Leonatus Stakes ($125.000 Purse)
TP- For Three Year Olds
One Mile on the Dirt
January 18, 2025

Last month, Kara France broke his maiden at TUP in his debut, and not many people would have noticed the victory. Afterwards, his works improved, and trainer Royalty Stables was confident to enter him in the Leonatus Stakes. It’s a name that no one really knows yet, so bettors had to double check the program to make sure this wasn’t a filly running against the boys. That’s not the case, and now after making it 2-for-2 in his career, Kara France is a name that will be on the minds of more as he moves forward into his three year old season. For Royalty Stables and jockey J Talamo, this is their first Leonatus win, as after all, it is just the second time that the race has been run. Congratulatons to them! The winning time of 1:34.93 was better than last year. Let’s take a look at it!

(1/4 Mile- :22.84)- Checkered shoots out of the gate for Mb Stables and is quickly out to a two length lead over the rest of the field. Link Wray, out of South Shore Stables, is in the second spot, a length ahead of Big Guns Stables’ Thoughts N Prayers. Behind him, Domestic Product and Hubble run close together for D J C Racing Stables and Mb Stables, respectively. In the middle of the pack, Black Star runs wide in the turn while sixth spot for La Canada Racehorses, while Gus Fring, out of Riggins Racing, is closer to the rail. Next, is where we find our eventual winner, Kara France. The Royalty Stables colt is in the eighth spot and scored as being six lengths from the front as he rides the rail. Save A Horse (Martyparty) runs evenly with him, and at the back are Sky Diver (Crocker Ggs) and Lazarus Project (Robeth).

(½ Mile- :46.52)- Down the backstretch, it’s still Checkered and D Carroll out in front, showing the way by about a length and a half. Link Wray is keeping him within reach and is himself a length ahead of Domestic Product, who has pulled away from Thoughts N Prayers a bit. That one holds on to fourth, with Black Star moving into fifth ahead of Hubble. Further back in the field, we see a lot of movement as jockeys look for potential lanes but no strong pushes forward as of yet. Kara France is one that did move down a lane, coming off the rail to try and keep from running into Hubble. Gus Fring and Save A Horse run alongside him so a greater move could not made at this time. Lazarus Project and Sky Diver run at the back still, waiting for their time to strike, presumably.

(Top of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- We have a new leader, as Link Wray cruises on past Checkered up front within the turn, and will enter the stretch ahead of that one by a length and over the rest of the field by three or more. While South Shore Stables liked that part, their was concern coming from further back. Kara France had room to move into the fourth lane, thanks in part to Gus Fring tiring out and Save A Horse also looking to make an outside run. Kara France’s push began about midway into the turn, and on exit, he was running evenly with the likes of Black Star, Thoughts N Prayers, and Hubble. At the top of the stretch, he had gotten by all of them, moving into fourth spot. The next horse to get by would be Domestic Product, and that one was starting to shows of fatigue as well. Would he have time to get Link Wray? We’ll find out soon enough. Meanwhile, Save A Horse may have been outdone by Kara France, but was still running well himself. Both Lazarus Project and Sky Diver were looking to get more involved now, too.

(Finish- 1:34.93)- With under a furlong to go, this was going to be a two horse race, as Kara France made up ground quickly on Link Wray, as the two of them left the rest of the field behind. Once Kara France got to Link Wray, he made quick work of him, moving on by and drawing away for the victory! Link Wray had nothing left to try and battle him on, but could settle into second without much concern. From the far outside, Save A Horse gets up for third, a length ahead of the late running Lazarus Project and Sky Diver. Hubble is next, topping Black Star, Checkered, Domestic Product, Gus Fring, and Thoughts N Prayers.

About The Winner- Kara France, trained by Royalty Stables and ridden to victory by J Talamo, is a three year old colt by Hide And Seek and is out of Pirate Princess. He was bred as a fourth quarter two year old by his trainer in Kentucky, and they have been together throughout! Congratulations to the connections! The win makes him 2-for-2 in his career, and it is his first stake win. His career earnings are now $84.600.

Track: Fast
Time: :22⁴  :46²  1:10⁴  1:34⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 1 – 7 Paid 374.70
$1 Trifecta: 1 – 7 – 11 Paid 500.60

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded