Raven Run (Grade 2)- $400.000 Purse
KEE- For Fillies Three Years Old
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
October 18, 2025

There was much to like about Thousand Hours at the start of the year when she went on a three-race winning streak that included two prep races for the KYO. Though she did run in that and later ran third in the Acorn, she had not been as strong more recently. That didn’t stop her from being the second choice of the betting public, as one should never rule out anything from Mb Stables, and in the Raven Run, she would prove to be the best, topping longshot Lucille and our pick to win, Hunt The Stars, to win by a half-length. The win is the third in the race for both Mb Stables and jockey J R Velaquez, though this is the first time they have teamed up to do so. Congratulations to them! The winning race time was 1:21.80, the second quickest in the race’s history. Let’s take a look at it:

(1/4 Mile- :22.67)- Rising Artist jumps out to a length and a half lead for Nakamura Stables as the run down the backstretch begins. A group of three sits just off the lead, with the middle horse, the Big Guns Stables- trained Gigafemme, having a nose in front John Henry’s Hunt The Stars, who is to her inside. Scrumdiddlyumptious hangs with them on the outside for La Canada Racehorses. In the middle of the field and running all by herself right now is where we find our eventual winner from Mb Stables, Thousand Hours. It’s a break of about two to Promote Violence (Team 7 Illusions) and Lucille (D J C Racing Stables), with Houseofidentity (Noblepark) nearby to their outside. Trailing is Hot Pants (Maxmillion Farm).

(½ Mile- :45.98, Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Rising Artist is not challenged down the backstretch, or around the turn, as she comfortably hangs on to her two-length advantage. Hunt The Stars begins to prevail over the others that she had been running with and looks to be the first one to hunt down the pacesetter. Gigafemme ran evenly with Scrumdiddlyumptions, while Thousand Hours was looking more interested, pulling to the outside of that pair. She’d have about three and a half lengths to make up on the leader, but the task was not as daunting to catch the others in front of her. Lucille was hitting her best stride further back, pulling away from the others at the rear of the field that had not shown interest as of yet.

(Finish- 1:21.80)- Into the stretch, and with a furlong to go, Rising Artist was still running well enough to seem destined for a better finish than she ended up with. She was not going to hold off the charge of Hunt The Stars, who was the first to get near her, and then Thousand Hours, who was coming on strong on the outside. Speaking of a charge, that’s exactly what Lucille was doing, as she made a power move to the rail with room to run there. When Thousand Hours passed Hunt The Stars as we got closer to the wire, that looked like the real pass for the win even though Rising Artist had not been passed yet, but Lucille was hoping to get there just in time. At the wire, it is Thousand Hours, gamely running well all the way to end to grab the win, and she needed to in order to hang on over upset-minded 62/1 longshot, Lucille. Hunt The Stars takes the third spot, then it’s Gigafemme keeping Rising Artist from even the fourth-place spoils. The rest of the order will read Hot Pants, Scrumdiddlyumptious, Promote Violence, and Houseofidentity, who must have felt she didn’t need to show up tonight after stablemate Aggravated Jung took the Perryville.

About The Winner- Thousand Hours, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by J R Velazquez, is a three-year-old filly by Championship Rounds and is out of Processing. She was bred in Florida as a second quarter two-year-old by Mb Stables, the only trainer for which she has ever known. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her fifth in 13 starts, and her third stake win, all of which are graded. Her career earnings are now $962.600.

Track: Fast
Time: :22³  :45⁴  1:09⁴  1:21⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 4 – 2 Paid 268.20
$1 Trifecta: 4 – 2 – 1 Paid 1,585.30

Scratched: No Ones Comparing

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES