Not This Time closed out a spectacular Thanksgiving racing weekend Sunday at Del Mar with his third stakes winner of the holiday when Unrivaled Time outdueled rivals to win the Cecil B. DeMille S. (G3).
The 2-year-old colt was making his stakes debut following a 4 ½-length maiden special weight win Oct. 19 at Santa Anita Park.
Unrivaled Time secured a spot in fourth while tracking the leaders around the first turn and continued to hold his spot in the two path down the backstretch. Around the final bend Unrivaled Time got closer to the lead and was in tight quarters between horses turning for home. Showing great determination down the lane, he forged to the front with a sixteenth to go and dug in to hold off Iriseach (IRE) by three-quarters of a length.
“I was very happy with our position early on and very happy with how the race unfolded,” trainer Leonard Powell said. “He let a couple of speed horses go for it and settled then came with one run like he did when he broke his maiden. He broke his maiden against Cal-breds and the question mark was he good enough to step up and the answer is ‘yes’.”
With the win, Unrivaled Time is 2-0-0 in three starts. The bay colt is owned by Innergy Racing Corp. and Alfred Pais, the latter also his breeder.
Unrivaled Time is Not This Time’s 55th lifetime graded/group stakes winner, and one of his 14 graded winners in 2025. Over the weekend, Not This Time was also responsible for Clark S. (G2) winner Magnitude and Fern Creek S. winner On Time Girl, both at Churchill Downs.
