Edited from the TDN (link)

STARS AND STRIDES (c, 3, American Pharoah–Holiday Blues, by Ghostzapper) debuted a winner by a head over a sloppy track at the Spa June 7, then was well-beaten behind Rookie Card when he caught a fast main in an allowance race upstate July 19.

Trying turf and off as a 9-1 shot here, the colt was up on the pace in the early stages before being taken back into the second flight before the first turn. A trio of pacesetters pushed one another along as the field entered the backstretch, but Stars And Strides was patiently being handled in the meantime.

Entering the far turn, jockey Junior Alvarado began to let out the throttle on his mount and the 3-year-old tipped to the two path off the rail. The bay went after the lone longshot leader Landing Craft on the straight, but a misstep nearly derailed his run to the wire.

Getting things sorted by the sixteenth pole, Stars And Strides found the right gear and reached the wire by 3/4 length to the good over a charging Griffin’s Wharf. A claim of foul was lodged by the second place horse against the winner, but no change was issued by the stewards.

The winner is a half-brother to Panther Island (Speightstown), SW, $254,120. Holiday Blues produced filly Jet Mist (Frosted) who is currently an unraced 2-year-old and a colt by Maxfield, now a yearling. This dam was a $210,000 buy for Maytime Bloodstock during the 2025 Keeneland January Sale, while an April filly by Arcangelo was in-utero. Holiday Blues was bred to McKinzie for 2026.

As for Stars And Strides’s grand dam, Canadian MSW Deputy Cures Blues (War Deputy), she is responsible for MSW Wine Police (Speightstown). This is an extended female family that includes Canadian SW Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk (Mutakddim).