The Apple Blossom Handicap (Grade 1)- $1,250.000 Purse
OP- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
April 12, 2025

It’s safe to say that no one saw this coming. In the running of the $1,250.000 Apple Blossom Handicap from OP, Old Mexico would go off as a 31/1 longshot and would not be picked by anyone in the Pick ‘em, not even by her own trainer if he had participated. Old Mexico had been running well since the summer, but most of the others in the field had accomplished much more, and then there was the question of whether or not she would like this distance, as her best results had been in sprints. We would get those answers on Saturday as this four-year-old filly by Candlestick came from out of nowhere in the stretch to pull off the upset! Old Mexico is trained by Mo Mentum Farm, and it is his first win in this race. Ru Silvera, after previously winning the Fleet Sprint Handicap right before this, would add to his big day by winning the Apple Blossom for the first time. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:41.23, the fourth quickest in the race’s history:

(1/4 Mile- :22.95)- Red High Heels is looking good as she jumps out to the race lead for TwinTowersRacing, leading the Our Athletes- trained Shining At Knight by a length as they work their way around the opening turn. Following her, we have the winner’s Mo Mentum Farm stablemate, Barossa Valley, who went off as a slight post time favorite, being a length ahead of a group of three that run evenly with one another. From inside to outside, that trio consists of Foxy Envoy (Arindel), Present Tense (Mb Stables), and Moment To Reflect (Threshold). Behind them, Starting Over (TwinTowersRacing) and Jawaher (D J C Racing Stables) run side by side. At the back of the pack and running all by herself six lengths behind the leader, is where we have our eventual winner from Mo Mentum Farm, Old Mexico. She is typically more of a mid-pack type horse at the start, so her being this far back was not the norm for her.

(½ Mile- :46.62)- Red High Heels struts her stuff out in front of the field, maintaining her advantage over Shining At Knight, who is positioned to her outside still. Barossa Valley stalks these two patiently during the backstretch while Foxy Envoy gets a little closer to her while on the rail. Moment To Reflect is fifth, but in a good striking position if she wanted to make her move at this point. Present Tense is no longer running with those two, as she had been previously, as she is now a length behind them. Further back, Starting Over and Jawaher maintain their pace, while Old Mexico can see them all, now running seven lengths behind the leader.

(Top of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- Midway through the turn, Shining At Knight would take over the lead, and would be about a length in front of Red High Heels entering the stretch. Foxy Envoy would have absolutely no excuses with a perfect lane on the rail to utilize, and Barossa Valley was also in a good position, directly behind the race leader. It would be interesting to watch the runners towards the back of the field, but it would be Starting Over grabbing your attention first as she made a big move midway through to the turn to the outside. Jawaher, who had been running her, also made up ground but would look to do so closer to the rail. First on the list for these two would be to pass both Present Tense and Moment To Reflect. With all of that going on, most were probably not paying much attention to the longest shot on the board at this point, but on the exit of the turn, Ru Silvera would swing her out to the far outside going at least five wide. She would need to pass them all, but if she had the legs underneath her, she had the clear lane to work with.

(Finish- 1:41.23)- Into the stretch, Shining At Knight is still out in front, but the field is getting clustered up right behind her, and this is when it began to look like that horse on the outside might just pull this off. With a furlong to go, Old Mexico was only a length behind her second-place stablemate, Barossa Valley, and did not have any traffic to worry about. The other two that were running well in the stretch, Jawaher and Starting Over may have been looking good, but by this point, Old Mexico had already passed one and was about to pass the other. Getting closer, Shining At Knight began to drift out, and Old Mexico would take over the top spot. For a moment, Mo Mentum Farm may have had visions of a 1-2 finish, but his post time favorite, not his longest shot on the board, could not hold her end of the bargain. Old Mexico gets the stunning win, officially by half a length over Jawaher, and Starting Over is third. Barossa Valley does get the fourth-place spoils, leaving Shining At Knight with nothing at the end. Foxy Envoy had no excuses, and is sixth, ahead of the highly disappointing Present Tense, as well as Moment To Reflect. Red High Heels stumbled to last.

About The Winner- Old Mexico, trained by Mo Mentum Farm, and ridden to victory by Ru Silvera, is a four-year-old filly by Candlestick and is out of Chucker. Old Mexico was bred in New Mexico by Luz International as a yearling and was acquired by Mo Mentum Farm while she was still unraced for $200.000 in a March 2023 private sale. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her sixth in 19 starts, her fourth stake win and first graded win. Her career earning skyrocket to $1,169.790.

Track: Fast
Time: :22⁴  :46³  1:10³  1:41¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 8 – 3 Paid 101.70
$1 Trifecta: 8 – 3 – 4 Paid 1,028.40

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES