King Edward BC Stakes – (Grade ll)

Purse $200.00 – For Three Year Olds And Upward

One Mile – Turf

Woodbine – August 15, 2026

Mb Stables’ King Z displayed his devastating turn of foot down the stretch and captured the 21st running of the King Edward BC Stakes! After competing primarily at the marathon turf distances, he cut back to one mile and picked up his second graded stakes win of the year. Connections experimented with different instructions for this race, as this New York-bred has been running on the lead in previous starts. King Z also increased his lifetime earnings to $1,885.54 through forty-two career races. Mb Stables has now pulled even with Thinken Stables and Riggins Racing atop the King Edward BC Stakes owners leaderboard, with two wins apiece. Mb’s last victory came back in 2019 when Hefner dominated by two lengths. The son of Z Grayte One stopped the clock for the one-mile distance in 1:32.25, the fastest time recorded in the last 14 years. King Z will have several options to consider as the fall season approaches. Congratulations to the connections on another impressive victory!

Winner: King Z – (Mb Stables, A. Fresu) This gelding definitely bounced back in a big way after not hitting the board in three consecutive starts. Breaking from the gate, King Z immediately settled in the back of the pack about five lengths off the speed in sixth. A fast early pace was established by two horses battling on the front end, creating an opportunity for this New York-bred to close late. Jockey Antonio Fresu didn’t ask his horse for his best until reaching the 5/16 pole when a clear running lane opened up two-wide. King Z started eating up ground down the stretch and pulled away inside the final sixteenth to score by ¾ of a length. His turn of foot was extremely impressive. Well done once again to Mb Stables!

Second Place: Fun Dip – (Jokerjoes, R M. Hernandez) What a story it would’ve been if this hard-knocking mare turned the tables on the boys as the favorite. Finishing second after a very wide trip, it was still an eye-catching effort. Fun Dip didn’t show any speed from the gate and settled in last with six lengths to make up. Jockey Rafael Hernandez was licking his chops when Train Station Day and Thats It N Thats All were creating a fast pace up front. As the field passed the 5/16 pole, this daughter of Roger Rabbit moved out six-wide to start setting up her closing kick. She absolutely flew down the stretch and was not able to catch King Z late. Connections should be proud of this second-place effort.

Third Place: Train Station Day – (Invicta Group Llc, D. Moran) There were no surprises from this five-year-old gelding as he went straight to the lead breaking from the gate. Being drawn close to the rail, jockey David Moran was able to save ground heading into the far turn with Thats It N Thats All running to his outside. The two rivals set early fractions of 22.56, 45.44, and 1:08.73. As Train Station Day reached the top of the stretch, he had a one-length advantage on the field. He continued to run on nicely as rivals were starting to close in quickly from behind. You could tell inside the final 3/16 that this California-bred was going to get run down late, but he continued to fight on gallantly. Third place was all he was able to save.

Fourth Place: Suspect The Worst – (Nakamura Stables, L. Contreras) Connections were hoping for a step forward from this gelding and he didn’t completely disappoint. Suspect The Worst dropped back quickly leaving the gate, settling in fifth about four lengths off the pacesetters. He raced two-wide rounding the far turn trying to get into a comfortable rhythm. Jockey Luis Contreras waited until the field passed the quarter pole to start making his move with a clear running lane down the center of the track. The son of Majestical was trying to kick away late, but he just wasn’t able to keep up inside the final furlong. I think Suspect The Worst will continue to improve heading into the fall. Finding the right spot will be key.

– AJM

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES