Valedictory Stakes (Grade 3)- $150.000 Purse
WO- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Half on the Dirt
December 3, 2023

Sunday racing at WO will feature the fourteenth running of the Valedictory Stakes, which sends its participants that maximum mile and a half distance on the main track. The conditions for the race have been mostly constant through time, however the first edition of the race was an ungraded affair. This year, we will have seven heading to the gate looking to do what the late Crimson Rioja did for the Mo Mentum Farm in 2022. That race seemed to be his last hurrah, however, as he could not rediscover that form again. Let’s take a look at these runners now!

#1- Apache Rise Again (Apache Warrior, ridden by R M Hernandez)- After running second in the KYD, Apache Rise Again has been large ineffective, unfortunately. Both the PRK and the BEL went poorly for him though he did manage a couple of fourth place checks right here after that. Still, he only has one win in 2023 but did run second against WV Breds last month in the $75.000 Funkhouser Memorial.

#2- Iron Mine (Fractious, ridden by E J Wilson)- Winless in nine starts this year, but he has also hit the board five times, so he’s been productive to an extent. Mostly been sprinting this year, but we can look back further on his resume and see a race at a mile and eighth on the dirt where he ran well. It’s a good time to try a little something different and perhaps it will work out for him.

#3- Our Sis (Mo Mentum Farm, ridden by J Crawford)- There’s a lot that will be new in this race for Our Sis and that begins with her trainer. Mo Mentum Farm claimed her last month for $40.000 last month and will give her multiple tests to begin with. First, is the obvious running against the boys. Secondly, this is the first time that she has run more than seven furlongs in a race. Does have a six-pound weight allowance to help her out.

#4- Uranus (Threshold, ridden by J Stein)- Threshold added this gelding to his stable in May with a $47.500 claim, and he’s brought him back to the stake level, something that he had done regularly in 2022. He’s been fourth in three out of four races, so there is a little something coming back in the trainer’s pockets and a nice run at the Autumn Stakes here last month proved, if nothing else, that he can still handle this level of competition.

#5- Colombia (Night Rider Stables, ridden by R W Walcott)- Another horse that is still looking for his first win of 2023. For Colombia, that’s been over a stretch of six races where he has been second twice. The last one could make us optimistic here, as he was the runner up in the Grade 2 TAA Stakes at SA, which is also at a mile and a half. If he can duplicate that effort here, he may be the one to beat.

#6- Six Pillars (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by P Husbands)- Six Pillars has also failed to visit the winner’s circle after a race this year over his eight starts. He’s been a bit inconsistent, but that may simply be attributed to running better in overnights and then not being able to step it up into the stakes he has been in. Perhaps, the tide turned a little bit with a solid fourth in the Grade 3 GG Handicap. Plus, going against several other winless on the year horses, you never know.

#7- Rebel Agenda (Night Rider Stables, ridden by K Kimura)- Claimed for $12.500 in February, then won a maiden claimer a month later. Afterwards, Night Rider has been giving his stronger challenges, and his best run of the year came in July at the $125.000 LA Derby, where he missed the head bob at the wire and finished second. I wish he was coming here off of that, instead of a flat performance at the ONT Derby. He’s had six weeks to forget about that and move on.

Prediction: 5-6-4-1

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES