Red Carpet Stakes GIII
$100.000 Fillies And Mares Three Years Old And Upward
1 3/8 Miles Turf
Del Mar November 23, 2025
It is late in the year, BC is over, the holidays are on top of us and things are winding down. Triple Crown nominations are already trickling in and people are naturally looking towards 2026 with new beginnings and hopes. However, there are still races to be run, money to be won and graded stakes races on the calendar. The GIII Red Carpet at Del Mar is one of them and with the 2026 two year old breeding season under way and some of the more accomplished fillies and mares moved to the breeding shed six of the fairer sex take the opportunity to add some graded black type to their resume here.
1. Enough Class To Pass (Our Athletes/W.T. Buick) Five of her seven starts going long on the grass have resulted in her hitting the board. She is a consistent three year old who ran decently in the G3 Waya and finished third in the G3 RGD in July so she has faced older at this level before and her trainer gives her another chance here. Working well and might use the rail to sit closer.
2. Jacquil (Alydar Stables/M.E. Smith) Multiple graded stakes winner with almost $700.000 in the bank so it is not rocket surgery to call her a contender. The only drawback is that the distance might be just a touch longer than her ideal distance. She will be forwardly placed but there is other speed and she will be challenged up front which is going to make the distance even more challenging.
3. Wild Cats (Mo Mentum Farm/L. Dettori) GI winning five year old mare who has the most earnings in the field. I think she has more speed than Jacquil inside of her but also think the distance is a challenge. She bested Jacquil in the Canadian Stakes in July but has not been seen in graded company since and has not hit the board since so I am not sure how to judge her current form. Faded to fifth in her last start but that was under sprint pace pressure which is very different from speed at a mile and three eighths.
4. Happy Dancer (Nakamura Stables/A. Fresu) She has won the most money of anyone in the 2025 season and has been a consistent contender in graded stakes races in five events since April. She is another one who likes to be forwardly placed but she sat behind her fellow three year old Risky Valuation in the Boiling Spring. I don’t think she will seek to set the pace but she will not be far off of it and her works show she has maintained her sharp form. It is hard to discount her consistency.
5. Risky Valuation (Spb Racing/J.J. Hernandez) Won the aforementioned Boiling Spring on the lead and also won the G3 Autumn Miss in her last start. However, those were shorter races and she has never gone farther than nine furlongs. She was a close fifth in that nine furlong DMR Oaks but I have to take a wait and see approach with her at this even longer distance.
6. Queen Kingdom (Aer Stables/E. Maldonado) A lightly raced three year old filly who has won four of nine lifetime races and hit the board earlier in the year in the G3 Senorita but that was sprinting in a short field of five. She faltered in the G2 one mile Valley View at Keeneland in her last start and has not yet proven herself at longer distances. This barn does not enter many races so any entry is well intentioned which might be her strongest selling point.
I know three year olds at this time of year are developing and getting better while they are getting weight allowances from elders that might be tailing off in their form cycles but I am going to go with the two older mares in this race and think Wild Cats will best Jacquil with Risky Valuation hitting the board in third.
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES