American Turf (Grade 1)- $1,000.000 Purse
CD- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Turf
May 3, 2025

Three year old turf horses get their big race here at CD as well in the 22nd running of the Grade 1 American Turf. This will be the first time that race offers a $1,000.000 purse, up from $600.000 last year, and ten times the amount it ran for at inception back in 2004. Given the other tracks that see purses never change for decades, or even go down, it is good to see that kind of increase here. It’s also a Grade 1 for the first time. Interestingly, or not, this race has had three dead heats for the win including in back-to-back years in 2013 and 2014. Last year’s race was won by Fanatical Empire, for Smokey Stover, as part of a year that saw four wins from. He now runs in the silks of Bigchief Stables. There will be a full field of fourteen this year, and there is a 57% chance of rain at CD on Saturday, as of Wednesday’s press time. Here’s a look at our runners:

1- Western Knight (Our Athletes, ridden by F Geroux)- Could a horse that is waiting to have his breakout race. After needing a few tries to break his maiden, and a failed try on the dirt, Western Knight has been strong in his last two, highlighted by a competitive third place showing at KEE in the Grade 3 Transylvania Stakes, a race that sees four of its top finishers coming here off of. I anticipate this horse winning at least one big one this year, but will that come later on, rather than right here?

2- Blaze All (Williams9, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- Sired by a horse that I bred, so that should get me rooting for him. Hopefully, Blaze All will not be as frustrating, at times, that his sire was to own, during the time in which I ran him. The potential was always there, but the results never seemed to follow. This leads us to Blaze All, who is showing that same ability, but it is interesting that the last time the trainer ran him, it was in a $15.000 claimer. Something has obviously changed since then but I do sort of see his dad in him.

3- Extravagant (Bigchief Stables, ridden by E J Zayas)- He’s only made four starts up to this point, but has certainly been a great purchase from the Smokey Stover dispersal sale no matter where he goes from here. In March, Extravagant ran second in the $100.000 Pasadena Stakes at SA, and followed that up by running competitively in the Transylvania, running fifth and only missing by about a length. He sees several of them from that race again and would only need to be a little better, something that as a horse just starting to get his career rolling, could very well happen right here.

4- Looking For Trouble (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by R M Hernandez)- It’s not in this horse’s past performances where you will find him most appealing. He has not done much yet, and other than his maiden win, his claim to fame right now is running second in a TUP optional claimer last month. It is in a recent work where you might feel this horse has a chance, but I’m still going to need to see him step on race day first.

5- Smitten (Asgar, ridden by D E Centeno)- Fared well when running against fellow ON-breds, but it took a little longer for him to translate that into races against unrestricted company. That tide began to turn two starts ago, when he won an allowance at TAM, and then last time out was a respectable fourth at the $175.000 Battaglia Memorial Stakes in February. He has not run since then and has never raced on the turf until now. A work at WO from March may suggest that the move to the grass was overdue.

6- Darrow (Mb Stables, ridden by M Franco) Won the SUN Derby, and finished fourth in the LA Derby, placing him 24th on the KYD point leaderboard, and ahead of two that will be running in that race later in the day. But, before that, Darrow was also really good on the turf and won the Grade 2 Bourbon at KEE last fall. Mb had other options for the KYD, as well as likely for the PRK, so placing Darrow here on the grass makes perfect sense. It’ll be interesting to see how much he may or may not have improved on it.

7- No Brainer (Alydar Stables, ridden by V Espinoza)- In seven starts, No Brainer only has one win, but has done well to hit the board when he has run on the grass. In the Grade 3 DeMille Stakes from DMR and the $100.000 Black Gold Stakes from FG, No Brainer ran third. Alydar did try a couple of KYD preps with him that can be disregarded as it looks like this is the best surface for him. I like the progress he is showing in his mile works, making him another horse that I can see making more of an impression later in the year as opposed to that necessarily happening right here.

8- Fantasy Blaze (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by A Jimenez)- Last month, Maxmillion Farm hoped this Blaze Ahead foal could do what another one, Blazing, did last year and make the KYD with a last-minute win. That did not quite happen, as Fantasy Blaze was “only” third in the BG Stakes, and that leads to him running here. Worked nicely at PEN in anticipation of this, and figures to be one of the better contenders.

9- Big Blue (Mb Stables, ridden by T Gaffalione)- This is the second of the three Mb entries, and it would not be a complete surprise to me if all of them get a piece of the purse. Big Blue was picked up from Fractious for just $15.500 in the September auction and would thrive immediately at the stake level, winning the $100.000 Speakeasy Stakes then placing fourth in the BC Juvenile Turf Sprint. More recently, he proved that he could stretch out without issue, winning the Grade 3 Transylvania Stakes against four others that he sees here again. He also likes it wet, so in regard to him, Mb Stables will not be let down to see an off track.

10- Moonligtonthewabash (High Voltage, ridden by J Lezcano)- Claimed by the trainer for $28.000 in mid-November, and was placed onto the KYD trail for his next start. This looked like the right move initially, as Moonligtonthewabash finished second in the Grade 3 Lewis Stakes at SA, missing the head bob at the wire. Unfortunately for the trainer, what followed was not pretty, with two results in the double digits. He moves to the grass now for the first time with High Voltage and does work very well. There’s reason for optimism, but this is another example of me needing to see it on race day first.

11- Bear Head (Martyparty, ridden by P Lopez)- Another one of the horses that comes here off of the Transylvania from KEE, and for Bear Head, that resulted in a second-place finish. While the gelding had looked good in NY-bred stakes, including a third place run in the $500.000 Great White Way, he’s done better since being moved to the grass at the start of the year. Prior to the Transylvania, he won both the $100.000 Texas Turf Mile and the $215.000 Colonel Liam. He’ll be a contender here as well.

12- Ello Santa (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Late in his two-year-old season, Ello Santa won the Grade 3 Zuma Beach Stakes, which got him into the BC Juvenile Turf, and he would become a BC champion with that victory. It’s not unusual to see a turf career get put on the back burner for KYD preps, and that happened with Ello Santa. That was the right call, as he would end up finishing 5th in KYD points, winning the Ruby Stakes, and getting him to the big race in any other barn. But Mb is restricted to three horses, and Ello Santa’s being a BC champion may have made the trainer’s decision to enter him here pretty easy.

13- Hail Justice (Team 7 Illusions, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- Broke his maiden at SA by three lengths, leading him to be entered into the $215.000 Colonel Liam. That race, which was won by Bear Head, saw Hail Justice finish third, but he was still defeated by three lengths there. Since being gelded, he has hit the board in all four starts but may be a horse to watch more in the summer months than right here in the American Turf.

14- Bitcoin Bobby (Robeth, ridden by W T Buick)- When you are a part of Mb Stables, and showing potential, you are going to get your chances in KYD preps. That was the case with Bitcoin Bobby, making those starts, but other than running fourth in the Holy Bull, he came up empty. After being defeated by a combined 11 lengths in the Fountain Of Youth and FL Derby, Mb cut ties with Bitcoin Bobby and sold him for $200.000 to Robeth. He’s been in his new barn for a month and will run on the turf for the first time since August. That was also the last time he won a race, and it was a good one, the Grade 3 With Anticipation. I find him intriguing, especially if the odds climb, but I can have more confidence in others here.

Prediction: 12-9-11-8

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES