Harvest Moon Wins Stakes Debut in G3 Torrey Pines

It was a fourth stakes winner in 11 days for Uncle Mo on Saturday when Harvest Moon (3f Uncle Mo x Qaraaba, by Shamardal) won her stakes debut in the Grade III Torrey Pines Stakes at Del Mar.

Coming into the one mile dirt stakes with a two race win streak under her belt, Harvest Moon was content to race in midpack a little wide as the favorite. Moving down the backstretch, Harvest Moon entered the turn just two lengths off the leader.

Jockey Flavin Prat again had her a few paths wide around the turn to avoid any opposition and it paid off with the filly less than a length behind the leader as they turned into the stretch.

Harvest Moon had to set down for a drive but showed her determination to put her head in front with a furlong to go. Building her margin in the final sixteenth, Prat gave his mount a hand ride in the closing stages as she galloped to a 1¼ length victory.

“It was perfect,” Prat said. “She was nice and relaxed and I knew they were running very fast up front. She’s got speed if you want it, though. Last time I hardly asked her to run. Today, she was just waiting on me. She won it very nicely.”

Trained by Simon Callaghan for Michael Tabor and breeder Alice Bamford, it was the third straight victory for Harvest Moon. The filly became the second graded stakes winner for Grade III winner Qaraaba alongside Californiagoldrush with Qaraaba a half-sister to Grade III-placed Kifaah.

Harvest Moon has class throughout her pedigree with fourth dam dual Group I winner Salsabil and fifth dam bluehen mare Flame of Tara.

Uncle Mo is now the sire of 63 stakes horses with eight graded stakes winners in 2020 alone led by Grade I Kentucky Derby hopeful King Guillermo.