Royal Palm Juvenile ($125.00 Purse)
GP- For Two Year Olds
Five Furlongs on the Turf
May 9, 2026

Two-year-old races are always unpredictable. Now, add to that the fact that a full field is running on the grass for the first time with only one race (if that, though there is actually one with two starts) to their name, then the Royal Palm Juvenile is a complete toss-up. Is there a name in here that will become very famous in the future? Well, the race has run twice (in 2023 and 2024 only), here’s a look at the career earnings to this point of each field.

2023:
Less than $20: Smoking Chrystal, Free Boys, Savitar, Refugee
$20-$50: Ruler Of The World, Legend Don Julio, Wakanda Reaper
$50-$100: Anoush Ye Daddy, Falcon
$100-$200: True If Big
$200 or more: Good Man, Neutral

Not exactly the most impressive careers. Of the top two, Neutral was the race winner, and Good Man finished 11th.

2024:
Less then $20: None
$20-$50: Run Over Them, Rowdy Reptile, Billy Ingleton, Raunchy Wine
$50-$100: Risecock, Fisherville, Sitting Strangely, Mad Jung
$100-$200: None
$200 or more: Alydar ($3,104 in earnings)

Nine horses ran last year, and only one has surpassed $100 in earnings at this point in their careers. Naturally, Alydar stands out as the recently retired colt had an amazing career, but he is the exception to the rule. He ran third in the Royal Palm Juvenile in 2024. So, while this is an exciting $125.00 race for two year olds early on, history shows that running here will be the highlight of the careers for most of them. Here’s a look at our field of twelve this year!

1- Sim Racer (Blazin D, ridden by J Torrealba)- His win came on the 14th last month at PRX, a two length score against PA-breds. Neither of his parents accomplished much on the track, and he will look to overcome a short femur for his racing career.

2- Purple Punch (Blazin D, ridden by H VillGomez)- Also ran against PA-breds on debut, doing so a week before his stablemate, and winning in a dead heat. Also like Sim Racer, neither of his parents did much on the track, but his conformation is better.

3- Luka Mafia (Night Rider Stables, ridden by M J Husbands)- The NJ-bred took on unrestricted company and scored a win in a $90.00 race at KEE last month. He also worked very well at DMR trails, and is sired by The Godfather. Good sprinter conformation.

4- Skynard (Royalty Stables, ridden by I O Rodriguez)- Going to make his debut here in the Royal Palm Juvenile, and that seems like a tough assignment. Sired by Hide And Seek, who’s better known for Hurts but certainly not limited to him. Maybe Skynard can be next.

5- Showman (Mb Stables, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- Defeated a field of NY-Breds in an $80.00 race at AQU last month. Worked an entirely identical time to Luka Mafia at the DMR trials, scored as 25th but likely higher due to others that worked that didn’t qualify. Sired by Bold Ruler.

6- Lemon Crush (Red Fox Farms, ridden by D Egan)- Made his debut at TUP last month, and won in a photo. His public work times are before that race, so given where he was placed on debut and what the early works were, I’m guessing he got a nice post-race bump to be here. Neither parent did much on track.

7- Blockbuster Movie (Greyhound, ridden by M A Vasquez)- His debut came last month at AQU against NY-Breds for $80.00 where he came from the back to get the win by nearly a length. There’s the same amount of public works as there are active Blockbuster’s, however. Sired by Lucky Brandy.

8- Gasly (Avenue Z, ridden by Sa Camacho)- Another horse that ran against State Breds on debut, and for Gasly, he’d win at SA for $65.00. He’s sired by Sniper, who was a graded winner in turf sprints in his career and did appear in the BC Turf Sprint. Gasly hopes to follow that lead.

9- Super Grusome (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by K Khelawan)- Sent to the track as soon as it was possible, winning at TUP on April 1st. Before last week, we may have looked past his sire, but now Van Gogh is on everyone’s radar. He’s sired other good horses too, so Super Grusome could certainly be the next one in line by him.

10- The Verdict (Threshold, ridden by Ro Maragh)- Made his debut at SUN at the beginning of April, and won the race in a convincing manner for two year olds. He’s sired by Hard To Deny, who’s produced many excellent horses over his lifetime. The Verdict is off to be a good start to be the next one. Conformation screams turf.

11- Vinny Rocks (The Sidley Stud, ridden by N Juarez)- Well, yes, we do have one making their third start already. Having that said that the starts are not unreasonably close together, as Vinny Rocks debuted at the start of April, then won three weeks later. He’ll have two weeks to rest here, and it’s always the third race, not the second, in short succession that concerns me.

12- Higher Advantage (Serenity Stables, ridden by O Murphy)- Last to load is a horse that won last month at TUP by a length. Sired by Day Of Destiny, who did not do much on the track but has actually become a productive sire. Has a turf conformation but will need to overcome a short femur.

Prediction (low confidence): 10-5-3-2

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded