The Gold Cup (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
SA- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Quarter on the Dirt
May 26, 2025

We will be treated to some great horses on Monday that will be racing in the Grade 2 Gold Cup, including none other than Spankersville, who will make his fourth start of 2025. He is just one part of a great field of ten, that will also see the likes of Wahpekute Sioux, Individuation, Hiei, and others looking to steal the show! This is the 22nd running of the race, but unfortunately the purse is not what it once was. $200.000 represents a new low for the Gold Cup. It was once as high as $750.000 back in the days of Icicle and Barbarino, each of whom won the race twice. Also, a two-time winner is Tactical, a list that Spankersville, who on the race last year, could join on Monday. Here’s a look at the field:

1- Fried Chicken (Angelos Stable, ridden by J Valdivia)- Angelos struck gold with this one when he picked up for $16.000 in a maiden claimer, and Fried Chicken only continued to grow in his new barn. He’s since won four times in six starts, and his career best was last time out in the Grade 3 Ali at KEE where he came from off the pace to win (in a dead heat) and earn a 101 SRF in the process. Now, he gets to take on more of the best and the timing is perfect. Works well and will not be in awe of his competition.

2- Spankersville (The Sidley Stud, ridden by M Franco)- One of the best active horses in the game right now, if not the very best. Last year, he did win the Gold Cup as one of his six wins in eight starts for the year. As we know, he won the big one last fall, taking the BC Classic, which was at the time also his fourth of four wins in a row, a stretch that also included the better Gold Cup, the $1,000.000 JC Gold Cup at SAR. His seven-year-old season has seen him win once in three starts, and if you read above, you saw that Fried Chicken won the Ali in a dead heat last month. The one that joined him at the line? That was Spankersville.

3- Officer Chaimura (Asgar, ridden by E Maldonado)- Won three in a row in late 2024, capped off by the Grade 3 ONT Derby in October. He’s run three times since then, with solid results, being within a length of the winner in a fourth place run at the Grade 3 Hooper and then running second at the Grade 3 Challenger Stakes. This makes him a great horse for a $200.000 graded race, but unfortunately for him, he’s ended up in a very deep, Grade 1 caliber field. It’s not out of the question that he could surprise this group, but it would take a career best effort. Could end up getting a piece of the purse if things go his way.

4- Wahpekute Sioux (Mb Stables, ridden by P Lopez)- In his great career, Wahpekute Sioux has won over $4,500.000 and beat all but one horse in the BC Classic last fall. So far in his five-year-old season, he has been under the radar, making just two starts and they were simply open allowances. Not that there is anything wrong with that, as many factors go into the decision, but when he only ran sixth at TUP, some eyebrows were raised. Bounced back well in a CD allowance, but is everything back to normal for him to where he can knock off Spankersville and the rest of these?

5- Strong Style (SamIam, ridden by A Castellanos)- Since the beginning of 2024, Strong Style has never failed to finish in the top three. In his last seven starts, he has four wins, including a five-length rout last time out. The problem is that we’re not talking about graded races here. The win last month was a TUP open allowance, and outside of a couple smaller ungraded races where he also ran very well, he’s mainly been an allowance horse. Let’s note though that he did run in that same TUP allowance Wahpekute Sioux was sixth in and was third in that race. It’s good to see him get this test, and we can probably expect him to be on or near the front right from the start.

6- Individuation (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- This will be the 33rd career start for the 2022 BC Classic winner, a horse that has amassed over $8,400.000 in earnings. His best days could be behind him since he has not won since March 2024, a stretch of nine starts, but he is still running well. His two starts this year have been in handicaps, which makes sense, and he was third in the SA Handicap here in March then second in the OP Handicap. In his last four starts, he has SRF’s of 100 or more in three of them, so he’s capable of snapping out of his winless streak at any time. It should be mentioned somewhere, too, that Mb Stables is a six-time winner of this race.

7- Dr Pepper (Keikowin Racing, ridden by D Van Dyke)- This past Monday, Dr Pepper got everyone’s attention with a highly impressive mile work, now the question will be whether or not he can translate that into a race the following Monday. For now, Dr Pepper is primarily a horse that has had steady success in overnights, and he has looked good in each of his last two starts. At WO last month, he picked up his third career win, also while running ten furlongs. The time is now to see if he can beat some of the best out there.

8- Hiei (Pan Farms, ridden by M E Smith)- It was in 2023 when this horse had everyone’s attention, winning both the BEL and the Haskell, and then a couple starts afterward, grabbing the victory in the Grade 1 Awesome Again. He almost became a BC Classic winner as well but settled for third in that race that year. That gave him a hard act to follow as a four-year-old, and while he didn’t quite have as good of a year, he still managed a Pacific Classic win to get into the BC Classic. He wasn’t as good in that and was later sold to Pan Farms for $350.000. He hasn’t made anything in his two starts this year, and another tough race may lead to a red flag as to whether or not his best days are behind him.

9- General Zod (Royalty Stables, ridden by B Curtis)- After finishing his three-year-old campaign on good form and a second-place effort here in the Grade 2 Pincay Stakes right after Christmas, General Zod has struggled with his consistency in 2025. A strong second in the Grade 3 KY Cup Classic at TP is sandwiched between a couple of ninth place duds. While those two races were against stronger company, he’s facing that type of field here as well. If he can bring his best effort, he has a chance, but I can’t trust him right now to do that.

10- Galapagos (Night Rider Stables, ridden by V Espinoza)- Galapagos has often been seen in races around the $200.000 purse level, and typically this would be more of the same for him in that regard. He’s overshadowed here, but certainly capable. This is his first time running ten furlongs, but I do like how he has run at a mile and an eighth to be excited about seeing how he might fare here with the added distance. He can have his inconsistent moments, too, and this cannot be one of those days. Could get a piece of this.

Prediction: 2-4-10-6

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES