Summertime Oaks – (Grade lll)

Purse $100.00 – For Fillies Three Years Old

 1 1/16 Miles – Dirt

Santa Anita Park – June 13, 2026

The 21st edition of the Summertime Oaks came down to the wire, with Mb Stables’ Real Tactics winning by a nose! Going off as the 8/5 second choice, the daughter of Tactical added her first graded stakes win to an already growing résumé. She came from off the pace and ended up stopping the clock for the 1 1/16-miles in 1:42 flat. What’s even more impressive is that this was win #7 in the Summertime Oaks for Mb Stables! His first victory came in 2012 when this stake was contested at Hollywood Park. Crazy to think that the purse was actually larger in 2012 than it is this year. Jockey Juan Hernandez also gets his second win in this race, having previously captured the 2024 running. Real Tactics increases her lifetime purse earnings to $306.00 with this being her fourth victory. This was a nice way for this filly to return to the winner’s circle after being on the Kentucky Oaks trail. Being a homebred makes this victory even sweeter! Congratulations to the connections!

Winner: Real Tactics – (Mb Stables, J J. Hernandez) This New York-bred wasn’t very quick out of the gate and ended up being two lengths off the leaders heading into the first turn. Real Tactics settled down the backstretch in third, saving all the ground on the rail. She was three lengths back at that point while Sod Fairy and Ontario Pharmacist traded punches on the lead. This filly didn’t start making her move until the ⅜ pole, as she was cutting into the deficit rather quickly. At the top of the stretch, Real Tactics found herself only a length off the leader and continued to close swiftly on the outside. It seemed like she wasn’t going to get to the wire in time, but Juan Hernandez timed it perfectly. A very sharp performance.

Second Place: Sod Fairy – (Nakamura Stables, E. Maldonado) No doubt a tough loss for this homebred by Nakamura Stables. She was very fast away from the gate and dueled with Ontario Pharmacist on the front end. They set early fractions of: 23.53, 47.15, and 1:11.32. Sod Fairy got in a comfortable rhythm running down the backside and continued to race head to head two-wide. However, things started to change drastically as the field started to round the far turn. This filly pretty much inherited a two-length lead, as Ontario Pharmacist started to run backwards. Sod Fairy looked like a winner in the stretch, but little by little, Real Tactics was making up ground on the outside. Still a professional effort.

Third Place: Hot Story – (The Sidley Stud, U. Rispoli) After failing to make much of an impact in recent starts, this daughter of Techfluence Heat turned things around with a strong performance. Hot Story had no speed from the gate and was six lengths back in last rounding the first turn. With Sod Fairy and Ontario Pharmacist duking it out on the lead, it allowed jockey Umberto Rispoli to bide his time down the backstretch. She was extremely far back throughout but started cutting into the margin passing the 5/16 pole. Hot Story fortunately didn’t have to go too wide and found room down the center of the stretch. She really caught the eye making big strides late to almost get up in the final jumps to win. Connections should be happy.

Fourth Place: Balance That Budget – (Rock Creek, V. Del-Cid) The post-time favorite found herself extremely wide into the first turn, losing a ton of ground. She settled in third down the backside about two lengths off the pacesetters. It looked like jockey Vicente Del-Cid had this filly always moving forward and not in a position to give way. Things started to get spicy passing the ⅜ pole as Balance That Budget moved out three-wide outside the eventual winner to start mounting a late rally. At the top of the stretch, she was in clear third and was outkicked in the final furlong to finish fourth. This daughter of Political Pressure will be just fine moving forward. I think bigger fields will bring the best out of her.

– AJM

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES