CD (Grade 1)- $1,000.000 Purse
CD- For Four Year Olds and Upward
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
May 3, 2025

Ironically, the only horse that was scratched for the CD was a horse named Storm Water. The other twelve would run as scheduled in the race, with the conditions making Edward The Good appearing to be an even better choice. He had been 2-for-2 in his previous wet track starts and was the most commonly picked horse in the pick ‘em, making him the overall 3/1 favorite. He’d go on to get the win, giving Mb Stables his third win in the race. His prior wins came in 2016 with Moon Landing and in 2020 with the late Peculiar Sensation. Jockey J R Velazquez is now a four-time winner, and this duo hooked up previously with Moon Landing. Congratulations to them! The time of the win in the slop was 1:25.23, faster than the 2019 edition, which was also on a sloppy track. Here’s a look at it!

(1/4 Mile- :22.77)- Dorian Gray breaks well from the outside and will take the early lead for Mb Stables. He’ll have company to his inside by his stablemate, Lennon. Running in third is our eventual winner, also from Mb Stables, Edward The Good, and he’ll stalk his stablemates. The first non-Mb horse is Maxmillion Farm’s Crush Rush, who runs as the outside horse of three wide with The Sidley Stud’s Hurricane Ridge and Night Rider Stables’ Guitars And Cadillac. Licit is next, running by himself in the middle of the field for D J C Racing Stables. It’s then a length and a half to I Want It All (Luz International) and Chisel (Pan Farms). At the back are Quiet Return (John Henry), High Time (Maxmillion Farm) and Nutmeg (TwinTowersRacing).

(½ Mile- :46.89, Top Of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- At the end of the backstretch, Crush Rush began to push forward and looked like he was going to take the top spot while rounding the turn. However, this would end up fizzling out before entering the stretch. So, it’s still Dorian Gray out in front, and he’s been able to pull a length in front of Lennon. Crush Rush is third but looks vulnerable to dropping back further now. Edward The Good maintained his pace, stalking his stablemate and not really worrying about Crush Rush. He’s in a good position to pounce now in the stretch. That’s also true for Licit, would was advancing on the outside. Guitars And Cadillac is next, hugging the rail, with I Want It All and Quiet Return leading the trailing pack. High Time was set to make an outside move and advance, making him one to watch in the stretch. Hurricane Ridge lacked response, Chisel was disappointing, and Nutmeg was about ready to add another to his winless streak.

(Finish- 1:25.23)- Dorian Gray looked to hold on in the stretch, but like a good teammate, he would move over to give stablemate Edward The Good more room to come on through. And J R Velazquez was ready to capitalize on that, moving his ride into the top spot with a little less than a furlong to go. The race was not quite over yet, as High Time was making a great bid on the outside. Unfortunately for that one, and fortunately for the winner, the wire would come up just in time to see Edward The Good prevail by a length. Dorian Gray gets the third spot, narrowly over a fourth-place dead heat between Quiet Return and Licit. It was about two lengths back to the rest, which winds up as I Want It All, Guitars And Cadillac, Chisel, Crush Rush, Lennon, Nutmeg, and Hurricane Ridge.

About The Winner- Edward The Good, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by J R Velazquez, is a four-year-old gelding by Advisor and is out of Bye Bye Beautiful. He was bred in Florida by Patterson Stables as a third quarter two-year-old, and was acquired by Mb Stables, via Fractious, for $550.010 in the December 2024 auction. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his sixth in 14 starts, and his fifth stake win, all of which are graded. His career earnings are now $2,179.100.

Track: Sloppy
Time: :22³  :46⁴  1:12²  1:25¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 9 – 10 Paid 68.90
$1 Trifecta: 9 – 10 – 11 Paid 1,495.30

Scratched: Storm Water

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES