Janus ($125.000 Purse)
GP- For Three Year Olds and Upward
Five Furlongs on the Turf
December 20, 2025

The Janus may “only” be a $125.000 ungraded stake, but that has not stopped four horses that ran in BC races last month from participating in it. That’s partially due to limited opportunities for turf sprinters this time of year, but it does give this race a feel of one that should go for double the purse. It’s the seventh time that the Janus will be contested, and in total there will be ten heading to the starting gate. Last year’s winner was Maxmillion Farm’s Chilled Niagra, a still active gelding that has had his moments in 2025. The trainer will be back with two well accomplished horses as he looks to defend that title. Here’s a look at the field:

1- Operation Mongoose (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by M J Husbands)- One of this year’s BC runners, but it was the BC Mile where Operation Mongoose was seen. Although, he was only seen close to rear of the field at the end. His year has been split going longer and sprinting, and right before the BC Mile, he scored a big win (in a dead heat) in the Grade 2 Nearctic at WO. One of the ones he did beat there was Chilled Niagra. Most of his career has been running in turf sprints for other trainers, and overall, he has twelve wins in 31 starts.

2- Wild Sprinter (Nakamura Stables, ridden by L Salles)- Just because this field has BC runners in it, it does not necessarily mean one of them will be the favorite in the race. Wild Sprinter enters the Janus with three wins in four starts, with two of them coming in ungraded races, such as the $250.000 KD Preview Turf Sprint. The race in that stretch that he did not win may actually be his most impressive, as he finished second in the Grade 2 Eddie D Stakes in September. He’s been idle since then, so is certainly ready to roll here.

3- Superbush (Acber Farms, ridden by Jo Ruiz)- For the first time in his career, Superbush will be running on the turf. He’s been very good on the dirt, winning half of his ten starts this year and hitting the board in nine of them. Therefore, this change is not being made due to not getting results. Unfortunately, Superbush does not have a public turf work since February, so as an outsider not seeing the farm works, I can’t pick him in this otherwise strong field of accomplished turf runners.

4- Cinnamon Caviar (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by J Bravo)- Ran against Operation Mongoose in the Nearctic, but was not anywhere near him at this finish as he placed ninth. Following that, the trainer backtracked this one quite a bit, running him in an open allowance at FL last time out, a race that he won in the slop. If Cinnamon Caviar just needed the confidence booster, then the mission was accomplished.

5- Teterboro (Chili King Stables, ridden by Sa Camacho)- Another one that was in the Nearctic, and for Teterboro, he could only do one spot better than Cinnamon Caviar. Fortunately for the trainer, he was still eligible to run in the BC Turf Sprint, and he bounced back decently there, given the quality of the field, but did not cash a check. It’s been a few starts now where Teterboro has had a disappointing result, so will need to be more competitive here.

6- Moment Of True M (Jireh, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- A lightly raced horse that makes only his fourth start. After debuting at the beginning of 2024, it was not the moment for this one for another 22 months. When he was seen again, he won a maiden claimer at PRX, then followed it up by winning an allowance there. Third race in six weeks right here, but it’s not like he wasn’t well rested before that.

7- Last Way To Beac (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by E Jaramillo)- All one needs to do is see his name in this field to know that he will be one of the favorites. The gelding by the underutilized Britslastbutnotleast has twelve wins out of 43 starts and has appeared in a BC race in four of the last five years. This year, it was the BC Turf Sprint, which was also the third different BC race that he has competed in. In it, he showed that he has not lost a step, with a strong third place run, so there is no reason to think that he can’t have a strong eight-year-old season next year. For now, he’s certainly one of the top choices.

8- Sweeping Star (Black N Gold Stable, ridden by Ro Maragh)- Two starts ago, Sweeping Star ran against a few of these in the Nearctic and finished in the photo for the win, but had to settle for a third-place finish. With all looking good, he had one of those “what the heck happened” races right after it. His run in the CC Canterbury was not only bad, it was downright miserable, and for this typically consistent horse, it was an eye opener. This makes me suspect that there were other factors in play, perhaps blown meters, especially because the trainer does not seem to be concerned by it with his entry here.

9- Neon Delite (Temulac Farm, ridden by L Dettori)- The CC Canterbury was not a good race for this one either, but it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as it was for Sweeping Star. It would be the fourth race for Neon Delite with Temulac Farm, who had acquired him in private sales for $100.000 in July. The trainer moved him from the dirt to the turf and has gotten solid results with him.

10- Brit Style (Lemax Farms, ridden by A Fresu)- We may have four horses in this field that ran in BC races last month, we have only one that ended up winning one of them. When we last saw Brit Style, he was on top of the world in this division with a victory in the BC Turf Sprint. It was one of four wins on the year for him, which also included the Grade 3 Green Flash Handicap at DMR. The races that he did not win were mostly strong as well, and he has finished in the top four in his last five races. Looks to finish off his year with another victory, but certainly others are gunning for him now.

Prediction: 7-10-1-2

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded