The Amsterdam (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
SAR- For Three Year Olds
Six and a Half Furlongs on the Dirt
July 28, 2023

Prince George seemed like he should be one of the favorites for the running on the Amsterdam on Friday, as he had been running well and recently scored a 101 SRF in a victory at the Lang Stakes. There were several in the field that also ran there, but if Prince George could beat them before, surely, he could do so again. He would be our pick and was the second choice of the bettors. With F Prat aboard, he would go on to win by a length for trainer Mb Stables. Mb winning this race is nothing new, as it is fifth such winner. Other victories four-race Hick Up (2013), Captain Awesome (2014) Acquisitive (2017), and Golden Treasure (2021). It is the first win for F Prat, however. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:14.88, and that is a stake record at this distance. We did have a couple scratches for the race, as both Terabyte and Deep State would not race. Timber Snake would draw into the race for T Boy Racing and was a horse on a four race winning streak. Let’s take a look at how the race was run!

(1/4 Mile- :22.08)- From the outside, Regal Halo jumps out to the lead for Fractious, and he has another one that started out there right now to him in the form of Maxmillion Farm’s Crack The Party. These two would open up on the rest of the field by about two lengths. That is where we would find a group of four horses running side by side, and amongst them was our eventual winner from Mb Stables, Prince George. He’s running in the second lane at this time, with only Loko Moko, the South Shore Stables entry, between he and the rail. Prevent runs beside his stablemate in the third lane, and running four wide is Arindel’s King Noah. Shoo Fly, who was the post time favorite, had some thoughts about making it five wide but the Lazy Eye entry would back off of that as we got closer to the turn. The only other horse near him was the third Mb Stables entry, Encore. It’s another length and a half to Timber Snake (T Boy Racing), and trailing the field are Freed Up (La Canada Racehorses) and Twin Rackets (Alydar Stables).

(1/2 Mile- :45.14, Top of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- The field makes their way around the turn with both Regal Halo and Crack The Party still going at one another pretty hard. They would maintain their two-length lead for most of the turn, but as we approached the top of the stretch, the group of four horses that had been next in line were getting closer. Prince George would be a little quicker than the other three and would have the ability to position himself between the two frontrunners. He now had only a length to make up. Both Loko Moko on his inside and Prevent and his outside were keeping pace and also each seemed to be in a good shape for the stretch. King Noah was also hanging tough on the outside. Further back in the field, both Encore and Timber Snake would complete the pass of the disappointing Shoo Fly and Freed Up was starting to get fired up while running on the outside. Twin Rackets was now all by himself at the back of the field.

(Finish- 1:14.88)- Very early in the stretch, it would soon become obvious that neither Regal Halo nor Crack The Party would be able to have any kind of response to the advance of Prince George. That one would take advantage of the room to come right between them, and before you could blink, he was running even with them with still over a furlong to go. That did not mean the race was in the bag though, as Loko Moko was running well on the rail with both Prevent and King Noah still with a shot, and a closing Timber Snake trying to get in the picture. But as we got closer to the wire, it soon was clear that there would be no one better than Prince George on this day, and he would go on to win by a length and a half. A steady run for Loko Moko sees him finish second ahead of Freed Up, who came on very well late and ran out of time. Timber Snake made the most of getting into the race by finishing fourth, narrowly over Prevent with both Regal Hero and King Noah nearby. Rounding it out, it’s Twin Rackets, Crack The Party, Encore, and Shoo Fly.

About The Winner- Prince George, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by F Prat, is a three-year-old by Notorious Beach and is out of Royal Roulette. He was bred in New York by Lemax Farms as a third quarter two-year-old and was acquired by Mb Stables for $100.000 in a late December 2022 private sale. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fourth in eleven starts, his third stake win and second graded win. His career earnings are now $377.340.

Track: Fast
Time: :22   :45   1:09   1:14⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 2 – 1 Paid 162.90
$1 Trifecta: 2 – 1 – 8 Paid 1,253.70

Scratched: Terabyte, Deep State(L)

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES