Muniz Memorial Handicap (Grade 2)- $300.000 Purse
FG- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Turf
March 21, 2026
After winning the Benson Memorial Stakes, TwinTowersRacing would send Jerk Pork to the gate, looking for another win before the bigger races took place at FG. After a strong second in the Grade 3 TAM Stakes, there was hope that the five-year-old gelding could build on that, but this was a tough field. Jerk Pork was among our picks but was picked fourth in a six-horse field, so there’s no patting on the back on that one. The bettors thought better of him, and nearly made him the post time favorite, but Whoa Bo ended up taking just a bit more money for that distinction. The trainer again teamed up with J R Velazquez, and it’s the first Muniz win for each of them as well. Congratulations to the connections! The time of the win was 1:44.57, and that is a new stake record. Let’s take a look at it now!
(½ Mile- :46.98)- Three horses would battle it out for the early lead, rounding the turn while three wide and entering the backstretch. On the rail, Rearranger would hold the top spot, and does so by a half-length for Our Athletes. Maxmillion Farm’s Whoa Bo is second while on the outside as the Mb Stables- trained All American runs between horses. Sitting about two lengths from the front is where we find our eventual winner from TwinTowersRacing, Jerk Pork, and that one runs by himself in the fourth position. At the back, Extreme Super Hero (Threshold) and Mask Of Agamemnon (Tockyocky) run together.
(3/4 Mile- 1:10.16)- Working down the backstretch, Rearranger is trying to get clear of the two he had been running with, and while he does so with All American, Whoa Bo is still hanging tough while on the outside. Jerk Pork is still sitting just off the lead but may have cut a little bit into his margin to the leader. Further back, Extreme Super Hero is now a half-length ahead of Mask Of Agamemnon.
(Top of Stretch, 2F To Go)- Rearranger is looking sharp in the turn, as he is now able to pull away from Whoa Bo as well. He’ll enter the stretch leading by a length as A Fresu will look to bring this home for Our Athletes. Whoa Bo and All American hold the second and third spots for now, but they have been caught by Jerk Pork, making that one the biggest threat to Rearranger. Extreme Super Hero is next but has a lot of work to do as he makes an outside run. Mask Of Agamemnon is at the back but looks to make a move on the rail.
(Finish- 1:44.57)- Rearranger is in good stride and looked like he might have it with a furlong to go, as it did not initially seem like Jerk Pork was coming on quickly enough. However, it would be in the closing moments of this race where Jerk Pork would be at his best, moving into second. At the same time, approaching the wire, Rearranger began to drift to the outside, making the win there for the taking for Jerk Pork. J R Velazquez would capitalize on that, urging his horse on to the victory in a photo with Rearranger. Whoa Bo holds on to third over Extreme Super Hero who took the extreme part of his name to heart with an extreme outside run. Mask Of Agamemnon and All American round it out.
About The Winner- Jerk Pork, trained by TwinTowersRacing and ridden to victory by J R Velazquez, is a five-year-old gelding by Blindford and is out of Salt Gully. He was bred in New York as a yearling by Night Rider Stables and was acquired by TwinTowersRacing from Fractious for $45.010 in the September 2024 auction. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his third in 21 starts, and first stake win of any sort. His career earnings are now $326.370.
— NS
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES