The Metropolitan Handicap (Grade 1) (BC)- $1,000.000 Purse
SAR- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Dirt
June 7, 2025

Next up on the SAR schedule on Saturday will be The Metropolitan Handicap, another race that awards an automatic spot into the BC in five months, this one for the Dirt Mile. This is a race that saw the great Alpha Ultimo capture three of the first four editions, and more recently saw So Profound go back-to-back in 2020 and 2021. The purse did peak at $1,250.000 for a little while, but there is nothing wrong with a cool $1,000.000 at stake for the game’s best dirt milers. Weights carried for this race are primarily between 117 and 119 pounds, but will go as high as 122, which we’ll talk more about in the run through the field. Not a part of the field is the 2024 winner, Domiano, a horse that was recently retired and already producing a few horses that have raced. Here’s a look at those that are taking part:

1- Parisian Arrow (Asgar, ridden by Ru Silvera)- Looking to make his dad, So Profound, proud and get himself a Metropolitan Handicap win. However, winning is something that Parisian Arrow has not done a lot of, with just two wins in fifteen starts. The last time he did win was three starts ago, in the $100.000 Ontario Stakes for ON Breds, in a field of five where Asgar had three runners. He has not been consistent enough in his non-wins for me to find him that appealing here, but maybe Dad’s Metropolitan Handicap magic can spark him to a win.

2- Bad Debt (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by P Lopez)- Last year’s KYD winner ran here in the Travers later in the summer in what was his first run in D J C silks, and placed fifth. Won the OK Derby afterward, but following that, the results have not been there. Struggled in the BC Classic, which can always be forgiven, but didn’t show a ton in the two races that followed. Sending him to the optional claimer six weeks ago at KEE was a good move from my perspective, and his wire-to-wire win showed that he still has it. Now, the hope is for him to prove that to graded competition again.

3- Crush Rush (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by A Jimenez)- Last fall, Crush Rush ran in the BC Sprint and nearly came away with the win, but lost the head bob at the wire. It was part of a great that included two wins here at the Spa: in the Forego and the True North. Didn’t look good last month in the Grade 1 CD, but he’s been consistent enough for me to forgive that and throw it out. Adds a little bit of distance here, and as he’s been fine at seven furlongs, there’s no reason to be worried about that. Could have chosen the True North again, but this purse is more appealing, and he should be fine at a mile.

4- Inglourious Bastards (Royalty Stables, ridden by D Davis)- Claimed by the trainer for $25.000 in February, and had been passed around in claimers a few times before that as well. Royalty Stables had different plans, running him in an open allowance right away that he won, and the entering him in the $200.000 Knicks Go, where he was second in the slop. Good to see him get the chance, and he may be a testament for how tough high-level claimers really are. In this field, though, I still need to see it first. Big difference between the Knicks Go and the Metropolitan Handicap.

5- Good Memories (Mb Stables, ridden by M Franco)- His name is applicable to what he did on this track last year at this time, winning the BEL by a length. That’s also the last time he has won a race, though he has been competitive still, including finishing third in the BC Classic. If you can do that, then obviously you can still get it done. However, the concern comes after, as following a dud in the Pegasus World Cup, Good Memories underachieved in an optional claimer in March before being better in such a race a month later.

6- Quiet Return (John Henry, ridden by M E Smith)- Another former TC winner will enter the gate with Quiet Return, who won the KYD in 2023. His change to sprinting began around this time last year, and after winning the Nerud and running second in the Crosby, he got into the BC Sprint, a race that he was third in while getting his picture taken with the winner. This year, he found himself sold to John Henry for $225.000 and has been going a mile or a little more over his last four. SRF’s have continued to be strong.

7- Licit (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by D E Centeno)- His SRF’s have also been really good, scoring triple digit figures in four of his last five races. There’s one win in the mix, but it was a good one: the Grade 3 OP Mile in late March. He’s often been near the front and was in a dead heat for fourth with Quiet Return in the Grade 1 CD last month. Always seems to go off at a high price, so if that happens again here, it’s advised to take a shot with him. Licit is typically always close and should be again.

8- On Schedule (Mb Stables, ridden by R M Hernandez)- Around this time last year, On Schedule won the Grade 3 Sexton Mile, and while he still ran well in the next start, the Nerud, he went through a stretch where he simply ate up a bunch of nomination fee. This included the BC Dirt Mile in November, where he was beaten by five lengths. Needing a refresher, On Schedule was sent to an open allowance at LS six weeks ago where he went wire to wire. We’ll find out here if that straightened him out.

9- Tetris (Ajm Stables, ridden by T Conner)- The gelding has won his last two, first capturing an optional claimer at KEE six weeks ago before heading to CD for the $200.000 Knicks Go, where he won by a length. Overall, Tetris has usually picked up a piece of the purse, and while with Ajm Stables, those have mainly been in ungraded races. The Knicks Go was also the first time that he went long while on the dirt, so we may be just finding out where Tetris fits in this puzzle.

10- Charming Man (Rock Creek, ridden by P Husbands)- Won two out of nine races last year, highlighted by the WV Governors Stakes (Grade 3) at MNR in August. That and running third in the Grade 2 Lukas Classic would be enough to get him into the BC Dirt Mile, which was his first race for Rock Creek. His performances as a five-year-old have been hit and miss in his new silks, and he’ll need to find his Challenger Stakes side here.

11- Baffert (Royalty Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- In a field with a few winners of TC races, Baffert can almost fit in with them, since he finished as the runner up here in the BEL, and cashed a check in all three TC races. Given that, it’s really unbelievable that we’re still talking about the BC Juvenile as the last time that he won a race. I credit Royalty Stables immensely for not dropping him out of top ranks, when you’ll see others perhaps look for an allowance as a confidence booster for the horse. Until he does win again, Baffert will never have to worry about carrying a high weight in a handicap, so this really seems like a good spot for him. So, too, did the OP Handicap last time out, where he struggled.

12- Lennon (Mb Stables, ridden by J Lezcano)- This will be the 39th start for the six-year-old gelding, and he hopes it will result in his ninth win. Lennon ran in the BC Sprint for Fractious last fall and would be auctioned off to Mb Stables for $170.010 in December. Since then, he has run four times, looking good in allowances but not so much in graded races. He’ll only carry 117 pounds here, so has that in his favor. He’s in the right barn to turn it around at this level, but I am not going to pick that to happen in this race.

13- All Take (Alydar Stables, ridden by B Curtis)- Here’s another former TC winner in the race, as All Take captured the win in the 2022 PRK. Sure, that was a long time ago, but he fits right in with the other TC winners here. So far in his six-year-old season, the gelding has been taking a lot of victories, with three in four races. The most recent such win was an impressive wire to wire effort in the Grade 2 New Orleans Classic down at FG. A three-race win streak ended in the mud last time out. All Take is the high weight in the field, carrying 122 pounds, and B Curtis has become his regular rider.

14- Mr Toxic (Spankys Barn, ridden by T Gaffalione)- In 15 starts, Mr Toxic has only won once, and has only hit the board five times: results that are not going to intimidate anyone in this field. But you have to wonder if he’s a new horse, as around November, he’s become a lot more productive. Spankys Barn has been giving him regular stakes appearances, and each of his last three races have seen him be within a length of the winner. Eventually, he will have his day in the winner’s circle again at that rate. Works well, and as long as he doesn’t mind starting from the outside, he can be near the front again.

Prediction: 7-11-2-13

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES