The Risen Star Stakes (Grade 2) (KYD)- $500.000 Purse
FG- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
February 15, 2025

For some reason, Without Warning was made a 26/1 longshot for The Risen Star Stakes, but you can’t say that we were surprised, as we made him our pick to win. The Neon Wolf got off to a fast start, and then had a rough couple races, one of which being the BC Juvenile, which seemed to result in people losing faith in him. In reality, his BC Juvenile was not really that bad. Sure, he finished sixth, but running the middle of the field against the best in your division should not be a death sentence. TwinTowersRacing was certainly not worried, as he was willing to give the horse two and a half months of rest before running him in the first 50-point KYD prep of the year. With the win, TwinTowersRacing is a first-time winner of the Risen Star Stakes and F Geroux is a two-time winning jockey. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:48.05, the fastest edition of this race since moving to nine furlongs in 2020. Let’s take a look at it now:

(½ Mile- :46.98)- Ello Santa is the fastest out of the starting gate, and the Mb Stables entry will lead the field around the opening turn by a length. He’s got his stablemate, Scorched, running in the second position, and sitting just off the lead is where we find our eventual winner from TwinTowersRacing, Without Warning. He is third on the rail, and right beside him is Mo Mentum Farm’s Forever Martian. It’s a half-length to Mooresy, who’s on the outside for Big Guns Stable, and the Night Rider Stables- owned Ref You Def is to his inside. In the middle of the pack are Salah (Royalty Stables) and Gold State (Mb Stables), then there’s a gap of about two to Dimholt Road (Alydar Stables). At the back are Axon (Team 7 Illusions) and Magical Embrace (Riggins Racing).

(3/4 Mile- 1:11.20)- Ello Santa will continue to lead by a length down the backstretch and into the turn. It seemed like Mooresy was going to take a stronger run at him for a little bit, but he may have simply been unable to do so as he backs up again heading into the turn. This will leave Forever Maritan as the new second place runner, as Without Warning and Scorched run evenly for third. After Mooresy, Gold State shows more interest from his prior running position but will need to take an outside trip to do so, going five wide. Salah and Ref You Def maintain their spots towards the inside. Still a break of nearly two to Dimholt Road, and further back Axon and Magical Embrace have yet to make a move.

(Top of Stretch, 2F To Go)- It’s still Ello Santa out front, but the field has caught him leading into the stretch. Without Warning and Forever Martian match one another’s strides as they both prepare to pass Ello Santa and look to settle this between them. Scorched was unable to keep up with them, and Gold State had not made much progress with his outside move. Mooresy would continue to slide back, while Salah had a nice clear lane on the rail to potentially capitalize on. Ref You Def was lacking response. Dimholt Road would look for a wide run, while Axon was looking a lot more interested now. Magical Embrace also got a little closer.

(Finish- 1:48.05)- Down the stretch they come, and the battle between Without Warning and Forever Martian had everyone on the edge of their seat. Ello Santa had some fight, but could not match these two, and it would indeed come down to the two longshots. It was close, and it would be Without Warning prevailing by a neck. At odds of 26/1, this will be a surprise to some, though really should not have been. This also means that in the last three weeks, we’ve picked a 30/1 and a 26/1 winner. (If only I could be so fortunate in the real world). Strong run for Forever Martian being second, and Ello Santa held his own to be third. Axon capitalized on a great opening to come on through to be fourth, passing Salah and Gold State late. The rest of the order will read Dimholt Road, Magical Embrace, Scorched, Ref You Def, and Mooresy.

About The Winner- Without Warning, trained by TwinTowersRacing and ridden to victory by F Geroux, is a three-year-old colt by Neon Wolf and is out of the late Ruffian Gal. He was bred in New York by TwinTowersRacing as a first quarter two-year-old, and they have been together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fourth in seven starts, his third stake win and second graded win. His career earnings are now $591.600.

Track: Fast
Time: :46⁴  1:11¹  1:35⁴  1:48

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 1 – 2 Paid 522.10
$1 Trifecta: 1 – 2 – 9 Paid 1,502.90

Scratched: Criminal Law

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES