Going to Vegas in peak form for John C. Mabee Stakes
The filly-mare turf division in California did not entirely vanish this summer at Del Mar, it merely slipped into ambiguity.
Charmaine’s Mia, a front-running beast, went off form. Princess Grace scored an impressive Grade 2 victory, then returned East. Their absence leaves inconsistent Grade 1 winner Maxim Rate as the class of the Grade 2 John C. Mabee Stakes on Saturday.
Nine fillies and mares entered the 1 1/8-mile Mabee, a $200,000 turf race that Maxim Rate might win by reproducing her Grade 1 Gamely two back at Santa Anita. That would require forgiving her third-place finish last out at Del Mar.
Or maybe the winner of the Mabee is staring everyone in the face. Going to Vegas, who crushed a second-level allowance opening day, enters closing weekend in peak form. Although the hike to a Grade 2 is a challenge, her 3 1/2-length win was decisive.
“She was pretty impressive,” trainer Richard Baltas acknowledged. “I think she’s a little better going a mile and a quarter, a mile and three-eighths. That being said, she did win going a mile and an eighth last time.”
It turns out Going to Vegas also beat a good field. The runner-up, Quiet Secretary, returned to win an allowance; third-place Avenue de France won a stakes race next out at Golden Gate Fields; sixth-place Pulpit Rider won a California-bred stakes at Del Mar.
Going to Vegas, who won the Grade 3 Santa Ana in March, enters as one of the sharpest in the Mabee field.
“She’s ready to run. It’s the logical spot,” Baltas said.
Flavien Prat rides Going to Vegas, whose versatile style should allow a comfortable trip just off the speed while positioned in front of the closers.
In addition to 124-pound top weight Maxim Rate, the field includes Baltas-trained Bodhicitta, a Grade 2 winner at Del Mar in 2020; stakes winners Dogtag and Nasty; South American Group 1 winner Fast Jet Court making her North American debut; stakes-placed Tapwater; and allowance-caliber Quiet Secretary and She’s Our Charm.
Simon Callaghan trains 6-for-17 Maxim Rate, who ran better than it looks finishing third in the Yellow Ribbon. Bogged in traffic on the far turn, she had to wait for room into the lane. That allowed one-two finishers Princess Grace and Dogtag to get the jump. Maxim Rate ran well and benefits Saturday by the extra distance of the 1 1/8-mile Mabee.
Yellow Ribbon winner Princess Grace, trained by Mike Stidham, returned East and is under consideration for the Grade 1 First Lady on Oct. 9 at Keeneland. She could return to Del Mar later this year for the Grade 2 Goldikova or Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes.
Yellow Ribbon runner-up Dogtag, second in three straight, figures as a contender while the pace is likely to be contested by a trio of potential front-runners. Those include Quiet Secretary, She’s Our Charm, and Nasty.
A newcomer to the division is Fast Jet Court, a 6-for-9 import from Brazil making her North American debut for trainer Michael McCarthy.