Kilroe Mile (Grade 1)- $300.000 Purse
SA- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Turf
March 1, 2025

Electric Blue certainly loves it when he ends up at SA, and in the Kilroe Mile, he would make it a perfect 3-for-3 at this racetrack, with all of those wins being graded victories. Last time he was here, he won the Shoemaker Mile, a Grade 1, in May, and that was also the last time that he had won a race. It would be a triumphant return for the seven-year-old gelding, as he earned his 12th career victory. Electric Blue is trained by Spankys Barn, and it is his second career win in this race, with the prior victory being in 2018 with the late Controlled Power. L Saez is the winning jockey, and it is also his second such win. Congratulations to them! The time of the victory was 1:31.99, the second fastest in the history of the race. Let’s take a look at it:

(1/4 Mile- :23.08)- The field moves into the opening turn with two horses side by side for the early lead after a quarter mile. While it looked like the Nakamura Stables- trained Jakarta would be the leader here, American Generals, from Riggins Racing, would snag the top spot by a nose. On the outside, the third place Winned, out of Team 7 Illusions, is within a length of them. They are five wide right behind them, with the horse in the middle, our eventual winner from Spankys Barn, Electric Blue, having a head in front of the others. You can essentially call them as being in “V-formation”, as the two closest to him, Lantern Yard (Avenue Z) and Bronze Crown (TwinTowersRacing) are even for fifth, then it’s Charlie Jace (Mb Stables) and Penal Hockey Party (Maxmillion Farm). Only a length behind them are Sioux Arrival (High Voltage) and Spam Luka (Night Rider Stables), and at the back, we have Continuously (Jediminds Stables).

(½ Mile- :46.11)- American Generals continues to lead the way and still has company with him. To his inside, Jakarta, and to his outside, Winned, match one another’s strides for the second position. However, that tight five wide group that had been so close together starts to break up, with Electric Blue and Lantern Yard prevailing over the others. Electric Blue is in the third lane and would love it if the slight opening between American Generals and Winned continued to stay there for when he decided to make his push. It’s a length to Charlie Jace and Bronze Crown, who are on the inside, and nearby to them are Spam Luka and Penal Hockey Party, then a length to Sioux Arrival. Continuously is a couple of lengths further back.

(Top of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- As we work our way around the turn, American Generals is still the race leader and begins to inch away just a little from Jakarta entering the top of the stretch. Right behind them, Electric Blue was sizing up the competition and would be glad to see an opening set up to the inside of American Generals. He had not fully pounced on that yet but was now within a half-length of Jakarta. Winned would fall to fourth and trying to stay in the mix while Lantern Yard made an outside push on the exit of the turn. Charlie Jace had room on the rail to come through if he had the legs underneath him to make it work. Bronze Crown and Penal Hockey Party weren’t out of it but needed to hit their best stride now. So, too, would be the case for Sioux Arrival behind them. Spam Luka was unable to keep up and Continuously continuously ran at the back.

(Finish- 1:31.99)- Down the stretch we come, and American Generals is clinging to his advantage as Electric Blue methodically gets closer and Jakarta shows heart to stay with them. With half a furlong to go, Electric Blue would finally be able to pull even with American Generals, and at that point, the race was his. He’d end up inching away by almost a full length to extend his perfect record here at SA. American Generals is a game second while Jakarta only very late, tired a bit, but was still a clear third. On the outside, Lantern Yard picks up the fourth-place check, inching away from the rest of the pack. Winned is fifth, followed by Sioux Arrival, Charlie Jace, Penal Hockey Party, Bronze Crown, Continuously, and Spam Luka.

About The Winner- Electric Blue, trained by Spankys Barn and ridden to victory by L Saez, is a seven-year-old gelding by Rains Of Castamere and is out of Diablos Secret. He was bred by Choppy Inc in Texas as a third quarter two-year-old, and was acquired by Spankys Barn for $100.000 in a December 2023 private sale. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his twelfth in 34 starts, his fourth stake win and third graded win. His career earnings are now $1,154.130.

Track: Firm
Time: :23  :46  1:09  1:31⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 3 – 7 Paid 64.60
$1 Trifecta: 3 – 7 – 5 Paid 286.80

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES