SAR Derby (Grade 1)- $750.00 Purse
SAR- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and Three Sixteenths on the Turf
August 8, 2026

The SAR Derby is one of four Grade 1’s that will be taking place at the Spa on Saturday, and it will send three-year-olds more than a mile on the turf course. This will be the eighth time that the race will run, and the sixth time that it has Grade 1 status. The purse has seen fluctuation between $600.00 and $1,000.00 during that time and this will be the second consecutive year that it runs for $750.00. We had a dead heat last year between Ello Santa, who’s trained by Mb Stables, and the High Voltage- trained Fourth Estate. Ello Santa has become a real good one, running third in the BC Turf and then earlier this year winning the Grade 1 Makers Mark Mile. Fourth Estate cannot say the same, as he has not made a cent since that win. We have a field of seven in this race, and it’s time to take a look at them!

1- Reign Supreme (Mb Stables, ridden by P Lopez)- Off a strong start for his career, winning four times in eight starts while hitting the board seven times. After breaking his maiden at SA in January, Reign Supreme had no problem in adapting to ungraded stakes, then in May won both the Grade 1 American Turf at CD and the Grade 3 PEN Mile at PEN. He would later come here to run in the BEL Derby, and while it was not necessarily one of his better efforts, he still was able to be third from wire to wire. Does he want to go a little longer, or does he like it a mile? Here, will get a good idea on that answer as he stretches out more.

2- Sausage Wiz (Night Rider Stables, ridden by E J Zayas)- Claimed by the trainer at the start of the year for $8.00, and would run for a tag in his next two starts as well. Night Rider clearly loved how he ran in his April win, and the gelding would take a trip to CD a month later, where he was second in an allowance. Last month came the stake debut, the $150.00 Saranac, where he was second again. So, put all of that together, and you get a horse that was not fully tested early in his career, but has begun to respond to increased challenges now. At the same time, he has never had a test like this.

3- Destined Charge (Mb Stables, ridden by R Santana Jr)- After breaking his maiden in February, Destined Charge was sent to GP for the FL Derby to make his prep race debut at the last possible moment. He would step up, scoring a win in a dead heat with some horse named Gogh Wild that you may have heard of before. While Destined Charge did not head to the KYD, he looked to take on Gogh Wild in the BEL here in June. However, he would finish next to last in the race and was dropped into an optional claimer here last month where he was third. So now, it’s time to change things up and he will run on the grass for the first time. A work at MTH suggests that this will go well.

4- Castiglione (Royalty Stables, ridden by T Gaffalione)- Castiglione will have to be at his best to have a shot here. He’s been a good, but not great horse where he has been running, so I am not sure that he is ready to take on a Grade 1 crowd. He did work well at ELP, so I can still understand the trainer taking the shot. In all, Castiglione has only won once in seven starts, but where I am turned off is that he has not been within two lengths of the eventual winner in any of his other races, even if he has cashed a few checks during that time.

5- Term Limits (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by S X Birdgmohan)- Term Limits has been an inconsistent horse during his career, showing his good side two back when he won the $300.00 TX Derby at LS. But the trainer wants to see more of that, and when you take his last four races and look at the three races he did not win, he has not been better than ninth and four lengths behind. Like Destined Charge, that means it’s time for a change and Term Limits will also be running on the turf for the first time here. Would have loved to have seen a mile turf work on him.

6- Kuykendahl (Luz International, ridden by F Prat)- After finishing his two-year-old season with a win at CD, Kuykendahl has continued his great run of form this year, with three wins in five starts. In late January, he would win his stake debut when he took home the $100.00 Texas Turf Mile, then last time out he’d win the Grade 2 Pennine Ridge right here. He’s had a couple of months off and will run in a Grade 1 for the second time. The previous time was a complete disaster, but that may just be a fluke and he will be out to get redemption for that here.

7- Wolf Lord (John Henry, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Last fall, Wolf Lord ran in the BC Juvenile Turf but was never a factor in the race and finished in the middle of the field. This will be his first time on the grass since that day, since he had been on the KYD trail for much of this year. That was the right call, as Wolf Lord did run well in both the $500.00 VA Derby as well as the SA Derby, and would ultimately be seen in the PRK. After a recent optional claimer at PRX, Wolf Lord is hoping to successfully move back to the turf. Not going to put him on top, but I do think he will be in the mix here.

Prediction: 1-6-7-3

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES