The Pebbles (Grade 3)- $175.000 Purse
AQU- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile on the Inner Turf
November 16, 2025

Smokin Cherie entered the Pebbles a perfect 4-for-4 on the turf, all in her last four races, but she was still made a 20/1 longshot on the morning line as perhaps the odds makers questioned whether or not she wanted to run a mile. That would emphatically be answered on Sunday, as she would not only win, but do so by three lengths. We made her our second choice, though if we saw that morning line beforehand, we certainly would have had her on top. Her winning streak is now five, directly corresponding to when she was moved to the grass, making her a very interesting one to watch as time goes on. Her trainer is TwinTowersRacing, who wins the Pebbles for the first time. D Davis is the winning trainer, and it’s his third such win. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:32.93, and that is a new stake record. Let’s take a look at it!

(1/4 Mile- :23.40)- Our eventual race winner out of TwinTowersRacing, Smokin Cherie, goes right out to the lead from the starting gate, but will have some company out front as Riggins Racing’s Sune Lee is within a length to her inside. Behind them and stalking the pace, we have Maxmillion Farm’s Elegance Of Light, the one we actually did pick to win, running side by side with Spb Racing’s Tried N True. There’s a break of two to Fairy Godmother (Greyound), who is on the outside of Sophos (Nakamura Stables) and Hawaii (D J C Racing Stables).

(½ Mile- :46.60)- Down the backstretch, Smokin Cherie is able to get clear of Sune Lee and pull out right in front of her as she moves to the rail. Sune Lee remains in the second position but has Elegance Of Light now within a length to her outside. Tried N True runs behind them in them in the middle of the pack, and it’s still about two to Sophos, who’s now ahead of Fairy Godmother. Hawaii loses contact with them and now trails them all.

(Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go) Within the turn, Smokin Cherie says, “see ya” to the rest of the field, drawing away from all of her competition while entering the stretch with a commanding three length lead. Elegance Of Light inherits second as Sune Lee begins to tire but is nowhere near about to make a run on the leader. Tried N True keeps the same margin to those two, and Fairy Godmother makes an advance on the outside, passing Sophos. Hawaii is almost as far as away as the real Hawaii to the rest of the U.S. at this point.

(Finish- 1:32.93)- Will there be an unexpected ending here? Not at all, once they entered the stretch, Smokin Cherie had it in the bag, so even though she had not been at her best with going long on the main track, she showed she is perfectly comfortable doing so on the green. All that was left was to watch her run and wonder who would complete the exacta. It’ll go down as a three-length victory for Smokin Cherie, and perhaps a Grade 1 will be next for her. Fairy Godmother gets second by half a length over Elegance Of Light, and the best of the rest fourth place check goes to a distant Sophos. She’s followed by Tried N True, Sune Lee, and eventually, Hawaii.

About The Winner- Smokin Cherie, trained by TwinTowersRacing and ridden to victory by D Davis, is a three-year-old filly by Smokin Luka and is out of Hot Cherie. She was bred in California as a second quarter two-year-old by TwinTowersRacing, the only trainer for which she has ever known. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her sixth in 10 starts, her fifth consecutive, as well as being her second stake win, each of which are graded. Her career earnings are now $253.960.

Track: Firm
Time: :23²  :46³  1:09⁴  1:32⁴

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 6 – 5 Paid 33.40
$1 Trifecta: 6 – 5 – 7 Paid 56.80

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES