The Dinner Party Stakes (Grade 3)- $250.000 Purse
PIM- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Turf
May 17, 2025

Five horses would take part in the Dinner Party Stakes, and many people expected a showdown between Ello Santa and Grand Opening, as the two took 75% of the selections in the Pick ‘em. This corrected the morning line odds seeing otherwise, and these two would end up taking the top two positions in a tightly contested race. We had them as our top two choices, but as was the case in the Gallorette, we had them reversed. Ello Santa prevents Grand Opening from winning the Dinner Party Stakes for the second time and gives trainer Mb Stables his second win in the race. The winning rider is M Franco, his first such win. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:45.08, the second quickest of the editions held at this distance. Let’s take a look at it now:

(½ Mile- :47.92)- The three horses who will finish together run right alongside one another from the start, although for now it will be Grand Opening hold the top spot for Riggins Racing while running between horses. Our eventual winner from Mb Stables, Ello Santa, runs second on the rail, and Tom Kha Gai does the same on the outside for High Voltage. We have a gap of four to Threshold’s Outcrosss, and at the back is the Whipped, from The Sidley Stud.

(3/4 Mile- 1:10.32)- Nothing changes with the top three for most of the backstretch, but just as they hit the top of the turn, Ello Santa advances just enough to hold a slight advantage at this point of the race. Grand Opening and Tom Kha Gai are still right alongside him as this battle continues. Outcross and Whipped were well off the pace.

(Top of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- It’s still a three-horse race, as Ello Santa, Grand Opening and Tom Kha Gai run three wide. Ello Santa still holds a very small lead, but all of them have a great shot and a thrilling stretch battle seems to be in order. Outcrosss and Whipped were content to watch it all unfold instead of getting involved.

(Finish: 1:45.08)- We’d get that hard fought battle in the stretch, as these top three horses all continued to run gamely to the wire. They’d all give it their best, and it would be Ello Santa hanging on to the narrow lead he had throughout the stretch to get the win. The three-way photo for the top spot would show Grand Opening second and Tom Kha Gai third. Whipped decided to start running very late, but is no better than fourth, beating only Outcrosss.

About The Winner- Ello Santa, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by M Franco, is a three-year-old gelding by Ben Nevis and is out of Ello Guvnah. He was bred in New Jersey by Iolaus Racing as a yearling and was acquired by Mb Stables for $150.000 in an October private sale. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his sixth in ten starts, his fifth stake win and fourth graded win. His career earnings are now $1,544.600.

Track: Firm
Time: :47  1:10¹  1:33²  1:45

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 2 – 4 Paid 39.90
$1 Trifecta: 2 – 4 – 5 Paid 79.60

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES