Charlie Jace turned the $2,000.00 KD Turf Cup (G2) into another major victory for Mb Stables, moving from the middle of the 14-horse field into contention before taking command and winning the 1 1/2-mile turf marathon. Saez L guided the five-year-old through the progression, and Charlie Jace rewarded his backers at odds of 9-1 with a final time of 2:23.95.

Race Recap

The KD Turf Cup (Grade II) brought together 14 horses aged three and older for 1 1/2 miles on firm turf and a purse of $2,000.00 The race also carried Breeders’ Cup designation. Charlie Jace, owned and trained by Mb Stables and ridden by Saez L, prevailed over Jerk Pork, with Seven Is Lucky completing the first three. The official fractions were :48.1, 1:12.1, 2:00.1 and 2:23.4, with Charlie Jace officially timed in 2:23.95. There were no scratches.

Charlie Jace entered the race after a strong dirt campaign that included victories in the Gold Cup (G2), Ali (G3) and Suburban (G2), along with a third-place finish in the Whitney (G1). The return to turf proved successful, giving Mb Stables another major graded victory with the five-year-old.

The Running

Jerk Pork immediately established himself at the front. From post 10, he led by one length at the opening call and continued to hold a one-length advantage at the second call. American Generals was his nearest early pursuer, sitting second by a length at each of those first two calls, while State Cavier occupied third and Seven Is Lucky traveled fourth.

Charlie Jace was fifth by three lengths at the first call before dropping one position to sixth by four at the second. Behind that group, Gatorbyte moved from sixth to fifth, while Dramatic remained seventh. Sioux Arrival was eighth and then ninth, Salah went from ninth to tenth, Dangerous Fugitive improved from tenth to eighth, and Propector Gambler remained in the latter half of the field. Stylish Dime, Duke Of Love and One Last Punch Line occupied the deepest positions through the early stages.

The complexion began changing approaching the 3rd call. Jerk Pork was still first, maintaining his one-length advantage, but Seven Is Lucky advanced from fourth into second, placing himself directly behind the leader. More significantly for the eventual result, Charlie Jace moved from sixth into third, cutting his deficit from four lengths to one. American Generals, who had been second through the first two calls, dropped to fourth.

Behind them, Gatorbyte remained fifth, State Cavier slipped from third to sixth, Sioux Arrival improved from ninth to seventh and Dangerous Fugitive held eighth. Dramatic dropped from seventh to ninth, Duke Of Love advanced from 12th to 10th, Stylish Dime improved from 13th to 11th, Salah fell from 10th to 12th, One Last Punch Line remained 13th, and Propector Gambler dropped to 14th.

From there, Charlie Jace completed the decisive move. After being fifth, sixth and third through the first three recorded calls, he went past both Seven Is Lucky and the longtime leader Jerk Pork to reach the finish in front.

Jerk Pork, who had controlled the race through the first three calls, held second. Seven Is Lucky, after making his move into second at the third call, finished third. Duke Of Love produced one of the largest positional advances in the field, progressing from 13th to 12th to 10th before finishing fourth. Dangerous Fugitive also continued forward to fifth, while Stylish Dime advanced strongly from 11th to sixth in the final portion.

Each Runner Mentioned

Charlie Jace delivered the winning move after initially settling fifth and then sixth. His advance into third at the third call put him within striking distance before he overtook the two horses ahead of him and secured the victory. The result added another Grade II success to an already productive 2026 campaign.

Jerk Pork did nearly all of the early work, leading at each of the first three calls before yielding to Charlie Jace late. His second-place finish represented a strong effort after carrying the pace for the majority of the 1 1/2 miles.

Seven Is Lucky, the post-time favorite, advanced from fourth to second at the third call and remained competitive through the finish, taking third. He entered with 14 lifetime victories and six wins from nine starts during 2026.

Duke Of Love ran considerably better than his early position suggested. After sitting 13th at the opening call and 12th at the next, he improved to 10th and continued his advance to finish fourth.

Dangerous Fugitive also gained ground through the race. He was 10th initially, moved to eighth at the second and third calls and continued forward to finish fifth.

Stylish Dime was another horse who made substantial late progress. He began 12th, dropped to 13th, moved to 11th and then advanced to sixth.

Gatorbyte raced in the middle portion of the field throughout, moving from sixth to fifth and remaining fifth at the third call before finishing seventh.

One Last Punch Line was 14th at the first two calls, improved to 13th at the third and continued forward to finish eighth.

Salah started ninth, dropped to 10th and then 12th before recovering several positions to finish ninth.

Sioux Arrival raced eighth at the opening call, ninth at the second and improved to seventh at the third before finishing 10th.

American Generals was Charlie Jace’s Mb Stables stablemate and occupied second position through the first two calls. He dropped to fourth at the third call and then faded to 11th.

Dramatic was seventh at each of the first two calls before falling to ninth at the third and finishing 12th.

State Cavier was prominent early, sitting third at the first two calls, but dropped to sixth at the third call and ultimately finished 13th.

Propector Gambler raced 11th through the first two calls before dropping to 14th at the third and remaining there through the finish.

About The Winner

The victory continued an excellent 2026 campaign for Charlie Jace. His past performances now show four victories from seven starts during the year, with the KD Turf Cup joining his earlier victories in the Ali (G3), Gold Cup (G2) and Suburban (G2). He also finished third in the Whitney (G1) immediately before this race.

Charlie Jace is a five-year-old bay horse by Soviet Warrior out of Broomstick Storm, bred by Arindel (ON) and currently owned by Mb Stables. His past performances now list his lifetime record at 23 starts, nine wins, three seconds and three thirds, with lifetime earnings of $3,474.00.

Track: Firm
Time: :48¹  1:12¹  2:00¹  2:23⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 2 – 10 Paid 531.90
$1 Trifecta: 2 – 10 – 3 Paid 1,568.20

Scratched: None

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES