The National Museum of Racing – (Grade ll)

Purse $400.00 – For Three Year Olds

One Mile – InTurf

Saratoga – August 7, 2026

Things couldn’t have set up better for Perfect Folly as he slipped through on the rail and captured the 23rd running of The National Museum of Racing! This gelding made an immediate impression at the graded level, winning in his first start against graded company. The son of Perfect Devil increased his lifetime earnings to $453.36 through fourteen career races. The victory also marked a milestone for the connections. Owner La Canada Racehorses secured a first victory in the National Museum of Racing, while jockey Shaun Bridgmohan added his name to the honor roll with his first triumph in the stakes as well. Perfect Folly completed the one-mile journey in 1:32.95, adding another impressive performance to his growing résumé. It’s possible we can see this New York-bred next in the Grade Three Mint Million or The Gun Runner at Kentucky Downs as summer racing starts to wind down. Connections have done an outstanding job developing this gelding, so he’ll be one to watch no matter where he ends up. Congratulations to La Canada Racehorses!

Winner: Perfect Folly – (La Canada Racehorses, S X. Bridgmohan) Breaking from the gate, jockey Shaun Bridgmohan did a good job maintaining his position down on the rail to save as much ground as possible. Perfect Folly sat comfortably in third, about two lengths off the leader around the first turn and down the backside. He started making his move at the ⅜ pole and was slowly inching up throughout the far turn to take the lead. At the top of the stretch, a clear running lane opened up in the one path and this gelding took full advantage of the open space. He kicked it into high gear, pulling away inside the final 1/16 to win by a half-length. This was definitely an eye-catching effort for a graded stakes debut!

Second Place: No Prince – (Mb Stables, J R. Velazquez) Coming off a wire-to-wire victory, connections didn’t try anything special in this race. No Prince broke from the gate as the favorite and immediately was alone on the lead. He fully cleared the field rounding the first turn and set early fractions of 23.07, 46.26, and 1:09.57. Jockey Johnny Velazquez got this son of Prince George to relax nicely down the backside with rivals starting to breathe down his neck. Things started to get interesting as the field reached the quarter pole with No Prince still maintaining a one-length advantage. He continued to fight on gallantly down the lane, but got run down at the wire to finish second.

Third Place: Private Affair – (TwinTowersRacing, M J. Sanchez) This colt faced several different challenges in this race, and he handled each one like a seasoned pro. The main thing was that Private Affair was trying the sod for the first time with a big turf pedigree to help him. He broke extremely well from the gate, racing two-wide into the first turn and down the backstretch. The son of Van Gogh settled in second about two lengths off the pacesetter. Jockey Mychel Sanchez started asking his horse to go at the 5/16 pole with a clear running lane in front of him. The eventual winner went down to the rail, so Private Affair closed three-wide down the stretch. He was unfortunately outkicked late and finished third.

Fourth Place: Cumberland Blue – (Jerry Garcia Racing, R M. Hernandez) With multiple graded stakes wins under his belt, this son of Excoriator came into the race with a ton of experience. Cumberland Blue was also trying the grass for the first time with seven turf winners in his family. Being a deep closer, he didn’t show any speed from the gate and found himself in last by seven lengths entering the backstretch. The problem was that there was a lone pacesetter up front not providing enough early speed to close into. This colt started to move passing the ⅜ with a lot of ground to cover. He was making up a ton of ground down the center of the track and found some traffic trouble in late stretch. Fourth place was all he was able to scrounge up. Unlucky trip.

– AJM

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES