Weaver has Matriarch repeat on his mind for Sacred Wish

A day after Sacred Wish’s surprise win in Sunday’s Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes at Del Mar, trainer George Weaver’s thoughts had already turned toward a potential return to the San Diego area track in 12 months.

Sacred Wish won her first graded stakes in her 11th try in the $303,000 Matriarch Stakes. Graded stakes will be a fixture of Sacred Wish’s 5-year-old season in 2025, possibly starting in the Grade 2 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 25.

The 2025 Matriarch is another such goal.

“We’ve got our eyes on the Pegasus fillies and mares,” Weaver said of the $500,000 race. “That would be logical, something to point for in the short term.

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“We know she likes Kentucky Downs. There are lucrative races there. We might want to hit the Matriarch.”

For now, Sunday’s Matriarch is the career-defining race for Sacred Wish, who has won 4 of 17 starts and earned $985,138. Sacred Wish races for the partnership of Black Type Thoroughbreds, Swinbank Stables, Steve Adkisson, Christopher Dunn, and Anthony Spinazzola.

Prior to the Matriarch, Sacred Wish’s only stakes win was the minor Winter Memories Stakes at Aqueduct in September 2023. She was second or third in three consecutive graded stakes prior to the Matriarch.

“This filly has been very good to us,” Weaver said. “She’s a genuine filly that tries all the time. We’ve been trying to get her a graded stakes win.”

Weaver thought Sacred Wish would accomplish that feat when she started as the 2-1 favorite in the Grade 3 Goldikova Stakes at a mile on turf at Del Mar on Nov. 2, on the undercard of the Breeders’ Cup Saturday program.

Sacred Wish could only manage a third-place finish, beaten two lengths, behind 5-1 Raqiya, who led throughout.

“The race didn’t have much pace and it was hard to close into the filly that set the pace,” Weaver said from his winter base in South Florida.

“Since we had her out there, we thought – why don’t we leave her out there for the Matriarch? It wasn’t her fault the race didn’t unfold great for her.”

In the Matriarch, Sacred Wish ($27.60) closed from third of 11 to win by a neck over 13-10 favorite Gina Romantica, who rallied from sixth.

The race met the 2024 goals set by the partners and Weaver, and just in the nick of time.

“It was a great day,” Weaver said. “She’s such a sweetheart. She loves what she does. She’s into the groove as she’s gotten older.

“We were hoping to get a Grade 2 or Grade 3 and we got a Grade 1. Grade 1s are hard to win.”

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