The BEL (Grade 1)- $2,000.00 Purse
SAR- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Quarter on the Dirt
June 6, 2026

Excitement was in the air on Saturday as Gogh Wild chased history, looking to become the first horse within our game to capture the TC. Anticipation was high at post time as everyone without a horse in the race was hoping that it would happen. Winning the TC is an incredibly difficult feat, and after the running of the BEL, it is something that still has not happened. The last time we had a horse close to winning the TC, it was in 2021, when the Mb Stables- trained Howl Of The Hound came up just a little bit short. Now, with TwinTowersRacing looking to do the improbable, Mb Stables switches hats and plays the role of spoiler with his colt, Quantum Pursuit. After not running the KYD the way that he usually does, Quantum Pursuit was just a length out of the lead from the start, and would prevail in a photo finish with The Sidley Stud’s Bold Intruder. Gogh Wild, on any other day, would have had a satisfying third place finish, but in the BEL, it stings a little bit. Mb Stables is no stranger to the winner’s circle in the BEL, as he wins the race for the third straight time and seventh overall. Previous winners of his are Deja Steel (2015), Positive Thinking (2017), Dream Controlled (2018), Admiration (2019), Good Memories (2024) and Extreme Jet (2025). R Santana Jr is the winning rider for the first time. Congratulations to them, and a top of the hat to TwinTowersRacing on the great ride that will come up short. The time of the win was 2:00.93, the quickest of the three editions held at SAR. Let’s take a look at it!

(½ Mile- :47.68)- Reigning BC Juvenile winner Dime Symphony pushes out to the lead for Asgar, and he will show the way around the clubhouse turn. Behind him, our eventual winner from Mb Stables, Quantum Pursuit is only a length back, and tucked in right behind the leader is the center of everyone’s attention, Gogh Wild, for TwinTowersRacing. Towards the outside, Destined Charge, out of Mb Stables, is within a length of them. Stalking the stalkers, we have The Sidley Stud’s Bold Intruder and D J C Racing Stables’ Weaponize. Big Jd Racing’s Meekshallinherit runs behind Destined Charge. In the middle of the pack, Open Invitation (Mb Stables), runs by himself, a length ahead of Cumberland Blue (Jerry Garcia Racing). It’s a length and a half to Painted Ice (Alydar Stables), who’s followed by a length by Strike (D J C Racing Stables), Bank Robber (Our Athletes), and Magic Fighter (Maxmillion Farm). Southwind (Acber Farms) is four wide, and the trailers are Wants It All (Mo Mentum Farm), and Hurts (Royalty Stables). Eleven lengths separate first from last at this stage of the race.

(3/4 Mile- 1:12.17)- Quantum Pursuit does not waste any time going to the lead, as he moves by Dime Symphony and into the lead. At this point in this race, it would be a length and a half that he put between him and Gogh Wild, something that seemed very subtle at the time, but that would be the margin between those two at the end. Due to running right behind Dime Symphony, Gogh Wild was not able to make the same push at the time that Quantum Pursuit was able to do so. At the same time, he also finds himself passed by Bold Intruder, who had been stalking him, but was able to move by in the third lane. That one now runs evenly with Dime Symphony for second. Destined Charge is a head in front of Gogh Wild for fourth. Going back further into the field, Meekshallinherit and Weaponize run side by side, with Open Invitation behind them and a length from him to Cumberland Blue. He’s ahead of Painted Ice, with the rest of the field having a lot of work to do.

(Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Bold Intruder takes over the top spot while in the turn with a strong lead, and will lead Quantum Pursuit by half a length. He was seen as being one of the biggest threats to TC, and perhaps he about to show everyone why during the stretch. Quantum Pursuit is still second, with Gogh Wild maintaining his length and a half gap to them during the turn, but it was not feeling like it was going to be good enough. It’s close to three lengths behind him to the fourth place runner as the likes of Dime Symphony and Destined Charge have called it a day. Meekshallinherit is also dropping out of it, leading Weaponize to take the fourth spot. They’re getting spread out behind him as late runners look for their lanes, and we knew there would be a lot of them in this race. Whoever emerged from that group had at least five to six lengths to make up on horses up front that were still in strong stride themselves.

(Finish- 2:00.93)- Into the stretch, those wanting to see history were hoping that Gogh Wild would find another gear. He was a steady third, but simply not able to gain on the top two. Bold Intruder, out in front, looked to give The Sidley Stud his second career TC win (2017, Ginger Haggis), but he could not get away from Quantum Pursuit, who looked to give Mb Stables his 14th such win. With a furlong to go, it was looking good for Bold Intruder, that he would be the one to stop the TC from happening, but somehow in the final moments of the race, it would be Quantum Pursuit impressively showing amazing heart and desire as he would not give him. He’d be resurgent, and he would join Bold Intruder from a very close photo at the wire. In the end, it’s Quantum Pursuit coming back to get the headbob on Bold Intruder for a victory. Gogh Wild settles for third, never able to make up that length and a half that he conceded to these two on the backstretch when he didn’t have a clear lane to pass Dime Symphony. Magic Fighter, on the extreme outside, emerges from the back to be fourth, but never threatened for more. It’s a length to Cumberland Blue, and the rest of the field will go down as afterthoughts that never really factored into this race. The final running order will read Painted Ice, Bank Robber, Open Invitation, Hurts, Strike, Weaponize, Southwind, Wants It All, Meekshallinherit, Destined Charge, and Dime Symphony.

About The Winner- Quantum Pursuit, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by R Santana Jr, is a three year old colt by Walk Em Down and is out of Quantum Charger. He was bred by Mb Stables as a third quarter two year old in California, and they have been together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his third in seven starts, and second stake win, each of which are graded. His career earnings are now $1,632.00.

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES, TC 2026, THE TRIPLE CROWN