Royal Heroine Stakes (Grade 3)- $100.000 Purse
SA- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile on the Turf
April 26, 2025

With so much excitement occurring next weekend, this weekend can seem to be a bit of a snoozer. That doesn’t mean that we are completely absent of stakes racing, and here we will look at the Grade 3 Royal Heroine Stakes at SA. It offers a $100.000 purse, and amount that was cut in half from where it was last year. Techfluence High, from The Sidley Stud, was that winner, and she would go on to be seen in the BC Fillies and Mares Turf though did finish in the back. She’s still active but is not here to defend her title. Here’s a look at the ten that we will be seeing:

1- Pollards Game (La Canada Racehorses, ridden by K Kimura)- After winning back-to-back optional claimers, first at TAM and then at SA, Pollards Game was given a chance to run in the $160.000 Sand Springs at GP, and she came home with a second-place finish. That was her second career stake start and it resulted in a career high 97 SRF. This is her graded debut, but it’s also for a smaller purse, so a similar effort could yield the same result, or one spot better.

2- All By Myself (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by M E Smith)- An eight-year-old mare that will be making her 51st career start. You’d probably like to see more than six wins at this point in her racing career, but it was on this exact date last year that All By Myself won her last race, coming in the Grade 3 Bewitch at a mile and a half. Hasn’t done much in her two races of 2025, but maybe the anniversary will bring back the winning form.

3- Children Of The Sod (Onlineracingclub.com, ridden by F T Alvarado)- Back in November, Children Of The Sod won the Grade 3 Pebbles at AQU, and then followed that up with a nice victory in the Grade 3 Megahertz here on almost a three-month layoff. While all seemed good then, this filly has been a non-factor in her last two races. Has gone off at some very high odds recently, and while I am not picking her to win here, if I see those prices again, I am definitely taking a shot with her.

4- Vetted (Arq Racingfarms, ridden by K Frey)- This filly is just getting going, as this will be only her sixth career start as well as her stake debut. Her last start saw her break her maiden, which was at the beginning of the month at HOU. While it was a nice win, improvement will be needed from eventual race winning time. Simply moving from HOU to SA could be all that is necessary there, so don’t rule her out.

5- Lady Hamilton (Spb Racing, ridden by A Fresu)- Won three in a row, two being free track $5.000 claimers, before winning a $10.000 claimer at BTP. It was there that Spb Racing claimed her from Riggins Racing, something that gets my attention, because Riggins isn’t going to run horses in $5.000 claimers at the free track if he’s high on them. Perhaps he missed something with Lady Hamilton, as after the claim, Spb Racing ran her in an allowance at HOU that she ended up winning. All that results in a four-race win streak heading into her toughest challenge yet.

6- Huntee (Hunterman Stable, ridden by V Espinoza)- For her last race, Huntee went up against the 2024 Royal Heroine Winner, Techfluence High, in the Grade 3 Santa Ana Stakes, a race that won one, and Huntee finished fifth. All By Myself was also in that race and finished further back. She’s generally competitive in her starts, but she is still looking for her first stake win. I’m not going to pick her, but this could be the perfect spot to pick that up, as other than for Pollards Game, there isn’t anyone in this field that I feel could be too much for her if they run their best.

7- Blooper (Black N Gold Stable, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- Had most of her success with Smokey Stover, and was on a stretch of seven wins in eight starts, highlighted by the $200.000 Ticonderoga for NY-breds in October. Then came the Smokey sale, and Blooper hasn’t been the same since. There was a three-month layoff mixed in, but her two starts with Black N Gold have not resulted in a single penny of earnings. I like her placement here, and it’s important for her to step up and get a piece of this purse, as she’ll have no excuses not to.

8- Outrageous Nevada (Paradise Stable, ridden by K J Desormeaux)- Back in December 2023 as a two year old, Outrageous Nevada scored a good looking three length allowance win at SA. That’s still the last time she has visited the winner’s circle after a race. Struggled early in her three-year-old season but showed signs of breaking out of it later in the year and hit the board a few times in ungraded stakes. This year, there’s a tough luck fourth in the Grade 3 Megahertz to speak of, but she put up a dud after that. Capable of getting something here, but I can’t pick a horse that hasn’t won in 16 months to change that here.

9- Corsica (Glorify Stables, ridden by J Valdivia Jr)- When running in overnights, or even ungraded stakes, Corsica has been effective, but she has simply not been able to take the next step into the graded level. Glorify Stables gave her three chances at the end of last year and Corsica struggled. However, in her lone race this year, an open allowance at FG, she bounced back with a win. Her works are excellent, and everything about her suggests that she is capable of winning a race such as this. Maybe the Bute, which was added last time, can help.

10- My Princess Em (Bigchief Stables, ridden by E Maldonado)- This five-year-old mare has only made eight starts, but has won three of them and has hit the board six times. She had almost a two-year layoff, and since her return in October of 2024, she’s won three times in five starts. She was running well before that, too, so I wonder what she could have accomplished with regular appearances over those 22 months. She’s here off a win in the $50.000 Queen Of The Green Stakes at TUP for perhaps a long overdue graded challenge.

Prediction: 1-10-6-7

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES