The Eatontown Stakes (Grade 3)- $150.000 Purse
MTH- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Turf
June 14, 2025

It would be a royal 1-2 finish in the Grade 3 Eatontown Stakes as My Princess Em knocked off Yesterdays Queen to grab the win. The turf course would be downgraded all the way to soft for the race, but it would not lead to any scratches. Like we saw in the previous race on the card, our winner would be the quickest out of the gate and would go on for a comfortable win by a length. My Princess Em is trained by Bigchief Stables and was ridden by C Sutherland. For each, it is their first win in the Eatontown. Congratulations to them! The winning race time was 1:45.21, not quite as fast the only other running of the race, in 2015, held on soft turf, but is was plenty good enough. Let’s take a look at it now:

(1/4 Mile- :23.86)- Our eventual winner from Bigchief Stables, My Princess Em, surges to the lead and leaves the rest of the field behind early on. Quickly, her lead is two lengths over the Czech Out Farms- trained Reorganize, who is a length ahead of the rest of the field. The other five horses look like they were just released from the starting gate as they run alongside one another. Spaceship Force has a head in front of them for Nakamura Stables, with Yesterdays Queen running five wide for Wood Racing Stables. The other three, Maryannforme (TwinTowersRacing), Star Light Beauty (Threshold), and When Doves Cry (Big Jd Racing) are also a part of the group.

(½ Mile- :48.20)- My Princess Em is in complete control of this race, out to a three length lead as she heads down the backstretch. As that was going on, we would see Yesterdays Queen take her cue to move forward from the outside, outpacing the others that she has been running with while also passing Reorganize for second. That one hangs on to third while Spaceship Force seems to respond to Yesterdays Queen’s run with intentions of making her own and will also clear what had been the group of five wide horses. This leaves Maryannforme, Star Light Beauty, and When Doves Cry, to all run at the back with one another.

(Top of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- It’s all My Princess Em as she continues to gracefully work her way on this soft turf, cruising around the turn and entering the stretch with a somewhat shrinking lead. Yesterdays Queen had put the rest of the field away, too, as she looked to gain on the leader. For now, her progress was slight, but she was in striking distance. Not much was going on behind her in terms of others making a bid for the leader. Instead, horses looked to determine who would complete the trifecta. Reorganize was disappointing on this day, and When Doves Cry seemed a little better than the others. Maryannforme ran evenly on the rail, while Spaceship Force had no run coming at all, and dropped to the back. For now, she’s ahead of only Star Light Beauty, but only because that one was indecisive about which way to go when Spaceship Force fell back into her.

(Finish- 1:45.21)- No one is catching My Princess Em, who never seemed to be challenged at any point in this race. She wins very comfortably, but officially one length, but realistically two lengths Yesterdays Queen, who could not get much closer in the stretch. When Doves Cry is the best of the rest, and that’s good enough for third over Reorganize, Maryannforme, Star Light Beauty, and Spaceship Force.

About The Winner- My Princess Em, trained by Bigchief Stables and ridden to victory by C Sutherland, is a five-year-old mare by Neon Wolf and is out of the late Brilliant Jewel. She was bred by Fractious in California as a first quarter two-year-old, and was acquired by Bigchief Stables for $27.000 in the September 2022 auction. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her fourth in 10 starts, her second stake win and first graded win. Her career earnings are now $193.760.

Track: Soft
Time: :23⁴  :48¹  1:13¹  1:45¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 4 – 7 Paid 19.10
$1 Trifecta: 4 – 7 – 3 Paid 463.50

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES