The Fourstardave Handicap (Grade 1) (BC)- $750.000 Purse
SAR- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Inner Turf
August 2, 2025
It’s a great weekend of racing all over the country, but SAR will be the center of attention with multiple races that are “win and you’re in” races for the BC. The Whitney is the deserving focal point, but the Fourstardave Handicap will be one to watch as well, since it will send its winner to the BC Mile. Hard to believe that is now only three months away! The Fourstardave Handicap was not always as big as it is today, running for $150.000 for several years before we saw a sharp purse increase to $500.000 in 2012. It’s been at that point ever since, except 2020, and will now see it’s next increase: to $750.000. Last year’s race was won by Hawaiian Lord, for Our Athletes. He’ll be looking to repeat as champion this year, and if he does, he will become the first horse to win the Fourstardave twice. There will be eight in this year’s race, let’s meet them now:
1- Misting (Winning Link Stables, ridden by G Corrales)- Bounced around between trainers quite a bit in his early days, but found a home with Spinetingling for a while. He was successful in that barn, winning seven times in nine starts. Of course, with Spinetingling, those are going to be free track wins. Winning Link Stables picked him up in June for $30.000 and immediately entered him into the $300.000 Hanshin. He didn’t cash a check but wasn’t out of place. Obviously, the trainer is not deterred, giving his horse an even greater challenge here.
2- Lifeline (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by P Lopez)- The six-year-old gelding will make the 34th start of his career here and looks for his eighth win. Only one of them have come in the stakes ranks, as Lifeline is a horse that done a lot of bouncing around between overnights and stakes. That win was nearly exactly a year to the date, in August at ELP in the KD Preview Turf Mile, a race that also sees its 2025 edition run on Saturday. In his last three Lifeline’s been third twice but lost each by at least two lengths.
3- Derby Dreams (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- For the first time in his career, Derby Dreams will be running on the turf, and this is a pretty tough way to do it. Last time out, he ran here in the Suburban, and had a very poor effort, at ten furlongs. Only one his last four races would be considered decent, so we can understand why the trainer looks to change things up with his horse. Just has the one recent turf work, and while it was solid, but not jaw dropping.
4- Prince Ferro (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by A Jimenez)- Last time out, Prince Ferro finished at the back of a field of five in the Grade 2 BEL Gold Cup. He’s mainly been an underachiever during his career, only winning twice in 25 starts, while only hitting the board eight times. In some cases, that could suggest that he’s being over placed, but I don’t think that’s really the case with Prince Ferro. Last year, he was second in the Pacific Classic, and two back, he was second in the Muniz Memorial Handicap. He’s shown he belongs but also seems like one that could be doing a lot more than he has accomplished thus far.
5- Excoriator (Jerry Garcia Racing, ridden by F Prat)- On the jockey side of things, F Prat will be looking for his third straight win in the Fourstardave Handicap. After riding Hawaiian Lord to the win last year, Excoriator will be his ride this time around. The State Police colt has one big thing in common with Derby Dreams, and this is that he is making his first turf start here. He’d been decent on the main track lately, but Jerry Garcia wants more than that and we’ll see if this gets the desired result. Had a good breeze here last week.
6- Rearranger (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Rearranger and Hawaiian Lord are the two high weights in the field, carrying 120 pounds, but since the weights range between 118 and 120, I don’t see that being too big of a deal here. Rearranger was great last summer, winning the Grade 1 SAR Derby here over this weekend last year, and we’ll be watching the 2025 edition of that race here on Saturday, too. Prior to that, he had won the BEL Derby, so all was going great for him. He’d be a non-factor in the BC Turf and has not won a stake since the SAR Derby. Some rest may do him good, which he has had after a lackluster fifth in an allowance at WO in a stake-caliber field.
7- Hawaiian Lord (Our Athletes, ridden by F Geroux)- I always like being assigned the Fourstardave Handicap, because Fourstardave’s legacy here at the Spa is one of those things I grew up with as a Saratoga race fan. Hawaiian Lord, the veteran seven-year-old that has now made 47 starts may have a long way to go if he wants to duplicate what Fourstardave did with his amazing longevity, but he was certainly a fitting winner of this race last year. He hasn’t won since then but did look good in running third in the Wise Dan last time out, and I think he is going to step up here as well. Did run second in this race in 2023, as well.
8- On Fire (Mb Stables, ridden by M Franco)- Not often that I talk about horses in this barn being inconsistent, but that seems to be the case with On Fire. After running second in the Grade 2 Pan American, On Fire was ice cold in his next two starts, and there are other stretches in his past, such as early in 2024, where he seems to be coming up empty. If he can find that Pan American side of him, he could get the job done, and this is a trainer that I will always count on to get a slump straightened out.
Prediction: 7-4-2-6
— NS
Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES