The Phipps Stakes (Grade 1) (BC)- $500.000 Purse
SAR- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
June 6, 2025

It’s time to head to SAR for the BEL racing festival! The excitement will begin earlier in the week, and as we move into Friday, we will have the 20th running of the Phipps Stakes, a Grade 1 with significant BC implications. When the race was moved to the Spa last year, the race would become a little longer, going at a mile and an eighth. Winning that race was Starting Over, and now the TwinTowersRacing mare will be looking to defend that title! In her way are six rivals, and there are no soft spots anywhere in this field. This should be a great race, and hopefully the weather will cooperate. If you live anywhere near upstate New York, you know that weekends up here have been rainy time and time again. Enough about that, let’s get to the Phipps:

1- Starting Over (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by R M Hernandez)- This mare truly loves the dirt track at SAR. Not only did she win the Phipps last year, she would later win the Personal Ensign here in August, giving her back-to-back wins in that race! She’s a perfect 3-for-3 on the dirt here, and she has also tried the Diana twice on the turf: winning that as well in 2023 but was not as fortunate last year. Later in the year, she did run second in the BC Distaff, which is the second time that she has hit the board in that race. She’s raced three times this year, with no bad efforts, and that’s highlighted by winning the HOU Ladies Classic. I like a horse for the course, and Starting Over is that at SAR so far. Expect her best effort here.

2- Shining At Knight (Our Athletes, ridden by F Geroux)- Finished second to Starting Over in the Phipps last year, and now the post draw makes these two wear their finishing position in that race. There was a two-length separation between them there. Shining At Knight won her next race, the Grade 2 DEL Handicap, but has been winless ever since. She did run in the BC Distaff in the fall and again finished one spot behind Starting Over. Every now and then, she will have a true head scratcher of a race where she is soundly defeated but does seem to be able to bounce back from that. Fourth last time out in a strong field at the Derby City Distaff (Grade 1) at CD last month.

3- Old Mexico (Mo Mentum Farm, ridden by Ru Silvera)- Stunned the field last time out as a 31/1 longshot in the Apple Blossom Handicap from OP. In that, she came from well off the pace to get the win, but does not necessarily have to use that tactic, though I would be surprised if she did not. She beat Starting Over there (by less than a length) but also had the luxury of an eight-pound weight allowance to that one, something that will not be the case here. After that win, she deserves nothing but the best placement, and she has run very well since the last time she was on this track at the Test last August.

4- Ragnar (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by P Lopez)- In 17 starts, Ragnar has hit the board eleven times, and that encompasses several Grade 3’s, but she is still looking for her first graded win. The last time she was in such a race was in February, for the Grade 3 Bayakoa, and was fifth at OP that day. Afterwards, she was dropped a bit and was most recently third in a five-horse optional claimer at CD five weeks ago. Others are more appealing.

5- Spring Street (High Voltage, ridden by D Van Dyke)- Her 23 race career has seen a couple of trips to SAR, and neither time did she come away with any sort of earnings, though that Test race in 2023 must’ve been something. She’s run well in her last four, with a pair of wins, including the Grade 2 Santa Maria Stakes at SA last time out. There’s one subpar outing mixed in with that, and Spring Street can be susceptible to the occasional clunker. While she’s been successful in general, Grade 1’s have not been her strong suit. I like the form she is on to change that fact with a positive result here.

6- Hobo Blues (Alydar Stables, ridden by V Espinoza)- Made three starts here last year, with a best finish of second in the Grade 1 Alabama. After she left, things did not go well against some of the best competition in the division, as she was last in the BC Distaff Preview (aka the Cotillion at PRX), and then twelfth in the BC Distaff itself. She’d have a long layoff after that, and while she may have just needed the race at SA, she bounced back in a big way to win the La Troienne in the mud at CD. Now, she’ll hope to follow that up nicely here.

7- Wasted Away (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- The winner of the BC Distaff last fall will also make her way here, giving us all three of the top finishers from that race running in the Phipps. But this time of year, last year, when we were talking about Wasted Away, we were talking about her win in the KYO, and here at the Spa she would run second in the Acorn a month later. Then, came a win in the CCA Oaks. Interestingly, those would be the only three races she would run for her prior trainer, Fractious, as that one sold her to Mb Stables for $1,250.000. She continued to be great, winning the Alabama and the Beholder Mile in addition to the BC Distaff. Her last run saw her place second in the La Troienne. Her track record at SAR is excellent, and that should continue here.

Prediction: 1-7-2-5

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES