FG Stakes (Grade 3)- $175.000 Purse
FG- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Turf
February 17, 2024

As a part of the big day at FG, we will have a race that is simply named after the track, the Grade 3 FG Stakes, which is a nine-furlong race for older horses on the turf. It first appeared on the schedule in 2005 and has been run every year since other than 2006. The $175.000 purse represents a slight increase, up from $150.000 last year, and it has attracted a strong field that includes a couple of BC Mile participants. The 2023 edition of the race was won by Neds Influence, and he has continued to run exceptionally well. He could have been a fit here again, but I wouldn’t be surprised if his trainer, The Sidley Stud, is targeting something bigger. We will have ten going to post for it. Here’s a look at them!

1- Hurricane Fly (Fractious, ridden by M Franco)- Of his nineteen career starts, only two of them have come on the grass with the most recent time being in August when he was crushed in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer. It was soft turf that day, but he hasn’t been bad on off tracks previously. Afterwards, it was back to the dirt where’s been okay, but has not done anything to stand out. Was fifth of twelve here last month for the LA Stakes. Now, it’s back to the grass and he’ll be glad this isn’t the Sword Dancer.

2- Set In Space (Nakamura Stables, ridden by F Geroux)- With 37 races behind him, this gelding will begin his seven-year-old season on a string of good form. He has hit the board in his last six, with a particular liking shown for finishing second. That’s where he placed in the biggest race of that stretch: the Grade 3 Iselin Stakes. Predominantly a dirt horse, and his last race, that he won, was his first turf attempt since 2019.

3- Chai Danger (Wolf Ridge Stables, ridden by C J McMahon)- Another seven-year-old gelding, and this will be the 48th race of his career. He has won eleven of them, with the most recent victory occurring two back against LA-Breds in the LCD Turf. That’s a race that should be renamed after him, as he has now won it three times in a row. He’s never tried the FG Stakes despite having a lot of experience at this track and it seeming to be in his wheelhouse. Maybe he can get it done here on Saturday.

4- Sweep The Soviet (Wood Racing Stable, ridden by D E Centeno)- This newer trainer is looking for their first career graded win, and if Sweep The Soviet can stay hot, he may get it done. He’s won four in a row, a streak that began modestly in an open allowance, but he comes out of the $200.000 Unusual Heat Turf Classic, for CA-Breds. This will be the toughest field he has seen, but there were some good rivals there that he beat, as well.

5- Karma Sutra (Night Rider Stables, ridden by J Loveberry)- We have been seeing this one in NY-bred races lately, with his last three coming with that condition. One of them resulted in a 100 SRF, where he was second in the $200.000 Mohawk. That came in late October, and it’s noteworthy that the trainer has only entered him in a race once since then, and it was on the dirt. He does work nicely on the dirt, so you can understand that.

6- Fire And Ice (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by D Cohen)- Last month, Fire And Ice ran here in the $100.000 Bradley Stakes and was second to Pxg. He will get a chance to see that one again as he returns to the graded level. For the most part, he’s been a very good horse in overnights but had been coming up short in stakes until the Bradley. Fresh off that, and being first or second in his last four, he hopes to pick up that much desired stake win.

7- Bronze Bomber (Threshold, ridden by D L Parker)- The last time we saw this horse, he was running seventh in the BC Mile. Now, the seven-year-old gelding will begin 2024 wearing #7 for the race, and maybe all of those sevens is a good omen for him. Prior to the BC, he had won two of three, including the $200.000 City of Hope Mile (Grade 2) at SA. Hopefully this is not one of the older horses that the trainer was concerned about with slower works lately and it did seem like he worked well at PRX in anticipation. Look for him to bounce back nicely from the BC.

8- Giannis (Riggins Racing, ridden by P Lopez)- Purchased for $250.000 about a year ago in private sales, and the results have been good, as Giannis has won three times when in the silks of Riggins while consistently being able to finish in the money. Most of the better results are in overnights, but he did win the Grade 3 River City Handicap at CD in mid-November while getting a 101 SRF. I wish he would have been better in the Ft. Lauderdale Stakes, though. That concerns me a little, but he can put that behind him.

9- Pxg (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- This gelding by Laffin Five Oh has been one of the best in this division for a while, and he is not about to slow down just because he is now an eight-year-old. His 2024 got off to a strong start, coming right here in the $100.000 Bradley, where he picked up the win while earning a 102 SRF. That’s a good way to start on his bid to get to the BC Mile for the third year in a row, and he should not be doubted here.

10- Broad Brush (Czech Out Farms, ridden by J Graham)- For Broad Brush to be successful here, it is going to take a reversal of recent form. Can he reach down and find that version of him that ran second in the $135.000 Johns Call last August? That will have to happen, because his last three races have simply not been very good. That includes the Bradley, where Pxg beat him by four lengths. It could happen, but it’s hard to pick him.

Prediction: 7-9-6-4

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES