Tall Stack Stakes

Purse $75.00 – For Three Year Olds

6 1/2 Furlongs – Dirt

Belterra Park – May 8, 2026

Despite spotting the field a head start turning for home, Wizardly unleashed a late outside run to capture the 4th Tall Stack Stakes. The son of Tactical Wizard gets his second career victory and first win around one turn. Stopping the clock in a stakes-record 1:15.31 for the 6 1/2 furlongs, this performance further established his versatility and ability to handle different distances. With the win, Wizardly’s career earnings climbed to $110.17 while giving Barcelona Farms and jockey Christian Pilares their first Tall Stack Stakes victories. If this effort was any indication, there may be much bigger opportunities waiting down the road for this gelding. Maintaining the same equipment moving forward may allow him to reach another level, stretching back out to two turns. A homebred stakes victory always means a little more, making this win especially rewarding for the connections. Congratulations!

Winner: Wizardly – (Barcelona Farms, C P. Pilares) There wasn’t a ton of speed from this chestnut out of the gate. He settled in fourth down the backside and started creeping up on the field around the ⅜ pole. The pacesetter had a one-length advantage rounding the far turn, and Wizardly had him in his sights ready to pounce. At the top of the stretch, jockey Christian Pilares had this horse in second, about a length and a half behind the leader. Slowly but surely, you could see he was making up ground, and the only question was whether he was going to get to the wire in time. Wizardly overtook Ebiowei in the final 1/16 and won going away.

Second Place: Ebiowei – (Panionios Racing, J L. Castanon) This three-year-old ran an incredible race coming off his maiden win. Ebiowei wasted no time out of the gate and immediately went to the lead. He traveled comfortably down the backstretch, setting early fractions of 22.90 and 46.05. Rounding the turn, this New York-bred actually kicked away from the field and was almost two lengths ahead of the field coming into the stretch. Unfortunately, he was outkicked by Wizardly in the final furlong and had to settle for second. The impressive part was that he was still four lengths ahead of the horse that finished third. One to put in your watchlist.

Third Place: Grand Sharky – (Serenity Stables, A. Jimenez) It wasn’t an ideal setup for this closer, as there was not a fast pace on the front end. Grand Sharky took back about four lengths passing the ½ mile pole but was having a ground-saving trip down on the rail. There was unfortunately no room to run around the run, and a lane didn’t open up until the field reached the top of the stretch. Although jockey Abin Jimenez was trying hard, Grand Sharky was unable to make up any ground on the leaders and moved into third place. This was a good test to see how this horse would do against stakes company, and it seems that his friends are in allowances.

Fourth Place: Euclidean – (Ire Iron Stables, P W. Ouzts) Went off as the 8/5 favorite and sat a stalking trip down on the rail. Euclidean was in second place down the backside and gave up his position to the eventual winner, passing the 3/16 pole. Little by little, he was starting to lose ground and not making any headway on the leaders. In the final 1/16, this gelding got passed by Grand Sharky and settled for fourth. This was not the effort connections were looking for, especially coming out of a stakes win at Fonner Park. This race provided a solid gauge of where he stands, and the allowance ranks may ultimately be where he is most effective moving forward.

– AJM

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded