ALB Handicap

Purse $200.00 – For Three Year Olds And Upward – 1 1/8 Miles – Dirt
Albuquerque Downs – October 10, 2026

Who’s that closing from eleven lengths off the pace? It’s the Avenue Z homebred Patrol with jockey Tracy Hebert aboard taking down the 9th running of the ALB Handicap! It was a victory that looked unlikely in the early stages before the five-year-old turned the closing stages into his own highlight reel. This marked the fifth win of Patrol’s career as he added his first stakes triumph to the résumé. He has now put together back-to-back victories at 1 1/8 miles on the dirt with his lifetime bankroll climbing to $222.92. The result also marked a milestone for Avenue Z as his homebred etched his owner’s name into the ALB Handicap record books with a first win in the race since its inception in 2014. The son of Sniper stopped the clock at 1:47.55 for the 1 1/8 miles to register the second-fastest time in ALB Handicap history. That swift clocking added further merit to an effort that saw him erase an eleven-length deficit entering the backstretch. No doubt Patrol is hitting on all cylinders coming into the final months of 2026. Congratulations to Avenue Z on a memorable performance!

Winner: Patrol – (Avenue Z, T J. Hebert) Patrol broke slow and immediately settled at the rear of the field as jockey Tracy Hebert allowed the early leaders to open up a sizable advantage. He remained in seventh through the middle stages with roughly eleven lengths separating him from the front. The California-bred began reducing that deficit around the 3/8 pole but still had most of the field to pass as they reached the stretch. Racing in the clear on the outside gave him room to build momentum as his rally started. He was still seventh approaching the final furlong before producing an explosive closing kick that carried him past the other contenders in the blink of an eye. Patrol swept past Propel inside the final 1/16 before catching Gill Murray right at the wire to score by a nose!

Second Place: Gill Murray – (Mojica Racing, E P. Gomez) Coming from the free-track circuit, this gelding broke alertly and quickly joined Tehran on the lead as the pair established the early pace together. Gill Murray stayed alongside that rival through the opening half-mile in 46.27 while they began to separate themselves about one length ahead of the field. The son of Shark Danzer gradually gained the upper hand approaching the far turn and carried a three-quarter length advantage into the stretch. He continued strongly into the final furlong as Tehran began to weaken. Gill Murray still held the lead deep in the stretch despite Propel advancing and Patrol charging down the outside. This six-year-old battled all the way to the wire but was caught by Patrol right at the finish to settle for a narrowly beaten second.

Third Place: Propel – (Maxmillion Farm, L A. Fuentes) Propel broke fine but dropped back to sixth rounding the first turn. He maintained that position down the backstretch with roughly seven lengths to make up before beginning to reduce the deficit around the 3/8 pole. The California-bred was still in the second half of the field passing the quarter pole but steadily gained ground as the leaders began to come back to him. His rally gathered momentum quickly down the stretch and carried him past the tiring Tehran into second. Propel continued closing on Gill Murray and got within a length of the leader deep in the stretch to put himself firmly in contention. However, Patrol swept past him on the outside in the closing strides leaving Propel to finish a close third after a sustained late run. This was a very solid effort.

Fourth Place: Tehran – (Temulac Farm, F H. Da Silva) This seven-year-old broke sharply and went straight to the front with Gill Murray quickly joining him in the early battle for the lead. He raced just outside that rival as the pair opened up a one-length advantage over the rest of the field down the backstretch. Gill Murray gradually gained the upper hand approaching the far turn, but Tehran stayed close and entered the stretch only about half a length behind. He continued chasing the leader through the 3/16 pole before the gap began to widen approaching the final furlong. Tehran started to weaken late as Propel advanced past him and Patrol followed with his powerful rally on the outside. He was unable to respond to those closing moves but held fourth narrowly over Kentucky Fox. Not bad for his new owner.

– AJM

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded