Our Last Chance collared Wearacap in deep stretch then held off the oncoming charge of Dawson’s Storm to win the $75,000 John Wayne Stakes by a determined neck at Prairie Meadows on Saturday, 21 June.
It was the hard-knocking Midshipman gelding’s second victory in the John Wayne, having captured it in 2023 and finishing second in the 2024 edition. Our Last Chance is now a three-time Stakes winner, having also won the Dan Johnson Sprint in 2023 (he was also a runner-up in that race in 2024). All told, the gelding is 9-6-4 in 29 starts and has earned $463,284.
Our Last Chance broke well under jockey Walter De La Cruz and was content to press the pacesetting Wearacap from second throughout the early stages of the six-furlong contest. Our Last Chance was set down for the drive at the top of the stretch and he responded, digging in gamely to collar Wearacap at the sixteenth pole to take the lead. He then determinedly held off the late bid of Dawson’s Storm in the final strides to win by a neck.
Bred in Iowa by Warren Bush and Ron Eich, Our Last Chance is out of the winning mare, Abc Me Win. In addition to Our Last Chance, Abc Me Win has produced Stakes winner My Sister Madi and Stakes-placed Dancing Nicky. Abc Me Win herself is out of the Stakes-winning mare, Chachagua, and is a half-sister to multiple Stakes winner, Executive Choice.
In addition to Our Last Chance, Midshipman is the sire of Navy Seal, winner of the Nodouble Breeders’ Stakes at Oaklawn Park and three Chilean G1 winners this year: Lucky Red (G1 El Derby), The Goat (G1 Dos Mil Guineas, G1 St. Leger), and Cassis Violeta (G1 Las Oaks).
