The Suburban – GII
$500.00 For Four Year Olds And Upward
1 1/4 Miles – Dirt
Saratoga Race Course – July 4, 2026

Fourth of July. Upstart nation celebrates 250 years since they defied the world’s imperial empire and declared independence. It would have been appropriate for some longshot to take down the juggernaut barn and win The Suburban but Mb Stables was not having any of that nonsense. The question remains. Who can beat Mb Stables? Apparently not even Mb Stables as both entries from the barn finished in a dead heat for the win and ended up splitting the lion’s share of the $500.00 purse. 

Winner (DH): Charlie Jace (Mb Stables/A. Fresu) Soviet Warrior/Broomstick Storm (Commanding The Storm) Sat chilly behind the early pacesetter Without Warning and continued to stalk when stablemate Edward The Good engaged the leader and took the lead at the top of the stretch. Began advancing on the far turn and gained second at the top of the stretch with only Edward The Good to catch. Gained the lead with a sixteenth of a mile remaining and appeared like he would pull clear but his rival dug in and the two continued in a head bobbing battle to the wire at which point the two winners could not be separated. 

Winner (DH): Edward The Good (Mb Stables/J.R. Velasquez) Advisor/Bye Bye Beautiful (Pumba) Without Warning got the early jump and took the lead. Stalked for the first half of the race but then was sent after the leader and the two led the field into the stretch where Edward The Good took a clear lead as Without Warning began to give way. At that point he was all out to hold off Charlie Jace and showed great courage to battle to the wire even after being momentarily headed. Great battle. Both horses deserved the W.

Third: Wild Card Weekend (Night Rider Stables/D. Davis) Fusaichi Pegasus/Gentle Laff (Ned Isakoff) Ended up going to the post as the betting choice and dropped way back early. Barely lifted a hoof the first part of the race and began to get rolling after the first five furlongs but didn’t appear to be making much headway until the top of the stretch when he found his best stride. Was gaining throughout the stretch and gained third late but never really scared the top two. 

Fourth: Without Warning (TwinTowersRacing/T. Gaffalione) Neon Wolf/Ruffian Gal (Grandeur) Got a flyer out of the gate and took a comfortable early lead. Was joined by Edward The Good after five furlongs and led until almost the top of the stretch. Began to give way to the Mb Stable pair and almost held the show spot but was headed in the last strides by fast closing Wild Card Weekend. 

Preview Pick: Wild Card Weekend – Late running third. 

This was the second straight year The Suburban was won by Mb Stables. The barn took the race with Killer Instinct a year ago as well as with Having A Blast in 2020 which was the barn’s first win. It was the second Suburban win for jockey J.R. Velasquez but marks the first time winning since 2005 when he piloted BomBayMedic to victory for Australia Wide.

Charlie Jace has now won three straight graded stakes this season and his career earnings now top  $2,000.00. He now stands in eighth place to qualify for the BC Classic this Fall with 17 points. 

Edward The Good adds The Suburban as a follow up to his G1 Metropolitan win last month. He won the G3 The Razorback Handicap in February and his career earnings are now $3,864.42 and he stands in fourth place to make the BC Classic gate with 22 points. 

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES