Video: Months After Allowance Optional Claiming, Horse Worth $311,625 Shines at Grade 3 Equestrian Race

Winning a graded stake is not a small achievement, and winning it for the first time makes it even more special. The Eduardo Soto-owned IL Miracolo has reached the feat and the barrier which leads to another level of competitiveness. The three-year-old colt is a known name in racing circles and has participated in many prestigious graded races.

But despite his untiring effort, he was not successful in winning any graded stakes. This week at Parx Racing, IL Miracolo won his first graded stakes with a good length. The colt was ridden by experienced equestrian jockey Luis Saez, who had a hard time controlling him during the race but his efforts paid off in the end.

Il Miracolo wins the equestrian graded stakes

On Tuesday, the Grade 3, $300,000 Smarty Jones Stake race was taking place at Parx Racing. Among the participants was a $ 311,625-worth three-year-old colt IL Miracolo, who came after gaining his form back. IL Miracolo arrived at the event after finishing second in his last race, Curlin Stakes, and months after winning an allowance race. Before the race he had 7-2 odds but he managed to create an upset at the stakes. In the eight-horse race, they started slowly and soon Army Times and Ninetyprcentmaddie took the lead.

Initially, IL Miracolo was chasing the two in the front and after the second turn, he began to move. Ridden by Luis Saez, the horse made a three-wide move on reaching the final turn. In the final turn, IL Miracolo took charge and drifted out in front of Cagliostro to the stretch and continued his pace at the far stretch till the end of the race. IL Miracolo won the race by three lengths and completed the race in 1:48.59. Cagliostro finished second and Daydreaming Boy secured the third position. IL Miracolo completed the first quarter mile in 24.31, a half mile in 49.22, the third quarter mile at 1:14.64, and a mile in 1:41.39. This win gave IL Miracolo the push, needed to accelerate his career to a new height.

IL Miracolo equestrian career

IL Miracolo is the son of Gun Runner and Tapit’s World. He is trained by Antonio Sano and bred by Willow Oaks Stable. He started his equestrian race career in October 2022 and got his maiden win in November of the same year in an allowance race. IL Miracolo has raced in all prestigious race tracks with wins at Gulfstream Park and Parx Racing. In his thirteen career starts, he has claimed a podium in three and secured a second position in four. This year in his eight starts he won two and placed second in one.

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He added $258,275 to his total earnings this year to date. This win at Smarty Jones Stake will propel the career of IL Miracolo to a new level and give the confidence to the trainer to work on a new challenge for the three-year-old colt.

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