The Cliff Hanger Stakes ($100.00 Purse)
MTH- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Turf
May 23, 2026

For the first time since 2016, the Cliff Hanger Stakes will be run at MTH, sending a field of six a little more than a mile around the turf course. The race was only run between 2011 and 2016 and would see its distance fluctuate between a mile and a mile and an eighth during that time. The last edition may have been a decade ago, but that does not stop the fact that Mb Stables is the most recent winner of the race, doing so with the late Personal Secret. That one would win seven times over 10 starts, with two being graded races. Being a Commanding foal, he had a chance to produce as a sire, and his foals have combined for over $4,500.00 in earnings. Here’s a look at this year’s field:

1- Terra Authority (Alydar Stables, ridden by J Barbosa)- Last month at LS, Terra Authority scored a two-length win in an N1X allowance, her second victory in 14 starts. Early in her career, she got some stake experience and even appeared in the Grade 1 Summer Stakes at WO in 2024, but it would be too much for her at the time. Improved results, albeit not at the highest tracks recently, give her another chance at this level.

2- King Of Hyrule (High Voltage, ridden by Sa Camacho)- The six-year-old gelding will be making his 33rd career start, hoping to get fifth win. His fourth was picked up last time out, winning a SA optional claimer in a dead heat at the end of March. While most of his races have been in overnights, he’s periodically run in races like this but has yet to win one. Ran third in the $80.00 Lure at SA last October.

3- Eximius (Jokerjokes, ridden by J C Ferrer)- Picked up by the trainer in private sales late last year for $58.00, and has made four starts in his new barn. None of them are wins, but he does have two second place efforts, with the last one a strong effort at PRX in an open allowance. He’s been part of the exacta in ten of 18 starts, so he certainly knows how to be close. That wasn’t the case when he tried a stake very early in his career, but gives it another go here.

4- Dirtiest Sin (The Sidley Stud, ridden by S Marin)- Since being claimed for $6.00, Dirtiest Sin has picked up three wins in five starts. Those were all in starter allowances, with the claiming price for eligibility being $10.00 or less. The races that he did not win were the opposite of that, competitive stakes where he was nowhere near cashing a check. He does work well, and that earns him another chance, and if it doesn’t turn out well, there’s always TAM again.

5- Fayette County (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by J Bravo)- Fayette County is the highest earner in the field, but you have to go back a long way to find where he made a lot of that. The former Grade 1 Hopeful winner (2023) would never get back to that level, and he’s only won once since then. He’s become lightly raced but was a non-factor in his last two starts. For a stake, this isn’t an intimidating field, so it could be a good bounce back spot.

6- Stop Hammertime (Bears Stable, ridden by P Lopez)- May end up being the horse to beat in this field, as he comes off a strong effort in the Grade 3 American Stakes at SA where he was third. Prior to that, he was fourth in the Grade 3 Canadian Turf, and this field may be enough of a drop from the level of competition to where the same type of effort can get the win. Since July, he’s never been more than a length behind the race winner. He’ll have to be his best, but if he is, the rest of the field can’t touch him. (Ok, maybe they can, but I couldn’t resist saying that).

Prediction: 6-2-1-5

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded