Buena Vista Stakes (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
SA- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile on the Turf
March 4, 2023

The great La Terrifiant made her way to SA on Saturday for the Grade 2 Buena Vista Stakes looking to pick up her 20th career victory. She would accomplish that, but for this occasion she would have to share the spoils with another one as Painville was right alongside her at the wire, finishing in a dead heat. La Terrifiant is trained by Smokey Stover and was ridden by Mario Gutierrez, and for each, it is their first win in the stake. As for Painville, she may not have twenty career wins, but she does now have five in a row with this result! She is trained by Mo Mentum Farm was ridden by J R Velazquez and for them as well, it is their first win in the Buena Vista. Congratulations to them! The winning time of 1:32.95 will go down as the third quickest in the race’s history. Let’s take a look at it!

(1/4 Mile- :23.06)- From the gate, High Voltage’s Omnibus battles for the top spot with one of our eventual winners, Mo Mentum Farm’s Painville down the frontstretch. Prior to entering the opening turn, Omnibus is able to pull ahead of Painville by about half a length, but they are still running in close proximity at this point. The other winner, Smokey Stover’s La Terrifiant, is right behind them in third while riding the rail. It’s another length and a half to Maxmillion Farm’s Classic Princess, and at the back Stinky Rene runs all by herself for TwinTowersRacing.

(1/2 Mile- :46.27)- Completing the run around the turn and moving into the backstretch, Omnibus and Painville are still running side by side. At half a mile, it is Painville with a head in front for the race lead. La Terrifiant runs in third and is content to let those two battle it out for the lead while she opts for the stalking trip on the rail. Classic Princess is still behind her, and Stinky Rene is well behind the pace at this point.

(Top of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- Painville is a little quicker than Omnibus during the backstretch and has a half-length advantage before the run around the final turn begins. Once there, Painville continues to inch further away from that rival. Meanwhile, midway in the turn, Mario Gutierrez decides it’s time to get moving with La Terrifiant and he would need to move her off the rail and into the third lane to accomplish this. At the top of the stretch, she’s a little more than a length behind Painville but in a good position. Classic Princess remains in the mix, but Stinky Rene is still well out of it.

(Finish- 1:32.95)- Painville is strong at the front and doing all that she can to hold to her lead, but La Terrifiant continues to stay close to her. Approaching the wire, she could see win number twenty getting closer, but would have to dig down deep in order to get it done. At the wire, La Terrifiant would pull up alongside, and would hit the wire at the same as Painville, making everyone wonder if she got there in time to score the win. She would, but only enough to get the victory in a dead heat. Painville showed plenty of heart all the way to the wire and was certainly not intimidated by her rival here. Third is Classic Princess, who was half a length behind them. Omnibus and Stinky Rene round it out.

About the Winners:
La Terrifiant, trained by Smokey Stover and ridden to victory by Mario Gutierrez, is an eight-year-old mare by Pinkman and is out of Cest Creepy. She was bred in California by Four Winds Racing as a second quarter two-year-old and was acquired by Smokey Stover via Our Athletes in private sales for $1,751.000 in November 2020. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her 20th in 55 starts, her 19th stake win and 18th graded win. Her career earnings are now $8,301.000.

Painville, trained by Mo Mentum Farm and ridden to victory by J R Velazquez, is a five-year-old mare by Mo Mentum Farm and is out Charme Ville. She was bred in Louisiana by Childs Play as a first quarter two-year-old and was acquired by Mo Mentum Farm, via Maletto for $150.000 in a $150.000 private sale. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her eighth in 19 starts, and her fifth in a row. It’s her fifth stake win and second graded win, and her career earnings are now $459.430.

Track: Firm
Time: :23   :46¹  1:09²  1:32⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 1 – 5 Paid 2.80, 5 – 1 Paid 3.10
$1 Trifecta: 1 – 5 – 2 Paid 19.60, 5 – 1 – 2 Paid 18.40

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES