Wandering Eyes

John Size will unleash a bumper squad of 11 horses at Sha Tin on Saturday as he looks to continue his strong run of recent form, with Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) entrant Enthusium one of his most fascinating runners. The champion trainer has designs on running the British import – who won once at Carlisle from four starts in the UK when owned by King Charles – in next month’s Derby and his overseas form suggests that is not a fanciful idea. His victory came over 1,800m and his pedigree is all...View the full article

Ceolwulf (NZ) (Tavistock) is a four-time Group 1-winning miler, but can he extend his brilliance to a longer journey at the top level? Joe Pride has one burning question he wants Ceolwulf to answer this autumn – is he a Group One horse over 2000 metres? The gelding’s record offers conflicting data. His four majors have come over a mile, but he does have an Australian Derby placing at three, and a narrow win at Group 2 level over a middle-distance as an older horse. He has also been soundly beaten in the past two renewals of the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m). So as the backmarker with a booming finish readies to launch his five-start campaign at Randwick on Saturday, Pride is already plotting how to solve the distance conundrum. “This preparation, I am about once and for all establishing if he can run 2000 metres as well as what he runs a mile,” Pride said. “There’s no doubt he runs 2000 metres, but is he as effective? “And does he get the right set-up for 2000? He never seems to get speed on, and that might be the defining factor for him. He might get in a 2000 metre race that is run a bit different and be a different horse.” Ceolwulf will be given two chances to prove his middle-distance mettle – at his fourth run in the Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington and his campaign swansong in the Queen Elizabeth. But first he has to get through Saturday’s Apollo Stakes (1400m) and a clash with undefeated mare Autumn Glow, along with her high-class stablemate, Aeliana (NZ) (Castelvecchio). Ceolwulf has never won first-up, but he has run some cheeky races, including an eye-catching fourth to Fangirl in the corresponding event 12 months ago during a period when he wasn’t racing at his best. Pride felt there were a few reasons the gelding didn’t perform as expected last autumn, and has taken steps to rectify the main one. “I’m convinced one of them was that I had him too big,” he said. “I had him up around 530 kilos for his first-up run last time and he’s 510 now. I’m not a believer in a fighting weight for a horse so much, but with this horse, there is just a weight he runs well at and it’s around that (510 kilos).” As for Saturday, Ceolwulf is expected to be doing his best work late and Pride will be satisfied with a finish “in the first four or five”. He will then race every fortnight with the end goal of having him at his peak for his final two campaign runs, performances set to shape the remainder of his career. “It is always my aim to find out what the one perfect formula is for each horse, and I’ll repeat it all day long,” Pride said. “That’s why I want to work it out with Ceolwulf. I don’t want to waste any more time running him in 2000 metre races if he can’t perform at his best at that distance. “I’ll keep him a miler for the rest of his life if I have to. I’ve just got to find that out.” View the full article

Group One performer Hezashocka (NZ) (Shocking) has gone full-circle, returning to where his racing career began, with part-owners Shaun and Emma Clotworthy at Byerley Park. The now eight-year-old was purchased by Shaun Clotworthy out of Grangewilliam Stud’s 2019 New Zealand Bloodstock Book 3 Yearling Sale draft for $18,000 and went on to have three starts as a three-year-old for the Clotworthys, culminating in his victory in the Gr.2 Trelawney Stud Championship Stakes (2100m). Trans-Tasman syndicator OTI Racing purchased into the gelding and he continued his racing career in Australia for Melbourne trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr, for whom he won a further four races, with his career earnings surpassing $1.65 million. His victories included the Gr.3 Premier’s Cup (2400m) and Listed Gosford Gold Cup (2200m), while he also placed in the Gr.1 Champions Stakes (2000m), two editions of the Gr.3 JRA Plate (2000m), and Listed Mornington Cup (2400m). “It was five years ago that we sent him over to Aussie and he has done a great job for us. He raced with some distinction against some quality horses,” Shaun Clotworthy said. “It is just nice to have a quality horse like him back in the stable.” Hezashocka made his first public appearance since arriving back in New Zealand in an 1100m trial at Te Aroha on Wednesday, and Clotworthy was happy enough with the hit-out over a distance well short of his best. “He is a horse that wants to get over 2000m-plus,” Clotworthy said. “They went pretty quick. We weren’t quite sure how much residual fitness he was going to retain from his Australian campaign. He hasn’t done too much work here so we will just build his work up and see where he gets to. “He is a sound horse and looks like he is ready to work. We can’t fault him, so we will press on a little bit further and see whether he has a desire to be a racehorse. If he does, and he brings any of his best Australian form, he will be competitive in New Zealand.” The stable is having a quiet week, with no runners this weekend, but Clotworthy is looking forward to heading to Ellerslie the following weekend to line-up last-start winner Espadas in a rating 75 1400m. The five-year-old son of Ace High has been a test of patience for his handlers, but it looks to be paying off, with Espadas putting in a convincing performance to win by 1-1/2 lengths over 1200m last month, bringing his record to two wins and a placing from six starts. “He has been a frustrating horse, he is quite a difficult horse to train,” Clotworthy said. “We do a lot of his work at the beach in a straight line because he has had a few maturity problems. “It was a nice win the other day. He has shown us a lot of potential, but it has been hard to get it out of him sometimes. He is back on track now and hopefully we can keep going. “He likes Ellerslie, so we will try and stretch him out to 1400m on the 21st (of February).” View the full article

Many stories are being shared this week centred on one of the true characters of racing, Stuart Dromgool, who passed away at age 90 at his Cambridge home last Sunday. As a young adult Dromgool mixed farming with horsemanship, riding successfully as an amateur and joining the training ranks in the 1960s under one of the best of the time, Cambridge trainer Wallace Townsend. “They were different times back then, and the way he operated was something you don’t see now,” said Dromgool’s son Mike. “He was an old pioneer and I suppose one of a kind.” Before embarking on his racing journey, Dromgool was a talented sportsman. As an axeman he won numerous titles up to national level and was also a successful athlete, especially over extreme distances. “He was a sub three-hour marathon runner, which got him selected for the Commonwealth Games trials, but then he was disqualified when the selectors found out he had been competing for money,” Mike said. “As he recalled later when talking about those days, why wouldn’t you take the money when you could earn two quid for running a road race? “Wood-chopping was his first love back then though, he loved that sport and was very good at it.” Becoming licensed in the racing industry led to numerous successes from his Cambridge stables, Waitful Lodge, named after the horse he rode to victory in jumps and flat races on the amateur and picnic circuit. As a trainer, Dromgool enjoyed his biggest successes in the 1970s, with stars from that era the Auckland and New Zealand Cup winner Royal Cadenza, noted mudlark Cattle King, whose wins included the Cornwall Handicap and Mitchelson Cup at Ellerslie and the Parliamentary Handicap at the Trentham winter meeting, and Reklaw, whose most notable of 19 wins was the Mitchelson Cup. “He was a great conditioner of a horse,” his son said. “Royal Cadenza won the Auckland Cup leading for most of the race for Bob Skelton, Cattle King just loved heavy ground and Reklaw began racing as a two-year-old and was still racing as a 13-year-old – you just don’t see that these days.” One member of Dromgool’s wide circle of friends was commentator George Simon, a neighbour for five years and one of many with memories of Dromgool’s laconic, dry wit. “The hard-case yarns we had over the fence, so many and all with the same Stuey touch where you had to follow that monotone and stay sharp for the hidden joke,” Simon said. “He was such a clever storyteller. “I remember one morning down at the track talking to him about this horse he was leading. ‘Yeah, I really like him, I reckon he’ll go a long way. We’ll start at Wairoa and then go to Gisborne, and after that we might even head up to Dargaville.’ “He was such a dry bugger, and a great guy with it.” Dromgool’s long training career ended just over a decade ago, but he remained with Daphne, his wife of nearly 70 years, in Cambridge to the day he died. “He had a stroke maybe six years ago and he was told he had three months to live,” his son Mike recalled. “He had smoked roll-your-owns all his life, so he went cold turkey and gave them up. “He was such a determined sort of bloke, he did things his way at the same time as being devoted to our mother and all the rest of us. He was a wonderful family man. “He turned 90 last year, he had a good life with no complaints and when his time came, he went out on his own terms. “One of his last instructions to me was to say a few words at his farewell but keep it short and sweet to save wasting any of the boys’ drinking time.” Stu Dromgool’s ‘final race’ will take place at 12 noon this Friday at Cambridge Raceway. View the full article

Wingatui filly Bobby Mcgee (NZ) (Ancient Spirit) will trek south to Invercargill on Saturday where she will bid to double her stakes tally in the Listed ILT Ascot Park Hotel Southland Guineas (1400m). She chalked up White Robe Lodge stallion Ancient Spirit’s first stakes win as a sire when taking out the Listed NZB Airfreight Stakes (1400m) at her home track on Boxing Day and she will head into the Southland Guineas in a fresh state. “She had a week on the walker and has progressed well,” trainer Terry Kennedy said. “She is a nice filly and will get better the further she goes, she has done everything right since she has raced.” Bobby Mcgee has drawn the ace barrier on Saturday and Kennedy said she should get an ideal trip from that alley. “She seems well, has a good barrier draw, so I think she should go well,” he said. “She will get in behind them. At Invercargill you have got to be on speed, so a good draw does help.” Bobby Mcgee is rated a $6 third favourite with TAB bookmakers behind Canterbury raiders Miss Starlight ($3.10) and Luna Capella ($5.50). Following Saturday, the Listed Property Brokers – Ray Kean Dunedin Guineas (1600m) at Wingatui in a fortnight looms as her next target, with further black-type assignments in the offing if she continues on her current trajectory. “There is plenty for her as long as she keeps going ahead,” he said. Kennedy will head to Ascot Park with four other runners this weekend, including last-start winner Ray’s Awake, who will step up to rating 65 grade in the Shares Available Robert Dennis Racing Handicap (2200m). “He won well last start and from a maiden to a 65 is not a really big jump over 2200m,” Kennedy said. “He has done well since he last raced and he will be competitive.” Stablemate Tandia ran third first-up at Invercargill last month following a 12-month absence from the track, and Kennedy his confident she can break through for her maiden win in the Heineken Maiden (1600m). “Tandia was super last start and is probably my better runner of the day,” Kennedy said. The Otago horseman will also line-up Kingfisher in the More FM Racing To I Do Handicap (1400m) and Manfred in the McCallums Group Maiden (1200m). “Manfred went a good race last-start, he was in front with 100m to go and then weakened in the last little bit,” Kennedy said. “He has done well since he has raced so I expect him to go a good race from the good barrier draw. “Kingfisher went alright out here (Wingatui last week), his sectionals were good, I am just hoping the 1400m is going to help him.” View the full article

Stephen Marsh can’t take a trick with Ardalio (NZ) (Ardrossan) and the frustration has continued with the talented mare drawing poorly again at Matamata on Saturday. His daughter of Ardrossan finished midfield in the Gr.1 Telegraph (1200m) and Gr.1 Railway (1200m) from wide barriers and will jump from 12 in a 13-horse field in the Listed Lisa Chittick Champagne Stakes (1400m). “She ran well in both races, and you just wonder how a horse can draw so many bad gates,” Marsh said. “If she had drawn a good gate on a Dead 4 on Saturday then I would be really confident. “She is very smart but it also concerns me what the weather will do, she’s a real Good track horse.” Marsh is keen to start Ardalio regardless, as the timing is ideal ahead of the lucrative Champions Day meeting at Ellerslie on March 7. “We’ll either run her in the mares’ 1400m (Gr.2 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Classic) or the 1200m (Gr.3 Haunui Farm King’s Plate) there,” he said. Three of Ardalio’s victories have been at Group Three level, including the Almanzor Trophy (1200m) at Ellerslie before she finished a close sixth behind Legarto in last season’s Lisa Chittick from the outside barrier. She ran bravely again for seventh after being caught three deep without cover from another wide alley in last year’s The NZB Kiwi (1500m). Marsh will also have black-type hopes on Saturday with juvenile King Of The Air in the Gr.3 Fairview Matamata Slipper (1200m) and Doddle in the Listed Matamata Veterinary Services Kaimai Stakes (2000m). King Of The Air hasn’t raced since his debut victory on a heavily rain-affected track at New Plymouth last month. “He won it well, he was very professional and jumped to put himself up on the pace,” Marsh said. “I don’t think he loves a wet track, but he certainly gets through it so any rain around isn’t going to worry him like it might affect a few of the others. “He’s done nothing wrong since then and is a nice horse and it’s big help to run on the speed.” Doddle accompanied him south but was all at sea in the ground when unplaced in the Gr.3 Taranaki Cup (1800m). Prior to that, she had finished runner-up at Tauranga on a dry deck where she gave the winner and stablemate Kiwi Skyhawk a kilo and a-half. “It was far too heavy for her at New Plymouth, and she was very good late before that,” Marsh said. “She’s a mare that deserves to get some black-type and I’m sure she will, she just hasn’t had the rub of the green when we’ve had a crack.” Of his other Matamata runners, Marsh liked the chances of Super Legacy in the Price Racing (1400m) following his breakthrough victory at Te Rapa. “He won very well last start, and he’s gone the right way since then,” he said. View the full article

Jen Campin Bloodstock confirms the passing of Group One winner Wyndspelle. The son of Iffraaj was best known for his victory in the Gr.1 Captain Cook Stakes (1600m) and multiple elite G1 level performances that established him as one of New Zealand’s toughest and most genuine milers of his generation. Following his racing career, Wyndspelle commenced stud duties, where he was building momentum as a sire. View the full article

Florida Thoroughbred industry leaders anticipated this vote in the House and are expecting a different result when the companion bill is considered by the Senate.View the full article

Kentucky Oaks (G1) hopeful Bella Ballerina is looking to begin her 3-year-old season with a win in the Rachel Alexandra Stakes (G2) Feb. 14 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. View the full article

Orla Donworth has joined Fasig-Tipton as its new Global Brand & MultiMedia Manager, according to the organization on Wednesday. “We are delighted to have Orla join the team at Fasig-Tipton,” said Fasig-Tipton President and CEO Boyd Browning Jr. “Her experience and expertise will assist us in delivering content for both our live and digital sales.” A graduate of the University of Limerick in 2014, Donworth spent six years at top farms around the world including Ireland's Baroda Stud, Roundhill Stud and Rathmore Stud, in addition to Woods Edge and Dell Ridge in the U.S. and Coolmore Australia. A graduate in Digital Marketing Msc from the Technological University of Shannon in 2021, Donworth received a national award for 'Digital Student of the Year' at the 2021 Digital Media Awards. Chairing the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association's Next Generation (junior wing of the ITBA) from 2022-2023, she also served the past 4 1/2 years as Senior Digital Marketing Executive with Goffs. “I'm thrilled to join Fasig-Tipton at such an exciting time of growth across both live and digital sales,” said Donworth. “The development of the Fasig Digital platform has been truly impressive, and together the live and digital sales serve the market in a variety of ways. The strength of the team here definitely lives up to its reputation! I'm also incredibly grateful for my time at Goffs learning from Henry Beeby and Niamh O'Hehir, whom I consider the ultimate marketeers and who have had a huge influence on my career.” The post Orla Donworth Joins Fasig-Tipton as New Global Brand and Multimedia Manager appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

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Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA)-related rulings from around the country. The following rulings were reported on HISA's “rulings” portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU)'s “pending” and “resolved” cases portals. Among this week's rulings, a HIWU arbitrator has banned Illinois veterinarian Dr. Donald McCrosky a total 24 years and fined him a combined $300,000 for a series of nine violations: One count of trafficking banned substances; five counts of possession of banned substances; two counts of tampering; and one count of using a banned substance. McCrosky had been a licensed veterinarian in Illinois for over 50 years. According to the final written decision by arbitrator Hugh Fraser, on April 22 last year, HIWU investigators searched McCrosky's minivan parked at Fairmount Park and found five banned substances. This included a bottle of Testosterone Cypionate/DHEA, two unopened one-pound containers of Thyro-L, three 50 mL vials of Ammonium Sulfate, a 100 mL bottle of P-Bloc and an unopened bottle of OsPhos. McCrosky explained these away by claiming he operated a mobile veterinary unit for off-track, non-covered horses. Despite warnings by the investigators not to, McCrosky took back one container each of the Thyro-L and the OsPhos, claiming they were expensive and that they were intended for off-track use. During a subsequent interview, McCrosky mentioned to the investigators how the horse he treated–Tigger Attack, owned by his wife–had tested positive for Testosterone after running at Fairmount Park on October 29, 2024. McCrosky admitted to administering Testosterone to Tigger Attack “after a groom advised that the horse was not eating well. He believed that administration of Testosterone seven to 10 days in advance of a race would not result in a positive test,” according to the final ruling. During the interview, McCrosky was also served an Equine Anti-Doping notice, claiming he had tampered with the “doping control” process after Childersattack–another horse McCrosky cared for that was owned by his wife–tested positive for Testosterone in October of 2024. Back in November of 2024 after being notified of Childersattack's Testosterone positive, McCrosky sent HIWU a handwritten note “in which he claimed he had performed a castration on Childersattack in March 2022, leaving Childersattack with one remaining testicle, thus explaining the Testosterone present in Childersattack's October 16, 2024, sample,” the final decision states. HIWU, however, subsequently determined via a regulatory database that Childersattack had been fully gelded in November of 2020. After initially failing to respond to HIWU's requests for medical records and to submit the horse for a veterinary examination, McCrosky later told HIWU that the horse's remaining testicle had been removed in December of 2024, according to the final decision. Furthermore, in August of 2025, HIWU investigators performed an inspection of trainer Isidoro Castro's tack room at Fairmount Park. “During the search, the Investigators found and seized two syringes located in a grey barrel in the tack room. The two syringes were labelled 'A' and 'B.' Syringe A also appeared to be labelled with the word 'Day' and writing that appeared to indicate the word 'Race,'” according to the final decision. They were later found to contain banned Testosterone and Glaucine. Castro told the investigators that he had purchased the syringes from McCrosky in a “Rural King” parking lot one month prior for $20. McCrosky admitted to selling “two loaded syringes to Trainer Castro but claims that he did not know they contained Banned Substances and that he had a 'genuine and legal therapeutic purpose' for the sale,” according to the final decision. McCrosky said he believed they contained Banamine and Aspirin. Ultimately, the arbitrator determined that McCrosky's degree of fault was “Significant.” “The actions of Dr. McCrosky were not due to innocent misinterpretation of the rules or a misunderstanding of his obligations. In committing these nine Anti-Doping Rule Violations, Dr. McCrosky acted with intent, and with a flagrant disregard for the ADMC Program Rules and for their overarching objectives of horse welfare and the integrity of the Thoroughbred racing industry,” according to the final decision. Also this week, trainer John Ortiz was issued six pending Dexamethasone positives, all taken from between Nov. 22 and Dec. 11 last year. They include two minor stakes winners at Aqueduct. Dexamethasone is a class C controlled corticosteroid. Resolved ADMC Violations Dates: 02/10/2026 Licensee: Darien Rodriguez, trainer Penalty: $3000 fine. Admission. Explainer: Violation of Rule 4222-Intra-Articular Injections Within Seven (7) Days of Timed and Reported Workout. The horse in question was Thirty American for an event dated 6/27/24. Dates: 02/09/2026 Licensee: Dr. Donald McCrosky, veterinarian Penalty: Combined 24-year period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on February 9, 2026; total fine of $300,000; payment of arbitration costs. Final decision of arbitral body. Explainer: One count of trafficking banned substances; five counts of possession of banned substances; two counts of tampering; and one count of using a banned substance. Read a detailed explanation of the arbitrator's final decision here. Dates: 02/09/2026 Licensee: Elias Lopez, trainer Penalty: Matter dismissed. Final decision of arbitral body. Explainer: This concerned an alleged medication violation for the presence of Albuterol (Salbutamol)-a banned substance-in a sample taken from La Clasica, who did not finish when running at Hawthorne on 6/5/25. Dates: 02/06/2026 Licensee: Maria Guadalupe Gonzalez, trainer Penalty: 18-month period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on February 7, 2026; 60-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Horse, beginning on July 23, 2025; a fine of $12,500. Admission. Explainer: Out-of-competition medication violation for the presence of Albuterol (Salbutamol)-a banned bronchodilator-in a sample taken from Jet Set Warrior on 7/23/25. Dates: 02/06/2026 Licensee: Maria Guadalupe Gonzalez, trainer Penalty: 18-month period of Ineligibility for Covered Person, beginning on February 7, 2026; 60-day period of Ineligibility for Covered Horse, beginning on July 23, 2025; a fine of $12,500. Admission. Explainer: Out-of-competition medication violation for the presence of Albuterol (Salbutamol)-a banned bronchodilator-in a sample taken from Jet Set Warrior on 7/23/25. Pending ADMC Violations 02/11/2026, John Ortiz, trainer: Pending medication violations for the presence of Dexamethasone-a class C controlled substance-in samples taken from Braverthanubelieve, who won at Aqueduct on 11/22/25 and won the New York Stallion Series Stakes at Aqueduct on 12/6/25; from Doc Sullivan, who won the New York Stallion Series Stakes at Aqueduct on 11/22/25; from Moe Eighty Eight, who won at Aqueduct on 11/29/25; from Quietside, who finished second in the GIII Comely Stakes at Aqueduct on 12/7/25; and from Drop Me a Dime, who won at Aqueduct on 12/11/25. 02/10/2026, Dominic C. Duree, owner-trainer: Pending violation of Rule 3216(c),” Prohibited Association,” for an event dated 1/5/26. 02/10/2026, Carlos Sedillo, trainer: Pending violation of Rule 3229, “Status During Provisional Suspension or Ineligibility,” for an event dated 1/11/26. 02/10/2026, Karina Gonzalez, trainer: Pending vet's list medication violation for the presence of Cannabidiol (CBD)-a class B controlled substance-in a sample taken from Dos Reales on 1/5/26. 02/10/2026, Caryn Vecchio, trainer: Pending medication violation for the presence of Dantrolene-a class C controlled substance-in a sample taken from Poppy's Pride, who won at Mahoning Valley on 1/5/26. 02/09/2026, Daniel Hernandez, trainer: Pending medication violations for the presence of Phenylbutazone-a class C controlled substance-in samples taken from Julia's Promise, who won at Sunland Park on 1/4/26; from Holy Bullet, who finished second at Sunland Park on 1/5/26; and from Lovesonfair, who finished second at Sunland Park on 1/5/26. 02/09/2026, Jose D'Angelo, trainer: Pending medication violation for the presence of Dexamethasone-a class C controlled substance-in a sample taken from Thirty Pound Test, who won at Gulfstream Park on 11/23/25. 02/05/2026, Alexis Leon, trainer: Pending medication violation for the presence of Flunixin-a class C controlled substance-in a sample taken from Happy Does, who finished fifth at Turf Paradise on 12/27/25. The post National Rulings February 5 – February 11, Vet McCrosky Banned 24 Years appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Last year's GI Preakness S., GI Santa Anita Derby and GI NYRA Bets Haskell S. winner Journalism (Curlin), back in training with Michael McCarthy at Santa Anita since mid-January, is nearing a return to the worktab. Campaigned in partnership by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, breeder Don Alberto Stable, Robert LaPenta, Elayne Stables Five, and the Coolmore partners, the $825,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling concluded his brilliant sophomore season with a fourth-place finish in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar Nov. 1. “Journalism has been back with Michael McCarthy for about three weeks and we're very pleased with how he's returned from his freshening at Bridlewood Farm,” Eclipse President and Founder Aron Wellman said. “He put on about 50 pounds and he's returned with a controlled enthusiasm, which is exactly what we want to see. Meda Murphy, George Isaacs and their staff at Bridlewood did an awesome job during his downtime in Ocala and Michael is just biding his time before allowing Journalism to stretch his legs on the wood. If all goes well and the weather cooperates, he should hit the worktab within the next week or so, but we're in no rush.” Journalism's throwback, eight-race sophomore campaign also included a win in the GII DK Horse San Felipe S. and runner-up finishes in the GI Kentucky Derby, GI Belmont Stakes and GI Pacific Classic S. He was an Eclipse finalist as outstanding 3-year-old-male of 2025 and was the only horse to compete in all three legs of the Triple Crown. Any targets in mind yet for 2026? “The (GI) Met Mile (at Saratoga June 6) is very intriguing to us as a first half of the season major goal, and, of course hope to be able to structure the second half of the season working backwards from the Breeders' Cup,” Wellman said. “It's a long season and with the manner in which he's come back and his body language, he's postured for a serious, serious campaign.” 3x G1W & Classic hero, Journalism, is back w @mwmracing @santaanitapark after a much-deserved freshening @bridlewoodocala! The always announces his presence with authority. Looking forward to next week's @NTRA Eclipse Awards & a massive 2026 campaign ahead! #BelieveBig pic.twitter.com/DfcdOjXBCz — Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners (@EclipseTBP) January 16, 2026 The post Journalism Nearing Return to Worktab, ‘Postured for a Serious, Serious Campaign’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

EASY DECISION (c, 3, Charlatan–All Laced Up, by Bernardini) was unveiled as the 9-5 choice here. The chalk initially took on longshot pacesetter Lord King (King for a Day), but was reigned in to stalk up the backstretch. Taking aim at the leader and Complex Charlie (Complexity) around the far turn and into the lane, the 3-year-old was forced to tip to an outside lane. The bay became uncorked, struck the front with a furlong left and graduated by 6 1/4 lengths. Complex Charlie was the runner-up. A $120,000 buy for Gainesway at the 2022 Keeneland November Sale while Easy Decision was in utero, All Laced Up produced back to back siblings–a filly and a colt–by Olympiad starting in 2024. The winner's dam was bred to Muth for this spring. The Repole color bearer is part of an extended female family which includes MGISW Got Stormy (Get Stormy), MSW Sir Alfred James (Munnings) and recent $2.5-million Keeneland November grad & MGISW Randomized (Nyquist), who is off to Japan. 7th-Aqueduct, $80,000, Msw, 2-11, 3yo, 6 1/2f, 1:19.30, ft, 6 1/4 lengths. EASY DECISION, c, 3, Charlatan–All Laced Up, by Bernardini Sales History: $300,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $44,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. O-Repole Stable; B-Angela Beck (KY); T-Amelia J. Green. EASY DECISION ($5.96) with an impressive debut victory at Aqueduct under jockey @LuguJr. This 3YO colt by Charlatan is trained by @Ameliajgreen and owned by @RepoleStable. Bet The Big A with @FanDuel Racing. https://t.co/mGeXnEqN9C pic.twitter.com/IF2SJ5rWxw — FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) February 11, 2026 The post Charlatan’s Easy Decision Off The Mark In Aqueduct Maiden appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Sometimes, you might as well just buy the factory. It was the fall of 2023 and Glenn Bennett already had two of Adorabella (Ghostzapper)'s three foals, the oldest of which (Girl Trouble, by Fast Anna) was a stakes winner for him and partner Swilcan Stable at Parx, and the youngest of which he'd just bought as a yearling at Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic sale. He'd twice tried to make a deal for the third, the mare's then-2-year-old named Book'em Danno (Bucchero), who'd caught his eye after winning his first three starts at Monmouth and Aqueduct. “They weren't selling, which I understood,” said Bennett, “but I just loved the way he ran, so then I tried to buy the mom. At first she wasn't for sale until they decided to run her through Fasig-Tipton. “I was lucky before with some Pennsylvania-breds, had some success buying siblings and it worked out. I think I had seven different ones–from the same mom and dad each time–and the worst one won like $300,000 and the best one won over $1 million. That was pretty cool and a different story, but I guess that was in the back of my mind that this mare might be the same way and throw nothing but runners.” Bennett called Walnut Green Bloodstock's Mark Reid, who boards his mares, to ask what he thought about the then-7-year-old Adorabella. Reid and his wife, Barbara, who have Westerly Farm near Unionville, Pennsylvania, caught a flight to Kentucky. “We got there at dinner time,” said Reid, “went out back and looked at her. She was the only horse I bid on that night. “I was just blown away by her physically. She was a big, broad mare,” he remembered. “She'd already had three foals by then, but her body tone was great. Physically, I couldn't pick her apart and she had that look in her eye that I always go for. I've been fortunate to have been around some good horses and she's one of them.” Reid bought her on behalf of Bennett's LC Racing in foal to Medaglia d'Oro for $550,000 at Fasig-Tipton's November sale. “Then we had a bad thing happen in that she came home and promptly aborted the Medaglia d'Oro, which set the place into a tizzy,” said Reid. “I told Glenn Medaglia d'Oro was getting old, but let's go right back to him. She now has a beautiful colt by him that's a yearling here.” Adorabella, shown in December | Sarah Andrew Reid, a former trainer, was not only involved with Medaglia d'Oro as a young horse, but he also knew Adorabella's broodmare sire intimately. “A lot of my work was done with Bobby Frankel and I was there when Ghostzapper was in the barn,” said Reid. “He's as brilliant a horse as I've ever seen. On his 'A' game, Ghostzapper ran the fastest numbers of the last 20-some years or more and that includes Flightline, so you can't fault her on that. Then Adorabella is out of an Arch mare, so I thought there would be some route in her added to the brilliance of Ghostzapper.” Of course, in the two years since buying Adorabella, the mare's son, Book'em Danno, has become one of the nation's most popular horses, has won multiple graded races, including the GI Woody Stephens and GI Forego Stakes, and was named Champion Male Sprinter at the Eclipse Awards last month. “It's nice to buy one and have a prior mating come up with an Eclipse champion,” said Reid. “We were rooting hard that night. That doesn't happen much.” Bennett concurred. “For a bunch of obvious reasons, it was extremely exciting to watch him and just keep rooting and keep hoping that the next one is better than him. I'm an optimist here.” The 2023 yearling out of Adorabella is now a 4-year-old named Coach Bennett (Classic Empire)–after Bennett's 91-year-old father–and made his first career start Feb. 3 at Parx in an optional allowance. Trained by Reid's brother, Butch, the gelding has gotten a slow start to his career and the goal was simply to get a race into him although there wasn't a maiden available. He finished off the board, but both Bennett and Reid are optimistic that he might have some talent down the road. The mare with farm manager Marie Lagault | Sarah Andrew Adorabella is due in a month or so to Forte and will go to Not This Time this spring. “The mom's exciting,” said Bennett. “Might as well take a shot while you're hot. Not This Time has been on fire and the nicking part of it was really good with Adorabella. Mark loved the match, so we'll see what happens. See if we get lucky.” Reid agreed. “Glenn is a player. He's going to step up her breeding and really attack it. Look at what Adorabella did with her first dates, so let's take her uptown and see what happens. We're going to give her every opportunity to keep producing. Every stakes winner you look at in the TDN is by Not This Time. He's poised to be the next