The Water Tower ($250.00 Purse)
ELP- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Turf
August 2, 2026

On Sunday at ELP, we will have the race formerly known as the KD Preview Nashville Derby. That race never really seemed to be a preview for it, so the name of the race will no longer imply that and it is simply known as the Water Tower now. It’s the fifth time that this race has been run, and it’s the third time that it will go for a $250.00 Purse. Last year’s winner was Western Knight, for Our Athletes, and she did not go to the Nashville Derby afterwards. Instead, she went to the $2,000.00 Gun Runner and finished third. Unfortunately, it’s been a struggle for her since but she is still active. We have a field of five heading to the gate, so let’s take a look at them!

1- Brentwood (Bears Stable, ridden by F Pennington)- After getting her debut race out of the way, Brentwood has been a very consistent filly, hitting the board in all nine of her starts that have followed. Many of that has been running in New Mexico with the statebred condition, taking advantage of the stakes that run here. While she has never actually won one of those stakes, she’s had a had some close calls. Her last race came in the mud, and she barely missed out in an optional claimer. Going into unrestricted territory makes this the biggest test of her career, but she has certainly earned the opportunity, but it’s not on the dirt. Here, she makes her turf debut.

2- Go Go Goblin (Mb Stables, ridden by R Santana Jr)- Acquired by the trainer for $225.00 last September, and would later make an appearance in the BC Juvenile Turf Sprint. That’s about all we can say about her effort in that race, but she has had a very strong bounce back after it. Since that point, she has finished somewhere in the top four every time out, running mainly in ungraded stakes. Comes here off a third place showing in the $150.00 Saranac from SAR and looks to pick up her first stake win. While I do find her stablemate a little more appealing, I also see no reason why she couldn’t get the victory herself.

3- Victory Avenue (Rock Creek, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- This filly has an interesting month of June to say the least. After having a long layoff, she was sold in the June auction for $6.44 to Temulac Farm on the 13th. On the 21st, she won an $18.00 claimer at MTH, then on the 25th was sold in private sales for $30.00 to Rock Creek. Worked out for Temulac Farm, but now Rock Creek has bigger aspirations. As a two year old, she did run in a stake once, and earned a fourth place check in the $100.00 CA-bred Graduation Stakes, but this will be her first time running in a stake since then. I think there’s a lot of untapped potential still with this one, even if we don’t fully see it here.

4- Strategic Charm (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Still a rather lightly raced filly in having made only five starts. Two of them are wins, with a sharp looking victory coming two back $125.00 CA-bred Snow Chief Stakes. I like the way she looked in that wire to wire win, and if she can run like that again, she will have a good shot here as well. I’m not that put off by her last start, as it has one of those “fifth by a length” looks that we all deal with and know was a better effort that what it seems. It came against stronger company as well, in the $275.00 American Derby, which is why I am not turned off by it.

5- P C Police (Threshold, ridden by B Curtis)- This is probably the horse to beat in the field, but there’s also reason to be concerned about her at the same time. After having success in ungraded stakes, including a win in the $100.00 Green Carpet Stakes two back, P C Police earned the chance to run graded. But Threshold did not try any graded race, he went for the Grade 1 BEL Derby at SAR. Her effort there was a debacle, being outclassed and losing by seven lengths. That’s ugly, but this is not the BEL Derby, and is similar to the ungraded stakes that she was much better in, though for a higher purse. I’m writing off the BEL Derby for this field, but that is a pretty tough beat down to come back from, so if she’s a big favorite, maybe put money elsewhere.

Prediction: 5-4-1-2

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded