The Iselin Stakes (Grade 3)- $250.000 Purse
MTH- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
August 16, 2025

A small but strong field will be taking part in the Grade 3 Iselin Stakes, run at a mile and a sixteenth on the main track at MTH. The race first appeared on the schedule in 2006, and saw it’s purse fluctuate in the early days before settling in at $250.000 in 2022. Last year’s race was won by Iolaus Racing and his then five-year-old gelding, Cheap Ways. He is still active, running for Riggins Racing now, but is not here to defend his crown. Six are seeking to become the newest winner of Iselin, here’s a look at them!

1- Schopenhauer (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by E Jaramillo)- After an impressive win in the Grade 2 Eclipse Stakes, Schopenhauer reminded everyone of his inconsistent ways here in the MTH Cup with an overall flat performance. It’s not a case of whether or not Schopenhauer has the ability to win this race, rather one of trying to determine which side of him will show up. Do note that he does rarely have two bad races in a row.

2- Lunar Victory (Mb Stables, ridden by F Pennington)- The reigning winner of the BC Dirt Mile was sold to Mb Stables six weeks later and has since made six starts with the trainer. He’s generally been good over that time, with two wins, such as the Grade 3 Blame two starts ago at CD, and he has hit the board in four of those races. He does come here off a subpar outing in the Grade 1 Foster, one that he does not get a pass for due to the mud since he’s been good on off tracks previously. Looks to bounce back nicely here.

3- Distant Breeze (The Sidley Stud, ridden by Sa Camacho)- Since being moved back to the dirt at the end of the March, Distant Breeze has been unbeatable, rolling off four consecutive wins. Three of those are races that ran for a greater purse than he runs for today, such as the Grade 2 Alysheba and the Grade 3 Sexton Mile, so even though this is career start #36, he’s never been better than he is right now. On current form, he should be considered one of the top choices here, and should be expected to have them running right out of the gate.

4- Themefrom Antarctica (Ajm Stables, ridden by Edg Perez)- Making his fifth start in the silks of Ajm Stables, after the trainer picked him up with a $75.000 claim in February. He’s won one of those four, an optional claimer at CD. Otherwise, he’s been going up against the type of horses he sees here again, being in the mix until the end in the Grade 3 Blame as well as the $300.000 Hanshin. Those efforts were certainly competitive enough to think that with just a break or two to go his way, he can flip the script on them and get the win.

5- Investment Center (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by R M Hernandez)- Stock prices are down on this one after two miserable performances that saw him lose by a combined ten lengths. Prior to that, you would have had a nice return on Investment Center, rolling off a stretch of four races which included a win in the Grade 2 Clark, and were all competitive. It’s too soon to say that he cannot get back to that, but he can’t have another poor outing here. He was second in this race last year, so maybe returning to the Iselin can get him turned around.

6- Theegala (Alydar Stables, ridden I Castillo)- With one exception, Theegala has been a turf horse since May 2023, and showed a lot of promise early in 2024. A pair of wins early in his four-year-old season helped get him to the BC Mile, and even there he still ran a competitive fourth. It’s now been over a year since his last victory, and his form has only recently stabilized due to being dropped in class. The surface change happens to try and get him right, and he has worked very nicely in preparation. Still, I trust others more in here.

Prediction: 3-4-2-1

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES