Mineshaft Stakes – Grade III
1 1/16 Mile Dirt Stake Purse $250.000 Open 4 Year Olds And Up.
1st Diametric Mb Stables Velazquez J R 1 1:40.35
Horse and trainer wanted the lead here and they went hard to achieve that goal from the gate. With a very strong pace it looked like this under rated five-year-old may struggle in the second half of the race, but he had got far enough ahead that he held on fairly comfortably in the end. He was bought from Barcelona Farms for $100.000 after a debut win at two but has been lightly raced and given a fairly easy campaign until more recently. With two grade three wins in his last three races however, the days of him flying under the radar are definitely over and now the question that is probably causing the trainer some thought will be BC Mile or BC Classic. For a horse that has raced twenty times he has the remarkable record of never running worse than fourth and after this good win in a tough field it is hard to see how that record will be broken.
2nd Wild Card Weekend Night Rider Stables Carmouche K 3/4 1:40.64
This horse’s remarkable improvement continued as he ran home very strongly to be a fine second in a very strong race. He certainly seems to have cemented his place among the top routers on the dirt now after receiving a plentiful supply of that five-year-old fairy dust and he looks as if he will only get better the further, he goes. Congratulations to the trainer who has probably secured one of the best claims this year.
3rd American Nightmare D J C Racing Stables Bejarano R 1 1:40.80
Kept on well at the end to run third but held that sort of position in transit off a strong pace that can often leave them in no man’s land at the end. He is building a good record and is yet another five-year-old that looks to have found that movement on his improvement curve that can happen when they turn five.
4th= Mask Of Agamemnon Tockyocky Geroux F 1/4 1:41.01
Ran a fine race for a horse having only his fifth start running on strongly to share the last paying place. I think this effort will be a great platform to build on in a season that will only get better as the four-year-olds catch up with the older horses.
4th= Alive Arindel Curtis B 1/4 1:41.01
Stalked a fast pace and we all know what happens in that situation. In the end he did well to battle into fourth on weary legs. As a six-year-old may not have the scope of some but he will definitely be a force to be reckoned with in less competitive stakes race.
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES