Ladies Marathon (Grade 3)- $1,500.00 Purse
KD- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
One Mile and Five Sixteenths on the Turf
September 6, 2026

High purse excitement this weekend at KD doesn’t end on Saturday, as there will be plenty on the line Sunday in the $1,500.00, Grade 3 Ladies Marathon. This is the opportunity for three year old fillies and mares who like to keep on running and running to get their share of KD virtual casino money. Sure, that’s down $500.00 from last year, but with these dollar amounts, everything is fine. In that race, One Spirit got the win for Nakamura Stables, which was one of her six wins on the year. But now, she will kick off our run through the field as she looks to go back to back against twelve others who want this year to be their turn. Here’s a look at all thirteen participants!

1- One Spirit (Nakamura Stables, ridden by R Latchman)- Winning the Ladies Marathon last year is the biggest victory of her career, but despite winning two graded races and a $250.00 ungraded race, she never made it to the BC. She’s been fine this year with two wins, including the $250.00 Keertana at CD this May, but has not yet been on the level she was at in 2025. She’s an off-track ace, and we were on yielding turf last year, but this time around will need to handle the highly likely firm turf. That’s not to say she can’t, but if it was wet, she’s the one to beat entirely.

2- Charlenes Way (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by Mar Garcia)- Ran in the Dueling Grounds Oaks last year, which is at the same distance as this, and ran second to Credit Crime. Certainly, no shame in that. Overall, she’s 2-for-14 in her career, and has never won of the many stakes that she has been in. The last time she did win was an allowance at PIM about sixteen months ago. She has not really had another strong race like the DG Oaks since that point, either, until she was the runner up last time out in the five furlong, $100.00 Daisycutter Handicap. This field isn’t full of daisies.

3- Urban Lights (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by D Moran)- Most of her career has been spent running in optional claimers at varying conditions. While she did not rack up a bunch of wins there, she was generally consistent in hitting the board for that barn. She’s run twice for TwinTowersRacing since she was claimed for $35.00, and has run in the third spot race time, extending her streak of finishing third to five consecutive races. She’ll move back to the grass here, and the trainer’s tough task with her might be to find out which conditions she is best at. Too much of a wild card in here, but this trainer, in particular, thrives with “wild cards”.

4- Lady Hilltopper (Black N Gold Stable, ridden by S Elliott)- This great seven year old Pinnacle West mare is still at it and looking to add to her over $5,500.00 in lifetime earnings. She’s made two previous starts in the KD Ladies Marathon and won this race in 2024. So, yes, we’re having a rematch now of the last two winners of the race. Last year, Lady Hilltopper ran third here and was within a length of One Spirit. No worries, because in her next start two months later, she went on to win the BC Fillies and Mares Turf. That win set off a streak of four in a row, with lasted through the Grade 3 Hillsborough at TAM in March. Since then, she’s still been running well. Elliott has only ridden her once before, but led her to the winners circle in the aforementioned Hillsborough.

5- Categorical Destiny (Mb Stables, ridden by M J Husbands)- Mb will bring two the gate, and each of them come into the race on strong form. Categorical Destiny is a veteran six year old mare with eleven wins and over $1,400.00 in earnings thus far in her career, and it seems like there is a lot more still to come, regardless of whether or not that happens here. She’s been first or second in her last five races, and sure, that may have begun with an open allowance at BTP, but it’s moved on to much better, including the Grade 2 Beverly D at CNL last month. Note, though, that in the few times she’s been in fields of ten more lately, they have not been her best races.

6- Feels Like Summer (Nakamura Stables, ridden by A R Rodriguez)- An outsider in this field in more ways than one. She may be a five year old mare, but she only has four previous starts as her prior trainer seems to just like to run in her works in company for a couple years. Arrived cheaply with Nakamura Stables this January, with her first two starts coming at LRL, then BTP, where she broke her maiden. Her last race was an allowance at LAD that she won, and in the meantime she was third at GP. Add all that up, and it’s $23.10 in earnings, or 0.4% of Lady Hilltopper’s career earnings. But, all that means nothing now. She’s here and can shock the virtual world.

7- Neon Woof (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by L Contreras)- If you want to support a TwinTowersRacing horse in this race, Neon Woof would seem to be the better option. After flashing some potential last year and getting some graded opportunities, she didn’t step up on most occasions, but we’re seeing that change now. Perhaps, she’s beginning to find that level of consistency that has been needed, as she been in the top two in her last three races, including winning the Grade 3 ET Mint Julip Handicap, then placing second in the Grade 3 Matchmaker. One to watch if she’s just beginning to get rolling now.

8- Love (Mo Mentum Farm, ridden by A Beschizza)- Love had a very impressive stretch from just a few days before Valentine’s Day 2025 until exactly one year ago on this race date where she won six of eight, including the $500.00 WO Oaks. Her year continued to be strong in November with another big win, this being in the Grade 3 Jockey Club Oaks and when you add all that together, it was over $1,000.00 in earnings on the year. She has continued to be consistent this year, but has only made one trip to the winners circle in eight races. She almost did so in her last race, but was a tough luck third in a three way photo for win in the Grade 2 Canadian Stakes. It’s fair to say that she’s due for a big one and has all the ability to get that right here. Can she, though?

9- Godrics Hollow (Delta Farms, ridden by M J Sanchez)- This won’t her first graded race, as she did run in the Gazelle in April 2025, but it’s certainly not something she has done a lot of. For the most part, she’s been running in optional claimers, and the majority of those have been on the main track. Her turf debut came in May, and she is now 2-for-2 on the grass. This will be her first stake attempt on the turf, which is certainly earned, but I find the two and a half month layoff a little interesting, especially when there’s no shortage of turf stakes to run in during July and August. A big X-factor in this field.

10- November Storm (Mb Stables, ridden by E J Zayas)- For the last two years, November Storm has been a part of the field in the Ladies Marathon, and in 2024, she was second best to the winning Lady Hilltopper. That said, she was still beaten by fourth lengths and was actually closer to the winning One Spirit at the end last year despite finishing sixth. She’s been consistently cashing checks since then, and has been hot recently, scoring three wins over her last four races which includes taking the Grade 3 Glens Falls on a rainy day up at SAR. Fresh off of those results, she returns to the Ladies Marathon looking to make the third time the charm.

11- Lightning Blackout (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by L R Rivera)- Maxmillion is the fourth trainer here to being two horses to the race, but Lightning Blackout will be pretty easy for most to glance through when reading the program before moving on to the next horse. She’s only won once over 13 starts, and has actually been second only once as well. You need to go back to 2024 to find her only win, which came at the Big A. She’s not showing much in recent races, either, but she’s here for a reason and you never, ever, count out a Maxmillion horse particularly in a turf race. But, I’ll have to see it to believe it.

12- Mami (Alydar Stables, ridden by R Bejarano)- Mami made quite an impression as a three year old last year, managing five wins and four more runner ups over her eleven starts. Her biggest win on the year came out at KEE in the QE II Challenge Cup, a victory that she was able to carry into the BC Fillies and Mares Turf. In that, she did not back down from the loaded field, and was beaten only by Lady Hilltopper. We’ve only seen her four times thus far as a four year old, and she’s picked up another big win in the meantime, taking the Grade 1 Gamely at SA. She was a solid third in the Diana at SAR last time out, too. Might be overlooked in a field that will see many other big names get looked at before she does, but she is very bit as capable. I have a gut feeling about her.

13- Enough Class To Pass (Our Athletes, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- This four year old filly is still looking to pick up her first stake win. She’s been consistent in overnights for most of her career, and has gotten several opportunities to graduate into graded competition, and while she’s been decent a couple times, they are not her strongest races. Now, fresh off a win in an optional claimer at DMR, she’ll get another test to try and pass. That was a challenge in itself, but the post draw decided to give her one more obstacle to overcome, ironically coming after five straight races of draw posts 1 or 2.

Prediction: 12-5-4-8

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES