The Haskell (Grade 1) (BC)- $1,000.000 Purse
MTH- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
July 19, 2025

It’s always exciting to see the direction that top horses in the TC will take once the BEL takes place. The Haskell is a typical next step for them, and this year’s running of the race will certainly not disappoint. We will have KYD and BEL winner Extreme Jet trying to give Mb Stables an elusive first win in the race, but he will not have it easy. PRK winner No Real Drama is also here, as are Daeman, Boss Spearman, and the one that narrowly won the BEL himself, Without Warning. There are other interesting stories in this field, too, so it has all the making of a great race. 2024’s winner was Maxmillion Farm’s Blazing, who is still an exciting horse despite a recent two-race slump. Here’s a look at the field of ten taking part this time:

1- Grit And Grind (Mb Stables, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- Fared well on the TC trail during the spring, placing second in both the Holy Bull and the San Felipe Stakes, but would not end up in any of the TC races afterward. He was at CD on KYD-day to run in the Day Mile (Grade 2) in the slop and was fourth there. Followed that up with a nice wire to wire win in the $150.000 Pegasus Stakes here last month. If he were to win, it would be two in a row for his sire, Blaze Ahead.

2- Fawkes (Delta Farms, ridden by F Pennington)- The trainer did not wait around for this one to break his maiden conventionally and that proved to be a great move. He’d run second in the Grade 2 Rebel before winning for the first time at AQU in the Wood Memorial. In May, he ran in both the KYD and the PRK and finished in the top half of the field in each of them, cashing a fourth-place check in the PRK. He got some well-deserved rest since then and will look to continue to prove he can run with these and perhaps end up in the winner’s circle himself.

3- Extreme Jet (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Back when I interview Mb Stables for an article surrounding his 1000th graded win, he considered the Haskell as the second biggest stake win that eluded him (BC Juvenile was #1). He brings his three-year-old superstar here with the hopes of finally getting that win, and certainly all eyes will be on this one. As we all know, Extreme Jet recently won the KYD and the BEL and has made almost $5,000.000 in 2025 in the process. One thing that this horse has not done since Mb Stables purchased him is win back-to-back races and has been on a win-non win pattern since the Hopeful. That may be good news for potentially the Travers, but we’ll see if he can change that sooner here.

4- Daemon (Alydar Stables, ridden by V Espinoza)- Well, here we are with Daemon. Everything was great for him as a two-year-old, and during prep season, as he was simply unstoppable. We all looked for big things out of him in the KYD, but that would not happen. Was it a case of the sloppy track? Sure, we could think that but then came another dud in the BEL on a fast track. This race is critical for him. Does he have to win? Of course not. But we need to see that Daemon has put those two tough races behind him with a strong and competitive effort.

5- Boss Spearman (John Henry, ridden by P Lopez)- While I have always been an Extreme Jet fan, Boss Spearman was also one of my favorite horses to cover during the prep race season. He was sharp, winning the Withers, running well in the San Felipe, and then getting another win, this time in the AR Derby. Next up would be the KYD itself, and he would beat everyone but Extreme Jet, though did lose by three lengths. Ran in the middle of the pack in the PRK, and then we had the sale from Wood Duck Stables as the one sold a lot of their stock. John Henry would be the trainer, spending $500.000 to acquire him. Boss Spearman was fourth in his debut in new silks at the BEL and should be a top threat here as well.

6- No Real Drama (Asgar, ridden by Ru Silvera)- Spoiled Extreme Jet’s TC-bid by winning the PRK as a rested horse. Prior to that, No Real Drama was well known down in LA, having success in state bred stakes there before going to TAM and winning the Davis Stakes. That would be too little too late for him in regard to making the KYD, so when he entered the PRK, he had about two months of rest. His trip to SAR for the BEL did not go as well, as while he was only a length behind the winner, he still only finished eighth. Looks to rebound well off of that here.

7- Criminal Law (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by G Corrales)- Has not taken the same path that most of the horses have been on. His early days saw him run in turf sprints, and he was good enough to make the BC Juvenile Turf Sprint field. After not cashing a check there, it was off to main track for some early prep races, lasting to the LA Derby, but he never did much in them. He’d still run on Derby Day and won in the slop at the Grade 2 Day Mile, then struggled in the Stephens. Right now, unfortunately, it’s the Day Mile and not the Stephens that looks like the recent outlier. That can change here, but I couldn’t pick him against these others.

8- Zero Aggression (Yates Racing, ridden by K Carmouche)- Overall, Zero Aggression has won seven times in eleven starts, winning three small ungraded stakes, with a combined purse of $121.000, and they were all sprints. If you wanted to see more, then you got that in his last start, when he went north of the border to run in the Grade 3 Marine Stakes, and took home the victory in that as well. He’s not going to be a top pick in here, but he has certainly earned the right to take this test against the best in the division.

9- Without Warning (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by F Geroux)- Last fall, Without Warning raced in the Grade 1 Hopeful, always one of my favorite two-year-old stakes to watch, and ended up second, losing in a photo to Extreme Jet. Fast forward nine months, and on the same racetrack, Without Warning would get his photo taken with Extreme Jet again for the win but was again on the losing end of that. He was also a very close second in the AR Derby, losing the head bob to Boss Spearman, giving him another tough break on a day where that time, he was ahead of Extreme Jet. To make a long story short, with a little more luck at the wire, Without Warning would have three more big wins on his resume. A horse like this, you have to feel is due to get that one massive win this year for their own resume. Maybe that comes right here.

10- Continental (Barcelona Farms, ridden by Jam Rodriguez)- Enters the Haskell on a seven-race winning streak, and overall has won nine times in eleven starts. Much of that was running in LA-bred stakes, which led to a couple head-to-head showdowns with No Real Drama, including beating him in the Peluso Memorial Stakes in November. However, Continental never was put on the TC-trail this spring. He did win the $300.000 TX Derby in May, a nice win, and it’s good to see him taking this leap into a top graded race.

Prediction: 9-3-5-2

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES