My Dear Stakes- $125.000 Purse
WO- For Fillies Two Years Old
Five and a Half Furlongs on the Dirt
July 12, 2025
The gate will be full of up-and-coming fillies in the 17th running of the My Dear Stakes, which is a five-and-a-half-furlong sprint. The purse for the race has stayed within a range of $100.000 to $150.000 over that period of time, and the race has always been an ungraded stake. Some of the more well known past winners of the race include Mai Mia Bambina in 2010, as well as Naples in 2020. It’s been a good race for Asgar, as the trainer has won the My Dear Stakes on three occasions, including the last two. Twizted Tea took home the trophy last year for the trainer, and she’s gone on to have a decent though perhaps underwhelming career up to this point. Asgar will pass the race’s crown on to someone else this year, as he does not have an entry. Now, let’s take a look at the twelve that we will be seeing.
1- Sweating Bullets (Panionios Racing, ridden by O Murphy)- Two for three thus far in her career, winning in May at PRX, then showing a little more speed a month later with the addition of blinkers as she won at FE. Hasn’t mattered whether she’s been on the lead or looked to come from off the pace, she’s gotten the job done so far.
2- Osprey Point (Acber Farms, ridden by R M Hernandez)- We saw this one run here last month as she dominated a field of fellow maidens to win by three lengths. Didn’t have a good work here on the fourth of July, but I suspect that was a result of testing something that did not end up working out, and I am not worried about it.
3- Zifi (La Canada Racehorses, ridden by O Moreno)- Looks to be one of the latest talented foals by Zionist, a sire that maybe should get talked about a little more for what his foals have done. She’s here off her maiden win, which came in her third career start, and was an impressive wire to wire win against fellow NY-Breds.
4- Eight Became Four (The Sidley Stud, ridden by E J Wilson)- Fittingly, this filly will start from post position four as she makes her stake debut. The WV-bred has only run on the bullring of CT against State Breds, but has been up to the task, winning in her second start after a good debut. Works are good for this step up to unrestricted company.
5- Dearest Lady (Rampage Stable, ridden by S Civaci)- Isn’t it only fitting that Dearest Lady would win the My Dear? Well, it’s a good script, but this filly won’t be handed anything here. She’s made just one start, coming in late April, where she broke her maiden at SA. Like many other early winners, she’s been waiting for the opportunity to run again. She’s shown gradual improvement in her works, as well.
6- Ching Chang Walla (Spb Racing, ridden by L Salles)- Won in her second start, which was two months ago at PRX. That came after a near miss on debut on TUP, a result the trainer is glad happened, given the opportunity to win a higher purse with her maiden race. The recent six-furlong works will not wow you, but one will never know what kind of testing may have went with it.
7- Deadmans Party (Axeman, ridden by D Fukumoto)- This is not her first time running against Ching Chang Walla, as Deadmans Party third in that PRX race, which for this filly, was her debut race. Came here to run a month later and beat a small field of ON-breds. It’s a shame to see that race not draw many, but now this Classy Devil hopes for a repeat performance against a full field.
8- Knight Riders (Fractious, ridden by K Kimura)- You have to give Fractious credit for this, as Knight Riders makes her debut here. So, not only has she never won, she’s never even raced. Not sure how many other trainers would try such a move, but no matter how good she may become in the future, it seems like a tough ask.
9- Space Haggis (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by D Moran)- Three of the final four horses to load into the gate all came out of the Astoria. For Space Haggis, it was her second career start, coming two months after breaking her maiden at KEE. She was a non-factor in the race, starting at the back and only making her way to the middle of the pack. Nothing that can’t be fixed here, but the other two in that field that are also in this one did do better.
10- Gillette (Sheffler Stables, ridden by D Z Gaskin)- Gillette will leave PRX for the first time in her career, making her previous three starts in the Keystone State. Didn’t do a lot on her first two tries but came to life in the mud last month to win by two. It was also her first time with blinkers, which she will have again, though as of now, will not have bute.
11- Theresaplaceinfrance (Nakamura Stables, ridden by P Husbands)- I don’t know about France, but this filly’s place in the starting gate continues to be on the outside. Last month, she ran in the Astoria at SAR, from post 12, and came on nicely in the stretch to get up for third. Since then, she’s worked very well here in anticipation of the race and is appealing in this field. She’ll be fine from this post; she knows of no other way.
12- Trickyster (Williams9, ridden by R W Walcott)- Finally, we have a filly that has already made four starts, being raced aggressively early in her career, with three starts in five weeks. The third start got the win, coming here, and ultimately, she got a month to rest before returning to the Astoria. Ran a solid fourth there and continues to work well.
Prediction: 11-1-5-4
— NS
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded