Makers Mark Mile (Grade 1)- $650.000 Purse
KEE- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on the Turf
April 11, 2025

Last year in the Makers Mark Mile, the rain came and left us with soft turf. It would not dampen the action on the track, as a close finish saw Jacks Courage and King Luka finish in a dead heat. Now, a little more has been added to purse, up by $50.000 to $650.000, and an attractive field of twelve will be taking part. There is a 52% chance of isolated showers for the track on Friday, so it’s anyone’s guess how virtual KEE will end up, but the race will again be a great one. Looking back at last year’s co-winners, the Mb Stables- trained Jacks Courage went on to have a great year, and just last week was second in the Grade 2 Carter Handicap on the dirt at AQU. King Luka, trained by Night Rider Stables, was not as fortunate, and has not won since this race last year. He did run third in the BC Mile, though, but for now you wonder if that was his last hurrah. Those two trainers are back, but with different horses this time around. Let’s take a look at those who will be loaded into the gate:

1- Absolutely Grande (Grimley, ridden by E J Zayas)- Since the end of 2023, this eight-year-old gelding has made just four starts, but has continued to run well when given the chance. Just two starts ago, he won the Grade 3 Arlington Stakes at CD against three others but would have an eight-month layoff after that. He didn’t look like himself at the FG Stakes in February, but maybe he just needed a race to shake off the rust. Might be tough to pick in this field, given the others have regularly been running, but Absolutely Grande should have a better race here than he did at FG. What will that mean in a strong field, however, is another story.

2- Winned (Team 7 Illusions, ridden by Mar Garcia)- After running in last year’s KYD, Winned successfully moved to the grass and has won three out of five races on the surface. Back in November, which is two starts ago for him, he would win the Grade 3 Commonwealth Turf, capping off a year where he won close to $2,000.000. Ran last month at SA, and struggled in the stretch, fizzling out to a fifth-place finish in the Kilroe Mile, but it was still good enough for his third straight triple digit SRF. He sees a few from the Kilroe Mile again here and will look to get redemption for it.

3- Jakarta (Nakamura Stables, ridden by A A Gallardo)- Etched his name into the history books by becoming a BC Mile champion last November. Since then, he has made two starts as a now seven-year-old gelding. It didn’t go well in the Pegasus World Cup Turf for him, but he effectively bounced back from that last time out in the Kilroe Mile, with a third place run and a 102 SRF in the process. It may or may not mean anything, but it seems as though when Jakarta does have a subpar outing, he starts from an outside post, and that’s not an issue here.

4- Grand Opening (Riggins Racing, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Starting right next to the defending BC Mile champion is the winner of the BC Turf. Grand Opening’s big BC win was a part of a stretch where he won four out of five, also including the AP Million. Last time out, he got another big win, coming in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf, and he has been idle since that race. While he is more commonly seen lately at longer distances, he has big wins at a mile as well, such as the WO Mile in 2023.

5- Jerk Pork (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by F Geroux)- Hopefully, he will not be intimidated by the two starting to his inside, and the two on the outside of him are also highly accomplished. In the middle of this, we have poor Jerk Pork, a winner of just one race out of twelve starts. On race day, he really hasn’t shown much since the trainer bought him in private sales, but in the morning, he’s been very impressive. If he can race to that work, he had at AQU last month, he can be right there with the big names. But it is time to show a little something on race day.

6- Wimbledon (Night Rider Stables, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- Held serve against Grand Opening in his last start, running second to him in the Pegasus World Cup Turf, his third consecutive runner up performance. The eight-year-old gelding has won fifteen times over 44 starts, but his lone graded win in that was the Grade 2 Fort Lauderdale Stakes in 2023. He’s a competitive sort and may be at his best right now. There’s a lot of big names that he has to take down in this in order to win, but he deserves the chance.

7- Albaquirky (Santan Stables, ridden by A Jimenez)- One of the true great of this division, and the pride of Santan Stables. The trainer has had a great run with him, as Albaquirky has earned over $3,800.000 for his career, making it a pretty nice $2.700 auction purchase back in June 2021. He would run third behind the dead heating winners of this race last year and later won the Grade 1 Manhattan before running third in the BC Turf. His two starts this year are concerning, I really hope for the trainer that it’s not the feared slowdown that will ultimately happen to everyone. His February work from GP is also concerning (only has one public work after that). Rooting for a massive bounce back here but can’t pick it.

8- Crickets (Martyparty, ridden by P Lopez)- Last year around this time, Crickets ran here for the BG Stakes, and won run second, sending him to the KYD. Ran in the middle of the pack in that and has not seen the dirt since then. In a year of turf racing now, Crickets has four wins and two seconds out of nine starts and would be seen in the BC Mile. Though that did not go well, he’s won two of three since but will need to be at his best here. Needs to duplicate his performance from the Grade 2 Mathis Brothers Stakes from December to have a shot here. Could happen, but I will look elsewhere.

9- Killer Instinct (Mb Stables, ridden by M Franco)- Next up, another giant will enter the starting gate in the form of Killer Instinct. This six-year-old by Fire N Fury ran second in the BC Turf last year, duplicating his performance in the same race from 2023. Now, he looks to return to that race to do one better and could use a big win right here. He was not his best for the Pegasus World Cup Turf, but was second last month in the SA Handicap, a Grade 1. He continues to make money but has only one win since the end of March last year. Is he due for a return to the winner’s circle?

10- Charlie Jace (Mb Stables, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- He doesn’t have the great history of his stablemate, but Charlie Jace did out run Killer Instinct back in January at the Pegasus World Cup Turf, coming from behind to finish fourth in that race. After that, he seemed poised to have a big run in the Kilroe Mile, but he simply did not get going there, disappointing many as the post time favorite. Despite running seventh, he still did get a 100 SRF out of it, and that race will go down as being a great one. Can’t get left in the back again, though.

11- Electric Blue (Spankys Barn, ridden by L Saez)- This preview has talked about the Kilroe Mile, which is a natural race to come right before that one. None of those horses already mentioned can say that they won that race, though, as Electric Blue scored the win, earning a 104 SRF along the way. He’s usually at the front at the end, with the lone recent exception being the BC Mile, which can be forgiven, and the Wise Dan, which can be thrown out based on results afterward. Electric Blue ran fifth in this race last year, being within a length, and may do even better in 2025.

12- Oh Brother (Spankys Barn, ridden by T Gaffalione)- “Oh Brother” is probably also what the trainer was saying when he saw the post draw, and this will be the second race in a row where he starts from the outside, and third time in the last five races. It didn’t bother him too much last month in the FG Stakes, where he was third, and prior to that, he was fifth in the BC Mile. With him, I worry about the occasional inconsistency that he shows. In a field not as loaded as this one, I could look past it, but in this BC-caliber field, it’s more of a concern.

Prediction: 4-2-9-3

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES