All Aces for Atomic Eclipse in The Poker Stakes

By Nynl Stables on June 20, 2021

The Poker Stakes (Grade 3)- $250.000 Purse
BEL- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Turf
June 20, 2021

The only thing that seems to be keeping Atomic Eclipse from being a bigger name in our virtual world is consistency. He’s shown that he knows how to win, but after he does so, he has not always followed it up very well. In The Poker Stakes, he always seemed as though he had the ability to win the race, I just was not sure that I could trust him. On Sunday at BEL, Atomic Eclipse was all aces, running a smart race to get the win! He would beat Commander Wellsley by a length, preventing me from correctly picking the winner in all three of my races this weekend, but I’ll take second. Trainer La Canada Racehorses will take the win, his first in The Poker Stakes. Jockey L Saez was aboard to win for the first time as well. Congratulations to them! The race was won 1:32.50, the fourth quickest in the race’s history. Let’s take a look!

(¼ Mile- :23.33)- Ice Wall goes out to the front at the start for RNP Stables, and he has some company there as City Watch is just to his outside for John Henry. Eventually, Ice Wall pulls out to a length lead on City Watch. There are three stalkers at first (then four), and one of them is our eventual winner, Atomic Eclipse. He is positioned right behind City Watch, and is scored in fifth after a quarter mile. Workload, running in the third lane for Mb Stables, is in third and a half length ahead of him. On the rail, the D J C Racing Stables entry of Sundays Sauce is a head in front. Joining them eventually would be Pookie, from Winning Link Stables. He did not initially break with them, but made a push in the backstretch to run even with them. In the middle of the pack, Commander Wellesley (Jive Inc) and Annihilator (Eastern Equine) run side by side, ahead of the four trailers, who are Id Rather Go Blind (TwinTowersRacing), Butter Ball (Angelos Stable), Blameitonthewhiskey (Fractious), and Marx On The Moon (Court Jester Racing).

(½ Mile- :46.47)- Ice Wall leads the way down the backstretch and into the turn, with City Watch still running about a length behind him, to his outside. Workload gets a little closer to that one, clearing the other three stalkers at this time. Next, it’s Sundays Sauce on the rail with Atomic Eclipse still running to his outside, and directly behind City Watch. Commander Wellesley now joins them in the third lane, taking the spot that Workload had been in, and Pookie holds the fourth lane. Further back, Marx On The Moon cuts into the deficit, doing so with a four wide trip. He’s even with Annihilator for now. Id Rather Go Blind, Butter Ball, and Blameitonthewhiskey still trail.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- City Watch takes over the lead in the turn, as Ice Wall starts to look a little vulnerable. Meanwhile, Sundays Sauce provides a nudge to Atomic Eclipse and tells him to start running. Well, maybe not, but midway in the turn, Sundays Sauce tries to come off the rail to avoid running into Ice Wall, and seems to push Atomic Eclipse down a lane. L Saez seemed to use that as his cue to get rolling with Atomic Eclipse, as not too long after, and with a clear lane in front of him now, his ride moves into the second position, passing Workload relatively easily, and leaving Sundays Sauce behind. Commander Wellsley is five wide in the turn, but still in a good stride. Further back, Butter Ball begins to look much more interested as he gains some ground. Pookie begins dropping back, and Marx On The Moon comes up empty in the turn. Id Rather Go Blind and Blameitonthewhiskey had plenty of work to still do.

(Finish- 1:32.50)- Atomic Eclipse takes over the lead pretty quickly in the stretch run, and shows us all that when he shows up to the race, he knows how to win. He pulls away to win pretty comfortably at the end over second place Commander Wellsley. That one was running well at the end, but it was too late to threaten for the win. Butter Ball may have been the fastest horse in the stretch, but runs out of time and settles for third, narrowly over City Watch. It’s another length to Ice Wall and Workload, and one more to Sundays Sauce. Rounding it out, it’s Blameitonthewhiskey, Annihilator, Pookie, Marx On The Moon, and Id Rather Go Blind.

About The Winner- Atomic Eclipse, trained by La Canada Racehorses, and ridden to victory by L Saez, is a four year old gelding by Orange Eclipse, and is out of Atomic Cat. He was bred in California by Two Hearts One Love as a second quarter two year old, and acquired by La Canada Racehorses, via Midnight Racing, in private sales for $50.000 in February 2020. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his seventh in 18 starts, his third stake win, and second graded win. His career earnings are now $502.500.

Horse Name

Owner Name

Jockey

Odds

Fin

Time

SRF

Atomic Eclipse

La Canada Racehorses

Saez L

5.90

1¹