Wathnan Racing's Hit Show—prepping for the March 28 Dubai World Cup (G1), a $12 million race he won in 2025—wore down a stubborn Accelerize to score by a head in the $242,500 Mineshaft Stakes (G3) Feb. 14 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
Third or fourth for much of the early running of the 1 1/16-mile race, while always close to front-running Accelerize and pace-pressing Time to Win, Hit Show was urged into action on the second turn by Florent Geroux. He began to advance nearing the lane, but Accelerize proved a stubborn foe to pass. The latter fended him off until the sixteenth pole, but after drifting out late, proved unable to repel Hit Show's finish.
Hit Show was timed in 1:42.49 following splits of :23.53, :47.04, and 1:11.10 established by Accelerize. He paid $4.20 to win.
"He's a fighter," Geroux said during an in-house interview.
Saturday's victory improved Hit Show's record to 12-for-24 and his earnings to more than $9 million. Besides the 2025 Dubai World Cup and the Mineshaft, the Brad Cox trainee has captured six other graded stakes races. Some of those victories came for Gary and Mary West, his breeders and initial owners, others for Wathnan Racing, who bought him privately in 2024.
"Yeah, it's just fun to have horses that compete in those grade 1s all over the world—with him, Dubai, the reigning winner there," assistant trainer Ricky Giannini said. "Hopefully, we can get a little luck and have a repeat, and then maybe on to the Breeders' Cup. We'll see."
Hit Show, a gray and/or roan 6-year-old by Candy Ride , is one of three winners from four foals and starters out of the grade 2-winning Tapit mare Actress. Candy Ride stands this year at Lane's End in Kentucky for $60,000.
The Mineshaft was the third-richest race Saturday at Fair Grounds behind the $289,000 Rachel Alexandra Stakes (G2) for 3-year-old fillies, and the $495,000 Risen Star Stakes (G2) for 3-year-olds.
In other supporting stakes races:
- His Royal Highness Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud's Lagynos ($9.40) proved effective at 1 1/8 miles on turf in outrunning Montador and Kupuna in the $175,000 Fair Grounds Stakes (G3T) under patient handling from Jose Ortiz. The Steve Asmussen-trained 5-year-old son of Kantharos notched his sixth career win from 24 starts and elevated his earnings to more than $1.8 million. He was timed in 1:48.02 on firm turf.
- Farfellow Farms' Expensive Queen ($10.40), a 5-year-old Lope de Vega mare trained by Brendan Walsh, rallied from midpack to defeat heavily favored Medoro in the $100,000 Albert M. Stall Memorial Stakes. Winning jockey Luis Saez kept her in the clear and she got the jump in early stretch on Medora, who was stalled in traffic on the inside. Sweet Treasure ran third.
- BG Stables and Selman Shaby's homebred Usually Wrong ($3) scored a second consecutive stakes victory in taking the $97,000 Colonel Power Stakes. The Robertino Diodoro trainee, last-out winner of the Jan. 17 Duncan F. Kenner Stakes at Fair Grounds, zipped 5 1/2 furlongs on turf in 1:02.28 under Isaac Castillo, defeating Mondogetsbuckets and Bear River. The 5-year-old son of Lookin At Lucky is 9-1-0 in 12 starts with earnings of $460,055.
Video
