Arcadia, California—With their speed and precocity on full display, a pair of first-time starters from the inaugural foal crop of the Grade 1-winning Rancho San Miguel stallion Mo Forza outgamed more experienced rivals to complete the exacta in a $72,500 maiden special weight race for 3-year-olds on the Santa Anita Park turf course on April 4.

California-breds Eugene Sledge and Gaines controlled the pace in a two-horse battle for the lead throughout the 6 1/2-furlong contest, with jockey Antonio Fresu aboard 5-1 Eugene Sledge ultimately emerging as the winner by a neck in a final time of 1:15.81. Gaines held on for second to complete the $34.10 exacta with Florent Geroux in the irons, a half-length ahead of the third-place finisher in the field of 10.

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The winner was saddled by trainer Phil D’Amato, and earned $42,000 in his successful debut for owner Strand Beach LLC. Bred by Nick Alexander out of his homebred $709,540-earner S Y Sky, a graded stakes-winning daughter of Grazen, the chestnut gelding was sold for $24,000 through the 2024 Fasig-Tipton December Digital Selected Sale.

Runner-up Gaines, out of the Artie Schiller mare Dial a Date, pocketed $14,000 for his game effort on behalf of breeder / owner Harris Farms, which campaigns the colt with trainer Carla Gaines.

Sire Mo Forza competed at the top levels on turf from 2019 through 2021, earning more than $1 million as a seven-time graded stakes winner in Southern California. Now 10, the versatile Uncle Mo stallion has sent out seven winners from the distances of 4 1/2 furlongs to 1 1/16 miles on dirt, turf and all-weather surfaces, and ranks as the state’s leading second-crop sire with overall progeny earnings of $351,425 to date.

His 2026 fee at Rancho San Miguel is $5,000.

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