The Bayakoa (Grade 3)- $250.000 Purse
OP- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
February 8, 2025

The action at OP on Saturday will feature the ninth running of the Grade 3 Bayakoa, a race that has seen some very good winners in its short history. Nine fillies and mares will take part in the race, including three horses that ran in the BC Distaff last fall. One horse that will not be in the field is the retired Matamata, who won the last two editions of this race. She did so for Smokey Stover, and was sold along with that stable’s other stock recently. Wood Racing Stable is the new owner of that one, though she was retired by Smokey, officially. This means it is time for a new winner, and here are those hoping to be the one to do so:

1- Wrong Farm (Winning Link Stables, ridden by G Corrales)- In fourteen starts, Wrong Farm has only visited the winner’s circle once but has finished second on six occasions. That’s allowed her to steadily increase her earnings to over $200.000. Still, as good as that is, the trainer wants more and is hoping that Wrong Farm will have the right race and finally get that second win. She’s hit and miss, though, making it hard to think that such victory will happen here.

2- Two Phils (Angelos Stable, ridden by A R Rodriguez)- Two Phils got two big wins last fall, coming in the Plum Pretty against fellow PA-Breds, and then carrying that into the Grade 2 Mother Goose at AQU where she also won. Cut back on distance for her last race, which was the Grade 1 La Brea, and it may have been that the race was simply too short for her. Hit the board five out of six times when going a mile or more and this race isn’t terribly different than the Mother Goose.

3- Divine Moonlight (Diablo Diablo, ridden by G W Corbett)- Comes into the race out of the BC Distaff, where she failed to beat any of the competition. That result was a head scratcher, given she was on such great form before that, winning the Cotillion, which is always a BC Distaff preview, and running second in the Spinster. The BC wasn’t her day, and we can throw that out. All that came with Smokey Stover, and now the next phase of her career will begin for Diablo Diablo and she’ll want to start that off hot.

4- Ragnar (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by M E Smith)- Finished third in a trio of Grade 3’s, which led to her being entered into the Grade 1 Spinster. However, she found the competition to be too much for her on that day, not beating anyone. The trainer felt she needed a confidence booster after that, and she would bounce back in a PRX allowance. Maybe it was more the trainer that needed the confidence boost, as he ran her in the La Brea fresh off of that. That wasn’t her best, so I’m a little unsure of where she is right now in her career. Maybe it’s me who needs the confidence booster in her.

5- Midnight Rumble (Riggins Racing, ridden by F Pennington)- After finishing in the middle of the pack at the KYO, Midnight Rumble had a productive summer and carried that into the Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes at SA. That narrow win helped her get into the BC Distaff, but that would not one of her best races. We can always forgive that, and she was able to bounce back. After being way out of it, something not unusual for her, she was flying in the stretch to win a GP optional claimer. It’ll be tougher, though not unreasonable, to do that against this company.

6- Untidy (Mb Stables, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- This is the only non-four-year-old in the field, and it shows in her career earnings. Untidy has won over $2,200.000 over 22 career starts, so certainly a very good per-race earning average there. She’s won multiple Grade 1’s, including the Spinster back in October. Most recently, she picked up a Grade 3 win in SA’s La Canada Stakes. Between them, came the BC Distaff, where she finished in the middle of the field. She’s earned the target on her back for this race but should be the post-time favorite.

7- Rosi (Paradise Stable, ridden by J J Castellano)- After three races of failing to be a contender, Rosi woke up in a big way in the Grade 3 Comely at AQU, being at one time 11 lengths off the lead to secure the victory. She likes that running style but doesn’t always make that charge. She’ll be well rested for this one, as it has been over two months since the Comely and I am interested to see how she follows that up.

8- Creepy Alexa (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by A Beschizza)- Last time out, Creepy Alexa won the Bayakoa. Wait, what? That would be the Grade 3 Bayakoa Stakes at DMR last November. We’ve never had a horse pull off the Bayakoa double, so Creepy Alexa can make history. Only recently has she been running long on the dirt and she does seem to like it, so while others will be picked over her, if she can run like she did in the Bayakoa, in the Bayakoa, she can be a threat.

9- Foreman (Royalty Stables, ridden by L Saez)- It was almost exactly a year ago where we last saw Foreman in a stake, it was a bit of a nightmare for her in the slop. Since then, she’s been running in optional claimers and has been hit and miss in those races. Seems to go back and forth between good race and bad race, so if that happens again, this was the right time to see what she can do against graded competition. Somehow, this filly must become consistent.

Prediction: 6-3-2-5

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES