Wandering Eyes

Small breeder Courtney Meagher is dreaming of Kentucky Oaks (G1) lilies with Taken by the Wind, a product of her compact program. With the filly coming from a crop of just four foals in 2023, Meagher continues to defy the odds.View the full article

Zac Purton lauded trainer Manfred Man’s horsemanship after Patch Of Cosmo (NZ) (Super Seth) successfully returned from injury to stake a claim for the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) at Sha Tin on Sunday. Sidelined since March, 2025 after suffering a tendon injury, Patch Of Cosmo eclipsed a classy group of rivals to win by a neck from Aerodynamics and Pope Cody in 1m 34.53s after jumping from barrier nine. Rated 77 pre-race, the Super Seth gelding deserves his place in the Hong Kong Classic Mile, according to Purton, who will ride Sagacious Life in the first leg of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series, which also includes the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m) on 1 March and the HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) on 22 March. “First of all, it was a really good training performance. This horse has been off from 10 months with a tendon (injury) and he’s come back at the top of Class 3, carrying a lot of weight, first-up at a mile and he’s won,” Purton said. “That’s not easy to do. “So, they want to take their place in the Four-Year-Old (Classic) Series now and he’s not going to be out of place. He’s a relatively lightly-raced horse, he’s got plenty more there.” Patch Of Cosmo was sold by Waikato Stud at the 2023 Karaka Book 1 Sale to Richardson Racing and was then offered by Riversley Park at the Ready To Run Sale where he was sold to Mr KM Yeung. Emblazon (Zoustar), made it three wins from six starts for Cody Mo and Chau when the 64-rater overhauled Flash Current in the first section of the Class 3 Fencing Handicap (1400m). Emblazon was sold by Riversley Park at the 2023 Ready To Run Sale and won a trial for Paul Richards. Trainer Jamie Richards posted a double at Sha Tin on Sunday. Photo: Hong Kong Jockey Club Trainer Jamie Richards slotted a double with three-year-old Cool Boy (NZ) (Per Incanto) in the first section of the Class 4 Cycling Handicap (1200m) for James Orman. Richards also struck when City Gold Banner swept to victory under Zac Purton in the Class 3 15th National Games Hong Kong Medallists Cup Handicap. “Cool Boy has been racing well, I thought it was a good effort considering he had to carry 135lb,” Richards said. “He was aided by a beautiful ride from James, who’s riding really well.” Jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle slotted his first winner in Hong Kong when he piloted John Size-trained Flow Water Flow (NZ) (Proisir) to victory in the Class 4 Triathlon Handicap (1600m). “Very happy and it’s a great place to be competing. I’ve been very lucky, I’ve been getting on some nice horses in the last few weeks. I’ve been getting plenty of support and massive thanks to John Size. He’s been extra special, he’s been throwing a lot at me and thankfully I can reward him with a winner,” the Irishman said. “He (Flow Water Flow) had a really good record coming into this race. He’d been hitting the crossbar (with three seconds) in his first three starts. Stepping up to 1600m was going to be a big help to him today and he was good and strong the last 100 metres – thankfully, he got his head in front.” Flow Water Flow was sold from the draft of Kiltannon Stables at the 2023 Ready To Run Sale to Merrick Staunton. View the full article

Six-time Group One-winning sprinter Ka Ying Rising (NZ) (Shamexpress) has been crowned Timeform’s Horse of the Year (2025). Trained by David Hayes, last season’s Hong Kong Horse of the Year (2024/25) also earned the accolade as Timeform’s Champion Sprinter (2025). A record-breaking phenom, Ka Ying Rising has earned HK$122.57 million and has won 17 of 19 career starts, including 16 in succession – equal to Golden Sixty’s record and one shy of Silent Witness’ all-time record in the city (17). According to Timeform, New Zealand-bred Ka Ying Rising had five individual performances where he rated 130 upwards last year when he collective five Group 1 wins and two in Group 2 – all part of his 16-race unbeaten streak, which he puts on the line in next week’s (Sunday, 25 January) HK$13 million G1 Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m) at Sha Tin. “He’s the best horse I’ve trained and he’ll be the best horse I’ve seen if he keeps going the way he is,” Hayes said. “His best attributes are his high-cruising speed and his ability to lengthen at the business end of his races.” Ahead of his second consecutive HK$28 million Gr.1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) success last December, the five-year-old’s HK$3.72 million Class 1 HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup Handicap (1200m) win at Sha Tin under Zac Purton earned him the unmatched Timeform rating of 135 to claim top spot for the year. Conceding nine pounds to second-placed Gr.1 winner Lucky Sweynesse, Ka Ying Rising lumped 135lb to first-up victory on 7 September over 11 rivals – many of whom carried 115lb – before then travelling overseas, where he claimed the world’s richest race on turf at Royal Randwick in Sydney, Australia – the AU$20 million (approx. HK$101 million) G1 The Everest (1200m) – as the first foreign horse to achieve the feat. Earlier in his career as a four-year-old in 2024, Ka Ying Rising won the HK$5.35 million G2 BOCHK Private Banking Jockey Club Sprint (1200m), remarkably lowering Sacred Kingdom’s 17-year 1200m turf track record at Sha Tin from 1m 07.50s to 1m 07.43s. Over a month later in his first 2025 triumph, Ka Ying Rising then powered home in an extraordinary 1m 07.20s to land the Centenary Sprint Cup – leg one of the Hong Kong Speed Series – in what was the first of eight wins throughout the year. Ka Ying Rising then claimed the Hong Kong Speed Series and the HK$5 million bonus with success in the HK$13 million Gr.1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m) and Gr.1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) to round out his 2024/25 season in Hong Kong. Mr Vitality (1995/96), Grand Delight (2002/03), Silent Witness (2003/04 & 2004/05) and Lucky Sweynesse (2022/23) have previously claimed the Hong Kong Speed Series. The remaining awards for 2025 saw Calandagan named Timeform’s Champion Middle-Distance performer on 133; Field Of Gold was Timeform’s Champion Miler on 127; Minnie Hauk was acclaimed Timeform’s Champion Filly/Mare on 127, while Trawlerman was Timeform’s Champion Stayer, also rated 127. Founded in 1948 by Phil Bull, Timeform is a leading sports data and content provider based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom. View the full article

Valiant Crusader (Crusader Sword) passed away at Old Friends at Cabin Creek on Jan. 17, according to farm release on Sunday. The 25-year-old stallion was humanely euthanized after sustaining injuries in a paddock accident. “Cru meant so much to us,” said JoAnn Pepper, owner and manager of Old Friends at Cabin Creek. “He could brighten the day just by standing there. He was fun and happy. He loved every meal, just like his father did. He leaves us sad, but blessed to have known and loved him.” Valiant Crusader retired to Old Friends at Cabin Creek in May of 2024 after volunteer Mary Eddy found him listed on Craigslist outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to his arrival at Cabin Creek, Valiant Crusader changed hands several times, and was primarily used to breed quarter horse mares. As a racehorse, the New York-bred out of the Diablo mare Diablo's Pixie raced four times at Aqueduct Racetrack over two seasons for trainer John Hertler before retiring following a sixth-place finish in 2004. The farm release read, “Valiant Crusader is best remembered by the volunteers and visitors at Old Friends at Cabin Creek, where he stood watch over the farm from one of two paddocks atop the front hill and across from Group 1-winner A Shin Forward. Valiant Crusader, much like his father, was an especially gentle stallion, and even spent time in a paddock with gelding Watchem Smokey. His kind-hearted nature and soft eyes made him one of the most welcoming horses on the farm for new volunteers and visitors alike. Old Friends at Cabin Creek is proud and honored to have provided this noble stallion a soft landing for his final years as he served as a perfect ambassador for the proper retirement of all thoroughbreds. The post Valiant Crusader Passes at Old Friends at Cabin Creek appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Multiple grade 2-placed Originaire was represented by his first winner Jan. 18 as 3-year-old Original One proved best on debut in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden race for $32,000 claimers at Santa Anita Park.View the full article

Dr. William Baxter Jr.'s Stony Pointe Stables are going for it with New York-bred Fourth and One in the $200,000 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack Jan. 31.View the full article

Off to a hot start to the year with her nine-horse stable, trainer Aggie Ordonez is targeting grade 1s on March 7 at Santa Anita Park with Vodka Vodka and Om N Joy.View the full article

The Week in Review Last month, when parties on both sides of a pending class-action lawsuit over computer-assisted wagering (CAW) argued in federal court over allegations that the nation's biggest racetracks have conspired with “insider” high-volume bettors to rig pari-mutuel pools at the expense of small-scale horseplayers, the defendants in the case-the New York Racing Association (NYRA), The Stronach Group (TSG), Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), Racing and Gaming Services (RGS), AmTote International, United Tote, and Elite Turf Club-wrote letters to the judge purporting that plaintiff Ryan Dickey was using “hyperbole” and “rhetoric” to generate “headline-grabbing” attention designed to mislabel “common, lawful practices” as part of a “smear” campaign. Dickey, a Colorado resident who stated in his complaint that, as a casual bettor, he had wagered about $100 weekly for several decades before quitting horseplaying nearly two years ago over frustrations with alleged “manipulation of the betting pools,” fired back with his own correspondence. The paragraph that stood out in Dickey's Dec. 29 court filing was an assertion that the harms of CAW were “beyond dispute,” and that he and other class-action members would be able to prove those claims if the judge compelled the bet-takers and wager-processors to release archived pari-mutuel records via the process of discovery, which is the formal pretrial process by which each party obtains information and evidence from the other side. “[H]ere, where totalizers maintain meticulous, auditor-ready records, there is no question that Plaintiff can not only conceptualize their injuries but quantify them with precision,” Dickey's legal team wrote to the judge. This case is still a long way from being certified as a class-action suit that would open it up to a theoretically limitless number of similarly aggrieved horseplayers who, like Dickey, feel bamboozled by being on the wrong side of the CAW equation. And the lawsuit's contentions that CAW play amounts to a “scheme” that runs afoul of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) will likely be difficult to prove, if that aspect of the case even survives the defendants' numerous pending motions for dismissal. But even if Dickey doesn't end up winning those broad aspects of his overall case, just getting the tracks to reveal the inner workings of how they negotiate and implement CAW contracts, backed by day-to-day pari-mutuel settlement and CAW records, could end up being considered a significant victory for low-volume horseplayers in the form of making the tracks pull back the curtain on opaque, industry-wide wagering practices. Increasingly, “minnow” bettors are leaving the marketplace because of perceptions that privileged high-rollers are getting a predatory edge by buying their way in to the use of sophisticated technologies that allow them to precisely read pari-mutuel markets and place a dizzying array of batched bets across many pools in the final seconds before a race goes off. In addition, these “whales” are offered attractive effective takeout rates and volume-based rebates that are unavailable to the average horseplayer. The defendants, too, seem keenly aware that the process of discovery could be harmful to their reputations and financial bottom lines. On Friday, just before the start of the long federal holiday weekend, all of the defendants, via two separate filings in United States District Court (Eastern District of New York), asked the judge to keep any discovery from going forward until the court resolves all of the forthcoming motions to dismiss the case. “The scope of Plaintiff's purported class is breathtaking,” stated the Jan. 16 joint motion made by NYRA, TSG, RGS, AmTote and Elite. “The broad variety of activities implicated by Plaintiff's Complaint-horseracing, track operations, betting platforms, CAW bets, non-CAW bets, regulations and regulators from all 50 states-and the sprawling alleged conspiracy ensure that discovery will be immense,” the motion stated. “Discovery will be particularly burdensome on Defendants-riddled with trade secret and proprietary information requiring significant protections,” the motion stated. “Permitting discovery to proceed in this matter before resolution of all Defendants' forthcoming motions to dismiss will unfairly prejudice Defendants by requiring Defendants to search for, collect, and produce documents, data, and information with respect to a boundless, nationwide class,” the motion stated. “Moreover, Plaintiff's purported class can only be defined through access to Defendants' records, which will require burdensome and expedited discovery in order to identify class members,” the motion stated. “Such an effort is not prudent here, where Plaintiff is unlikely to succeed on his claims,” the motion stated. “This Court should exercise its discretion and refuse to permit Plaintiff to engage in voluminous, nationwide discovery prior to resolution of Defendants' forthcoming motions to dismiss, which, if successful, will obviate the need for any discovery in this matter,” the motion stated. Ironically, right around the same time on Friday that attorneys for NYRA joined the legal teams of the other defendants in pleading to the court that “trade secret” documentation about CAW shouldn't be allowed to see the light of day, David O'Rourke, NYRA's chief executive officer and president, was explaining during a meeting of the New York State Franchise Oversight Board (FOB) how NYRA is trying to help the retail player by leveling the CAW playing field. O'Rourke detailed to the FOB (which is the governor-appointed committee that represents the interests of New York State in the real estate at Belmont, Aqueduct and Saratoga) many of the same CAW-curbing points he first revealed Dec. 9 at the Global Symposium on Racing in Tucson, Arizona. Those efforts, which have yet to be implemented but will represent the most aggressive steps yet taken by any track operator in America to manage CAW play, include limiting all NYRA bettors to a maximum of six wagers per second within one minute to post in all pools, plus an eventual rollout of raw odds data so that (if they have the tools to decipher it) every player, large and small, can see the same information that right now only CAW players have access to. O'Rourke acknowledged NYRA initially planned to have these CAW limitations in place this month, but that the implementation of the new protocols might be slightly delayed. “We're calling them guardrails. But it really is throughput,” O'Rourke said Jan. 16. “And there's some industry plumbing that needs to be effectuated for that. And right now, [the projected rollout is] last week of January, first week of February. We'll get a definitive timeline from Elite on that, and then we'll alert everyone. “CAW play is nothing new,” O'Rourke explained. “It's basically people using computer algorithms to wager on bets. And pari-mutuel is a very interesting and old form of wagering [in] that the odds aren't definitive until every bet's taken and the pools are closed. “As we've seen in a lot of different factors in life, as compute [power] increases, intelligence increases. And unfortunately, for pari-mutuel wagering, volatility increases right at the end [of betting cycles]. And what it was really doing, was, kind of, reducing the quality of the product in the perception of the retail player, for lack of a better way of putting it,” O'Rourke told the FOB. “So our real objective is to reduce volatility, to smooth that out. What we're doing is putting in volume caps essentially when the clock hits one minute to post. And that's technically two minutes to [the race going] off. Usually it's a little bit longer, though,” O'Rourke said. “CAW has been traditionally classified in simulcast agreements as six bets per second, anything above that. So we've decided to leverage that, throttle down all play-everyone-once the clock hits one minute to post,” O'Rourke said. “The reason that we focused on the six-second rule was that's pretty much [standard] contractual [language] in most [simulcast] contracts across the industry. Not globally, but the majority of the larger ones,” O'Rourke said. “So we feel good that everyone's going to comply with that, because it's been in the rules for quite a long time.” As for the stigma of odds changing after a race goes off, O'Rourke acknowledge it's been problematic, but that NYRA has attempted to address the issue since first limiting CAW play in selected pools back in 2021. “To put it simply, it's annoying,” O'Rourke said. “A little over four years ago, we actually curbed it in the win pool. And then we had several other pools that we introduced, like the late pick five. [And] what we were doing [was] effectively stopping the odds from changing once the gates are opened. “But that's a little bit of window dressing when you really get down to it,” O'Rourke said. “Really, when you get down to it, it's about the volatility in those last couple of cycles. So now we're really getting to the core of the problem,” O'Rourke said. “We're working with the [Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau], which is the industry watchdog for wagering, to create a volatility metric. It's really how much are these odds moving in the last two minutes. And that's going to become our gauge, and what we're going to attempt to reduce,” O'Rourke said. “I anticipate this is going to evolve as we go through,” O'Rourke predicted, adding later that, “we're going to have to keep massaging how we're approaching it.” As far as dealing with the problem of CAW bettors being able to access more intricate details of odds data than what retail customers can see, O'Rourke said there is one master feed coming out of the tote embedded with all that information, “and what we're essentially going to do, in at least one place, if not multiple, is just make that odds feed available to the public. “I think it actually has potential, really, to feed into new-generation way of looking at pari-mutuel betting,” O'Rourke said. “So as part of this, our strategy is to make more information available, more tools available. Develop tools ourselves, in effect, using AI, or machine learning, to help the retail player, and change the way the product looks and feels to somebody coming into the track,” O'Rourke said. “This wagering product has not changed in generations. I think there's a big opportunity for a way to kind of look at how we produce and offer our gambling content,” O'Rourke said. “I think this is the beginning of a very interesting journey for the sport. Sometimes it takes an inflection point, and I think the inflection point was definitely met this [past] year in terms of the feedback that we were getting from our core retail players,” O'Rourke said. “This is something you have to do. And we're taking steps. That's why we're trying to work our way into this,” O'Rourke said. “But I don't think there's really any way not to do this if pari-mutuel betting is going to evolve and compete on today's landscape,” O'Rourke said. The post Trying to Stifle CAW ‘Trade Secrets’ in Court while at the Same Time Rolling Out Help for Small-Scale Horseplayers appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

During Sunday's post position draw at Gulfstream Park, Juddmonte Farm's Disco Time (Not This Time) gained the nod as the 8-5 morning-line favorite while drawing Post 1 for Saturday's GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational. Disco Time is undefeated in five prior starts, including last season's GII Lecomte Stakes, St Louis Derby and Withers Stakes. The 4-year-old is trained by Brad Cox, who also WinStar Farm, CHC Inc., Cold Press Racing and Qatar Racing's Tappan Street (Into Mischief), winner of last season's GI Curlin Florida Derby. The former, given an 8-1 chance, will be ridden by Flavien Prat while the latter will be accompanied by Luis Saez. Cox previously won the race with Horse of the Year Knicks Go in 2021. Returning to defend his title, C2 Racing Stable LLC, Gary Barber and La Milagrosa Stable LLC's White Abarrio (Race Day) was installed the second morning-line choice at 4-1 for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. Last seen finishing off-the-board in the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup last summer, the 7-year-old will break from Post 11 with Irad Ortiz Jr. in the irons. Also representing Joseph Jr., Daniel Alonso's Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) returns off a victory in the Dec. 20 GIII Harlan's Holiday Stakes. Third behind his stablemate in last year's renewal of the race, the 7-year-old will be accompanied by Tyler Gaffalione while breaking from Post 5. He is 15- on the morning-line. In search of his fourth Pegasus win, Bob Baffert is represented by SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC and partners' Madaket Road (Quality Road), who drew Post 6. Hall of Famer Mike Smith has the mount. The 4-year-old was given a 10-1 chance on the morning line. Nice Guys Stables' Mika (Catholic Boy), runner-up in the GII Cigar Mile last time out for trainer Mike Maker, was rated at 10-1 on the morning line after drawing Post 10. Manuel Franco has the return mount. St. Elias Stable's Captain Cook (Practical Joke) will break from Post 9 for a bid to give Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher a second Pegasus World Cup success, joining Life Is Good in 2022. The 4-year-old finished second in the GIII Perryville at Keeneland and GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial at Saratoga in his last two starts, has been installed the 15-1 on the morning line. Hall of Famer John Velazquez will ride Captain Cook for the first time Saturday. The field is rounded out by British Isles (Justify) (20-1, Post 2), Full Serrano (Full Mast) (12-1, Post 3), Banishing (Ghostzapper) (20-1, Post 4), Poster (Munnings) (20-1, Post 8), Brotha Keny (Mo Town) (30-1, Post 12), Lightning Tones (Tonalist) (AE, Post 13), Catalytic (Catalina Cruiser) (AE, Post 14). The 10th anniversary of the nine-furlong test for older horses, Pegasus World Cup Day will also feature the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational and the GII Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf. The post Disco Time Draws Rail, Morning-Line Favorite for Pegasus World Cup appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Taken by the Wind (Rock Your World) remained undefeated and took another step closer to a start in the GI Kentucky Oaks when capturing Saturday's Silverbulletday Stakes at the Fair Grounds. But a day later, what was most on the mind of trainer Kenny McPeek was what he called a “bureaucratic nightmare” that she had to overcome to even make the $150,000 race. The Silverbulletday was Taken by the Wind's first start since she won the Sept. 13 Pocahontas Stakes at Churchill Downs. McPeek said that she was sidelined not by injury, but by a decision made by Dr. Nick Smith, the chief racing veterinarian for the Kentucky Racing Commission, to put the filly on the vet's list after her win in the Pocahontas. “The Kentucky state vets wouldn't let her run until this weekend,” McPeek said. “She won the Pocahontas and then the Kentucky vets put her on the vet's list after the race. I never understood why. It's ridiculous what they did. We've never found anything wrong with her. They forced us to bone-scan her, to PET scan her. We've done everything, and Dr. Nick Smith wouldn't let her run. He didn't like the way she moves. This was one of the most frustrating things I've ever dealt with as a horse trainer. She should have won the Alcibiades and she should already be a Grade I winner. She was going to be the even-money favorite in that race. And then we would have taken her to the Breeders' Cup.” McPeek said that his filly was not removed from the vet's list until after a Dec. 29 workout at Oaklawn Park. “We had to ship her to Oaklawn to work her to get her off the HISA vet's list,” he said. “And we had to ship her back to the Fair Grounds to run her. I hope it's not going to be an on-going issue because we've never found so much as a bump or bruise on her. We don't know what it has been about. But Dr. Smith seems to think that his eyes are stronger than PET scans and bone scans. We've been very frustrated by it. It has hurt her value. You watch. She'll win the next one, and I think she has a very good chance of winning the Oaks. This is a very good filly. She does everything right. We're dealing with this regularly, especially in Kentucky. They are basically picking us apart, and this filly has been caught up in a bureaucratic nightmare. But her talent keeps rising.” McPeek, known for his ability to find talented horses at bargain prices, purchased Taken by the Wind for $20,000 at the Fasig-Tipton October yearling sale. But he said there's more to the story, and it also involves horses winding up on the vet's list in Kentucky. “The $20,000 is a little bit of an aberration,” he said. “I bought her as a yearling in July for $70,000 for Walking L Thoroughbreds, which is owned by a gentleman named Scott Leeds. For years, he's been one of my best clients. He decided to divest himself of everything after we bought her and after he had a list of horses go on the Kentucky vet's list. He said. 'Just sell everything.' I said, 'You shouldn't sell her because I think she's a pretty good filly.' He said, 'No, just run her through the sale.' He ran her through the sale in October, and I wasn't going to let her go for nothing. I think people hesitated. I think they were thinking, 'Why did Kenny buy her in July for $70,000 and now he's selling her back in October? Is there something wrong with her?' No, there was nothing wrong with her whatsoever. l just protected her and bought her back.” The good news is that McPeek formed a new ownership group, and it includes a celebrity, the Hall of Fame quarterback and Fox NFL analyst Terry Bradshaw. “Terry watched the race from the Fox NFL studio with all of his cohorts and colleagues,” McPeek said. “They hadn't gone on the air yet. He was there with 15 to 20 people. They watched the race together and they had a blast.” McPeek added that Taken by the Wind will likely run next in the GII Fair Grounds Oaks on Mar. 21 or the GII Fantasy Stakes, which will be run on Mar. 27 at Oaklawn Park. The post McPeek Wins The Silverbulletday With Taken by the Wind But Frustrations Linger appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Vodka Vodka (Stay Thirsty), winner of Saturday's Unusual Heat Turf Classic, exited his first stakes win in good form, according to trainer Aggie Ordonez Sunday morning. “He ate all his dinner last night, his legs are cold and tight this morning,” she added. Vodka Vodka won the 1 1/8-mile Turf Classic by a half-length under Hall of Famer Kent Desormeaux. In his only previous stakes try, which came on Opening Day of the Classic Meet, Vodka Vodka finished fourth on dirt in GII Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes. Bred by co-owners Jerry Baker and Connie Baker, Vodka Vodka is a 5-year-old gelding out of the Hard Spun mare Margie's Minute. His year-younger half-sister Om N Joy (Om), provided Ordonez last year with her first graded stakes win in the GIII Torrey Pines at Del Mar. The two siblings combined helped Ordonez produce a career-best year in 2025 with $645,233 in earnings, more than double her previous high. Ordonez currently has nine horses in her stable. “It's unbelievable to have the two best horses of my career running at the same time. In the barn, healthy and sound at the beginning of a new year,” Ordonez said. “I look back on last year and I couldn't have dreamed to put something like that together. I almost didn't want the year to change. I didn't want to flip the calendar. I thought we can't possibly keep that going or do it again. Then right off the bat Dark Omen comes up with a giant race to break his maiden here and now Vodka Vodka becomes a stakes winner. It's more than I could dream.” Dark Omen (Om), a 3-year-old gelding, was a debut winner on Jan. 10 at Santa Anita for Ordonez and owners-breeders Larry and Marianne Williams. Next up for Vodka Vodka and Om N Joy could be Grade I's on Mar. 7 at Santa Anita. Ordonez is eyeing the GI Santa Anita Handicap for Vodka Vodka, while Om N Joy is a candidate for the GI B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile on the same day. “I'm a dreamer. I love to swing big,” Ordonez said. “[Vodka Vodka] ran a great race. I think his best race is actually dirt, I don't think it's grass.” Om N Joy is back galloping at Santa Anita after spending “six to eight weeks” on the farm. She closed out the 2025 campaign on Oct. 18 with a fourth-place finish in the GII Raven Run at Keeneland. “She looks great,” Ordonez. “She looks like a 4-year-old now. She had lost some weight towards the end of last year and I knew she needed some time after to recover after a tough season.” “She's going to be ready in March. I'd like to try her in the Beholder. I know people say 'wow' when I say the Beholder, but she's been 'wowing' me for a while.” The post Ordonez Outlines Grade I Goals for Vodka Vodka, Om N Joy appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Although Cherie DeVaux sent out the first and second choices in the wagering, the trainer knew that her horses had something to prove in Saturday's GIII Lecomte Stakes at the Fair Grounds. Both Golden Tempo (Curlin) and Mesquite (Union Rags) had done nothing more than win maiden races and both seemed to be horses that still needed time to mature and develop. That may still be the case. But after Golden Tempo and Mesquite ran one-two, with Golden Tempo winning by three-quarters of a length, DeVaux knows she has two horses that are stakes quality colts who are likely to get better. “I don't feel either one of them is even close to their top yet,” said DeVaux. “We have time. Going into a race like the Derby, you want them peaking at that time. Also, in these races, you always want to win, but if they run a big number then they are probably going to regress the next time they run. Showing improvement each time and getting there and winning is the best case scenario.” For the DeVaux pair, the race developed as most handicappers expected it would. Neither horse showed any early speed in their prior starts, and the story was the same in the Lecomte. In a 10-horse field, Mesquite was seventh early and Golden Tempo was ninth. Mesquite, who was six-wide on the far turn, moved first under jockey Flavien Prat, and made his way into contention in the upper stretch. Meanwhile, Golden Tempo, after weaving his way through traffic on the turn, was taken to the inside by Jose Ortiz and closed relentlessly for the win. “[Golden Tempo] broke out of the gate fine,” DeVaux said. “He just doesn't have any early foot. The most impressive aspect was that he had to go inside, had to spilt horses, and then it seemed that he idled coming down the stretch for a couple of strides. But then he kicked clear. I was really impressed with how he handled everything.” The final time for the mile-and-a-sixteenth race run over a fast track was 1:44.98. Golden Tempo earned a modest Beyer figure of 81. When the Thoro-Graph and Ragozin sheet numbers come out, Mesquite may get the better figure of the two because of his wide trip. That Golden Tempo was the 5-2 favorite, while Mesquite was the 4-1 second choice, may have had something to do with the fact that Ortiz had ridden both in their prior races and had, apparently, chosen to ride Golden Tempo. That wasn't necessarily the case. DeVaux said that Ortiz liked both horses so much that he couldn't make up his mind and left the decision up to the trainer. DeVaux said she put Ortiz on Golden Tempo for no other reason than that the jockey had ridden him in a more recent race. DeVaux said she will wait a few days before deciding on the next races for the pair, but definitely plans to keep them apart between now and a possible start in the GI Kentucky Derby. “That was the plan, to run them both back here right out of their stalls at the Fair Grounds,” she said. “We will definitely try to separate them. We will probably keep Golden Tempo here where he's only run. Mesquite has now run at three different tracks and has handled everything fine. There are plenty of races all over the country for him.” The news on Saturday at the Fair Grounds was not all positive for DeVaux. In the Silverbulletday Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, she also sent out what appeared to be a formidable pair in Atropa (Into Mischief) and White Smoke (Essential Quality). Atropa finished third as the 1-2 favorite and White Smoke finished last in the six-horse field. “I really try to forget about what happens previously and I try not to get too down,” DeVaux said. “It was not the results we wanted, for sure. The race just didn't unfold favorably for us. You take it race by race and regroup. I am trying to enjoy what we are doing and not get lost in the pressure and nervousness of it all.” Of course, it didn't take long for DeVaux's mood to lift. The Lecomte was one of her finest hours. “It was really exciting,” she said. “Everyone has Derby dreams, Oaks dreams. We all dream of participating on the biggest days of our sport. Looking back, around the middle of last summer, I knew that if we didn't have something in the Derby that I would be let down because we did have a lot of really nice, Classic-type horses. The physicals were there, the pedigrees were there, and then they all started training and checking the boxes. I like to manage my own expectations. I don't like to feel like I let myself down or take the wind out of my sails. But this has continued to be exciting. It's so exciting and it's fun to look to the future.” It's not just her 3-year-old colts that have DeVaux excited. She is the trainer of Nymue (War Front), the last foal out of the great Zenyatta, and one that has shown DeVaux unmistakable signs of talent. The 3-year-old has finally shown up on the work tab. On Friday, she breezed three furlongs at the Fair Grounds in :38.20. “Nymue has really matured physically and mentally,” DeVaux said. “She's so big that we had to give her time to let her body develop on its own timeline. I really noticed a difference in her this time around. We gave her a real easy work to start and then in her last work I put her against a colt who is on her same time -line and has the same physical constitution. She was really engaged in the work. They didn't go that fast, but she's probably not going to be that speedy by nature of who she is. She was moving really well. Physically, she has just blossomed. She's got a lot more muscle to her and a lot more condition. It was coming along during the summer, but that was lacking. She's finally starting to get there. But she is a June foal. Patience has always been the key with her.” DeVaux said that she is hopeful that Nymue will make her career debut before the end of the Fair Grounds meet on Mar. 22. The post After Landing a One-Two Punch in the Lecomte, DeVaux is Excited About Her Derby Prospects appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Following a record-breaking season for the team at Cropthorne Stud in 2025, Tony Carroll has set his sights on doing it all over again in 2026. And whilst the Worcestershire trainer concedes that it won't be easy to surpass last year's impressive haul, he is understandably buoyed by a phenomenal start to January which brought 14 winners in as many days. “We had a really good December [with 16 winners] and we've been able to continue that momentum,” Carroll told the TDN on Sunday. “Things can change very quickly in this game, but the horses have stayed in good form and we've got plenty of runners still to come [in January]. We're going to be busy all of next week. “You always need a little bit of luck, but we'll be trying our best to get as many winners as we can. We'll just keep our heads down and keep going, although you do have to enjoy the success as well. That's the most important thing, really.” Certainly, Carroll had more than his fair share to enjoy in 2025. In April, he was crowned champion trainer on the all-weather for the first time after saddling 57 winners during the winter months, including 22 in the month of January alone. By the end of the calendar year, he'd amassed 128 winners on the Flat in Britain and over £1 million in prize-money, both personal-best totals in a training career spanning three decades. “We were very proud, to be honest with you,” Carroll added of that watershed year, before quickly turning his focus back to the task at hand. “We've already gone over £100,000 in prize-money this year. We're ticking along at a fair rate of knots, so things are looking really good. “Quietly, we've always been on an upward trajectory. I think, if we could replicate last year, we would all be very, very happy. It was an incredible year for everybody.” Having saddled 38 winners so far during the qualifying period, Carroll has already gone a long way towards repeating one of his finest achievements of last year. He is currently seven ahead of Ian Williams in the race to be crowned champion trainer on the all-weather for 2025/26, with his ability to put his horses in the right spots, often with not much time between runs, enabling him to stay one step ahead of the competition. “We've got around 80 horses in the yard,” Carroll continued. “It's all about keeping them healthy and keeping them right. Placing them correctly is a big thing and the jockeys play a big role in it all as well. It's not just one particular thing. It's about having that attention to detail, from start to finish, in everything you do.” In recent weeks, the campaigning of Gogo Yubari (Havana Grey) is perhaps the best embodiment of Carroll's front-foot approach. The daughter of Havana Grey has won four of her eight starts since November, including three wins in the space of five days earlier this month. The second of those was achieved under promising young rider Harry Vigors at Lingfield on January 10, before the duo rocked up at Chelmsford the next day and repeated the dose. “She's a filly that has really come right,” said Carroll, who will see how the five-year-old is on Monday morning before deciding whether she takes up her engagement at Kempton later in the day. “The races just fell in front of her really. We've been a bit hard on her in some cases, running her back so quickly, but the races were there for her and she took them in her stride.” Only the five-time winner Aisling Oscar (Rajasinghe) is ahead of Gogo Yubari among the winningmost horses on the all-weather this winter, while Carroll's Francesi (Caravaggio) also deserves an honourable mention with three wins, a second and two thirds from his last six starts. In all of those races, Francesi was partnered by the 16-year-old Myla Coppins, one of three apprentices attached to the Carroll yard. Francesi himself only arrived there in November – on a losing run stretching back to April 2022 – since which time Coppins has played an important role in the seven-year-old rediscovering his best form, according to Carroll. He explained, “Myla Coppins has got on superbly well with him. She's only just left school and it's her first season riding. She's had a handful of rides and she's ridden four winners already. She rides him [Francesi] every day and I think she's probably been the key to him. She's got a nice style and a nice way about her – I'm sure she'll have a future.” He added, “Jack Doughty rides most of ours and is the in-house man. And then we've got Matthew Slater, Molly Gunn and Myla Coppins in the yard, all young kids who have got licences and are riding very well. They all have a chance.” As for the fresh equine talent coming through the ranks at Cropthorne Stud, Carroll is particularly excited about the prospects of the five-year-old Betsen, a 40/1 winner on his stable debut at Southwell in November. Formerly trained in Ireland by Jack Davision, the son of Invincible Spirit, a €16,000 purchase at last year's Goffs Autumn HIT Sale, will line up at Newcastle on Tuesday from a revised BHA mark of 86. “Betsen is a very nice horse,” said Carroll. “We weren't really sure what to expect at Southwell. We liked him from the day he stepped into the yard, but he'd previously worn headgear and run over all sorts of different trips. We just took him back to basics and he showed that he's very talented. He's the sort of horse you want to have in the yard and I would be hoping to land him in a race on Good Friday.” He added, “I'm always looking and always trying to find another horse. They come to us from all sorts of places. We've got some new faces in now and we're looking forward to the year ahead. We just really have to keep our heads down and concentrate on what we do have and not what we don't. Fingers crossed, we can continue what we've been doing.” The post ‘We’ve Always Been On An Upward Trajectory’ – All-Weather Maestro Tony Carroll On The March appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Two days after first being quietly unveiled at Santa Anita, the Racing on Demand slot machine-style parimutuel games-with distinct similarities to Historic Horse Racing-were removed from the track by Department of Justice law enforcement officers Saturday afternoon in a pubic operation that saw DOJ personnel wheel the machines out the back of the Santa Anita grandstand on gurneys during racing. Given the apparent abruptness of the law enforcement operation, little information was shared publicly about who and what precipitated the action. But reached briefly Sunday morning, Los Angeles Turf Club senior vice-president Scott Daruty explained that the state Attorney General's office, under Rob Bonta, gave the order. This, after the AG's office had apparently received fore-warning about the machines nearly a year ago before they were made operational. “There was no court order. There was no court action. There was no seizure warrant. This was an action of the Department of Justice under the direction of the Attorney General's office,” said Daruty. The TDN has reached out to the state AG's office and to the California DOJ's Bureau of Gambling Control for comment. This story will be updated as necessary. There had been 26 machines in total operating in the grandstand pavilion since Thursday. They offered $1 bets and required gamblers to select the first three finishers of three random six-horse previously-run races. The ultimate purpose of the machines was to provide a much-needed additional source of income for Santa Anita's purses, which have struggled to compete with other states whose purse accounts are juiced by supplemental revenue sources like HHR machines. The question had been whether the machines were legal or not without explicit approval from Tribal entities in the state who hold a lock on non-pari-mutuel wagering in California. Indeed, a politically powerful Tribal entity told the LA Times Thursday that they would have a “full throated” response to machines going in at Santa Anita, arguing that they violate the tribal compact on gambling. When asked if there were other political forces that had swayed yesterday's action by the state AG's office, Daruty pointed to this sway that Tribal entities wield. “What exactly triggered the actions yesterday? I don't know. However, I will say that anybody who keeps an eye on California politics knows how much money the Tribes spend and knows how, let's say, influential they can be to politicians,” he said. Daruty was tight-lipped Sunday morning about what the next steps would be, other than to say they would take the matter to court and that he still believed theirs was a strong case, describing the machines as “Tote” terminals. “We will be seeking a court confirmation that our view of applicable law is correct,” he said. “Based on the very limited, almost non-existent investigation they did into how those Tote terminals actually work, I think our legal position is much better than theirs. And frankly, I'm not sure they even understand that they took Tote terminals.” These remarks mirror in tone what Daruty had stated in a short statement issued Saturday evening. In it, he maintained that the terminals operated under longstanding pari-mutuel wagering laws using a wager that regulators had already approved. “Attorney General Bonta received our comprehensive legal analysis nearly a year ago. His office had ample time to raise concerns. They did not. We proceeded on solid legal ground, and since the state is choosing to challenge that now, we're fully prepared to defend ourselves. We're confident the law is clear,” Daruty wrote. While Tribal entities are a political behemoth in the state, the Tribes suffered a rare reversal of fortunes in the courts last year in their attempt to sue and ultimately shut down gambling halls called card rooms in the state. The post Daruty: Confiscation of Machines an Action “Under the Direction of the Attorney General’s Office” appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Via Sistina, Yulong's multiple group 1-winning champion, has been retired and will return to the United Kingdom to be covered by Darley's leading stallion Dubawi.View the full article