Early Voting got his second stakes winner of the Labor Day weekend on Sept. 7 when Early Encore cruised to a 6 ¼-length win in the $100,000 I’m Smokin S. at Del Mar.

One day earlier, Early Voting got his first stakes winner when Miss Monica won the Del Mar Debutante (G1) by a similar margin. With his 10 overall winners and $927,564 in progeny earnings, Early Voting is in the top 10 on the 2026 First-Crop Sire list.

As he did in his maiden win, Early Encore showed early speed to get to the front narrowly ahead of Prime Splash. Around the turn, Fumano’s Fire made his bid for the front spot, but Early Encore turned him away and opened up a three-length lead at the top of the stretch. He was all alone the rest of the way and stopped the timer in 1:11.31 on a fast track.

“We think he was kind of fighting the track in his last start,” said winning trainer John Sadler of the colt’s third-place finish a month ago in the Graduation S. “He had more time over it and he worked better and better so we expected a big run from him today. I didn’t think anyone would be close to him early, but they were. They kind of ran up in there. Credit to the rider, he was very calm on him and he knew he had horse all the way.”

Early Encore’s group of owners are Desert Sun Stables, Saints or Sinners, Tier Racing LLC, U Racing Stables LLC, Edwin Barker, John Haines, Christoper Kostoff, Monica, Kostoff, and Jeffrey  Levinson.

Early Encore was bred in California by Richard Barton Enterprises.