PRX Dirt Mile ($300.000 Purse)
PRX- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Dirt
September 23, 2023

Over his career, Mamba has been a successful horse that has finished in the money for most of his races, but actually winning a race had not happened much. In his prior start, he would win for only the second time in 16 starts, making us wonder if he could make it two in a row. The odds board was close between five of the seven in the field, so while he was not the post time favorite, the bettors still seemed to think that he would have a good shot. He would run the PRX Dirt Mile much like he did his prior race, an optional claimer, and it would get him the win! It will be interesting to see if he can now string a bunch of wins in a row. Mamba is trained by Mb Stables and was ridden by P Lopez, and for each, it is their first win in the race, although this was just the third running of it. The time of the race was 1:35.89 over the dirt course listed as good. Let’s take a look at it!

(1/4 Mile- :23.33)- At the front of the field, Parkers Pride’s Be Lucky battles it out with our eventual winner, Mamba from Mb Stables, and it will be Be Lucky with a head in front at this point. Speter stalks them while running on the rail for Nakamura Stables, and he is about a length ahead of last year’s PRX Dirt Mile winner, Beach Xaar (Fractious) and Gas Lighting (TwinTowersRacing). It’s about another two to Scott The Cherokee (TwinTowersRacing), with Bespoke (First Class Stable) running at the back.

(1/2 Mile- :47.01)- Heading down the backstretch, Be Lucky and Mamba are still neck and neck, but now it is Mamba with a slight lead. Speter has lost a little bit of ground to them but is still in striking range while running third. Beach Xaar and Gas Lighting run in the middle of the field, with Scott The Cherokee and Bespoke running further back without showing much interest in the early pace.

(Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- At the end of the backstretch portion, Mamba would begin to pull away from Be Lucky, and this would only continue to happen over the course of the turn. This would result in Mamba having a length and a half lead over that one at the top of the stretch. Speter could have capitalized more at this point, I felt, and is still running third and looking to get around Be Lucky. Gas Lighting is fourth, pulling away from Beach Xaar, who decided winning last year was enough for him. Scott The Cherokee had not made a move yet, and Bespoke was did not seem to be in the mood to run.

(Finish- 1:35.89)- Mamba does not let up early in the stretch, though might have begun to tire slightly as he approached the wire. At that point, the field was already defeated as no one was making a run at him. Speter gets within a length somehow, but really never challenged Mamba. It was almost two more lengths to Gas Lighting and Scott The Cherokee, who emerge as the best of the rest here. Be Lucky is next, topping Bespoke and Beach Xaar.

About The Winner- Mamba, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by P Lopez, is a three-year-old gelding by No Doubt About It and is out of Venin. He was bred in California by Mb Stables as a yearling, the only trainer for which he has ever known. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his third in 17 starts, and his second stake win. His career earnings are now $569.710.

Track: Good
Time: :23¹  :47   1:11   1:35⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 2 – 1 Paid 25.00
$1 Trifecta: 2 – 1 – 7 Paid 120.00

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded