CD (Grade 1)- $1,000.000 Purse
CD- For Four Year Olds and Upward
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
May 3, 2025

Next up, it’s time to take a look at CD, a long sprint on the main track for older horses. This race first appeared on the schedule in 2004 as the CD Handicap, for a $200.000 purse. Three years later, the race would simply be known as the CD. Some big names that have won this race include Ljosalfar, as well as Shoot Skyhigh, who won twice. More recent winners include Residue and Gran Z. In 2024, it would be Dayton taking home the victory for Pan Farms in what was also the first year that the race ran for $1,000.000. Though Dayton is still active, the CD win seemed to take everything out of him, and he hasn’t been the same since. We have a strong field of thirteen looking to be the next name added to the winner’s list. Here’s a look at them:

1- Quiet Return (John Henry, ridden by F Pennington)- Two years ago on Derby Day, all eyes were on Quiet Return as he won the prestigious KYD. Now, his return on derby day is quieter, but he has still gone on to have a great career. That’s a career that had been with Allinthegate as his trainer up until February. It was then where he was sold to John Henry for $300.000 shortly after struggling in the Razorback Handicap. John Henry has started him once, in the OP Mile, where he didn’t beat anyone but was still just a length from the front. Still works well and has also raced well in recent sprinting chances. Can he have more KYD day glory?

2- Chisel (Pan Farms, ridden by M Franco)- Pan Farms will look to win the CD for the second year in a row, and he spent a lot of money to bring Chisel to his stable. That price was $1,300.000, which is certainly a gamble, but if you have that amount to use on such a purchase, Chisel makes plenty of sense. He’s won four of his last six, getting the Jerkens Memorial, BC Sprint, and Malibu, all Grade 1’s with Fractious, and then winning the Grade 3 Whitmore at OP in his current silks. I see absolutely no reason to be down on Chisel’s chances here of running a big one, if not winning.

3- I Want It All (Luz International, ridden by K Kimura)- After some hit and miss results in overnights, I Want It All was claimed by Luz International for $50.000, and then gelded soon after. Since then, he’s won two out of five, highlighted by the $225.000 Thanksgiving Classic at FG. The other three races see taking on much tougher company, but he did not cash a check in any of them. Having said that, he did turn in a 102 SRF in the Malibu. Works well, but this field could be a little too deep for him unless he is at his absolute best.

4- Lennon (Mb Stables, ridden by F Geroux)- This six-year-old gelding will be making his 38th career start, and the fourth for Mb Stables. The majority of his races and earnings came with Arindel, though that trainer sold him off while riding a four-race winning streak to Fractious. Fractious would be able to run him in the BC Sprint, but he otherwise did not do much in that barn. Whether or not he will do so with Mb Stables remains to be seen, as even though he is two for three since then, those victories were in mid-level open allowance, and he ran in the middle of the pack in the Razorback Handicap. We’ll truly see where he stands here, but I am going to pass.

5- Storm Water (Asgar, ridden by Ru Silvera)- This will be the biggest test of Storm Water’s career, but it is something that is well earned. Last time out, back in late February, he won the $125.000 GP Sprint Championship, which was his first stake attempt in over a year. A stretch of inconsistent results on the turf saw him return to the dirt this year, and he is 2-for-2 since then. Now, it’s his graded debut and the trainer will see how he measures up against the best of the division.

6- Guitars And Cadillac (Night Rider Stables, ridden by T Gaffalione)- The majority of this one’s career was spent on the grass, until he was claimed by Night Rider Stables for $15.000. He’d be brought along slowly on the dirt at first, but as Guitars And Cadillac began to show promise in LA-bred stakes, the assignments would get tougher. Last month, he shared the starting gate with Jacks Courage in the Grade 2 Carter Handicap and put in a career best effort, winning in the slop. We may be wet again here on Saturday, too.

7- Hurricane Ridge (The Sidley Stud, ridden by R M Hernandez)- The third horse in the field that ran in the BC Sprint for Fractious, and was sold afterward. Hurricane Ridge did not perform as well in that race as his former stablemates but has been good in his two races that have followed for The Sidley Stud. Ran second in the Grade 2 Toboggan at AQU prior to winning Grade 3 San Carlos Stakes with a wire-to-wire performance. Each of those races are seven furlongs, as well.

8- Licit (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by G Corrales)- This is a horse that typically puts in a solid effort every time he starts, and he finally got that signature win last time out in the $500.000 Grade 3 OP Mile. In his last four races, Licit has SRF’s of 100 or more in three of them, and also has a great performance from the Grade 1 Malibu that cannot be overlooked, where he ran third and within a length of the winner. The Toboggan is likely a throw out, and Licit should be in the mix again.

9- Edward The Good (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- BC Sprint runners weren’t the only thing that Fractious was selling in the December auction, as this BC Dirt Mile runner up would be sent to Mb Stables for $550.010 afterward. Soon after the sale, Mb entered him in the Grade 1 Malibu, where he was second best to Chisel. Going a little more than mile didn’t so much for him, but he rebounded with a win in the Grade 3 Commonwealth at KEE last month. Won the Grade 2 Day Mile here on Derby Day last year.

10- High Time (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by P Lopez)- Although this horse did have some big wins in his younger days, he really hit his best form following a win in the $100.000 Pelican last year. Since that point, he has four wins and his hit the board in seven out of eight races, with the biggest victory being that Grade 1 Crosby in July. It’s a shame that he did not run well in the BC Sprint, but everything around that shows him still being at his best. Ran second in the Grade 3 Palos Verdes Stakes and third in the Grade 3 Commonwealth thus far this year. Has a great history at CD (5-3-2-0), and did win in the slop here last year.

11- Dorian Gray (Mb Stables, ridden by D E Centeno)- Ran in this race last year, and at the time it was fresh off a win in the Carter Handicap. However, he did not run well here and after failing to cash in during his two races that followed, he was auctioned off for $70.000 in September. He’s made just three starts since with, with a lengthy layoff between August and December. Since then, he’s been better, but it will take a strong run in this race before we can say that he is truly back to his former self, even with the consecutive 100 SRF’s in his last two.

12- Nutmeg (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- Continues to have a long winless streak, with March 2023 being even further away with his latest miss in the OP Mile. When you are in this barn, it doesn’t necessarily if you stop winning, but if you continue to show competitive results, the trainer will keep you at the graded level. That’s what Nutmeg is doing, and he has had triple digit SRF’s in three of his last four and was fourth in the OP Mile. This field is too deep for me to put him in my picks, but he may get a piece of these purse. It’d be a nice way to snap a two-year-old winless streak, though.

13- Crush Rush (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by A Jimenez)- Coming from the outside, we get an additional horse that ran in the CD last year. For Crush Rush, he ran sixth, and that is the last time that he failed to get a piece of the purse for his trainer. He has two wins since then, highlighted by the Grade 1 Forego at SAR, and later on he missed the head bob at the wire to become a BC Sprint champion. Crush Rush has a lot of that type of result recently, where he has not won, but got his picture taken with the winner. So, with a little more racing luck, it’s not farfetched to say he could have twice as many earnings as his current $1,800.000-plus. He should add to that here and maybe get some revenge on Chisel in the process.

Prediction: 13-2-8-10

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES