SA Handicap (Grade 1)- $400.000 Purse
SA- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Quarter on the Dirt
March 6, 2021

The race may have been ten furlongs, but it did not matter for the top two, as they were in those positions for pretty much the entire race. That would not stop Mb Stables from having a blast as the horse that stops Achilles’ run in the SA Handicap would be his own Having A Blast, holding off Space Commander, and Achilles, who still looked good in this race. It is the third win in the SA Handicap for Mb Stables, with jockey Ru Fuentes winning for the first time. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 2:00.31, which is in line with other recent winning times. Here is a look at it!

(½ Mile- :47.79)- Having A Blast goes out to the lead for Mb Stables, and pulls by half a length over the second place Space Commander, from Nakamura Stables. That one has cleared his rivals as well, leading No More Haggis (YME Stable) and Splash Mountain (John Henry), with Sexy Back (Night Rider Stables) and Mintmach (Nolespan Racing) nearby. At the back. Slo Mo (Maxmillion Farm) and Achilles (Mb Stables) are five lengths from the front.

(¾ Mile- 1:11.23)- Around the turn and down the backstretch we go with Having A Blast looking quite strong on the front end. He has opened up now, leading by two and a half lengths, putting valuable distance between he and Space Commander over this juncture of the race that the latter would be fighting hard to get back later. Splash Mountain runs third, a length behind Space Commander, and for the moment seemed to be in a good spot if the pacesetter dropped back. No More Haggis and Sexy Back were within a length of him as the others trailed running three wide.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Having A Blast gracefully rounds the turn, showing no signs of letting up on his lead, and those with money on him had to be thrilled with how the race was unfolding. It’s still Space Commander second, but he is not cutting into the lead of Having A Blast, with two lengths to make up. He actually put more distance on those behind him here, so he was certainly not lacking in effort. Splash Mountain still held third but needed to get moving now, as did No More Haggis and Sexy Back. Achilles was at the back, and had a lot of work to do if he was going to threepeat.

(Finish- 2:00.31)- The big lead for Having A Blast proved to be too much for those in the field to overcome. He may have lost some of the power in his stride in the stretch, but there was enough in the tank to hold off the opposition and win the race by a length without really being challenged. Space Commander held the rail in the stretch to be second, and was not really threatened for that spot, either. Achilles, with more time, would have been interesting, but his late bid sees him third, narrowly over Sexy Back and Splash Mountain. Rounding it out, it’s Slo Mo, No More Haggis, and Mintmach.

About The Winner- Having A Blast, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by Ru Fuentes, is a six year old gelding by Semantics, and is out of Going Well. He was bred in the first quarter by Mb Stables in New York, the only trainer he has run for in his 29-race career. Congratulations to the connections! It is his third graded win, and his career earnings are now $1,080.710.

Track: Fast
Time: :47³  1:11¹  1:35   2:00¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 7 – 3 Paid 22.50
$1 Trifecta: 7 – 3 – 8 Paid 108.60

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES