The Iselin Stakes (Grade 3)- $150.000 Purse
MTH- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
June 22, 2019

Five of the seven horses in the Iselin Stakes were at one time or another owned by Mb Stables. Only one of them is currently with him, and that is the one that got the job done in the race. Salar de Uyuni came into the race with a six pound weight allowance on several of his rivals, and that was even with a win in the Gotham that figured to make him the betting favorite for the race. He would not be that, but he was still our pick. It ends up being the third time that he has won the race, having done so in 2013 with Blamemeofcourse and in 2016 with the late Resolute Jesse. Once every three years, it seems, for the leading trainer in the game. The jockey was J R Velazquez, and he wins for the second time. Congratulations to them! The time of the victory was 1:41.55. Only two editions of this race have been run at this distance, so we cannot compare the time to all of the prior races. Let’s take a look at how it happened!

(1/4 Mile- :23.43)- At the front early, it’s Dogs Noah, from Maxmillion Farm, outkicking the longshot, Trumpomatic, out of Night Rider Stables, for the early advantage. Moving in to the turn, Dogs Noah extends his lead even more, and is in front by a length in the half after a quarter mile over new second place horse, Space Cowboy, for Nakamura Stables. Trumpomatic, after a good initial break, is restrained into third, and is just a half length ahead of the post-time favorite for RNP Stables, Pass Me By. Eatin My Dust is fifth on the rail for Hambletonian Stable. Next up comes our eventual winner from Mb Stables, Salar de Uyuni, who is four lengths back and running right behind Trumpomatic. Trailing is Gun Down (South Beach Racing).

(½ Mile- :46.06)- After running quite well in the turn, Dogs Noah continues to pace the field, and leads by two lengths over what has become a four wide battle for second. Space Cowboy backed into that group, and runs in the fourth lane, just to the outside of Trumpomatic. To their inside are both Pass Me By and Eatin My Dust, the latter of which was starting to look more interested midway through the backstretch. Salar de Uyuni saw what was setting up in front of him, and J R Velazquez moved him into a five wide position, hoping to get by all of them quickly. Gun Down still ran by himself at the back.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- For the remainder of the backstretch run, Dogs Noah was still in good shape, but moving into the turn, he was unable to keep up with the pace, and the group of horses that had been running together caught up to him pretty quickly. The quickest of this group was Trumpomatic, and by the time they reached the exit of the turn, they were side by side for the lead. Salar de Uyuni continued to run five wide, so while he closed on the leader as well, the extra race track that he had to cover meant that it would take a little more time for him. He had advanced to third, and was a half length behind the two leaders. Space Cowboy was trying to keep up with Salar de Uyuni. Eatin My Dust had to move down to avoid running into to Dogs Noah, and that temporarily cost him some momentum. Pass Me By was still close, but was not looking as promising as the rivals around him. Gun Down had the best seat in the house to view the action.

(Finish- 1:41.55)- Trumpomatic takes the lead and tries his best to hold off the challenge of Salar de Uyuni. For a little while, he was successful, but Salar de Uyuni kept on coming, and in the final furlong he moved into the lead and never let it go. Trumpomatic’s efforts give him second, holding off Space Cowboy for that spot. It was another two lengths to Eatin My Dust, then the tiring Dogs Noah. Pass Me By and Gun Down round it out, and were never factors in this race.

About The Winner- Salar de Uyuni, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by J R Velazquez, is a three year old gelding by Lettucerocku, and is out of Swift Cherokee. He was bred in Ontario by Team 7 Illusions as a first quarter two year old, and passed through several barns before being acquired by Mb Stables from Pristine Stables last November via a $275.000 private sale. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fifth in ten starts, and its his second graded win. His career earnings are now $432.050.

Track: Fast
Time: :23²  :46   1:09⁴  1:41²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 3 – 4 Paid 2,095.20
$1 Trifecta: 3 – 4 – 6 Paid 794.00

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES