Patience pays off as Mashallah dominates stakes debut in Tyson Gilpin
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One could argue that Mashallah could have picked up her first stakes victory months ago, but trainer Brendan Walsh has resisted the temptation to push his precocious filly too soon. As a result, the 3-year-old entered the $100,000 Tyson Gilpin Stakes on Saturday at Colonial Downs as a more seasoned and dangerous competitor. She was again unchallenged.
“She’s putting it together and she's very controlled,” Walsh said. “She’s letting herself get her legs under her, and she's just got an incredible cruising speed. She just looks very exciting.”
Barring an inexplicable blip in her second start, Mashallah has been awesome in three victories this year. After earning a 106 Beyer Speed Figure in her April debut at Keeneland, she bounced back from her lone poor effort to win a Saratoga allowance by seven lengths in July.
With such glowing credentials so early in her career, her stakes debut against 3-year-old fillies at Colonial felt more like a natural progression than a true test. She won the seven-furlong sprint by 5 1/2 lengths and paid $2.80 to win.
“We were maybe a little overexcited after the first race, but fair play to [owner JR Ranch],” Walsh said. “They've let me bring her along as I wanted to without having to press her too much. From here, you would hope it'll pay.”
Jockey Tyler Gaffalione, who coaxed her through an opening quarter-mile in 22.07 seconds and half-mile in 44.36, was little more than a passenger, just as he was in her Saratoga score last month. While Walsh struggles to keep his descriptions grounded, her jockey easily described her as a sprinter with boundless potential.
“She just keeps improving every week that I've able to work with her,” Gaffalione said. “I see her change. She’s developing, she's growing, she's more mature, a lot stronger and more confident in herself. She's putting it all together right now.”
Slewperstitus, a Maryland-bred stakes winner trained by Robert Bailes, rallied for second in the Gilpin, holding by a half-length over the John Ortiz-trained filly Wrong Shoes. Mashallah was gone by the time they kicked into contention. She completed the seven-furlong sprint in 1:21.37.
With a commanding stakes victory in the bank, Walsh said he can go in any number of directions with the rising star. Her allowance defeat in June was at a mile, which could prevent her from trying another route any time soon, but there are plenty of sprints to choose between. He mentioned the Grade 3 Prioress at Saratoga in September and also alluded to the Grade 2 Raven Run at Keeneland in October.
“I think sprinting's gonna be her game,” Gaffalione said. “I think we can stretch it a little bit, but with fast horses, you’ve gotta let them be fast.”
In the winner’s circle, Walsh and his team spoke to one another in hushed, excited tones, as did many who watched the filly storm home in another dominant victory. It is premature for words to describe what many have already seen, reducing the outsized praise to whispers for now. Mashallah is not yet a graded stakes winner, but she could be a special one.
Roja wires Andy Guest
Roja went off at 2-5 and took care of business in the $150,000 Andy Guest Stakes on Saturday. The filly remains unbeaten as a 4-year-old, and after scoring in the Grade 2 Intercontinental at Saratoga in June, trainer Graham Motion can’t help but imagine brighter lights down the line.
“[Irad Ortiz Jr.] mentioned the Breeders’ Cup last time [after the Intercontinental], so we've had that in back of our heads,” Motion said. “That’s ambitious, but she's pretty fast. She hasn't done anything wrong this year, that's for sure.”
With Ortiz riding in New York this weekend, jockey Manny Franco took the mount on Roja for the first time. He followed instructions and his filly did exactly what she was supposed to do in a half-length front-running victory, her fourth straight going back to July 2025. She paid $2.80 to win.
Despite having the heavy favorite, who last earned a 101 Beyer Speed Figure at Saratoga, Motion said he still had several concerns entering the 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint in Virginia. His primary fear was that she would not come back as sharp off a career-best effort, and he said he grew more nervous when she didn’t get an uncontested lead in the early going.
Franco said he always intended to send Roja to the early lead from the rail, and while Motion originally thought she didn’t break well, the truth was that others were simply eager to challenge early. She’s a Tempest and Lucy McGee both chased just behind on the backstretch, but Roja still managed to set a comfortable opening quarter-mile in 22.48 seconds.
“That was my plan,” Franco said. “That was always our plan. Graham said [running at the front is] her best, so I just went for it and she did the rest.”
After dispatching both of her early rivals on the far turn, Roja only had to deal with one more challenge. Somnium, a last-out allowance winner trained by Elizabeth Merryman, made a race of it with a late rally, but she never seriously scared the leader. Roja held and completed the 5 1/2-furlong distance in 1:02.68.
“We were worried that she might bounce a little bit today, but she seemed to handle everything very well,” Motion said.
Lucy McGee, a 21-1 longshot trained by Victoria Oliver, ran on from a stalking position and held third aftee getting turned away by Roja.
Motion said he had been targeting the Andy Guest for some time, as it gave his filly a reprieve from tougher action at Saratoga. She has not trailed in three starts this year, and after passing this test, a return to tougher company is sure to follow.
Sabino Canyon keeps rolling in Petramolo Mile
Sabino Canyon might not be a one-turn horse for long, but the 3-year-old colt made the most of a perfect trip under John Velazquez to win the $100,000 Petramolo Mile at Colonial Downs.
“Broke well, got in a good position,” Velazquez said. “I tried to give him a little chance to touch part of the race. Once he got comfortable in his stride, I got him up going to the turn and moved there.”
In four career starts, Sabino Canyon is winless in two maiden starts and undefeated in two stakes. Trainer Bob Baffert, desperate to get him around two turns in California, entered him as a maiden in the $100,000 Los Alamitos Derby in June, which he dug in to win by a half-length.
By the trainer’s admission, the Petramolo Mile was not an ideal next step for the colt, who had already proven slow to act at a mile on dirt before. After riding him for the first time on Saturday, failing to vie for the early lead and backing into a stalking position, Velazquez agreed with Baffert’s assessment.
“I think, at the mile, in the first eighth of a mile, he was struggling to get his stride together,” Velazquez said. “So the longer he goes, the better it's going to be for him.”
But after chasing in third on the backstretch and advancing into striking position on the far turn, Sabino Canyon had another fight on his hands in the stretch and got to work. The 7-2 third choice advanced on the 4-5 pacesetter Bravaro to take a short lead at the top of the stretch.
Bravaro, the Saffie Joseph Jr. trainee who dueled with the Grade 1-tested Six Speed through an opening quarter-mile in 22.32 seconds and half-mile in 44.75, still had something left in the late stages and never relented. He could not come back on Sabino Canyon, however, who made the most of his momentum and held by a neck. He completed the mile in 1:35.24.
Exosome, a 16-1 longshot trained by Kelsey Danner, rallied late for third, finishing 4 1/4 lengths behind Bravaro.
It is unclear where Baffert will bring the colt next, but he and Velazquez seem to agree that the Petramolo Mile was intended to keep him sharp for a two-turn test down the line.
Verifire grinds out Reigh Count win
Verifire returned to stakes company on Saturday at Colonial and edged clear to win the $100,000 Reigh Count Stakes by 2 1/4 lengths. The Brad Cox trainee completed the seven-furlong sprint in 1:20.14, less than three-tenths off the track record.
Graded stakes winners Bracket Buster and Crazy Mason both scratched from the Reigh Count, along with the local stakes winner Slam Notion, which made Verifire’s work much easier in a shortened field of seven. He paid $4 to win.
Precocious as a 3-year-old, Verifire won his first three starts in 2025, including the $250,000 Maxfield at Churchill Downs, before Cox decided to test him in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial at Saratoga. He finished 48 lengths back in that race and did not run again until May.
“He kind of let us down a little bit,” Trace Messina, Cox’s assistant, said. “We hit the reset button to freshen him up, and he's come back as good as a 4-year old, probably better than he was last year.”
Coming off a resurgent allowance victory in June, Verifire chased in second in the Reigh Count at Colonial, chasing behind the salty outsider Celtic Contender through an opening quarter-mile in 22.42 seconds. In his second stakes victory on the Arlington Million Day card, jockey Manny Franco said he was waiting for the pacesetter to come back to him.
“I could see everything happening inside, so I decided to stay out there in the clear,” Franco said. “I felt like I was comfortable enough. I wasn't in a hurry.”
Celtic Contender blew through a half-mile in 44.59 and still managed to put up a fight in the stretch, but the Hamilton Smith trainee ultimately had to settle for second. Verifire wrapped things up in mid-stretch and nearly nipped the track record from Mufasa, a graded stakes winner who won a seven-furlong allowance in 1:19.86 in August 2024.
Zero Blitz, a local contender who was riding a three-race winning streak for Joanne Shankle, stalked the entire way and held on for a clear third. Illuminare, the 2-1 second choice trained by Todd Pletcher, never fired and finished sixth.
Messina said it was hard to nail down a next spot for Verifire, as he will have to face brutal competition if he ships back to Kentucky or up to New York. The assistant mentioned the Grade 2 Cigar Mile at Belmont as a long-term goal in December.
My Boy Prince gets up in time to take Van Clief
In his second stakes victory on the Arlington Million Day undercard, John Velazquez said he didn’t know he had a chance aboard the 5-year-old gelding My Boy Prince until he hit the wire. In a mad scramble down the center of the track, the 2-1 favorite rallied to win the $150,000 Van Clief Stakes by a head.
“I was running a little bit sooner than I wanted to, and he was not going anywhere, and I pulled him out in the stretch,” Velazquez said. “And once he got to the clear, he started running. Now it’s a matter of whether I get there or not, and we finally did, and I'm glad that he did.”
With his late charge down the center in the 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint, My Boy Prince led the way in a one-two finish for trainer Mark Casse, while his 14-1 stablemate, Victory Achieved, surged late under Sonny Leon to take second. Governor Sam, who had to grind his way to the front on the far turn for trainer George Weaver, had to settle for third in a three-horse blanket finish.
Governor Sam and Victory Achieved stalked behind the 12–1 pacesetter Quereme Pass, who completed the opening quarter-mile in 22.15 seconds. He persisted into the stretch before fading to last, leaving the floor to a host of challengers.
While Victory Achieved was making his determined move on Governor Sam in mid-stretch, My Boy Prince was still well back while closing from eighth. Before the race, Casse said the Grade 2 winner lived and died by racing luck, and his class edge in the Van Clief seemed to mean nothing with so much work to do in the stretch.
Even after finding a clear path, Velazquez failed to realize his opportunity until very late in the game. My Boy Prince rocketed into the frame like the others were standing still, and what could have been a near-miss turned out to be a perfectly timed ride from the veteran jockey. He paid $6.60 to win.
“I saved all the ground that I could have done,” Velazquez said. “After that, I just tried to get him running without getting him into trouble.”
In his first victory since taking the Grade 2 Shakertown at Keeneland in April, My Boy Prince completed the 5 1/2-furlong distance in 1:01.74. Before the race, Casse said he shipped to Colonial with the intention of targeting races at 6 1/2 furlongs at Kentucky Downs next time out.
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