SAR Oaks – (Grade ll)

Purse $500.00 – For Fillies Three Years Old

1 3/16 Miles – Turf

Saratoga – August 7, 2026

Mb Stables’ Firewall got back to her winning ways, capturing the 8th edition of the SAR Oaks after putting together an extremely professional performance! The daughter of Prevent adds a third graded stakes victory to her résumé in ten career races. She also has won three of her last four starts coming on both surfaces. With another trip to the winner’s circle, Firewall boosts her career earnings to $830.20. The SAR Oaks owner leaderboard was deadlocked between Smokey Stover and Mb Stables, but this victory gave Mb Stables sole possession of the lead. It’s worth noting that jockey Paco Lopez also earned his first win in this race. This California-bred stopped the clock for the 1 3/16 miles in 1:52.62, rewarding her connections with another memorable graded stakes triumph. I’m almost certain that we will see Firewall next in the Dueling Grounds Oaks at Kentucky Downs in early September. With a healthy purse of $2,000.00, you can be sure that Mb will have this filly ready to fire again. Congratulations to the connections!

Winner: Firewall – (Mb Stables, P. Lopez) The opening stages of this race were interesting because this filly has plenty of speed, yet she didn’t make the early lead. Firewall ended up racing three-wide into the first turn about a length back in second. Jockey Paco Lopez didn’t want to stay off the pace for too long, so he started to advance on the leader down the backside. She slowly inched up and eventually put her head in front passing the ⅜ pole. At the top of the stretch, Firewall had a one-length advantage on the field with plenty of run left in reserve. She continued to kick away and scored by a half-length at the wire. This performance definitely established her credentials even further. Well done!

Second Place: Shot Of Summer – (Diablo Diablo, V. Espinoza) After back-to-back uncharacteristic efforts against graded company, this daughter of Indian Summer got back on track with a formidable second-place finish. She once again showed zero speed from the gate and got down to the rail to save as much ground as possible heading into the first turn. Shot Of Summer settled about eight lengths off the pace down the backside, leaving jockey Victor Espinoza with a ton of work to do. She really started to make her presence known passing the 5/16 pole four-wide. This filly was closing like a freight train down the stretch, but just couldn’t find the wire in time. Still an eye-catching performance.

Third Place: I Am The Storm – (TwinTowersRacing, M J. Sanchez) Breaking from the gate as the favorite, this New York-bred decided to take back about three lengths off the pace. That wasn’t the best plan because three horses ended up creating a wall in front of I Am The Storm entering the backside. Jockey Mychel Sanchez got this filly to settle in a comfortable rhythm hoping for something to open up. By the time the field reached the ⅜ pole, the daughter of Expert Eye moved out three-wide and created her own running lane on the far outside. She began to display her turn of foot rounding the far turn and throughout the stretch, making up tons of ground. Shot Of Summer ended up nailing this filly on the wire to finish third.

Fourth Place: Valley Center – (Nakamura Stables, R. Santana Jr.) For only her fourth career start on the turf, this daughter of Con Will Con still deserves some recognition. She broke well from the gate and rushed up to take the lead running into the first turn. Jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. cleared the field at that point, setting early fractions of 47.42 and 1:11.17. Valley Center never really had any breathing room down the backside due to Firewall trying to take the lead to her outside. She ended up losing the lead passing the ⅜ pole, leaving Ricardo to start asking his horse to go. This filly kept battling determinedly around the far turn and through the stretch. However, Valley Center continued losing ground to finish fourth.

– AJM

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES