Princess Rooney (Grade 3) (BC)- $200.000 Purse
GP- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
September 20, 2025

Saturday’s card at GP will feature the Grade 3 Princess Rooney, which is a “win and you’re in” for the BC Fillies and Mares Sprint. This race has seen better days in regard to its purse, as in 2005, it was run for $500.000. It was at that level for a little while, ultimately reaching its low point of $200.000 in 2023. In its glory days, the likes of Blonde Dynamite and Avery Island each won the race the twice. The BC designation will keep the talented ones coming, and we have a gate full of twelve runners looking to do what Devil In High Heels did for Fractious last year and win the race. That filly is still active and performing at a high level, mostly while running longer now, for The Sidley Stud. Here’s a look at this year’s entries:

1- Chase The Money (Avenue Z, ridden by H R Diaz Jr)- She’s had her moments over her 25-race career, winning six times, though most of those wins are not going to intimidate anyone here. She does have one stake win, coming in May at the Memorial Day Sprint, for $100.000 at LS. Followed that up well by running second in the Grade 3 Hendrie Stakes and has been idle since the end of July.

2- Eduartin (Establo Pichon, ridden by C Montalvo)- Took on Chase The Money in the Memorial Day Sprint, and finished fifth in the race, beaten by two lengths. That’s also been the last time that she has raced, so she does come here on a layoff approaching four months. Her best races have been in small stakes, or while running at TAM. Has never taken on a field of this caliber.

3- Hollywood Panther (Greyhound, ridden by M A Vazquez)- A new addition to the trainer’s barn, as he picked her up for a $25.000 claim up at SAR last month. She’ll move to from the turf to the dirt, and Greyhound has seen enough to be confident to enter her in this race. Success with such a move after a claim is certainly not unprecedented within our game. She’s not a rookie to the stakes ranks, but if a move to the main track can make the difference, she could pull off a stunner.

4- Aghast (Mb Stables, ridden by J C Ferrer)- Mb Stables will bring three to the Princess Rooney, and he will be hoping that Aghast can follow up her win in the $100.000 Satin and Lace Stakes at PID last month with a strong result here. You have to go back earlier in her career to find her biggest wins, but she is certainly still capable of adding to them. Aghast may be remembered for running in the 2024 KYO as well.

5- Ifyerwokeyerajoke (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by J Bravo)- Ahh, good ol’ Ifyerwokeyerajoke. Some names you just remember typing over and over, and I’ve gotten this filly quite a bit over her 35-race career. What I don’t remember as much is her winning, as you have to go back to the 2022 Test to find the last time she’s won. She still runs in races like this because she’s still productive and does often hit the board. But what does she have to do to be great and get in the winner’s circle again?

6- Inginuity (Mb Stables, ridden by H I Berrios)- Claimed by the trainer for $12.500 in February and was immediately entered into bigger races. It’s impressive to see just how much of a difference she has had while running with Mb Stables since the claim since she hasn’t really changed the type of race that she has been running in. Still looking for that first stake win but has had a couple of close calls.

7- Vanessa (Royalty Stables, ridden by D Van Dyke)- This is another filly that could use another win, as her last visit to the winner’s circle came in June 2024. She’s been second several times, including a near miss in the Grade 3 Shawnee when Balius edged her out. Her last two races have been Grade 1’s, such as the Ballerina at SAR, where she failed to cash a check though was not badly beaten.

8- Alice Springs (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by Sa Camancho)- Purchased in the auction about a year ago for $132.000, and has finished sixth in five of her seven starts with her current trainer. While she’s won more recently than Ifyerwokeyerajoke, you have to go back to May 2024 for the last time she did, but it was a nice one, coming in the Grade 2 Ruffian Handicap at AQU. Moving back to the main track can help, as she needs something.

9- Sassy State (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by M J Husbands)- Surrounded by more experienced runners, this four-year-old filly is making just the sixth start of her career. She’s hit the board in all five of her previous starts and will make her stake debut here after winning a N1X allowance at MTH last month. The time is now to see what she can do against this company and recent works justify the placement.

10- Sabalenka (Royalty Stables, ridden by Ro Maragh)- Interestingly, her first career start was in a stake, against FL-Breds in November. That went as well as you probably thought it would, but it does say that at one time the trainer had high hopes for her. However, her career became a lot more conventional after that, and she would not run in a stake again until two months ago in the $150.000 Twin Bridges at ELP. Ran second there, and if she’s just beginning to hit her top form now, she’s very intriguing.

11- Thousand Hours (Mb Stables, ridden by E J Zayas)- This is the only three-year-old in the field, and that will get her a five-pound weight allowance. She had a great spring when running in KYO preps, with a massive win in the Grade 2 Fantasy at OP setting her up nicely for the KYO itself. That would not go well for her, though she bounced back decently by running third in the Acorn. Only in her last start did her distance get cut again but was a non-factor in the CT Oaks. Hopes for better this time.

12- Menacing Shadow (La Canada Racehorses, ridden by Edg Perez)- With wins in ten of sixteen races, this filly has regularly been a menace to her competition, but will be looking to rebound after chasing a high purse on the grass in the KD Ladies Sprint. In 2025, she’s won four times, with wins in the Distaff and Ruffian Handicaps this spring. She’s won her last four races at less than a mile while on the dirt, but not all of them are against elite competition. May be due for another big win right here.

Prediction: 12-10-5-4

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES