BG Stakes (Grade 1)- $1,250.000 Purse
KEE- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
April 5, 2025

Chalk up another one for Mb Stables! If the game allowed it, Mb Stables could just about fill up half the starting gate for the KYD, with Obi Wan becoming the next one to get a big win in a prep, doing so in the BG Stakes. Obi Wan was the runner up in the BC Juvenile last fall, but was on the bubble of making the field coming into the BG Stakes, but with this win, he would clinch a spot in the KYD if he were in any other stable. Ultimately, Mb Stables has to pick three from his arsenal to be the one to take on Daemon and the rest of the field at CD, so we’ll see if Obi Wan is one of them. He went wire to wire here, so that’s a tactical consideration that the trainer will make for that race, if not for Obi Wan’s benefit, but for another one of his entrants. This is the fifth BG win for Mb Stables, and the fourth for jockey P Lopez. Three of Lopez’s wins have been when riding Mb horses. Congratulations to them! The time of the win on the surface listed as good was 1:49.83. Let’s take a look at it!

(½ Mile- :47.59)- It’s right to the front for Obi Wan, and the Mb Stables entry opens up by about two lengths rounding the first turn and moving into the backstretch. TwinTowersRacing’s Turning Point is in second, himself also clear of the rest of the field. A length behind him, Soho Police and Intergration, respectively trained by Night Rider Stables and D J C Racing Stables, run together, with the winner’s stablemate, Banned, running next on the rail. In the heart of the pack, we have a group of four, led by Point Given (Alydar Stables) and Tube (Willams9), with both Ref You Def (Night Rider Stables) and Architect (Nakamura Stables) within half a length. Olumuyiwa (Riggins Racing) is next, running five wide down the backstretch. The trailing four all run together, with Winds Of Opus (Fabone1) being ahead of Fantasy Blaze (Maxmillion Farm), In Good Order (Acber Farms), and Pretty Boy Floyd (Big Jd Racing).

(3/4 Mile- 1:12.09)- Out in front, Obi Wan is looking to put the rest of the field away early, as he continues to run in great stride down the backstretch, and moving into the turn. His lead is two, if not three lengths at this point, as Turning Point is unable to keep up with this pace. That one now finds himself passed by Intergration, with Soho Police also looking to get by soon within the turn. Banned is still fifth, and holds a comfortable place on the rail. Tube begins to emerge as the best horse of the group of four that had been behind him, and he has a good lane for the turn. Point Given stays in the mix, with Ref You Def not quite making his push as of yet. Architect had also been with them, but has packed it in, and sees Olumuyiwa get back him, and both In Good Order and Fantasy Blaze about to do the same. Winds Of Opus and Pretty Boy Floyd are a length behind those two.

(Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Entering the stretch, Obi Wan has still dealt with any pressure at all from anyone. His advantage is still around two and a half lengths, and we had to wonder now if there would be anyone who could at least give him somewhat of a threat. Soho Police and Intergration were now running evenly for second, but were not gaining any ground on the leader. Banned was getting a little closer on the inside, as was Tube on the outside, so they seemed to be the best bets at this point to give Obi Wan some sort of concern. Turning Point was still with the lead group, as was Point Given, but they were two others that did not seem to be making progress. Ref You Def made up a little ground, but had a lot more work to do. Looking further back, In Good Order was in good shape towards the inside, making a lot of progress and looked like he would get a part of the purse here, though Obi Wan was too far ahead. Fantasy Blaze was hitting his best stride on the outside.

(Finish- 1:49.83)- With a furlong to go, Obi Wan was still running well enough to not get concerned. There was a lot of lane shuffling going on behind him, as jockeys knew the importance of getting points, not only a part of the purse, on this day. At the wire, Obi Wan would complete the task, scoring the win, and making his case for his trainer to send him to the KYD. A couple of late runners take the next spots, with In Good Order coming on hard on the rail while Fantasy Blaze did the same on the outside. 50 points were on the line there, and it’s In Good Order taking them over Fantasy Blaze. Soho Police is fourth, with Ref You Def claiming fifth. Not getting anything out of this day, in this order, will be Tube, Point Given, Banned, Olumuiywa, Pretty Boy Floyd, Intergration, Turning Point, Winds Of Opus, and Architect.

About The Winner- Obi Wan, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by P Lopez, is a three year old gelding by Conquest and is out of Chasing The Moon. He was bred by Allinthegate in California as a second quarter two year old, and was acquired by Mb Stables for $500.000 in a February 2025 private sale. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his third in eight starts and his second stake win, each of which are graded. His career earnings are now $1,626.200.

Track: Good
Time: :47²  1:12  1:37  1:49⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 12 – 9 Paid 107.80
$1 Trifecta: 12 – 9 – 11 Paid 1,575.20

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES