Wandering Eyes

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Juan Hernandez put the cap on a phenomenal weekend at Santa Anita Park March 8 as Forced Entry successfully graduated out of the maiden ranks with a win in the $101,000 Santa Ysabel Stakes (G3).View the full article

She rolled into the lane with all the momentum and Forced Entry (Charlatan) carried it right to her first black-type win in the GIII Santa Ysabel Stakes. Debuted Jan. 11 at this venue in a six-furlong turf maiden, she faded to last after having to fight every step of the way, but it was a much different result when she resurfaced Feb. 1 on this main track. Out to set the pace again, they were never able to reel her back in, and Forced Entry cantered home to win easily by 7 1/4 lengths. Stepping up into black-type, and graded, company for the first time here, the betting public gave the Bob Baffert filly a 5-2 chance to extend the conditioner's dominant streak in the race and she didn't disappoint. Content to watch the action unfold from fourth after GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies heroine Super Corredora (Gun Runner) tossed her head and missed the break, Forced Entry held her own from the two path behind :23.34 and a half-mile in :47.57. Inching closer to French Blue (Gun Runner) to keep her honest heading into the turn, the fillies had locked horns by the five-sixteenths. Pushing ahead of that longtime leader, Forced Entry was well in command by midstretch and had more than enough left to comfortably hold 22-1 longshot Bank Shot (Game Winner) to a 1 3/4-length margin. French Blue faded to third. The 8-5 favorite, Super Corredora, finished a distant sixth while My Love Caroline (Stay Thirsty) was eased and walked off. Baffert now claims six consecutive victories in the Santa Ysabel, and 11 overall in the race. Forced Entry earns 50 Kentucky Oaks points here, and currently sits in fifth on the leaderboard. Bank Shot (31) moved into 10th with her runner-up effort while French Blue (15) sits in 24th. “I broke better than everyone,” said winning rider Juan Hernandez. “But Bob was working this filly from kind of off the pace to see if she could handle it, and she was going pretty good in the morning. I saw the horse inside [French Blue] wanted to go, so I just said, “OK, go ahead and go. I'm just going to try like they have been teaching her in the morning, working from off the pace.” “The heavy favorite [Super Corredora] she didn't break, she missed the break completely and that just changed the whole race in general,” Baffert said. “After that happened, French Blue, she was just out there cruising. She is still a really nice filly. But Forced Entry, she has been training really well. She had been training with Crude Velocity, who won yesterday. It's nice when you have other nice horses to work with and keep them fit. I'm proud of the way they ran.” “It's nice this time of year when you have nice fillies and you are thinking Kentucky Oaks. It's [also] good for Charlatan. He was a good horse and [his offspring] are finally coming around now. We have a bunch of Charlatans that look good, so it's a big day for Charlatan.” FORCED ENTRY ($7.60) earns 5⃣0⃣ points toward the #KentuckyOaks and @BobBaffert's 6th consecutive win in the $100,000 Santa Ysabel Stakes (G3) with @JJHernandezS19 up at @SantaAnitaPark. Congratulations to owners Pegram, Watson or Weitman on your victory with this filly by… pic.twitter.com/p9UUH3lEwB — FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) March 8, 2026 Pedigree Notes: Forced Entry is the first black-type winner for her dam, a multiple stakes placed mare on the Florida circuit named Violent Times (Violence). She is the mare's second to the races, but her first winner, and she does have a yearling half-brother by American Pharoah in the wings. Violent Times is due to Constitution for 2026. This is the female line of Brazilian Group 1 victress Verruma (Brz) (Emmson {Ire}), who was also Grade I-placed in the States as well as a graded winner of the GII Dahlia Handicap. Forced Entry is Charlatan's first North American graded winner, while Labwah was the stallion's first group winner when she took home top honors in the G3 UAE Oaks at the end of February in Meydan. Counting this victress, the stallion has four black-type winners and a stakes-placed runner in Japan named Princess Moko. Sunday, Santa Anita Park SANTA YSABEL S.-GIII, $101,000, Santa Anita, 3-8, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:44.79, ft. 1–FORCED ENTRY, 120, f, 3, by Charlatan 1st Dam: Violent Times (SW, $228,701), by Violence 2nd Dam: Make Time, by Empire Maker 3rd Dam: Time Reveals All, by Pulpit 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($375,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP). O-Michael E. Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman; B-Stoneriggs Farm (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Juan J. Hernandez. $60,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, $102,500. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. 2–Bank Shot, 120, f, 3, Game Winner–Puskita, by Indian Charlie. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($47,000 RNA Ylg '24 FTKJUL; $50,000 Ylg '24 FTKOCT; $160,000 2yo '25 OBSAPR). O-WSS Racing; B-Buck Pond Farm & John Wilmot (KY); T-Ryan Hanson. $20,000. 3–French Blue, 120, f, 3, Gun Runner–Twenty Carat, by Into Mischief. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O/B-Three Chimneys Farm, LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $12,000. Margins: 1 3/4, 1HF, 2 3/4. Odds: 2.80, 22.90, 2.50. Also Ran: Piney Woods, Cee Drew, Super Corredora, My Love Caroline. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. The post Charlatan’s Forced Entry Too Strong in Santa Ysabel, Earns Oaks Points appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

So Happy and Secured Freedom, the respective third- and fourth-place finishers in the March 7 San Felipe Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita Park, will likely continue on to the April 4 Santa Anita Derby (G1), their respective trainers said March 8.View the full article

With an elite-level victory under his belt, jockey Diego Herrera will move his tack east to set up at Gulfstream Park in South Florida, the track announced Sunday afternoon. The 21-year-old Herrera was the pilot aboard British Isles (Justify) last Saturday when the gelding pulled the upset to take home the Big Cap. An Inglewood, CA native, he's also won the 2025 GIII Cecil B. DeMille on Unrivaled Time (Not This Time) and the 2024 GIII Autumn Miss Stakes with Watchtower (Demarchelier {GB}). His move comes after Herrera traveled to Gulfstream for the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes, and so much enjoyed the atmosphere, decided to make the move more permanent. He will be represented by agent Kevin Meyocks. “I'm trying to seek more opportunities to ride and get more experience,” said Herrera, who has won 257 races [since 2021] through Saturday. “Things can get light out here sometimes, a lot of smaller fields. I went to Gulfstream to ride British Isles in the Pegasus, and I liked the atmosphere, I liked Gulfstream, and I spoke to Kevin and it seemed like something I'd like to try.” “I was riding ponies at probably 6-years-old, quarter horses around 12 and I got licensed at 15 [?] to ride. I love the sport. I'm due to get in around March 19 and we'll see what happens. I'm really looking forward to it.” The post Post ‘Big Cap’ Spoils, Jockey Diego Herrera Heads to Florida appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Puma (Essential Quality) returned to his base at Gulfstream Park early Sunday morning after his win a day earlier in the GIII Tampa Bay Derby, and his connections reported that he came out of the race in good order. Though no firm plans have been made regarding his future schedule, Gustavo Delgado Jr., who is the assistant trainer to and son of trainer Gustavo Delgado Sr., said the GI April 4 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland is one option the team is definitely considering. “We're still undecided,” the younger Delgado said. “Let's see how he comes back when he hits the track again. Right now, eight weeks is a long time between races from here to the Derby, so we might go to the Blue Grass. That's what would make sense right now. It's a good feeling that we don't need the points anymore. We have secured a spot in the big race. That's a big relief. Basically, we have more room to do whatever we feel is the best, always having the Kentucky Derby in mind. Eight weeks is a lot, so we will definitely be aiming for another race between now and the Kentucky Derby.” The Puma earned 50 points for his win at Tampa. The Puma came into the race as a maiden and off a third-place finish in the Sam F. Davis Stakes, the major prep for the Tampa Bay Derby. He ran a much-improved race Saturday, winning by three-quarters of a length over GII Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes winner, Further Ado (Gun Runner). “These horses continue to learn,” Delgado said. “They are so young. The last race was a learning experience.” He also gave credit to jockey Javier Castellano. Castellano rode The Puma in his first start, a second-place finish behind the highly regarded Chief Wallabee (Constitution) in a Gulfstream maiden, but Edwin Gonzalez had the mount for the Sam F. Davis. “Javier made a huge difference,” Delgado said. “He has been coming to the barn and breezing him and getting to know more about the horse and his running style and how to make him more effective. My dad and I told him to just let him get his rhythm, make one move whenever you feel like it is the right thing to do. Basically, that's what he did. He was last in the beginning of the race, but that turned out to be a good thing. He was a good last because you could see that he was in a good rhythm and grabbing the bit properly and making a steady move little by little.” Should The Puma make it to the Derby, he will be the second horse the Delgados have sent to the race since 2023. The first was Derby winner Mage (Good Magic). The Puma was purchased for $150,000 at last year's OBS April sale. Mage was bought for $250,000 in 2022 at Fasig-Tipton's 2-Year-Old Midlantic Sale. “The main thing for us is that we want to go to the Kentucky Derby,” Delgado said. “It is not easy. It's a very difficult thing to do, especially with the kind of operation that we have. We don't get good horses sent to us. We have to go to the sales and scout the horses and sometimes invest in the horses ourselves with our own money. To be in this position again is gratifying. We were in the paddock yesterday and we saw the Coolmore guys, the Spendthrift guys, Mike Repole. I was thinking, 'Look at how much money these guys spend on their operations.' Going back to the Derby with a horse we developed and selected at the sales is a good feeling.” Delgado said that the horse was named after his father, whose nickname is “The Puma.” “We call my dad The Puma all the time,” Delgado said. “When we saw that the horse was talented and showing progress and we couldn't find a name that we all liked we decided to name him The Puma. It's a good thing that when we named a horse after my dad that he turned out to be a graded stakes winner going to the Derby. We could have named a horse after him and the horse could have turned out to be a $5,000 claimer.” The post The Blue Grass Could Be Next for The Puma appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The latest edition of the Boundless Podcast, hosted by jockey and veterinarian Dr. Ferrin Peterson, features an interview with Judy Hicks. Hicks is the breeder of 2024 Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna). “Before Thorpedo Anna won 10 graded stakes races and became one of the most talked-about horses in Thoroughbred racing, Judy Hicks bred her and believed in her potential from the very beginning,” Peterson writes in an introduction to her podcast. “In this episode of The Boundless Podcast, Dr. Ferrin Peterson sits down with Judy at Brookstown Farm to discuss the journey that led to breeding a champion. From purchasing a $10 horse that became her foundation broodmare, to building a breeding program that has produced graded stakes winners, Judy's story is one of resilience, patience, and unwavering belief. Judy also shares the philosophy behind her farm and her deep respect for animals–where retired mares live out their lives peacefully in a place she calls 'the jungle.' It's a conversation about the long road behind success in the Thoroughbred industry–and the people who dedicate their lives to it.” The Boundless Podcast is available on the following sites: Youtube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. The post The Boundless Podcast with Ferrin Peterson Features Judy Hicks appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Alongside the Godolphin duo of Nations Hope (Ghaiyyath) and Palladas (Lope De Vega), The Last Dance (Iffraaj) recently made an impressive debut at Chantilly to become the third European-trained three-year-old to be named a 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' since our Winter Watch run began back in November. It looked a strong race in which The Last Dance debuted on March 3, facing eight other newcomers over 9.5f on the Chantilly all-weather. They included the Wertheimer homebred Maine (Night Of Thunder), a sibling to two winners of the G1 Prix Vermeille in Aventure (Sea The Stars) and Left Hand (Dubawi), as well as the Andre Fabre-trained Mennula (Wootton Bassett), a daughter of the dual American Grade III scorer Aigue Marine (Galileo). In the event, however, it was all about one horse as The Last Dance dominated from start to finish to win by 4 1/2 lengths, always travelling well within herself before quickly sprinting clear of Mennula when shaken up entering the final furlong. The right horses completed the frame as well, with Maine staying on well to pass the post a short neck behind Mennula in third. Bought for €105,000 at the Arqana August Yearling Sale, The Last Dance is a half-sister to another talented performer from the Carlos and Yann Lerner yard in Godspeed (Hello Youmzain), who was a six-length winner on her Chantilly debut last February and later won the G2 Prix de Sandringham, as well as finishing fourth in the G1 Prix Rothschild. Don't be surprised if the Lerners plot a similar path through 2026 with The Last Dance, with her Classic entries in the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches – in which Godspeed finished eighth last year – and Prix de Diane suggesting that she's a filly thought capable of mixing it at a much higher level. Francis Graffard Starts To Flex His Muscles Staying in France, champion trainer Francis-Henri Graffard has fired a couple of early warning shots across the bows of his rivals, with the newcomers Grande Baigneuse (Kingman) and Lord Clover (Siyouni) featuring among the others to have the caught the eye at Chantilly. The performance of Lord Clover was particularly striking as he ran away with the 1m maiden staged on February 25, ultimately proving in a different league to his nine rivals as he forged clear in the closing stages to win by 6 1/2 lengths. He has entries in both the Poule d'Essai des Poulains and Prix du Jockey Club, as well as a pedigree which suggests he's one to follow. A €200,000 purchase at the August Yearling Sale, the Siyouni colt is out of the G3 Prix de Lieurey heroine and G1 Prix de l'Opera third Lady Frankel (Frankel), a half-sister to the dual Classic-winning sire Lope De Vega, among others. Lord Clover is the first winner from two runners out of Lady Frankel who, incidentally, is now in the ownership of Bobby Flay after changing hands for €900,000 when offered at the 2023 Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale as part of the Gestut Ammerland dispersal. As for Grande Baigneuse, she wasn't quite so emphatic when winning over 9.5f on February 19, but it was a pleasing start to her career nonetheless as she ran on well under a hands-and-heels ride to take the measure of Aurora Beau Real (Siyouni) close home, with just a length separating the two market principals at the line as they pulled another 4 1/2 lengths clear of the rest. The first two both hold entries in the Prix de Diane and Aurora Beau Real, who was an expensive purchase at the August Yearling Sale when bought for €500,000, should be a banker for a similar event next time, while Grande Baigneuse, whose dam is a half-sister to the Irish Derby winner Treasure Beach (Galileo), appeals as a smart prospect for middle-distances. She most recently sold for €140,000 at the Arqana May Breeze-up Sale, having previously fetched 52,000gns as a foal and 78,000gns as a yearling when going through the ring at Park Paddocks. Last but not least for our summary of the recent action across the Channel, Turbulente (Australia) is another filly who could well prove up to taking up her Prix de Diane entry if the manner of her debut success at Chantilly is anything to go by. Another Wertheimer homebred, Turbulente ran out authoritative two-length winner of that 9.5f heat having travelled strongly throughout, with the runner-up, Persian Grace (Persian King), giving the form a solid look given that she'd filled the same position when making her debut at Deauville last August. Turbulente is out of the Listed-winning Kendargent mare Armoricaine and black-type races will surely be on her agenda before too long. A Familiar Story With Hidden Force In addition to the aforementioned Nations Hope and Palladas, Hidden Force (Frankel) looked yet another exciting prospect for Charlie Appleby and Godolphin when providing those connections with a third consecutive victory in last month's “European Road To The Kentucky Derby” Conditions Stakes at Kempton. Following a promising debut success at the same venue back in December, Hidden Force proved well suited by the step up to 1m when following up in comfortable fashion on February 25, justifying short odds with the minimum of fuss as he asserted in the final furlong to land the spoils by 1 3/4 lengths. Much like the stable's two previous winners of that contest, Notable Speech (Dubawi) and Opera Ballo (Ghaiyyath), stiffer tasks now lie ahead for Hidden Force, who is a general 25/1 shot for the 2,000 Guineas and has a winner of that Classic fairly close up in his pedigree. His dam, the Listed scorer and dual Group 3-placed Winter Lightning (Shamardal), is not only a half-sister to the dual Dubai Wold Cup winner Thunder Snow, but also to the G3 Oh So Sharp Stakes heroine First Victory (Teofilo), who is perhaps best known as the dam of Coroebus (Dubawi). A Classic trial looks the obvious next step for Hidden Force, while his stablemate, Pursuit Of Love (Sea The Stars), also deserves a positive mention following his debut victory in the 11f novice run at Southwell on February 28. A half-brother to the G2 Hardwicke Stakes winner Fanny Logan, he looked better the further he went, ultimately winning by 2 3/4 lengths from the Karl Burke-trained High Storm (Nathaniel). He's a thorough stayer in the making and has scope for plenty of improvement with that in mind. Spigot Lodge Firing On All Cylinders Burke might have been out of luck with High Storm, but it's been a good couple of weeks for his team at Spigot Lodge otherwise, with five winners from 18 winners (28% strike-rate) in Britain during that period. Most recently, Soul Love (Starman), a half-sister to last year's G3 Superior Mile Stakes second Excellent Believe (Make Believe), looked a potentially smart sprinter when making it two from two with a determined win in the 6f novice at Newcastle on Friday, keeping going well after taking a keen hold to beat favourite Silent Strike (Mehmas) by half a length. Owner-breeder David Ward has a number of bright prospects by his July Cup hero Starman to look forward to in 2026 – including last year's G2 Rockfel Stakes runner-up The Prettiest Star – and this filly is most definitely another one. Similarly, Burke is blessed with plenty of strength in depth among his three-year-old contingent, as advertised in the past fortnight when two of his four entries in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket were among the winners. The first of them was Wolverhampton scorer Crown Relic (Kingman), a rare Southern Hemisphere-bred colt to go into training on these shores. Facing seven rivals in the 7f maiden run on February 23, he made a most promising start to his career in pulling clear with the now-78-rated runner-up, Waterford Castle (Sea The Stars), with Sam James able to ease him down late on to register a decisive success by 2 3/4 lengths. Crown Relic, whose granddam is the G2 Cherry Hinton Stakes and G2 Lowther Stakes winner Lucky Kristale (Lucky Story), now heads back to Wolverhampton on Monday evening for a 7f novice and the next step in his education. Billecart (Night Of Thunder), meanwhile, could be another for Burke with Classic aspirations after his five-length stroll in the 1m novice run at Newcastle on Thursday, drawing right away in the final furlong to win exactly as you'd like to see from a 1/6 favourite. One of four winners from five runners out of the Listed October Stakes scorer and G3 Chartwell Fillies' Stakes third Intense Pink (Pivotal), Billecart could line up next in the Listed Burradon Stakes over the same course and distance, according to Burke, and he remains with significant potential after just two starts, having finished fourth behind the subsequent Group winners Distant Storm (Night Of Thunder) and Constitution River (Wootton Bassett) on his debut at Newmarket's July Festival. Amo Spending Starts To Bear Fruit Billecart featured among a whole host of big-money purchases made by Kia Joorabchian's Amo Racing in 2024, in his case when selling for 380,000gns at Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. Admittedly, that spending spree didn't immediately bear fruit on the racecourse in 2025, but it's fair to say that there have been more encouraging signs in the first few months of this year, with Billecart being joined by at least two other three-year-old winners with black-type potential. Blanc De Blanc (Not This Time), who cost her connections $575,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, is the obvious one after her victory in the 1m Patton Race at Dundalk on February 27. She proved a much more professional model there than when making a winning debut over the same course and distance seven weeks earlier, hitting the front over a furlong out and gradually moving clear from there to land the spoils by three lengths from the now-89-rated Whatchadoin (Starman). One of five winners out of the winning Galileo mare Wonderful, a full-sister to the Irish 2,000 Guineas and Breeders' Cup Turf hero Magician, Blanc De Blanc holds a bunch of Classic entries, and it will be interesting to see where she lines up next to try and book her place in one of them. Back in Britain with Kevin Philippart de Foy, another Amo runner with Classic engagements is Sin City (Too Darn Hot), who justified odds-on favouritism when kicking off his career in style with a smooth success at Lingfield on February 21. Admittedly, he very much enjoyed the run of the race on that occasion, always prominent in a steadily-run affair over the 1m trip, but there was plenty to like about the manner in which he quickened up when asked for his effort, overcoming signs of greenness to get the verdict by 3/4-of-a-length. Bought for 200,000gns at Book 1 of the October Yearling Sale, Sin City's pedigree is nothing out of the ordinary, but he's certainly shown that he can run, much like stablemate Domenico Contarini (St Mark's Basilica), despite that colt meeting with defeat on his debut in the 1m novice run at Newcastle on February 24. Domenico Contarini, who most recently sold for 750,000gns at the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-up Sale, pulled five lengths clear of the remainder at Gosforth Park with favourite Exmoor (Farhh), with the latter just doing best in the closing stages for a one-length verdict. Both horses should progress from this and win plenty of races, even if Exmoor doesn't have share the fancy entries held by Domenico Contarini. Trained by Andrew Balding for Al Shaqab Racing, Exmoor himself was a 380,000gns purchase at Book 2 of the October Yearling Sale. The post Winter Watch: More to Come from The Last Dance appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Blackout Time remains on track to make his next start in the $1.5 million Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn Park March 28, co-owner Lance Gasaway said March 7.View the full article

Paradise Equine Farm and Bradley and Sharon Kleven's Express Kid may look to punch his ticket to the Kentucky Derby (G1) in the $750,000 Wood Memorial (G2) at Aqueduct Racetrack April 4.View the full article

The Puma, the freshly minted Tampa Bay Derby (G3) winner, wasn't the first choice. Nevertheless, he was the right choice for the same connections as 2023 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mage, and now this colt has put them back on the Triple Crown trail.View the full article

It is, of course, a good thing, that the subjects of aftercare and slaughter are being so widely debated, with influential owners like Mike Repole and Aron Wellman all but demanding that the industry come together and solve the problem. Just last week, Pat Cummings, who has been working side-by-side with Repole on the issue, penned a letter to the TDN in which he revealed what he called “20 concise findings, with a funding model projection” that he and Repole have put together. Good for Cummings. Good for Repole. Owner John Stewart and his family have also lent their hand to the aftercare cause and have been a positive force when it comes to keeping horses out of the slaughter pipeline. But here is what I just don't get: Why is it that the Save America's Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act never seems to enter into the conversation, which has never been louder? The bill prohibits a person from knowingly slaughtering an equine for human consumption or shipping, transporting, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donating an equine to be slaughtered for human consumption or equine parts for human consumption. There are no equine slaughterhouses in the U.S., but that hasn't stopped people from putting all breeds of horses onto a truck and shipping them to slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico. That's the key to this bill. If “killer” buyers are kept from sending horses across our borders to slaughterhouses they will be encountering an insurmountable roadblock that they won't be able to get around. Passage of the SAFE Act would make a huge difference and go a long way toward solving a problem that the industry continues to fumble. It's a no-brainer Yet, the SAFE Act continues to be caught in legislative limbo. Put another way, it's going nowhere. Chris Heyde, a Washington, D.C. lobbyist who has dedicated his career to animal welfare issues, said he has been working on versions of the SAFE Act since 2001. The first SAFE Act was introduced in the 113th congress way back in 2013 and the bill has been introduced in nearly every congressional session for the last decade. But it has never gotten across the finish line. Heyde says that the biggest problem he faces as a lobbyist working to convince elected officials to get off their butts and get behind the bill is that he has no one who he can count on that has the political connections that are necessary to get things done in Washington. He had one in John Hettinger, who passed away in 2008. With Hettinger's death, the SAFE Act lost its momentum, and it has never recovered. “We need a voice,” Heyde said. “We had John Hettinger and he would pick up the phone and talk to me almost every day. He would get George Steinbrenner on the phone to talk to me. He would run ads for me. He would call legislators for me. He would send me to fundraisers. He was doing all these things to help me. He was a true believer who put his money where his mouth was. That's exactly what we need now. We need someone with real influence to step up and help. I need someone who is truly committed to this cause and all this time I have only had two people who have ever done that, John Hettinger and John Rainey.” Rainey passed away in 2015. Though the conversation has gotten needlessly vitriolic, it's good that so many people are talking about the aftercare issue and how the industry can come up with funding mechanisms that will finally put an end to this problem. No Thoroughbred (or any horse, for that matter) should ever end up being abused, neglected, abandoned or slaughtered. That is indisputable. But that the SAFE Act barely gets mentioned is mystifying. It needs to be a major focus when it comes to the efforts to end slaughter and protect all Thoroughbreds, and it just isn't. There are a lot of very wealthy and influential people who are part of this industry. There are surely a lot of people in the industry who have political connections. It's time for them to step up. British Isles after winning the Big Cap | Benoit Saving the Big Cap Sorry to kick the GI Santa Anita Handicap when it's down, but Saturday's race was undoubtedly the weakest in the long history of what has been one of the sport's most important and prestigious events. Yes, it didn't help that Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) and Westwood (Authentic) were scratched. But even had those two remained in the race, it hardly would have been a vintage Big Cap. What was left was a five-horse field that did not include a single Grade I or Grade II winner. The winner was British Isles (Justify), who, in his prior 23 starts, had never won a stakes race of any kind. The graded stakes committee will have a tough call on its hands the next time it meets. Is this really still a Grade I race? The Big Cap has been around since 1935 and has been won by a collection of some of the greatest horses ever–Seabiscuit, Round Table, Affirmed, Spectacular Bid, and John Henry. It's no secret why the Santa Anita Handicap has fallen the way it has. It has been engulfed by the $20 million G1 Saudi Cup and the $12 million G1 Dubai World Cup. There is no way a struggling Santa Anita, which doesn't receive a penny from outside gaming sources, can compete with that. As recently as 2016, the purse of the race was $1 million. It is down to $300,000, the minimum purse required to keep Grade I status. It's unlikely that the Santa Anita Handicap will ever be what it once was, but there is a better way. To start, it needs to be moved on the calendar to get away from the two rich races in the Middle East. The perfect spot would be Memorial Day weekend. Around that time, there's a huge hole in the calendar when it comes to significant races on the dirt for older males at nine furlongs or longer. Santa Anita also needs to raise the purse back to $1 million. Yes, things are tight out there, but surely there has to be a way to come up with another $700,000. The Big Cap deserves every effort to pump some life back into the race. John Kimmel Moves On Since he is a veterinarian and has always proved to have a sharp eye when it comes to picking out horses at the sales, John Kimmel should hit it out of the park in his new career as a full-time bloodstock agent. Still, it's worrisome that he was all but forced out of the training game. Kimmel was, for decades, one of the most successful and astute trainers on the New York circuit. He trained a champion, he won a Breeders' Cup race, and he won 89 graded stakes races. He won six training titles on the NYRA circuit outright, and in 1997 he finished in a tie with Bill Mott for leading trainer at Saratoga with 15 wins at the meet. Yet, he was down to five horses in his stable when he officially pulled the plug after he ran two horses on the card Saturday at Aqueduct. Then again, all of this hardly comes as a surprise. Trainers, particularly in New York, continue to get squeezed out of the business. The same thing that happened to Kimmel also happened to Jimmy Jerkens and Kiaran McLaughlin, two others who had stellar careers before folding their tents. It's happening for a number of reasons, among them the declining foal crop, the cost of doing business in New York and the overwhelming dominance of the super trainer. There are no easy fixes. Limiting Chad Brown and Todd Pletcher to, say, 100 horses or fewer would never work. Nor would that be fair. But losing a trainer like Kimmel is obviously bad for the sport, and something needs to be done to make life easier for trainers who are not fortunate enough to have the backing of the likes of Repole, Seth Klarman, Godolphin or Peter Brant. The post Week In Review: It’s Time for the Aftercare Debate to Include Passage of the SAFE Act appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

TAPTASTIC (c, 3, Tapit–Valadorna {GSW & GISP, $670,265}, by Curlin), facing older rivals as the 4-5 favorite in his debut, found running room late to graduate with ease Sunday at Oaklawn. The gray colt was under a hold while racing in tight quarters behind the leaders down the backstretch behind fractions of :23.84 and :48.57. Still waiting for racing room approaching the stretch, Taptastic finally found a narrow opening along the rail and strode to the lead before drawing away to graduate by 1 1/2 lengths over pacesetting Dawn at Normandy (Omaha Beach). The winner is a half-brother to Tuscan Gold (Medaglia d'Oro), GSP, $306,700. Valadorna, second in the 2016 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, has a yearling colt by Constitution and was bred back to Not This Time last year. The mare is a half-sister to Grade I winner Complexity (Maclean's Music). Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. 1st-Oaklawn, $110,000, Msw, 3-8, 3yo/up, 1m, 1:38.13, my, 1 1/2 lengths. TAPTASTIC (c, 3, Tapit–Valadorna {GSW & GISP, $670,265}, by Curlin) Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $66,000. O-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC and Stonestreet Stables LLC; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen. #4 TAPTASTIC ($3.60) got through on the rail to break his maiden in the opener at @OaklawnRacing. Erik Asmussen rode the three-year-old Tapit (@Gainesway) colt for trainer Steve Asmussen. pic.twitter.com/nBNaizG54O — FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) March 8, 2026 The post Tapit’s Taptastic a Debut Winner at Oaklawn appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Chris Waller has put the plans in place for a Royal Ascot raid with Joliestar and the top-class mare further underlined her claims when landing her fourth group 1 in the Canterbury Stakes (G1) at Randwick Racecourse March 7. View the full article

The Haras de Castillon-based stallions Marhaba Ya Sanafi and Tribalist have both had their first mares scanned in foal. Among the mares confirmed in foal to Tribalist is the unraced Grand Blonde (Almanzor), a half-sister to the Poule d'Essai des Poulains second Texas (Wootton Bassett), along with the multiple stakes-placed Atlantica (Mastercraftsman). Tribalist, who counted the G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp among his 10 career victories, stands for a fee of €6,000 in 2026. Meanwhile, Love Song, a daughter of Lope De Vega from the immediate family of Group 1 performers Alix Road (Linamix) and Lilac Road (Mastercraftsman), has been scanned in foal to the Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner Marhaba Ya Sanafi, who also commands a fee of €6,000 in his first season at Castillon. The post First Mares in Foal for Castillon Newcomers Marhaba Ya Sanafi and Tribalist appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Fast Network made a mockery of his rivals to win the Class One Essex Handicap (1,200m) at Sha Tin on Sunday, but his participation in the Group One Al Quoz Sprint (1,200m) remains up in the air. The Dennis Yip Chor-hong-trained five-year-old was well found in the market at $2.05 and delivered a clinical performance under Zac Purton, though his backers had a few anxious moments along the way. Parked against the fence in midfield for much of the journey, Fast Network tanked into the race and as...View the full article