Lukas Stakes (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
SA- For Fillies and Mares four Years Old and Upward
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
February 7, 2026

Saturday’s racing at SA includes multiple races of interest, and that includes the running of the $200.000 Lukas Stakes, which is a long sprint on the dirt for older females. Formerly known as the Monica Handicap or the Santa Monica Stakes, the race has been run every year since 2005. Over the past two decades, the purse for the Lukas has ranged from the present level of $200.000 to a high point of $300.000. One of the greats won this race in 2025, as Lady Sammyantha grabbed the victory for The Sidley Stud. At the time, it was the fourth race of six consecutive that she won and followed her BC Fillies and Mares Sprint win. She’s still active but will not be here to defend her title. Nine will get the chance to be the next winner of the race, and here they are:

1- Ignore Tucker (Big Guns Stables, ridden by V Espinoza)- Ran here last month in the Grade 3 Las Flores Stakes, and nearly snapped her winless streak but had to settle for second. The last time that she did win was in March of last year, and that did come right here as well, so this has been a good track for her. While the wins have not been there, she hit the board five times in ten starts, with another very close call at CD in June. This will be her 39th career start.

2- Terrifiant Sunset (Mb Stables, ridden by E Jaramillo)- Mb Stables will finally let this one make her stake debut after doing everything right in overnights. Since claiming her for $35.000 in August 2024, Terrifiant Sunset has been a part of the exacta in all but one start and was third in that other one. Go back even further, and you will find that she has hit the board in every race since May 2024. After beating CA-Breds at DMR and getting some time to rest, Terrifiant Sunset gets her chance at the stake level.

3- Frozen Mist (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by E Maldonado)- After winning an open allowance at KEE last Spring, Frozen Mist changed trainer hands for $100.000 in private sales. Two weeks later, she was strong in a runner up outing for the Grade 2 Intercontinental, and then would later win a big one, capturing the $2,000.000 KD Ladies Sprint at KD. That’s a lot of turf racing, and while she did run on the main track for her prior connections, she has only been a turf horse for Maxmillion Farm until now.

4- Delilahs Den (Simmer Down Stable, ridden by R Bejarano)- This four-year-old filly has picked up some portion of the purse in all of her twenty career starts, and has 15 top two starts over that period. She’s mostly been running in ungraded stakes, and her biggest career win came two starts ago in the $75.000 Cornucopia Stakes at PRX. Her lone graded appearance prior to this came in late September, where she was second in the Grade 2 Bloom Handicap at AQU. The conditions of this race should suit her well, and you have to appreciate her consistency.

5- Brusilov Treat (Iwin Enterprise, ridden by D E Centeno)– Since being claimed last November for $18.000, all but one of Brusilov Treat’s have come in LA-bred races, but on a day where many LA-Bred stakes were taking place at DED, the mare has made a trip out west for a larger purse. Her last four races have been LA-bred stakes, and two saw her come out on top, including last time in the $100.000 Wright Memorial. This will be graded debut here, and she has certainly earned the chance.

6- Dupixent (Night Rider Stables, ridden by U Rispoli)- Ran in the BC Fillies and Mares Sprint last fall, and is the only horse in this field that was in that race. While she did not cash a check, she still finished within a length of victory despite running fifth. It was a year that was highlighted by winning the Grade 1 Test at SAR in August, which was one of her three wins on the year. Faded here in the mud last time out Grade 1 La Brea and will look to effectively bounce back.

7- Houseofidentity (Noblepark, ridden by A Fresu)- The Houseoffun filly has won four of her last six races, and all but one of them have been in Grade 3’s. Her last race was won of them, when she edged out Ignore Tucker at the wire en route to winning the Grade 3 Las Flores Stakes right here last month. In that six-race stretch, the two non-wins are ugly performances, and she will have races like that from time to time. It’s a deep field, so that could be enough of a concern to keep people away from picking her.

8- Complicated Crazy (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Up to this point, we have been talking about horses that know how to win, or at least finish in the top two, on a very consistent basis. That is not the case with Complicated Crazy, as the five-year-old mare has only won twice out of her 18 starts, with two others being second place finishes. Only once since the trainer acquired her in the September 2024 auction for $12.780 has she been in the top two, a second-place effort in the $150.000 Interborough at AQU a little more than a year ago. She’s been running against tougher competition and does work quite well. Perhaps, this can be the day she steps up.

9- Amazing Nation (Asgar, ridden by P Lopez)- After finishing fifth of six in the $300.000 Dream Supreme at CD, Amazing Nation was dropped into an optional claimer at PRX and was not bothered by the rain, winning by two lengths in the slop. It would be her third win in six starts and points her back to the graded ranks. She’s managed to win one such race, coming in July at the Spa in the Grade 3 Victory Ride. Knows how to be close more than not, hitting the board in eight of twelve races.

Prediction: 6-4-2-3

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES