Taj Mahal guts out Miracle Wood triumph
Brittany Russell-Sheldon Russell team sweep soph stakes
Frank Vespe
February 21, 2026
The challenges will only get tougher for Taj Mahal.
So far, though, the three-year-old Nyquist colt has passed the tests trainer Brittany Russell has put in front of him.
In today’s $100,000 Miracle Wood Stakes, he successfully took on winners, handled a stretch out from six furlongs to a mile on an off track that was sealed and muddy, and overcame shortish rest – all for the first time in just his second career outing.
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“I’m delighted with him,” Russell said. “I’m delighted, and I won’t be running him back in two weeks.”
It was only Feb. 6 that Taj Mahal, a $525,000 yearling purchase owned by SF Racing LLC et. al., made his career debut. That came in eye-catching fashion as he overcame a slow break to inhale his rivals while wide on the course, winning by over four lengths while earning a 72 Beyer speed figure.
“It’s definitely not a move for me to run one back this quickly off a maiden run,” Russell acknowledged ahead of the Miracle Wood.
Then again: hard to pass up a six-figure purse over your home track with a horse who, as Russell said, was bred to be a stakes horse.
While Taj Mahal broke slowly first time out, that proved no issue today. He broke alertly, and jockey Sheldon Russell quickly put him on the lead.
“He’s always a horse that’s broken good [in the mornings],” the rider explained. “He warmed up very fresh, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to rate him going a mile.”
Running free on the lead was a different matter.
Taj Mahal doled out a measured quarter-mile in 24.31 seconds while opening a 2 ½-length lead. The lead was still a length after a half in 48.15 seconds, and by then his nearest pursuer, Higher Sense, was about ready to throw in the towel.
Post time favorite Let’s Go Lando, however, was revving up his run while three wide. Under apprentice rider Yedsit Hazlewood, that runner reached nearly even terms as the field reached the quarter pole, and that left the two runners the full length of the stretch to settle matters.
They slugged it out in close quarters as Taj Mahal drifted outward several paths, but try as he might, the more experienced Let’s Go Lando, an allowance winner last out, could not get by. In the end, Taj Mahal prevailed by a neck in 1:39.47 for the one-turn mile. Let’s Go Lando was nearly four lengths ahead of show horse Close the Gate.
“As long as [Let’s Go Lando] didn’t put his head in front and sort of overtake me, I was OK to sit chilly,” Sheldon Russell said. “He was ready for the fight.”
Off as the second choice, Taj Mahal paid $6.60 to win and topped an exacta that returned $5.90 for a one-dollar wager. Taj Mahal is now 2-for-2 in his young career with $88,200 banked.
Brittany Russell said she was not sure what the next step would be for Taj Mahal. Locally the next sophomore stake is the 1 1/16-mile Private Terms March 21.
But for the moment, she was pleased to see her charge had handled a tough assignment with aplomb.
“That was guts,” she said. “He’s a nice horse. He’s still figuring things out, and I still think he’s a bit of a baby mentally. I’ll tell you what: this race will tighten him up.”
Sheldon and Brittany Russell garnered a pair of stakes wins on the day. One race prior, their Peach Tie won the $100,000 Wide Country for sophomore fillies by three lengths in a field of four. Off at 3-5, Peach Tie paid $3.20 to win.
The sophomore Preservationist filly, owned by the Estate of Brereton Jones, is now 5-for-5 on dirt and owns a pair of stakes wins. Her only defeat to date came when third on the synthetic in the Presque Isle Downs Debutante.
“She helps me a lot. She’s game,” Sheldon Russell said. “She’s pretty handy, and I’m just happy for the team.”
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