Santa Maria Stakes (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
SA- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
April 19, 2025
Only five horses would be entered into the Grade 2 Santa Maria Stakes, and the one we picked to win the race, High Voltage’s Spring Street would take care of business, going off at odds of 3/1, and winning by almost two full lengths. The betting public was actually very high on Balius, who was a 1/5 favorite on the morning line, though she would only end up third. The win for Spring Street gives High Voltage his first Santa Maria Stakes win, and that is also true for jockey D Van Dyke. Congratulations to them! The time of the race was 1:41.65, which is among the better winning times. Here’s a look at the race!
(1/4 Mile- :23.11)- Storming Sunset jumps out to an uncontested lead for Rock Creek, as she shows the way around the opening turn. Right behind her, the next three horses raced alongside one another initially, but Threshold’s Balius and South Beach Racing’s Jinxed Artist do pull away by a length from TwinTowersRacing’s In Progress after a quarter mile. The eventual winner from High Voltage, Spring Street, is at the back, five lengths from the lead, but no worry, this is how she likes to start it off.
(½ Mile- :46.87)- Not too much changes as we head down the backstretch, with Storming Sunset still leading by a length over Balius while Jinxed Artist is third on the rail. Running right behind them is In Progress, and at the back, Spring Street has not yet begun to make a move.
(Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Around the turn, Storming Sunset is still out in front, but she is feeling the heat from her rivals now. Jinxed Artist runs a beautiful line while holding tight to the rail around the turn, and is now second, within a neck of the leader, and Balius can’t be forgotten about on the outside. As this was going on, D Van Dyke told Spring Street that it was time to go, and he would get that response from her that he wanted. He would need to swing her out for wide to accomplish this, but she was gaining at a quick enough pace to get the job done. In Progress now trailed and lack response.
(Finish- 1:41.65)- Soon in the stretch, Jinxed Artist would take over the lead, and the big favorite on the board, Balius, was not able to keep up. Spring Street was coming on hard, and with a furlong to go, she was only a length back, giving her more than enough time to take the lead and go home with the win. And that’s exactly what would happen, as her all out drive was too much for Jinxed Artist, as she wins while pulling away. Her win is scored as being a length, but it was in reality it was more like two. Balius gets the third spot, over the fatigued Storming Sunset. In Progress was a non factor.
About The Winner- Spring Street, trained by High Voltage and ridden to victory by D Van Dyke, is a five year old mare by Miles Per Gallon and is out of Limonata. She was bred in California by London Racing as a third quarter two year old, and was acquired by High Voltage while she was still unraced for $140.000 in a October 2022 private sale. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her fifth in 23 starts, and her fourth stake win, all of which are graded. Her career earnings are now $891.600.
| ## | Horse Name | Owner Name | Jockey | Odds | Fin | Time | SRF | ||
| 3 | Spring Street | High Voltage | Van Dyke D | 3.00 | 11 | 1:41.65 | |||
| 1 | Jinxed Artist | South Beach Racing | Espinoza V | 3.20 | 21 | 1:42.00 | |||
| 4 | Balius | Threshold | Garcia Mar | 0.50 | 31/2 | 1:42.30 | |||
| 5 | Storming Sunset | Rock Creek | Valdivia J Jr | 47.50 | 41 | 1:42.41 | |||
| 2 | In Progress | TwinTowersRacing | Kimura K | 43.85 | 5 | 1:42.80 |
Track: Fast
Time: :23 :464 1:11 1:413
$2 Mutuel Prices:
| 3 – Spring Street | 8.00 | 3.90 | 2.10 |
| 1 – Jinxed Artist | 7.60 | 2.10 | |
| 4 – Balius | 2.10 |
$1 Exacta: 3 – 1 Paid 20.20
$1 Trifecta: 3 – 1 – 4 Paid 16.80
Scratched: None
— NS
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES
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