The Dinner Party Stakes (Grade 2)- $250.00 Purse
LRL- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Turf
May 16, 2026

A great day of racing has come to an end at LRL, and it will be remembered for Gogh Wild’s big win in the PRK and the discussions that will follow as to whether or not he can become a TC winner. Right before that race, we had the Dinner Party Stakes, with six talented turf horses searching for the $250.00 purse. It would be a very tight photo at the wire, and it would be Tom Kha Gai getting the win for High Voltage. We were admittedly turned off by his last two races, and Saturday’s win is certainly a big bounce back for him. The win is the first in the race for both High Voltage and jockey J Lezcano. Congratulations to them! The winning race time was 1:45.30, which due to being a different track, cannot fairly be compared to previous editions. Here’s a look at it!

(½ Mile- :47.02)- Out of the starting gate, it would be the Nakamura Stables- trained Neon Lightning running side by side with Winning Link Stables’ Gatorbyte around the opening turn. After a half mile, it would be Gatorbyte with the edge by half a length. Running third on the outside, a length back would be Central Hawkes Bay, for Czech Out Farms. Tucked in close to the rail will be our eventual winner from High Voltage, Tom Kha Gai, who’s about two lengths from the front. Side Eye (Mb Stables) is next in line, while Whoa Bo (Maxmillion Farm) trails the field.

(3/4 Mile- 1:10.40)- Gatorbyte is now all by himself on the front end, entering the turn leading by a length. Neon Lightning is still second for now, and the previously running third place horse, Central Hawkes Bay, seems to have called it a day already. Tom Kha Gai inherits the third spot with that one dropping back but has not made a push on the top two as of yet. Further back, Side Eye had to move over a lane to keep from running into Central Hawkes Bay, and the post-time favorite Whoa Bo has not shown why that’s the case as of yet.

(Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Gatorbyte is comfortable rounding the turn and enters the stretch in good form. His lead is a length and a half, but Tom Kha Gai is not going to let him get away, as he is able to maintain his gap to the frontrunner. While still on the rail, he’s in a great position to strike. Neon Lightning is still third but doesn’t appear to have anything for the top two. It’s another length to Side Eye, who needs to take a wide trip into the stretch in order to make a run. Whoa Bo passes Central Hawkes Bay at the back but still has not shown much interest.

(Finish- 1:45.30)- With a furlong to go, Tom Kha Gai has been eating into Gatorbyte’s lead just enough to where a tight finish seemed to be in order. Side Eye, despite needing to work around Neon Lightning, was coming on strong as well and as we got closer to the wire, it could be any of these three horses. They’re three wide at the line, and we’d get that photo finish. It would show that Tom Kha Gai got up just in time, getting the head bob on Gatorbyte for the win, while beating Side Eye by a neck. Whoa Bo got close enough to be seen in this photo and settles for fourth. Neon Lightning and Central Hawkes Bay round it out.

About The Winner- Tom Kha Gai, trained by High Voltage and ridden to victory by J Lezcano, is a six-year-old gelding by Just You Wait and is out of Highly One. He was bred in California as a yearling by Acber Farms and was acquired by High Voltage for $125.00 in a September 2022 private sale. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his seventh in 37 starts, his sixth stake win and second graded win. His career earnings are now $971.38.

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES