San Luis Rey Stakes (Grade 3)- $100.000 Purse
SA- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Half on the Turf
March 22, 2025

Life Is Beautiful seemed as though he would be a strong favorite for the San Luis Rey Stakes, and that is exactly how it would play out on the odds board. That would not mean anything when it came to the race itself, as 12/1 longshot Tom Kha Gai would steal the show and grab the winner’s share of the purse for himself. We did have Tom Kha Gai as one of our picks, so if Life Is Beautiful was going to go down, it was not a shock that the High Voltage gelding was the one that did it. For the trainer, this is his first win in the San Luis Rey Stakes, and that is also true for jockey J Valdivia Jr. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 2:23.44, the third fastest in the history of the race and second fastest if you want to take into consideration that the stake record time was from a winner carrying 113 pounds. Let’s take a look at how it happened!

(½ Mile- :47.43)- Our eventual winner, Tom Kha Gai, is the quickest out of the gate, and the High Voltage entry looks to clear the field by a length as they complete the downhill portion. However, on the frontstretch, Double Jump, trained by Team 7 Illusions, would move forward and claim the top spot after a mile, keeping us from saying Tom Kha Gai led wire to wire. Life Is Beautiful is in a good spot here, running third on the rail for Riggins Racing, and to his outside are Buffalo G (Nakamura Stables) and Extreme Super Hero (Mb Stables). Thirsty Bo (Bigchief Stables) runs by himself in sixth, a length ahead of Ziccio (Night Rider Stables) and Feel The Attraction (Arindel). Then, it’s Calling All Angels (D J C Racing Stables) and Well Done (Team 7 Illusions) running side by side. Trailing are Power Trip (Rock Creek), then Rare Truth (TwinTowersRacing).

(3/4 Mile- 1:11.61)- Tom Kha Gai reclaims the top spot right as they hit the wire the first time, and is a half a length in front of Double Jump entering the turn. They’re lined up single file for the next four positions, with Life Is Beautiful being ahead of Buffalo G, Extreme Super Hero, and Thirsty Bo. Feel The Attraction and Ziccio still run together, as do Well Done and Calling All Angels. Power Trip and Rare Truth remain at the back.

(Top of Stretch, 1.6F To Go)- Tom Kha Gai likely won this race in the backstretch, as he is not content to just ride out this portion, and puts away Double Jump. More importantly, during this period of time, he puts quite a bit of daylight between he and Life Is Beautiful, now leading that one by two lengths as they start to move around the final turn. Within the turn, Tom Kha Gai is able to maintain this advantage, and as Life Is Beautiful starts to become the clear second place horse, he still needs to work on that two length deficit to Tom Kha Gai. Buffalo G is doing well to hang with him in the third spot. Double Jump has dropped to fourth, and about to passed by Thirsty Bo. Extreme Super Hero, who was the second choice of the public, began to back out. Well Done was advancing a bit, and now running almost evenly with Feel The Attraction and Ziccio. None of Calling All Angels, Power Trip, or Rare Truth had done much of note.

(Finish- 2:23.44)- With a furlong to go, the race seemed to be in the bag for Tom Kha Gai, but High Voltage wasn’t going to start celebrating quite yet, knowing who was back there. Soon enough, it would become evident that there was no one about to catch his horse, and indeed, Tom Kha Gai goes on to win by a little over a length. Life Is Beautiful is second over Buffalo G, a length ahead of a fourth place photo that saw Thirsty Bo hold off Well Done and Ziccio. The second half of the field will read Feel The Attraction, Power Trip, Calling All Angels, Double Jump, Rare Truth, and Extreme Super Hero.

About The Winner- Tom Kha Gai, trained by High Voltage and ridden by J Valdivia Jr, is a five year old gelding out of Just You Wait and is out of Highly One. He was bred in California by Acber Farms as a yearling, and was acquired by High Voltage for $125.000 in a September 2022 private sale. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his sixth in 28 starts, his fourth stake win and first graded win. His career earnings are now $457.380.

Track: Firm
Time: :47²  1:11³  1:59²  2:23²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 11 – 1 Paid 37.60
$1 Trifecta: 11 – 1 – 6 Paid 134.10

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES