Hit Show, the reigning champion of the $12 million Dubai World Cup, continued his preparation for a repeat performance with a narrow victory in the $242,500 Mineshaft Stakes (G3) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots on Saturday. The 6-year-aged gray or roan horse, owned by Wathnan Racing, edged out Accelerize by a head in a thrilling finish.
Trained by Brad H. Cox and ridden by Florent Geroux, Hit Show settled into third or fourth position early in the 1 1/16-mile race, tracking the pace set by Accelerize and Time to Win. Geroux urged Hit Show into contention on the second turn, initiating a drive that ultimately proved successful, though hard-fought. Accelerize, under pressure, stubbornly resisted Hit Show’s advances until the sixteenth pole, drifting out slightly in the final stages but ultimately unable to hold off the winner.
The final time was 1:42.49, with fractions of :23.53, :47.04, and 1:11.10, all established by Accelerize. Hit Show returned a win price of $4.20. “He’s a fighter,” Geroux said in a post-race interview.
Saturday’s victory brings Hit Show’s record to 12 wins in 24 starts, with earnings exceeding $9 million. The horse previously raced for Gary and Mary West, his breeders, before being purchased privately by Wathnan Racing in 2024. Cox’s assistant trainer, Ricky Giannini, expressed optimism about the horse’s chances in the upcoming Dubai World Cup. “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,” 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 is a son of Candy Ride, who currently stands at Lane’s Finish for a stud fee of $60,000 for 2026, and out of the grade 2-winning Tapit mare Actress. He is one of three winners from four foals and starters produced by Actress.
The Mineshaft Stakes was one of three graded stakes races held at Fair Grounds on Saturday. His Royal Highness Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud’s Lagynos won the $175,000 Fair Grounds Stakes (G3T), finishing 1 1/8 miles on turf in 1:48.02 under Jose Ortiz. Farfellow Farms’ Expensive Queen took the $100,000 Albert M. Stall Memorial Stakes, rallying to defeat Medoro, while BG Stables and Selman Shaby’s homebred Usually Wrong secured a second consecutive stakes victory in the $97,000 Colonel Power Stakes, completing 5 1/2 furlongs on turf in 1:02.28.