The Vanderbilt Handicap – (Grade ll)

Purse $400.00 – For Four Year Olds And Upward
6 Furlongs – Dirt
Saratoga – July 25, 2026

Sprinting for only the third time in 30 lifetime starts, Schopenhauer notched his third graded stakes score in the 23rd edition of The Vanderbilt Handicap! Despite spending the majority of his career around two turns, the cutback in distance proved to be no obstacle as he put together a top-class performance. Maxmillion Farm now owns three victories in The Vanderbilt Handicap after winning the race in back-to-back years. That victory moves the stable into a tie with Mb Stables atop the all-time owner leaderboard! Schopenhauer stopped the clock for six furlongs in 1:08.50, shaving .02 seconds off last year’s winning time. The seven-year-old also boosted his lifetime earnings to $1,064.80. It’s also worth mentioning that this son of Spiral Out Keepgoing became the oldest horse to win this race since its inception in 2004. A big congratulations to the connections on an impressive victory!

Winner: Schopenhauer – (Maxmillion Farm, Mar. Garcia) Breaking from the gate at 19-1, it was unclear what type of effort this gelding was going to put together sprinting for just his third time. Jockey Martin Garcia got Schopenhauer to contend with the early pace down the backside with Valyrian Needle to the inside and Derby Dreams to the outside. He started to make his move passing the 5/16 pole and didn’t put his head in front until the field reached the top of the stretch. This California-bred continued to kick away down the lane, drifting out a touch with rivals closing from behind. Schopenhauer ended up holding on at the wire to win by a neck. Well done!

Second Place: Hard Worker – (The Sidley Stud, R M. Hernandez) Connections made a late jockey change on this five-year-old gelding from Jose Ortiz to Rafael Hernandez. Hard Worker stayed true to his name, extending his perfect in-the-money record in dirt sprints. The biggest start of his career brought out another quality effort. The son of Workload wasn’t too sharp out of the gate, settling two lengths off the pace in sixth down the backside. Hard Worker got in a comfortable rhythm all the way until the quarter pole when he started to launch his bid between horses. He closed extremely well down the stretch, but unfortunately could not catch the winner.

Third Place: Star Vault – (Mb Stables, D E. Centeno) With only one previous sprint under his belt in more than 20 career starts, he once again handled the shorter trip well. Star Vault broke in good order and jockey Daniel Centeno put his horse off the pace in fourth down the backside. With early fractions of 21.98 and 44.83, the son of Sinissippi Star was waiting patiently for his time to pounce on the leaders. He started to cut down the margin passing the 5/16 pole with a clear running lane in front of him. Down the stretch, this gelding had every chance to show his turn of foot, but he just couldn’t kick away as fast as Hard Worker and Schopenhauer.

Fourth Place: High Time – (Maxmillion Farm, Jam. Rodriguez) This seasoned Grade One winner was the second entrant for Maxmillion Farm. Connections were looking for this California-bred to step up after dead heating in an open allowance last time out. High Time didn’t show much speed from the gate and got in a comfortable rhythm in last place down the backside. He was about 4-5 lengths back, but thankfully there was a quick pace upfront. Jockey Jamie Rodriguez didn’t start asking this gelding to go until the field reached the quarter pole. There was no room to close, so High Time closed eight-wide in the stretch to finish fourth! Definitely not the best trip.

– AJM

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES