GP Mile (Grade 2)- $215.000 Purse
GP- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Dirt
March 1, 2025

Big names were entered into the GP Mile, and they would not disappoint in the race, taking three of the top four spots. Getting the win would be Lunar Victory, the reigning BC Dirt Mile winner, for Mb Stables. It is his first win for the trainer since he was acquired in the December auction. Lunar Victory was our top choice, as well as the post time favorite. Our four selections would finish in the top four spots, with only the third and fourth place runners needing to be swapped. It’s the second straight win in the race for Mb Stables, who won last year with Individuation, and his third such win overall. P Lopez, who had a massive day on the Fountain Of Youth undercard today, is now a first time GP Mile winner. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:34.38, which is the top half of winning times overall for this race. Here’s a look at it:

(1/4 Mile- :22.85)- As everyone anticipated, Cherokee Rain shoots to the lead for Royalty Stables, but he doesn’t bring anyone out front with him. Instead, the Riggins Racing- trained Retaliate, as well as our eventual winner from Mb Stables, Lunar Victory, assume a reasonable stalking position about a length and a half behind. On the outside of that group, Robeth’s Capiche uses the same strategy, as does Licit, the D J C Racing Stables entry who is within a length of Retaliate. Next will come El Gran Blue Jay, who’s four lengths back for Rock Creek. He’s followed by Sunshine Superman (Barcelona Farms), and at the back where he likes it early, is Baffert (Royalty Stables).

(½ Mile- :46.39)- Cherokee Rain leads the field down the backstretch, but this time is certainly not overdoing it by any stretch of the imagination. Therefore, Retaliate is comfortable continuing to stalk the pace in second while Lunar Victory is wisely situated right behind the pace setter while running on the rail. On the outside, Capiche is within a length while Licit maintains his own graceful stride between horses. There is still a big gap to El Gran Blue Jay, while Sunshine Superman and Baffert run at the back still.

(Top of the Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- At the top of the turn, we see all four of the stalkers move down a lane in anticipation of passing Cherokee Rain, and they will complete this task before entering the stretch. However, Lunar Victory was the big winner at this point, as he would also clear those he was running with, putting the second place Retaliate a full length behind him. Licit moved into the third spot, while Capiche began to show signs of fatigue. El Gran Blue Jay would get closer, and a large lane opened up on the rail for Baffert to take advantage of, so he couldn’t have asked for it any better here. Sunshine Superman was still even with him for now but had more traffic to deal with.

(Finish- 1:34.38)- Into the stretch, Lunar Victory looked to put away the competition, and he had done so in regard to the others who were at the front. Now, all eyes would be on Baffert, but with a furlong to go, he still had around three lengths to make up, so he did not seem to be making enough progress. Approaching the wire, this race would belong to Lunar Victory, who despite Baffert ending up getting within a length officially at the end, never seemed to be threatened by him, Baffert is second in a photo over Licit, with Retaliate claiming fourth. The second half of the field will read Capiche, El Gran Blue Jay, Sunshine Superman, and the fatigued Cherokee Rain.

About The Winner- Lunar Victory, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by P Lopez, is a five-year-old gelding by Residue and is out of Havre de Grace. He was bred by Fractious in Ontario as a third quarter two-year-old and was acquired by Mb Stables in the December 2024 auction for $600.000. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his sixth in 24 starts, his fifth stake win and fourth graded win. His career earnings are now $2,282.960.

Track: Fast
Time: :22⁴  :46¹  1:10²  1:34¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 1 – 4 Paid 14.30
$1 Trifecta: 1 – 4 – 3 Paid 761.10

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES