The Pebbles (Grade 3)- $175.000 Purse
AQU- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile on the Inner Turf
November 16, 2025

For Sunday, we’ll take a look at the Big A, where the 22nd running of the Grade 3 Pebbles will take place, drawing a field of seven. This will be just the fourth time that the race has been run here, however, as it was part of the BEL card from 2003-2021. For the first two years, the Pebbles was a Grade 3, but would then run ungraded for the longest time before regaining its Grade 3 status with the move to AQU. In 2024, Onlineracingclub.com enjoyed the victory with his filly, Children Of The Sod. She’s still running, and while she can be inconsistent, seems to still be productive. Here’s a look at those taking part this time!

1- Hawaii (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by R Santana Jr)- Broke her maiden this year in March, and followed that up with an N1X allowance victory at PIM. She would be stakes placed right after that, and it’s up for debate as to whether or not she has showed that she can run with this type of competition. After two races of finishing near the back, Hawaii was sent to an optional claimer and was near the back there as well. I’m going to need to see her run well to have faith in her.

2- Sophos (Nakamura Stables, ridden by C Cedeno)- This filly has bounced back and forth between running at BTP, where she’s been three times in her last five starts, and LAD or SA. However, one of her BTP races was at least the $75.000 Tomboy, where she was third. Followed that up by running second in the Grade 3 Autumn Miss, which was a return to graded competition after a year. Looking to get her first turf win and first win at a mile or more at the same time.

3- Tried N True (Spb Racing, ridden by M Franco)- An experienced filly in turf sprints, with most of her starts at TAM or PRX. She has five wins in 16 starts, but has hit the board 13 times, and has also finished in the top four in all but one race. Therefore, she’s gotten it done, but will now be running long for just the second time in her career. You have to go back to August of 2024 for her previous times, and it’s one of the more ugly lines on her record. She’s a better horse now, so we’ll see. Would’ve liked to have seen a better work time on Halloween from her, though.

4- Sune Lee (Riggins Racing, ridden by Jam Rodriguez)- After finishing second in the Las Virgenes Stakes in February, Sune Lee was purchased by Riggins Racing for $265.000. She has only made four starts, and has not really justified that price as of yet. She has one win, but you don’t put down that much to win a N1X allowance at LAD. But she was better last time out against much better competition, with a third place effort in the $150.000 Autumn Days here last month. More of the same here, and going forward will allow her to start showing she was worth the investment made to get her.

5- Fairy Godmother (Greyhound, ridden by J Alvarado)- Two starts ago up at WO, Fairy Godmother ran second in the $250.000 Wonder Where for ON-breds, which was a big step up in class from where she had been previously. That would lead to her being sold later in the month, with Greyhound putting down $200.000 to get her. While Sune Lee may have more work to do to show her sale price was justified, Fairy Godmother got off on the right start last month with a win in the $100.000 Eternal Search Stakes up at WO, which is also for ON-breds. She still has to prove she can get it done against unrestricted graded company, but seems to be doing everything right.

6- Smokin Cherie (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by D Davis)- Began her career running on the main track, and was nothing to get excited about after five races. Everything would change once she was moved to the turf, where she knows nothing other than winning. Her turf career began modestly, but would her present four race winning streak would ultimately lead to here, at AQU, in the Grade 3 Glen Cove last month. Those are all in sprints, but she did go longer in her races on the dirt before the win streak happened. While they were not the greatest, she is a different horse on the grass.

7- Elegance Of Light (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by K Carmouche)- The trainer added this one to his stable back in May for $100.000, and has made four starts since then. Similar to Smokin Cherie, she would be moved to the turf in those races and has one win over four races while hitting the board in all of them. While the win was in small allowance at PRX, the more appealing race of hers was last time out in the Grade 2 Valley View at KEE, where she ran second in that $400.000 race. Duplicating that performance should get it done here.

Prediction: 7-6-2-5

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES