San Vicente Stakes (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
SA- For Three Year Olds
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
January 6, 2024

It’s time to take a look at the San Vicente Stakes, a seven furlong race held on the main track of SA that runs for the 21st time. There will be nine horses that head to the starting gate, but not many of them would be considered big names at this point in their careers. Therefore, this race is a tremendous opportunity for a horse to take a big step forward in establishing themselves as a top sprinter early in 2024. That was definitely not true for the 2023 winner of the race, Peace Pipe, as he had already picked up wins in both the Sanford and the Champagne while participating in the BC Juvenile. Arindel’s horse was seemingly at the top of his game then, but he would not even hit the board again. He’s still active, so maybe he can change that script in 2024. Now, for a look at the nine running this year!

#1- Freakie The Ghost (Mb Stables, ridden by R L Moore)- By just a little bit, this is the highest earner in the field, but a lot of that came early in his career. He won his first two starts, including the $200.000 KY Juvenile in May when two-year-olds are just getting started. That led to Mb Stables picking him up in private sales for $210.000, and the gelding has been fine but still hasn’t visited the winner’s circle with his new trainer. Running third in the Pharoah Stakes in October is his most impressive finish to this point.

#2- Take The South Fork (Allinthegate, ridden by R A Vazquez)- There are a few horses like this in the field, ones that are taking on top company for the first time or inexperienced with it, and you have to think that all of their trainers were happy to see the field. Take The South Fork is two for three thus far, with a nice win at PRX coming in, and a WIC at LA in mid-December to be excited about. He certainly could take a big step forward here.

#3- Capiche (Fractious, ridden by M E Smith)- Just a few dollars behind Freakie The Ghost to be the highest earner in the field, but even with that you can say that he’s still an unknown outside of the state of Florida. That’s where he has done his best work, in State Breds, including a win in the $300.000 In Reality. Very impressive, and now it is time for him to take it to the unrestricted level, and this field sets up nicely for him to make a positive statement.

#4- Freak On Parade (Angelos Stable, ridden by L Dettori)- Five races, four owners for this one. Angelos Stable picked him up in the auction for $6.780 and led him to a maiden win in September. Now, after over three months, he is going to race again, and he will be given quite a test at the same time. SRF’s won’t wow you, but I always root for these horses even if I don’t pick them because what they need more than anything else now is a stable home. Hopefully, he’s found that now.

#5- Powerful Explosion (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- Picked up in private sales for $100.000 after having two races in WV-Breds, and would finish second in a maiden at DMR. Maxmillion really liked what he saw at that point, as he was not deterred from entering him in the Grade 1 Summer Stakes three weeks later. That didn’t go well, but he did break his maiden after that. Now, he’s going to shift to the main track to see what he’s capable of here before any possible return to the turf. This is the time to do it.

#6- Normatec (Chili King Stables, ridden by D Van Dyke)- Rain is not expected here on Saturday, and Normatec may find it confusing to actually be running a race on a dry track. That’s only happened in one of his five starts, so if nothing else, Chili King Stables gets to see this one Breds on good company with weather out of the question. But maybe he likes the rain, and he was strong in the mud in his last start, winning the $150.000 Clarendon for ON-Breds at WO last month.

#7- Excoriator (Jerry Garcia Racing, ridden by F Prat)- A horse that needs to show he can be competitive against this level. In three starts, he has one win, which was a strong effort at seven furlongs at CD. After that, it was off to the Remsen, and for him it was one of those races that you can’t just easily dismiss because it was indeed that bad. With nothing that follows, it can’t be thrown out so easily, but his work times suggest he is a lot better than he was that day. Now, as I said, he just needs to show it against this company, I’m not saying he can’t do that.

#8- Redd Out (Night Rider Stables, ridden by V Espinoza)- A winner in all three of his races thus far, so the colt by Red Cup has done everything that has been asked of him. However, for his first two races, all that he had a chance to do was to run in free races before trainer Why Fight It sold him off in the auction for $35.000. That’s where Night Rider Stables picked him up, and he would run the WV-bred against State Breds in the $50.000 WV Futurity Stakes that he won. Now, we shall see what he is really made of.

#9- Coronado Beach (Alydar Stables, ridden by J Valdivia)- He had his chance to run against top competition, running in both the Grade 3 Sanford at SAR where he struggled, and then the Grade 1 Pharoah at DMR where he was better but still did not cash a check. After a month of thinking about it, Alydar Stables decided to geld him at that point, and the new gelding looked much better in the $225.000 Brown at CD, where he was second from wire to wire. The one that beat him by less than a length was Fire Chase, and that one went on to win the Smarty Jones on New Years Day, so Coronado Beach looks even stronger even when he did not race. He’s got some pesky upstarts to deal with here, but I like him the most in this field.

Prediction: 9-3-2-8

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES