Anegada began the new year the same way he closed out the old one – by winning a Stakes race. This time the win came in a Listed event, the $200,000 John B. Connelly Turf Cup, contested over 12 furlongs at Sam Houston Race Park.
The newly turned four-year-old Midshipman gelding rallied from off the pace and charged past longtime leader Presider to win by a length over a turf course listed as yielding due to a steady, all-day rain.
Anegada added the Connally Turf Cup victory to a resume that already boasted of wins in the Hawthorne Derby and The Last Hurrah Stakes. The gelding also finished a close fourth in both the G2 Secretariat Stakes and G3 Commonwealth Turf.
Patiently ridden by jockey Rafael Hernandez, Anegada was allowed to settle off the pace in fifth early, saving ground along the rail, as Presider went to the lead. Country Caper and Ocelot tracked in second and third, with Nineeleventurbo in fourth, just ahead of Anegada as the field passed the stands for the first time.
Anegada remained perfectly positioned down the backstretch, hugging the rail as he waited to make his move. That came on the far turn, as he snuck up the inside before swinging out three-wide at the top of the stretch. Under a full head of steam and in the clear, Anegada came with a determined run, eventually sweeping past Presider in the final furlong to win by a length.
Anegada was bred in Kentucky by Leonard Supchak and is out of the multiple Stakes-winning mare, Love Cove (Not For Love). In addition to Anegada, Love Cove is also the dam of Stakes winner Bibby (Stormy Atlantic), Stakes-placed Diamond Hands (Frosted), and Stakes-placed Broken Hearts Bay (Super Saver).
In addition to Anegada, Midshipman was also the sire of 2025 two-time Graded Stakes winner, Surface to Air; two-time Stakes winner, Kontiki; and Stakes winners Snow Face Princess (Bolton Landing Stakes); Royal Testament (Rosie’s Stakes); Gerrards Cross (Colleen Stakes); Navy Seal and One Last Chance.
Midshipman will stand the 2026 breeding season at Jonabell Farm for $15,000, stands and nurses.
