The Suburban (Grade 2)- $400.000 Purse
SAR- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Quarter on the Dirt
July 4, 2025

This past Saturday at CD, the rain came and left the Foster muddy, leading to four horses scratching out of the race. For three of them, this meant shipping up to the Spa to share the starting gate with Spankersville in the Grade 2 Suburban. While still being a great race in it’s own right, the Suburban does not have the “win and you’re in” spot for the BC Classic or a $1,000.000 purse like the Foster had, but it is the next best thing for them. Altogether, we have a field of eleven ready to run ten furlongs. We’re expecting good weather at SAR, too. Last year’s Suburban winner was Living In The Matrix, for TwinTowersRacing. It was the second straight win in the race for the trainer, and he’ll have two in this field. Living In The Matrix raced into April but is now retired. As we look at the field, I need to remind people of my personal preview scratch policy. That is, if I wrote your horse up in a preview a week before, and you scratched, I copy and paste this week. That will apply to three of you! Here’s the field:

1- Derby Dreams (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by R M Hernandez)- Around this time last year, Derby Dreams was at his best, winning the TX Derby, then placing second in the IND and WV Derby. After trying the PA Derby, the opportunities to run in derbies named after states went away, and he has not done much. Though he did win an optional claimer at GP in January, it is the only time in his last five races that he has cashed a check.

2- Killer Instinct (Mb Stables, ridden by M Franco)- Probably not a name that you were expecting to see in the Foster or the Suburban, since Killer Instinct has raced on the turf exclusively with one exception, since August 2023 in the AP Million. His performance was great on the grass, and he comes here off of a win on that surface in the Grade 2 Man O War at AQU about six weeks ago. But Mb Stables has not become the game’s greatest trainer by just sticking with the status quo, so Killer Instinct moves to the main track. The one time that he did run on the dirt was recently, when he was second in the Grade 1 SA Handicap, and if this doesn’t go well, the trainer knows that he can return Killer Instinct to the turf at any time.

3- Chagrin Falls (Mo Mentum Farm, ridden by F Geroux)- The second of three horses in a row here that are leaving the turf to return to the dirt. For Chagrin Falls, this is the first time since last July that he has been on the main track. In the eight turf races that followed he ran well, and there was nothing about his last race that suggested he should leave the grass, as after all, he won the Grade 2 Whittingham Stakes at SA with a 102 SRF. He had run well on the dirt, including a nice stretch of races at the beginning of 2024. Seems to be better the longer the races go.

4- Charlie Jace (Mb Stables, ridden by P Lopez)- Like his stablemate, Charlie Jace is heading to the main track for the first time in a while. The last time he saw the dirt it went very well, as he was second in a photo at the $1,000.000 Kings Plate. A three-race winning streak followed, all in turf races, which his highlighted by the Grade 1 HOL Derby. That streak came to an end in the Pegasus World Cup Turf, but it was still a solid fourth place run. Since then, Charlie Jace has been a in a slump, so it’s a good time to go back to the dirt. A recent work at AQU says he’s ready to roll here.

5- Face The Lunatic (Martyparty, ridden by P Husbands)- Made two starts here at SAR last year, and had success in them, winning the $150.000 Birdstone before a strong second in the Grade 1 JC Gold Cup. That went a long way in getting him into the BC Classic, but it would not be one of his better races. So far as a five-year-old, Face The Lunatic has earned a check in all four of his starts, with one being a win: the Grade 3 KY Cup Classic at TP. In this field, he’s not the first name that’s going to jump out at you, but he should still be expected to be in the mix here at the end.

6- Doc Rivers (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by G Corrales)- Ran in two of the three TC races last year, including the BEL here in June. After that point, Doc Rivers has been an inconsistent shooter on race day, with strong efforts in the Haskell at MTH and the Clark at CD, but up until his last race, everything other than that over the last year has been a struggle. Then came last month, when he won the $200.000 Commentator Handicap for NY-breds right here. Now comes what has been the hard part for him recently, putting back-to-back great runs together.

7- Ocala Secret (Grimley, ridden by D Davis)- Here’s a horse that’s on top of his game right now. Starting in February, when he won an optional claimer at TAM, Ocala Secret has hit the board in four straight, with two being wins. However, with a little more luck at the wire, we could be talking about a four-race win streak. Most recently, he was down at LS for the Sexton Mile and ran third but was only beaten by half a length. You may remember him running in the Suburban last year, but he’s on better form now than he was then.

8- Senor Vinagre Y Agua (YME Stable, ridden by T Gaffalione)- Last time out, Senor Vinagre Y Agua picked up his first graded win, coming at CD in the Grade 3 Blame. It was a smaller field, but a quality one, though he did have to share the winner’s circle with Lunar Victory after the race. He seems to improving with age at the moment, and should be in good shape here in the Suburban after scratching out of the Foster last week.

9- Spankersville (The Sidley Stud, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Last week, when we looked at the Foster, it seemed to be a race that Spankersville could have been in, but instead the reigning BC Classic winner did not have to worry about the mud and opted to come here for the Suburban. The last two times he has raced at SAR have resulted in him winning, and those races would be the last two editions of the Grade 1 JC Gold Cup. His win in that race last year was part of four race winning streak that culminated in the BC Classic. So far in 2025, he is one for four, with the win being the Grade 3 Ali at KEE in April, but all of his runs have been productive. Has triple digit SRF’s in nine of his last ten and is always tough to bet against.

10- Colombia (Night Rider Stables, ridden by V Espinoza)- It can be tough to get a read on Colombia. When we last saw him, he was flat, particularly late, in the Grade 2 Eclipse at WO and lost that by five lengths. Prior to that, he showed his good side by winning the $200.000 SUN Handicap. Ever since running second in the Grade 2 Clark at CD in November, Colombia has been inconsistent in his runs. He works very well, so that potential is there, and he can warrant a lot of consideration at the betting window if those odds climb.

11- Investment Center (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by R Bejarano)- Well, TwinTowersRacing gets lucky, because I can’t really just cut and paste my Foster preview on him, since it mainly regurgitated his CD history and wet track woes. The weather looks nice for the Suburban, so we can safely throw out the Alysheba and look at the better races that were right before that. This includes winning the Clark in November and hitting the board in two other graded races. He’s hit the board in 13 or 20 dry track starts and has not failed to do so since the end of 2023. The trainer has won the last two editions of this race, and Investment Center is capable of making that three, even with Spankersville in here.

Prediction: 9-2-11-5

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES