Nassau Stakes (Grade 2)- $175.00 Purse
WO- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
One Mile on the Turf
July 19, 2026

This Sunday at WO, we will have a field of eight taking part in the 19th running of the Nassau Stakes, which is held at a mile on the turf course for fillies and mares. The purse for the race has been as high as $300.00, but has been at the present level of $175.00 since 2017. In last year’s race, Winning Link Stables took home the trophy with Beach Towel, a now five year old mare who continues to run well, as evidenced by her second place effort in last month’s Grade 1 Just A Game at SAR. Before I get started, I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for their support over what has been a difficult month for me. This includes the other SRF writers who stepped up and took over coverage for the races I was scheduled for and could not do. This race date will represent one month from the day I had heart surgery. Recovery is a long road, but I have been doing well with it up to this point. HRP has been a great way for me to pass time during the recovery period, and I am excited to get back to writing for the SRF as a way of getting back to normalcy. So now, let’s look at the field for the Nassau Stakes!

1- Youthful Thoughts (Greyhound, ridden by L Salles)- A horse that originated within my stable and bounced around a little before moving on to Greyhound. Under their guidance, Youthful Thoughts moved into the stakes ranks and took home the $150.00 Noble Damsel at AQU last October. After that, he has not been as consistent. The good news is that this race looks a little like the Endeavour BC at TAM, where she got her best result of the season so she may surprise some. Her parents will be watching closely back in the barn.

2- Love (Mo Mentum Farm, ridden by R M Hernandez)- Made a name for herself right here last year, with three wins at WO over four starts during the summer. And we’re not just talking any ol’ overnight race, either. Included in that is a win in the $500.00 WO Oaks Stakes and the $250.00 Wonder Where Stakes. After that race, she went south of the border and continued to run well, winning two more graded races. Now, she will return to Canada for the first time since the Wonder Where Stakes, and you simply cannot ignore her track record right here at WO.

3- Rain Rattle (Bears Stable, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Two starts ago, Rain Rattle finished third in the Grade 3 Modesty Stakes at CD, a result that pushed her over $1,000.00 in career earnings. Prior to that, she won the Grade 3 Santa Ana Stakes at SA, which is one of her eleven lifetime wins in 22 starts. Last year, she was hot during the summer months, winning three start graded races, which would get her into the BC Fillies & Mares Turf. Still seems to be running well, but does need to bounce back after a dud in the Grade 1 NY last time out.

4- Soho Doubt (Mb Stables, ridden by A Fresu)- This five year old mare has gone back and forth between the dirt and the turf over her 23-race career, but five of her seven wins have come here on the grass. She’s been productive, earning over $300.00, but does not have that one big win that you point to as her signature victory. None of her stake attempts to this point have ended with her in the winner’s circle. She’s usually close at the end, and was within a length last time out while running third in the Grade 3 ET Mint Julep Handicap at CD. Perhaps this can become that signature win, but I would be more comfortable putting her on the back end of exotics.

5- Tick Laga (Lagastable, ridden by R W Walcott)- About to get the test of her life here. She has not regularly been running at high levels, and her last two starts have come at free tracks. However, from time to time, she’s made an appearance in an ungraded stake, but showing up is about all you can say for her performance. All four of her wins have come at free tracks, so she’ll surely be a longshot here. I’ll pass.

6- Memphis Reins (Williams9, ridden by R Santana Jr)- Picked up by the trainer for $100.00 last September after a successful career with Choppy Inc. Williams9 has run her on a monthly basis since then, going back and forth between open allowances and ungraded stakes, and the five year old mare has been a consistent performer. Her two wins with her current trainer have been in open allowances, but she turned in a quality third place effort last time out right here in the Grade 3 Royal North Stakes. Does seem to like running on the grass, so I expect to see more of that going forward.

7- Lucy Heat (The Sidley Stud, ridden by P Lopez)- A lightly raced three year old filly, making just five starts to this point. She has made the most of them, with four wins and two of them are at the stake level. In March, she won the $110.00 Turf Distaff at TAM, and if that does not impress you enough, last time out she captured the Grade 3 Eatontown at MTH, beating the likes of Painville along the way. This is a filly with upside, one that knows how to step it up on race day, and I expect that we will be hearing a lot more of her going forward. Oh, by the way, she’d be appealing if the weights were equal, right? Well, being three, she gets a five pound weight allowance over the rest of the field as well. That makes her the pick.

8- Borgin And Burkes (Delta Farms, ridden by L Contreras)- This is a filly that knows how to get it done, hitting the board in eleven of twelve starts, with six wins and four more seconds along the way. The majority of that came in overnights, starting at LAD, before moving on to PRX and TAM, turning out SRF’s in the lower 90’s. In March, she got her chance to make her stake debut, and beat three others in the $100.00 Charged Stakes, which is for LA-breds. Got her chance to make her graded debut last time out in the Grade 2 Intercontinental, and settled for second at the Spa that day. I like how she always answers the bell, and would take her on equal weights with Lucy Heat, but since that one has the weight allowance, we’ll put Borgin And Burkes second.

Prediction: 7-8-2-4

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES