Determined Kingdom looks for three in a row in Meadow Stable Handicap
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For more than a year, Determined Kingdom had to grit his way through eight straight defeats, a losing streak marred by misfortune and poor timing. The clouds have finally cleared for the 7-year-old gelding, who will try to win his third straight in the $100,000 Meadow Stable Handicap over 5 1/2 furlongs on turf Saturday at Colonial Downs.
“Hopefully, getting back to winning races does him good and keeps him trying hard,” trainer Michael Trombetta said. “He’s trained really well. We brought him up to Saratoga and were going to run in the [Grade 2] Troy, but it just seemed like it came up pretty darn strong. We called an audible there and we’re putting him back in Colonial.”
In June, Determined Kingdom broke from the far outside to win a deep $125,000 allowance at Saratoga, his first victory since October 2024. The Virginia-bred returned home to Colonial the following month and won the $125,000 Punch Line.
The Meadow Stable’s field of 10 Virginia-restricted runners is yet another testament to the strength of the Mid-Atlantic scene for male turf sprinters. Determined Kingdom, the 2-1 morning-line favorite, will be joined by Whenigettoheaven, a familiar rival who defeated him in this race last year.
Trainer Nolan Ramsey took the same path with the 7-year-old gelding in 2025, going from the $100,000 Ben’s Cat at Laurel Park in June to the Meadow Stable at Colonial. Despite coming up a half-length short behind Witty in this year’s Ben’s Cat, he remains a reliable contender.
“It makes my job so easy,” Ramsey said. “The horse makes it easy too. He shows up every time. He tells you when he’s ready. Very rarely does he have a bad day. Having those Virginia-certified and Maryland-bred conditions to run through every year, it works out well for us at both Laurel and Colonial.”
Going Up, the runner-up in the Meadow Stable last year, will switch back to turf for trainer Ron Potts Jr.
Find Stakes
It is rare for Steve Asmussen to ship to Colonial Downs, but the trainer has regularly made exceptions for the Virginia-bred Gigante, who will return home for the $125,000 Find Stakes on Saturday.
“It’s very good for him as a Virginia-bred,” Asmussen said. “He’s an unbelievably versatile horse that’s been extremely good to us, and I expect him to show up.”
In last year’s edition of the 1 1/16-mile Find, Gigante was the even-money favorite but came up three-quarters of a length short. He has run 12 times since, most recently switching between turf and dirt in three stakes at Lone Star and Prairie Meadows. He finished third in all three.
“Wish he would have beat two more every time, but obviously good company, good races,” Asmussen said. “I think that stepping him into a statebred race off of those, he ought to represent himself well.”
Both $125,000 turf stakes on Saturday, the Find and All Brandy, are restricted to runners bred or sired in Maryland or Virginia. Gigante’s stiffest competition in the field of nine will likely come from Thundering, who held for third in the Grade 2 United Nations at Monmouth Park last month.
“We took a shot in the [1 3/8-mile] United Nations because it wasn’t a big field for a lot of money,” trainer Derek Ryan said. “He probably ran a little bit farther than he wanted to go and then there was that rain. But he came out of it good. This is a restricted race and it’s quicker back than what I want, but the company has got to be a little easier.”
Before stepping up to graded stakes company, Thundering won the $125,000 Japan Racing Association Turf Cup at Laurel.
All Brandy Stakes
Nick’s Notion needed nearly a dozen starts before finding her calling on turf for trainer Robert Bailes, but there’s no looking back now. The 4-year-old filly has won two of her four starts this year and will make her stakes debut in the $125,000 All Brandy on Saturday.
“She’s really come through herself since she’s come back this year,” Bailes said. “She’s just getting better and better. We expect a good race on Saturday.”
On Aug. 2, the Maryland-bred made her first start on the Colonial turf, stretching out to 1 1/4 miles on a yielding course and closing to win a first-level allowance.
“I didn’t know how she would handle the soft course, but I honestly think she can run on a little bit of anything,” Bailes said. “She’s even a pretty nice horse on the dirt, but grass is definitely the way to go with it.”
Bailes said he wasn’t sure if the softer surface or added distance helped her, but the trainer isn’t worried about cutting back to 1 1/16 miles.
Day to Day, the 8-5 morning-line favorite in the field of 11 fillies and mares, shipped to Colonial off a short layoff in June and pulled 2 1/4 lengths clear in the $125,000 Brookmeade for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. It was her first victory since her debut at Colonial in July 2025.
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