The Vosburgh (Grade 3) (BC)- $250.00 Purse
BEL- For Three Year Olds and Upward
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
September 26, 2026

There will be two “win and you’re in” races for the BC Sprint this weekend, and one of them takes place at BEL, as the Grade 3 Vosburgh runs for the 24th time. The race had been a Grade 1 for the longest time, and even saw it’s purse peak at $500.00. The purse was lowered in the four years that this race took place at AQU, but did not at least return to $300.00 or $350.00 level that it was at in its BEL days before the move. At one time, Alpha Ultimo was dominant in this race, winning it three times over a span of five years (he did not attempt the race in the other two years). He was electric back then, as was our winner last year, Electric, for Angelos Stable. The now eight year old gelding has had a productive year in 2026, but will not be here to defend his title. The gate is full, so let’s take a run through the field now!

1- Mighty (John Henry, ridden by D E Centeno)- Performed well in his prior barn, cashing checks in CA-bred stakes before cashing in a victory in the $200.00 St Matthews at CD in April. About five weeks later, he would be acquired by John Henry for $275.00 in private sales. His new trainer took his time with him, and Mighty would debut in his new silks for the Grade 1 Forego at SAR last month. That did not go well, but John Henry is plenty capable of making the needed adjustments from that start and making it a throw out.

2- Inoue (Royalty Stables, ridden by L Machado)- He might not win as often as the trainer would like, but Inoue has a knack of showing up when the stakes are the highest. Last year, he was the runner up in the $2,000.00 Simpson Stakes at KD and would later finish in the same spot in the BC Turf Sprint at DMR. That’s helped him eclipse the $1,000.00 mark in earnings despite just four wins over 23 starts. One of those wins was in July, but came in an optional claimer at ELP, so it will not intimidate these rivals. Inoue is very versatile with the conditions he runs in, but this is actually his first dirt sprint in fifteen months.

3- Pirate Bounty (Winning Link Stables, ridden by E J Zayas)- Here’s another that recently switched hands, but it did not take as much for Winning Link Stables to bring them to their barn. Pirate Bounty was claimed for $20.00 at SAR in July and had a successful career in overnights while likely running under his ability level. Winning Link was not going to let that continue to happen, and entered Pirate Bounty in the Grade 3 Bold Venture last month. It was indeed a bold venture, and one that paid off as the gelding ran third and within a length. No reason more of the same, and better, couldn’t happen here.

4- Spicy Chase (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by M J Sanchez)- The five year old gelding has not made much over his 23-race career as he still looks to top $100.00 in total. He’s won just twice, with the non-maiden win happening this May at TAM. Spicy Chase has been able to add to his career earnings with his last two races at MTH, but it is hard to be optimistic about his chances in this field. The trainer believes, but I need to see it first.

5- Schopenhauer (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by Mar Garcia)- There is no shortage of earnings with this horse, as Schopenhauer has made over $1,000.00 in his career. He’s consistent year after year, and comes here off a win in the Grade 2 Vanderbilt Handicap up at the Spa. The win was his second in five starts, and those victories are the only times he has hit the board this year. Mostly known for running long, Schopenhauer’s Vanderbilt performance was his first sprint in over a year and only his third in total. Maybe he’s found a new type of racing he can thrive in.

6- Hound Dog (Threshold, ridden by A Fresu)- The gelding by Profit Engineer has been able to cash checks nearly every time he has been out there, and has done so each time since May 2024. Now, as good as that sounds, many of those races seem to have been a case of him running for lower purses than he was capable of. Last September, Threshold old began giving Hound Dog bigger tests, and this old dog was fine with new tricks and even won the $100.00 Thomas Memorial Stakes in February. That did not lead to better, though, as he was dropped from that into mid-level open allowances. This type of chance is long overdue.

7- Retaliate (Mb Stables, ridden by M Franco)- Retaliate has had an outstanding career, winning twelve times over 38 starts and making over $1,500.00 in his career. He’s made multiple BC Sprint appearances, finishing in the seventh spot both times. We haven’t seen him run in a graded race this year until his most recent start, though he still ran well where he was placed. Then, in August he was sold to Mb Stables for $175.00. Five days later, he was running in the Grade 2 Obrien though ran poorly. Similarly to the case with Mighty, Mb Stables can make the adjustments needed to make the Obrien a throw out.

8- Nationalist (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by J Bravo)- He’s made more than his stablemate, but Nationalist also does not win much, doing so only twice in 15 starts. He was generally consistent in overnights, and has received several opportunities to run in top races. However, he has failed to be a factor in any of those races, consistently running near the back of the field. Why should this time be any different, then? It’s a shorter distance than he typically runs, but not so much so where it can be expected to be a major difference. This barn is always the best bet to get a big price at the window that pays off. His speed figures are respectable, and his last work shows improvement.

9- Blooming Attack (Mb Stables, ridden by M J Husbands)- One of the two three year olds in the field, and that will get a four pound weight allowance. He’s already made over $1,000.00 in his career, with a win in the Grade 2 Rebel playing a big part in that, but he also finished second at seven furlongs in the Grade 1 Stephens at the Spa in June. He’s been running in sprints over his last two, on both surfaces, and placed third in two big races. When it happened in the Amsterdam it came in the slop. Forecast data is presently unavailable, but there’s talk of rain in the northeast on Saturday.

10- Magical Embrace (Gdp Inc, ridden by J Alvarado)- This four year old gelding will make his debut for Gdp Inc as the returning trainer picked him from one that is leaving in private sales for $28.00 last month. Magical Embrace doesn’t have the big accolades yet, with one win over ten starts, and just three of them came this year. He was on the derby trail last year for a bit, but was too much for him. Worked well last time, but that’s not a consistent time for him. That could be a positive if something was tested with that, and showed significant improvement.

11- Exploration Bay (Mb Stables, ridden by L Saez)- Our third entry from Mb Stables doesn’t quite have the resume as his two stablemates, but he does make his way to BEL off a strong effort in his last start. Out at DMR last month, and while starting from the outside by the way, he ran on the lead in the Grade 2 Obrien and held strong throughout before settling for the second spot. That earned him a 101 SRF, but two starts prior, he earned a 103 with his win in the Grade 3 Bango at CD. Perhaps soon, he will have that resume, and a win here could be his breakout party, if he still needs one.

12- Haggis Smoothie (The Sidley Stud, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- Our second three year old in the field will need to start from the outside, something that he is not particularly used to, at least not since he was gelded in March. Since that point, he’s been running well at FL but that’s not going to concern the big names in this field. Haggis Smoothie was on the KYD trail for a bit, but was unable to get the results he needed. This is his biggest test, however, since he was gelded.

Prediction: 5-11-3-9

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES