My Dear Stakes- $125.000 Purse
WO- For Fillies Two Years Old
Five and a Half Furlongs on the Dirt
July 12, 2025

Early two-year-old stakes are often unpredictable, and that could not have been more evident when simply looking at the odds board for the My Dear. At 6/1, Theresaplaceinfrance was actually the post time favorite for the race, while also being our pick, and the longest shot on the board in the eleven-horse field was 10/1. It would be a close finish, and at the wire, the dearest lady of the My Dear was not Dearest Lady, but the Nakamura Stables filly, Theresaplaceinfrance. It’s the first win in the race for the trainer, as well as for jockey P Husbands. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:03.58, which was quicker than last year but not one of the fastest overall at this distance. Let’s take look at it now:

(1/4 Mile- :22.49)- Down the backstretch, Osprey Point, trained by Acber Farms, and Zifi, trained by La Canada Racehorses, break away from the rest of the pack by a length and a half. After a quarter mile, it is Osprey Point with the narrowest of advantages. There are three stalkers behind them, with the outside horse, Williams9’s Trickyster slightly ahead of Axeman’s Deadmans Party, who’s between horses, and Rampage Stable’s Dearest Lady to the inside. It’s another length and a half to a group of five that are spread out across the track, and the outermost filly here, our eventual winner from Nakamura Stables, Theresaplaceinfrance, is a neck ahead of the others. Those others consist of, from inside to outside, Sweating Bullets (Panionios Racing), Eight Became Four (The Sidley Stud), Ching Chang Walla (Spb Racing), and Space Haggis (TwinTowersRacing). Gillette (Sheffler Stables) runs right behind this group.

(½ Mile- :45.76, Top of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- As Osprey Point and Zifi continue to match one another’s strides at the front of the field around the turn, all eyes were also on Theresaplaceinfrance. She had previously been running on the outside of the group of five but calmly advanced her position at this point to run with the initial three stalkers. So now, entering the stretch, she’s running with the same group that consists of Dearest Lady, Deadmans Party, and Trickyster. It’s still a wide trip for her, but she’s making it work. Dearest Lady is in third and showing interest of her own to pull closer to the two frontrunners. No one else in the five wide group looked to advance along with Theresaplaceinfrance, nor did Gillette, though she made a very wide move on exit of the turn.

(Finish- 1:03.58)- Early in the stretch, Osprey Point was prevailing over Zifi, but now had to contend with Dearest Lady looking to come between them. Theresaplaceinfrance was in good stride on the stretch, and Deadmans Party was keeping pace with them, setting up a great finish at the wire. Others, like Eight Becomes Four and Space Haggis were also advancing but had a more difficult task at hand since they also needed to get by Theresaplaceinfrance. As we watched to see how this would play out at the finish, we’d have two, Theresaplaceinfrance and Dearest Lady who were just a little better than the rest and would be involved in a tight photo. Theresaplaceinfrance gets her place in the winner’s circle, with the head bob over Dearest Lady. Eight Became Four moved well late to be third, with Deadmans Party taking fourth over Space Haggis, Osprey Point, and Zifi. Rounding it out are Gillette, Sweating Bullets, Trickyster, and Ching Chang Walla. Four lengths separated first from last.

About The Winner- Theresaplaceinfrance, trained by Nakamura Stables and ridden to victory by P Husbands, is a two-year-old filly by Hogshead and is out of Dance In France. She was bred in New York by Nakamura Stables, and they have been together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her second in three starts and her first stake win. Her career earnings are now $126.000.

Track: Fast
Time: :22²  :45³  :57⁴  1:03²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 11 – 5 Paid 92.20
$1 Trifecta: 11 – 5 – 4 Paid 445.40

Scratched: Knight Riders(L)

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded