“TOP CLASS” MASHALLAH CRUISES IN TYSON GILPIN; SABINO CANYON SCORES PETRAMALO MILE; VERIFIRE PUNCHES THROUGH IN REIGH COUNT

Photo credit: Coady Media

Photo credit: Coady Media

Photo credit: Coady Media

NEW KENT, Va. (Aug 1, 2026) — Class prevailed in Saturday’s trio of $100,000 Festival of Racing undercard dirt stakes at Colonial Downs as Mashallah dazzled in the Tyson Gilpin, Sabino Canyon rallied past odds-on favorite Bravaro in the Petramalo Mile, and Verifire added another stakes victory in the Hallway Feeds Reigh Count.

JR Ranch’s Mashallah turned in another commanding performance Saturday, cruising to victory in the $100,000 Tyson Gilpin and crossing the wire 5½ lengths ahead of her six sophomore rivals.

Trained by Brendan Walsh and ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, Mashallah completed seven furlongs in 1:21.37, drawing off under a confident ride while still full of run at the finish. Slewperstitus edged Wrong Shoes for second.

Mashallah burst onto the scene with a dazzling debut at Keeneland that earned a 106 Beyer Speed Figure, then backed it up with another dominant victory at Saratoga. She continued that upward trajectory in the Tyson Gilpin, never appearing threatened.

“That was as easy as it gets,” Gaffalione said. “A filly like that makes you look good. She just keeps improving every week. She’s developing, growing more mature, getting a lot stronger and more confident in herself.”

“This seemed like a nice spot for us to allow her to progress,” Walsh said. “She’s putting it all together. She’s very controlled and letting herself get her legs under her. I’m grateful to the owners, who have let me bring her along the way I’ve wanted to without having to press on her too much. She’s top class.”

The daughter of Maxfield, purchased for $1.25 million, returned $2.80, $2.20 and $2.10 while earning her third victory in four career starts and increasing her bankroll to $197,158.

Pegram, Watson and Weitman’s Sabino Canyon unleashed a strong stretch rally to wear down odds-on favorite Bravaro and capture the $100,000 Petramalo Mile, earning his second consecutive stakes victory.

Trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by John Velazquez, Sabino Canyon covered one mile over the dirt in 1:35.24, prevailing by a neck.

Breaking sharply from the outside post, Sabino Canyon settled just off the pace as Bravaro and Six Speed dueled through the opening stages. Asked for more entering the far turn, Sabino Canyon ranged up to the favorite at the top of the stretch and outfinished Bravaro by a neck. Exosome rallied to finish third.

“He broke well and I got him into a comfortable stride,” Velazquez said. “I got him moving on the turn and once he saw the horse on the lead, he got aggressive, and that’s what I was looking for.”

Sabino Canyon returned $9.40, $3.60 and $2.80 while earning his second consecutive stakes victory to improve his record to 4-2-0-0 with earnings of $124,400.

Resolute Racing, Delta Squad Racing and Anderson Stables’ Verifire punched past pacesetter Celtic Contender in deep stretch to capture the $100,000 Hallway Feeds Reigh Count.

Trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Manny Franco, Verifire completed seven furlongs in 1:20.14.

Breaking on top alongside Celtic Contender, Verifire pressed the leader through the opening stages. After tightening the screws around the far turn, Verifire ranged up entering the stretch before wearing down Celtic Contender inside the final furlong and pulling away to win by 2¼ lengths. Celtic Contender held on for second, while Zero Blitz overcame early trouble to finish third.

“First off the layoff, he ran well but got beat by a really nice horse in Harrodsburg,” assistant trainer Trace Messina said. “Second off the bench, he got back to the winner’s circle. This was a good spot to keep his confidence going and hopefully build toward some exciting things later in the year.”

Verifire returned $4.00, $2.80 and $2.20 to earn his second stakes win, improving his career record to 7-5-0-1 and increasing his lifetime earnings to $383,404.