Kenner Stakes ($100.000 Purse)
FG- For Four Year Olds and Upward
Five and a Half Furlongs on the Turf
January 17, 2026
The gate will be full for Saturday’s running of the Kenner Stakes, a five-and-a-half-furlong sprint on the turf course for older horses. That has not always been the case, as from 2007 until 2020, this race was held on the main track. It’s always been ungraded, and has never had a high purse, including having a period of time when it was under $100.000. Last year’s race winner was Insist On Perfection, for Maxmillion Farm. It was one of five wins for the seven-year-old in 2025, and he’ll be looking to go back-to-back this year. If so, it will be for a new barn, and since it won’t take long to get to him, here’s our field:
1- Insist On Perfection (Temulac Farm, ridden by P Lopez)- After winning last year’s Kenner Stakes, this gelding scored another ungraded win before eventually being dropped into high track claimers. It was at SA where Temulac Farm put down $40.000 to get him, an optional claimer that resulted in his third straight win. That came three weeks ago, and despite that drop in class, Insist On Perfection seems very capable of getting another win here.
2- Teterboro (Chili King Stables, ridden by I Castillo)- Won just once in ten starts last year, coming in July at the $150.000 Deer Park Dash from ELP. Prior races allowed him to make it into the BC Turf Sprint, but after the Deer Park Dash he had not been running as well, and he’d run in the middle of the pack in the BC. Comes here out of the $125.000 Janus, and did not cash a check, something that concerns me here.
3- On The Money (Marimba Racing Inc., ridden by R Bejarano)- Nearly all of his 32 career starts have been in overnights, and the recent races have been in cheap claimers. Marimba Racing Inc picked him up on New Year’s Eve at TAM for $10.000 and moves him forward here. He has won three of four, so certainly he is showing that he is capable of taking on stronger competition. He’ll get that challenge now!
4- Anna Anna Anna (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by C J McMahon)- After a slow start to 2026, Maxmillion Farm is due to catch fire at any point, and AnnaX3 will look to get him his second straight win in the Kenner. The gelding joined his stable in the June 2025 auction for $13.760 and had been just an overnight horse before then. Maxmillion’s aspirations were so high, that their second start together was the Grade 1 AP Million. While that would not be a rags to riches to story, Anna Anna Anna cuts back to sprint for just the third time.
5- Agent Zero (Mb Stables, ridden by M Franco)- Since being picked up by Mb Stables, Agent Zero has been very successful, with five wins in eight starts. That’s highlighted by Grade 3 BEL Turf Sprint at AQU toward the end of September where she earned a 100 SRF. Surprisingly, he has only made one start after that, coming at PRX in an optional claimer over soft turf where he also won. Well rested for this race.
6- Spin Zone (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- While his stablemate may have had a successful 2025, he was not the one who ran in the BC Turf Sprint. That’s where Spin Zone was, and he fared well in the race, cashing the fourth-place check. That capped off a year where he won four times, including two Grade 3’s at SAR. Now, it’s time to kick off his 2026, and this is a great spot to do so.
7- Frick (High Voltage, ridden by F Geroux)- A veteran of 37 races, and looking to pick up his 11th win. However, the seven-year-old gelding managed just one victory over 2025 in nine starts, a nice score in a SA open allowance in April, but he could not generate any consistency after that. While no one would say that he is running badly, he has not shown much over his last races but will be well rested.
8- Hawkeye State (Noblepark, ridden by B Curtis)- This will be Hawkeye State’s first race with Noblepark, coming after the trainer picked him up for $20.000 in the most recent auction. Prior to that, he has mostly been seen in overnights at high tracks while regularly picking up some portion of the purse. Hawkeye State is here off a long layoff, however, having last run in August at DMR, so there will be rust for him to shake off.
9- Misting (Winning Link Stables, ridden by R M Hernandez)- Over his 24-race career, Misting has been a part of seven different barns, but he may have finally found his home here with Winning Link Stables. The trainer picked him up for $30.000 in private sales, and the results have been hit and miss. Got everyone’s attention in August when he was second in the Grade 1 Fourstardave at SAR but then had people wondering if that was fluke when he was dead last, beaten by a combined 16 lengths in the Mint Million and Shadwell Turf. Didn’t take on giants last time out, and was better, running third in the AQU Turf Sprint Championship, a race similar to this one.
10- Lantern Yard (Avenue Z, ridden by F H Da Silva)- This will be the 46th start of Lantern Yard’s career, and one of those races was in the BC. Winning, however, is not something he has done a lot of them, as his last victory came in February 2024 and he has never won any of the many stakes that he run in. Doesn’t usually run badly, but it’s tough to get excited about him in here against some of these rivals.
11- Shake The Dice (Lanfranco Stable, ridden by M Pinto)- Lanfranco Stable will indeed shake the dice with this one as the gelding will make his stake debut. It is an opportunity that he has earned, with three wins in his last four races, highlighted by a starter allowance win last time out at SA. If he can prove himself against this company, we should only see him continue to take on stronger opposition.
12- Lost On The Moon (Santan Stables, ridden by J L Ortiz)- Last to load into the starting gate will be a recently gelded horse. After struggling in a SAR allowance, Lost On The Moon couldn’t even go to sleep that night before the snip. Then, came a three-month layoff, and a debut as a gelding right here at the start of December when he went wire to wire for a win. Now, we’ll see if he builds on that.
Prediction: 6-5-1-11
— NS
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded