PRX Dirt Mile ($300.000 Purse)
PRX- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Dirt
September 21, 2024

As the cutoff to nominate horses for this approached, there was some concern that it might not fill. In the long run, we were able to get enough entries here, in the fourth running of the ungraded PRX Mile. There will be six heading to the starting gate, and the field looks very competitive. The 2023 edition of the race was won by Mamba, for Mb Stables, which for now, is the last time that the horse has won a race. Interestingly, it was also his final race of the 2023 season, and he has been lightly raced this year. On Sunday, he was sold in the auction for $22.010 to D J C Racing Stables, so perhaps a change of scenery will be nice for him even if it means leaving the game’s top trainer. Neither of those two trainers will have a horse in this year’s race. Here’s a look at our field:

1- Knoblauch (Angelos Stable, ridden by M E Smith)- The gelding has been very successful in overnights, but this year, he has been seeing more regular stake action and has been productive there as well. In January, he won the CA Cup Sprint, for CA-Breds, at SA and has been third in both of his two graded attempts. That includes his most recent race, the Grade 2 OBrien Stakes at DMR last month. Most of his career has been spent sprinting, but he’s not a stranger to going a mile though still looks for his win in a route.

2- Pompano Beach (Threshold, ridden by J Lezcano)- If the object of a race was to finish second, Pompano Beach would be seen as one of the top horses in the game, finishing as the runner up in eight of his sixteen starts. Unfortunately, he’s only wound up in the winner’s circle twice after a race. But kudos to Threshold in taking a horse that was passed around in claimers, going through some very good barns, and advancing his career to this level. Still looks for that first stake win, and narrowly missed two back in the Grade 2 Eclipse at WO. He’s a good contender here.

3- Crumbler (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by Jo Dominguez)- Last month, Crumbler looked real good in the $275.000 ELP Derby, winning the race in a wire-to-wire manner by two lengths, drawing away at the end. Not too long after, Crumbler found himself sold to Maxmillion Farm for $300.000, and will make his debut in his new silks here. He’s still lightly raced, with three wins in five starts, so his upside is tremendous at this point. Had a beauty of a work here on the ninth and may be the best bet in this field.

4- Everythings Fine (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by A Beschizza)- When someone tells you that everything’s fine, it can cause a lot of doubt as to whether it really is. Here, we have a horse named Everythings Fine, but his form says the opposite. In five races this year, he has failed to hit the board, and has earned $1.720, in total. In early June, he had a great work at MTH but did race later that month and was poor in the Grade 3 Dominion Day Stakes. He has not raced since then and has only worked once publicly since that point. Last year, he was fourth here in the PA Derby. Maybe a return to PRX will inspire his better side to reappear.

5- Alive (Riggins Racing, ridden by F T Alvarado)- The veteran four-year-old gelding will be making his 23rd career start and hopes that it will be his eighth win. He picked up his seventh in his last race but represented in a sharp drop-in class from the $125.000 Hall Memorial Stakes, where he ran third, to a $20.110 allowance at PID. Prior to the Hall, he was second in the Salvator Mile (Grade 3), so I’m not sure why he was dropped. Regardless, the trainer seemed to have got what he wanted and his ready to run Alive back out in the type of race that suits him.

6- Don’t Miss It (John Henry, ridden by F Geroux)- Makes his third start in the silks of John Henry, after the trainer picked him up in private sales for $140.000. A month after the purchase, Don’t Miss It was entered into the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap and picked up a fourth-place check there against very good company, as one would expect. A month later, it off to MNR, but don’t worry, it was for the Grade 3 WV Governors Stakes, and he was third, within a length of the winner. He’s had triple digit SRF’s in each of his races with John Henry and can probably do so again here.

Prediction: 3-6-5-2

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded