works are great, so perhaps this will be the time.

Prediction: 8-7-9-10

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES