San Marcos Stakes (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
SA- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Quarter on the Turf
February 1, 2020
A small field will be running in what is the 15th edition of the San Marcos Stakes, a Grade 2 event that sends older horses ten furlongs on the grass. It is a race that Spanish Showboat had a lot of success in, winning the stake in both 2015 and 2016. Those wins make trainer Mb Stables the only trainer that has won this race more then once. He’ll have a chance to add to his total here in a race that has many good and successful horses, but is perhaps missing that headliner. Let’s take a look at this field!
#1- Five Civil Nations (Nakamura Stables, ridden by A T Gryder)- Starting on the rail, this horse will make his stake debut of any sort, and has a tough assignment in going up against experienced veterans. For his career, he’s won twice in nine starts, but has done a very good job overall of getting a piece of the purse. The question now is whether or not he can step up, and he will have to have a career best here to get a win, but I can certainly see him making a surprise appearance in the money at the end of the race.
#2- Magne Account (RNP Stables, ridden by J K Court)- The gritty gelding has won eight of 25 career starts, and two of them were pretty impressive at twelve furlongs, on the dirt. His win in the $100.000 Birdstone was impressive, though the follow up race, winning the $300.000 Grand Prix American JC is his biggest recent win. His other six wins are on the grass, so don’t be concerned about that part, although this is his first turf race since July. Likes to come from off the pace, but there are several here who may be trying to do the same thing.
#3- Face Your Fears (Mb Stables, ridden by E Maldonado)- Looks to give Mb Stables his third win in the stake, and a top three spot in this race will give Face Your Fears over $1,000.000 in career earnings. He was at his best in August and September last year, winning the $1,000.000 SAR Derby, and followed that up with a sharp second place finish in the Northern Dancer BC Turf. This got him in the BC Turf itself, but he’d only finish in the middle of the field. Won an optional claimer here a few weeks ago in his most recent race.
#4- Chaos Itself (Gdp Inc, ridden by T J Pereira)- If you’re looking for the horse in this field that is hot, then make Chaos Itself your pick. He looks for this fourth win in a row, and ever since he was in the Queens Plate he has been running great. Those four races were his return to the grass, but he has not really gone up against the strongest of fields. His toughest competition he has seen lately was the $100.000 ungraded Jerkens, but he does post strong SRF’s. Also, can win from coming from off the pace or running on the lead.
#5- Chayse (Crocker Ggs, ridden by G Franco)- This horse looks like a tough one to rely on, but he can show up and win a big one every now and then. A great example of that was the Grade 2 Nijinsky Stakes north of the border. He’s also had some duds lately, and while the Grade 1 Pattison was obviously a tough field, his eighth place finish in a state bred optional claimer just four starts ago was not as tough. He is due for that big race again, but I can’t put money on it.
#6- Call Me Spanish (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- The king of the turf has been living up to his reputation lately, and this seems to be a good spot for him to add to his accolades on the grass. He has one past San Marcos win, coming in 2017 with Cju. Call Me Spanish, unfortunately, has not been running too well of late, with three duds in his last four starts. That said, those three are all high profile races, including the BC Turf. He’ll be well rested here, and it’s never wise to completely bet against Maxmillion on the turf.
Prediction: 3-6-4-2
— NS
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES
