The Phipps Stakes (Grade 1) (BC)- $500.000 Purse
SAR- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
June 6, 2025

Wasted Away likes it here at SAR, as last year’s KYO winner would finish second in the Acorn, before winning both the CCA Oaks and the Alabama right here at the Spa. Now, she was back on the track again that she has had much success on, and in a very close finish, she would hang on to get the win. This victory is the eighth of her career, and three of them are now at SAR. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of her right here over the next couple months. It’s her fourth win for Mb Stables, as she makes that $1,250.000 investment in her continue to pay off. Mb Stables is now a three time Phipps winner, with the previous victories coming in 2020 (Cannolo) and 2022 (Fashionable). The winning jockey is J R Velazquez, his second straight win in the Phipps, and sixth in total. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:48.28, not quite as fast as last year, but all that was needed. Let’s look at it now!

(½ Mile- :46.87)- Our eventual winner from Mb Stables, Wasted Away, is not wasting any time as she surges out of the gate and is determined to put some distance on the rest of the field. Into the clubhouse turn, she has already pulled out to a two length advantage. Shining At Knight, who is on the rail for Our Athletes, is in the second position while having Hobo Blues right beside her for Alydar Stables. There’s about another two lengths to the next two horses, as TwinTowersRacing’s Starting Over runs side by side with the D J C Racing Stables- trained Ragnar. Old Mexico is next, and the Mo Mentum Farm filly is seven lengths from the lead. At the back, High Voltage’s Spring Street can see them all in front of her.

(3/4 Mile- 1:11.00)- Cruising down the backstretch and moving into the final turn, Wasted Away is trying put the field away already, as she holds a three length cushion. Shining At Knight is second and in good overall stride as she starts to get the better of Hobo Blues. Starting Over and Ragnar are still side by side in the middle of the pack, five lengths off the lead. Old Mexico is right behind them, and Spring Street continues to run at the back.

(Top of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- It’s all Wasted Away as the BC Distaff champion is in full control of this race, and all she needed to do was hang on. Given her resume, that seemed like a formality, but we’ll see how it transpires. Shining At Knight is second still, but has not really made a push on the leader. The action was picking up further back, as Ragnar and Old Mexico swung out wide to make moves. Ahead of them, both Starting Over and Hobo Blues were running evenly, but also had not made a push to the front. Spring Street was showing much more interest, but did not need to move to the outside and could instead run along the rail, at least for a while, to make her bid.

(Finish- 1:48.28)- Wasted Away is out front, but things were not going to be as easy for her in the stretch. In the final furlong, she would begin to tire out and several behind her were doing all they could to catch her. The result would be the gap to the leader shrinking quickly. Starting Over was running well in the final moments, and the bids of both Old Mexico and Spring Street were very interesting to watch. Even with that, it still looked like Wasted Away would hang on with half a furlong to go, and while that would prove to be the case, it certainly was a nail biter as four of the them seemed to hit the wire together, giving us a too close to call four way photo. Wasted Away would survive, but barely, winning by a head over a second place dead heat between Starting Over and Spring Street, with Old Mexico just missing making that a three way dead heat. Shining At Knight could not hold them off, and is fifth, ahead of Ragnar and Hobo Blues.

About The Winner- Wasted Away, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by J R Velazquez, is a four year old filly by Fire N Fury and is out of Calescent. She was bred in Florida by Luz International as a third quarter two year old, and was acquired by Mb Stables from Fractious for $1,250.000 in a July 2024 private sale. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her eighth in 15 starts, her seventh stake win and sixth graded win. Her career earnings are now $3,949.000.

Track: Fast
Time: :46⁴  1:11  1:35³  1:48¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 7 – 1 Paid 6.60, 7 – 5 Paid 11.20
$1 Trifecta: 7 – 1 – 5 Paid 42.90, 7 – 5 – 1 Paid 50.80

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES