The Apple Blossom Handicap (Grade 1)- $1,250.000 Purse
OP- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
April 12, 2025

Outside of the races that are meaningful for the KYD, the Apple Blossom Handicap may be the biggest race that is held at OP. It attracts some of the best female horses every year and offers a large purse for them. In 2024, that purse saw an additional increase, to the present $1,250.000 level and that is what it will be again. Looking back at past winners, the late Sarong was a two-time winner, doing so in both 2012 and 2013. Toleration and Shining Moments also picked up Apple Blossom Handicap trophies. Last year’s winner was Chica Lugo, for Panionios Racing. She was sold shortly after and now races for Mb Stables. She’s run well since then but has not earned another win. As this is a handicap, weights need to be looked at closely, and we see that most of the field carries somewhere between 115 and 118 pounds. Then, we have Starting Over, who carries 123 pounds. Let’s take a closer look at her and the rest of the field:

1- Foxy Envoy (Arindel, ridden by E J Zayas)- After spending the majority of his racing career with Sim Speed Stable, Arindel claimed him for $75.000 in January with visions of turning this mare who had done well in ungraded stakes in the past into a graded runner. It’s worked out well so far, running second in the Grade 3 Royal Delta and then third in the Grade 1 Beholder at SA. She’ll only have to carry 116 pounds for this race, so this is a great opportunity for her. Foxy Envoy knows how to win, with 11 victories over 31 races.

2- Present Tense (Mb Stables, ridden by T Gaffalione)- Present Tense makes her second trip to the Apple Blossom, having also run in this race back in 2023. None of her over $2,300.000 in career earnings came from that race, however. Two-time BC Distaff winner, and a BC Juvenile Fillies winner, we could talk a while about past accolades, but moving on to the present tense for her, she’ll need to be better than she was here in the Azeri BC last month. We could blame the mud, but she’s otherwise been good on off tracks. I’d anticipate a bounce back from her here. She carries 117 pounds.

3- Jawaher (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by F Pennington)- This four-year-old filly by Dubawi has gotten plenty of opportunities to win a graded race, but her claim to fame so far is her win in the $125.000 Glorious Song back in 2023. She’s won two out of four, going wire to wire in a three-horse field in a HOU allowance two back. Against more competition, she was third in an optional claimer after that and jumps into this race from that. The likely longshot carries 116 pounds.

4- Starting Over (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by R M Hernandez)- The Apple Blossom is a great race, and I’m glad we’re getting a horse of Starting Over’s stature in this field. Sure, she will have to carry 123 pounds, which is a considerable disadvantage for her, and any wagering decisions concerning her will be based on that, not her past accolades. Only Present Tense can come close to her past achievements, as Starting Over has won over $3,800.000 for her career, including the Personal Ensign in back-to-back years. She’s not a BC Distaff winner but was within a length of winning that in each of the last two years. Won the HOU Ladies Classic two starts ago, making the only question about her how she’ll handle the weight. Present Tense carrying six less pounds is not ideal for her.

5- Barossa Valley (Mo Mentum Farm, ridden by T Conner)- I’ll venture to guess that her $770.000-plus in earnings has been done without a lot of fanfare. Barossa Valley has been good, winning eight times over 17 starts, and that includes her last two races, which are each of the ungraded variety. Overall, she has three such wins, but as she has not been in many graded races, and especially not one like the Apple Blossom, she’s not a greatly known commodity outside her own barn. That can change right here and now, in perhaps an overdue chance to run in a Grade 1. She’ll carry 117 pounds.

6- Red High Heels (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by Mar Garcia)- It’s a big opportunity for her as she shares the starting gate with stablemate Starting Over, probably for the first time. She’s had her share of graded races, and did win the Grade 2 Locust Grove in September. Unfortunately for the trainer, her two graded races after that have not gone well, and she was third last time in a stake-quality field in an open allowance. Carries 117 pounds, but I prefer others in this field.

7- Moment To Reflect (Threshold, ridden by B Curtis)- Back in February, Moment To Reflect knocked off Present Tense in an open allowance at GP, showing the trainer that she should return to graded races. Next time out, she was entered into the Grade 1 Beholder Mile, where she may not have seen Present Tense again, but she would go up against a few others that she runs against here. She was second in the Beholder Mile but beat those she sees here in that race. This is a horse that I am high on, and believe she is going to continue to have a great year. Winning the Apple Blossom, where she carries 118 pounds, would confirm that confidence.

8- Old Mexico (Mo Mentum Farm, ridden by T W Bacon)- This is the low weight in the field, carrying just 115 pounds. Since she ran in the Test last summer, Old Mexico has been at her best, finishing somewhere in the top four in every race. She has one stake win in that stretch, which came against NM-breds in the $150.000 NM Claddic Distaff. Mostly been a sprinter for her career and gets the test of her life here. I prefer her stablemate.

9- Shining At Knight (Our Athletes, ridden by F Prat)- She certainly has a very interesting last four races. In that period, in three races, she was never better than eighth and lost by a combined 24 lengths. In the other race, which by the way was only the BC Distaff, she was third and only missed by a length. Her works are still good, and I believe she does still have it in her to duplicate that BC Distaff run, but it’s still hard to pick it to happen. Carries 118 pounds in this race.

Prediction: 2-7-4-5

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES