Mondego Finishes Best Of All Under Jaramillo To Win The Grade II Charles Whittingham Stakes Presented By FanDuel TV Going 1 ¼ Miles On Turf Saturday At Santa Anita

__MONDEGO FINISHES BEST OF ALL UNDER JARAMILLO TO WIN THE GRADE II CHARLES WHITTINGHAM STAKES PRESENTED BY FANDUEL TV GOING 1 ¼ MILES ON TURF SATURDAY AT SANTA ANIT__A

ARCADIA, CA (May 2, 2026)—Mondego and Emisael Jaramillo outfinished Flashiest to prevail by a half-length in the Grade II, $200,000 Charles Whittingham Stakes presented by FanDuel TV for older horses going 1 ¼ miles on turf Saturday at Santa Anita.

For Mondego, Jaramillo has proven to be a difference-maker. Mondego, who is trained by Michael McCarthy, had been 0-for-4 in graded stakes before Jaramillo took over on the gelding this winter. He promptly guided Mondego to his first graded stakes win in the GIII San Marcos, also at 1 ¼ miles. The pair have now added a win in the marquee long-distance turf race of the season at Santa Anita.

Balladeer (8-1), ridden by Kent Desormeaux, went to the lead and set a pace of 23.99, 47.18 and 1:11.76 for six furlongs as Flashiest tracked in second and Mondego settled in fourth. Flashiest ran past Balladeer entering the second turn, just as Jaramillo was also beginning his move on Mondego. Near the quarter pole, Mondeo ranged up to challenge Flashiest. That pair then battled to the wire with Mondego ultimately edging clear for the victory. The final time was 1:59.99.

“There was no traffic. It was beautiful,” Jaramillo said.

The Padre, the 3-5 favorite trained by Phil D’Amato, finished one length back of Flashiest in third. Hiding in Honduras (7-1) and Balladeer completed the order of finish.

Bred in Great Britain, Mondego is a 6-year-old gelding by Lope de Vega. He is owned by Cheyenne Stable. The win improved his record to 21: 5-1-4 with nearly $540,000 in earnings. With McCarthy at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby program Saturday, Mondego was saddled by his assistant, Chelsie Raabe.

“This is his best distance,” Raabe said. “I think we had a couple of really good starts earlier in the year, but we have kind of found that this is his sweet spot, so we just let him do his thing."

McCarthy previously won the Whittingham in 2023 with Offlee Naughty.

Mondego paid $7.60, $4.20 and $2.20. Flashiest, ridden by Armando Ayuso for trainer Leonard Powell, returned $5.20 and $2.40. The Padre, with Antonio Fresu aboard, paid $2.10.

Live racing resumes Sunday at Santa Anita with a nine-race card starting at 1 p.m. PT.

GRADE II, CHARLES WHITTINGHAM STAKES QUOTES

JOCKEY QUOTES

EMISAEL JARAMILLO, MONDEGO, WINNER: “There was no pace in the race. Only the Papaprodromou horse (Balladeer). There was no traffic. It was beautiful.”

TRAINER QUOTES

CHELSIE RAABE, ASSISTANT TO TRAINER MICHAEL MCCARTHY, MONDEGO, WINNER: “This is his best distance. I think we had a couple really good starts earlier in the year, but we have kind of found out that this is his sweet spot, so we just let him do his thing.”

NOTES: The winning trainer is Michael McCarthy. Cheyenne Stable, LLC is the winning owner.