Almendares earns long-awaited graded stakes breakthrough at Santa Anita

Almendares turned a string of near-misses into a graded stakes breakthrough at Santa Anita, closing from last under Antonio Fresu to win the $100,000 American Stakes (G3) by a neck and finally cashing in on nine previous graded placings without a victory.

The 6-year-old British-bred gelding covered a mile on firm turf in 1:34.14 and did it the hard way, sitting at the back of the pack early before Fresu guided him outside for a clear lane in the stretch. Once he found daylight, Almendares kept grinding and edged past Genius Jimmy late, with Seal Team another length back in third. King of Gosford, the Grade 1 winner who was returning from a 7 1/2-month layoff after taking the 2025 Shoemaker Mile, finished fourth.

The win mattered because it was the first graded stakes victory for a horse that had spent much of his career knocking on the door in Southern California stakes company. Almendares improved to 6 wins from 23 starts and increased his bankroll to $643,695. It was also only his second stakes win, joining the Wickerr Stakes on his resume, a sign that the horse has repeatedly shown ability at a high level without always getting the result to match.

Phil D'Amato’s handling of Almendares proved to be the difference. The trainer had said the horse had matured with time, and that the barn finally understood how to place him and ride him so he could finish his races the right way. Saturday’s ride fit that assessment perfectly: Fresu kept Almendares patient, moved him when the lane opened, and let the gelding do the rest against a field that included Genius Jimmy, Seal Team and King of Gosford. The official order of finish was Almendares, Genius Jimmy, Seal Team, King of Gosford, Sumter, Twirling Point and Captain Choochies.

The race also underscored how well D'Amato’s operation has been running at Santa Anita, but Almendares was the main story: an 8-5 favorite who finally converted repeated graded-stakes promise into a trophy. Owned by John Rochfort, McLean Racing Stables, Saul Gevertz, Michael Nentwig and Ray Pagano, he has now crossed from useful stakes horse to proven graded winner, with his late kick finally matched to the right setup at the right distance.