Here Mi Song wins Jeff Hall Memorial for second straight year

Here Mi Song coasted to a dominant win in the $125,000 Jeff Hall Memorial Stakes on Sunday at Ellis Park, the second year in a row he has won this fixture.

Second in the 2023 Hall, Here Mi Song had been racing against much stronger competition than any of his four rivals, even finishing second this past May in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs Stakes, yet somehow paid $8.96 as the race’s third choice. Champlin, who made an easy lead, faded to fourth as the 3-2 second choice. Happy Is a Choice, favored at 8-5, rallied mildly for third.

Here Mi Song ran 6 1/2 furlongs over a fast track in 1:15.38, winning by 4 1/2 lengths over Gulfstream Way. Osborne and Scotland were scratched.

Edgar Morales rode an excellent race aboard the winner. Champlin strolled through an opening quarter-mile in 22.90 seconds, with Here Mi Song, in the bridle and ready for battle, racing just behind him after breaking from post 1. Champlin went into the far turn racing two paths from the rail, and at the three-eighths pole, not waiting behind the tepid pace, Morales cued Here Mi Song to go. Here Mi Song willingly went into the gap inside Champlin, and after encountering brief resistance, sprinted clear, widening his lead to the wire.

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Here Mi Song, a 6-year-old by Cross Traffic out of Mi Viera, by Dehere, campaigns for owner-breeder Nathan Hayden and trainer Billy Stinson, neither of whom race more than a couple horses at a given time. This guy has been very, very good to them. Here Mi Song won for the seventh time in 26 starts and has career earnings approaching $900,000.

The headline and first sentence of a previous version of this article misstated Here Mi Song's finish in last year's Jeff Hall Memorial. He won the race.

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