Into Mischief, it looks like. There are no bad ones out there.” Reid said he picks out two or three matings for each of Bennett's mares, presents them to him over lunch, and Bennett makes the final decision. Even so, Reid said it was a little daunting to suggest Not This Time for Adorabella. “I was a little timid about asking Glenn,” said Reid with a laugh.” I said, 'Glenn, here's a great match for her, but he's a quarter of a million bucks.' He said, 'Well, every time I pick up the paper I see Not This Time. Let's do it.'” Reid continued, “Genetically, it's such a wonderful match. She has the size and the bone to handle anybody. I hadn't seen Not This Time in person, but I figure they're all runners and she'll do the rest. Doesn't she deserve the chance to see if she can do it with a big fella? You've got to give her every opportunity and I feel like that's what Glenn is doing at this point.” Bennett does not sell his horses, but Reid said he had to do his due diligence by suggesting a sale. “I've already approached Glenn and said Adorabella would look good in foal to Not This Time at the Night of the Stars,” said Reid with a laugh, “but he said not to even think about it. My background is in buying and selling and the salesman in me jumped out so I had to ask. She'd be a monster! The dam of a champion in foal to Not This Time and only 10 years old…it would be great!” Bennett also had a hearty laugh over the possibility of a sale, but reiterated he likes to race. “Financially it would be great,” he said, “but unfortunately, I don't sell them. I like to run them. I'm in it for the action. I'd have to kill myself if I sold one and it wins the Derby or something!” Book'em Danno wins the Woody Stephens at Saratoga | Sarah Andrew The two affable men clearly love what they're doing and enjoy their time together. Each enthuses about the other, with Reid adding, “I've worked with a lot of great guys, but we're really having fun. Glenn does it right. If anybody deserves this mare, he does. You look up 'good guy' in the dictionary and there's his picture.” While Reid has had a long career in racing, involved in not only Medaglia d'Oro, Saint Liam, City of Light, Plum Pretty, You, and many others, Bennett is newer to the game. His 91-year-old father always enjoyed the sport, but Bennett can pinpoint 2012 as his start. The paving of the path began in his college days when he met Larry Ciletti, who hired him off a chance meeting on a fishing boat. Bennett, who is based in New Jersey, worked for Ciletti his entire professional life, ended up taking over the business–“doors, frames, hardware, some security, but not houses, we do big stuff like the Freedom Tower in New York”–and is now in the process of retiring at 62 after it's been sold multiple times. When Ciletti passed away in 2012, Bennett and some partners bought his racehorse holdings and Bennett named his Thoroughbred interests LC Racing to honor the mentor with his initials. “I got hooked and it just kept going from there,” said Bennett. “It really has evolved from maybe five or six horses who were very average to trying to get into big races. I just counted and I have 87 horses right now and that doesn't count the ones I have with Jason Werth. I just have trouble saying no, it's terrible. And now I have 10 more babies due in the coming months, but it's great. We've been so fortunate.” Adorabella | Sarah Andrew Bennett said he has 13 mares he owns outright and another one with Chuck Zacney, who is his main partner. “He's not as into the breeding as I am,” said Bennett. “I'm not sure how I got so into it, but I like when they send me the pictures of the little ones. It's pretty cool. Each one you're hoping is the one. Everything has worked out. Now we just need to top it off with a Derby winner.” Among the horses he's owned, whether alone or in partnership, are 2018 GII Remsen Stakes winner Maximus Mischief, now a young stallion at Spendthrift, and Kappa Kappa (Omaha Beach), who won last fall's GII Lexus Raven Run Stakes at Keeneland. “My one daughter was with me at that race,” he said, “and it was unbelievable. There's nothing like it when they're coming down the stretch in a big race and you've got a shot.” Bennett said Reid has been a tremendous part of his success thus far. “I don't claim to be a horseman,” he said. “To me, all the horses look pretty, but I do like going to the sales and to listen to the guys talk about all the different attributes, how this one is toeing in or that one's clipping his heel. I leave it to the experts, especially because I'm trying to get into the deep water now and I don't want to be screwing something up because I think I know what I'm doing when I don't. I'm still not making money, but I'm having fun.” Bennett and Reid both hope Adorabella is going to help move him to the next level. “She has a lot of quality to her,” said Reid, “she has that regal look. She's just a wonderful mare who's had a champion and is now going to top stallions and hopefully continues that quality.” The post The Producers: Adorabella, Dam of Champion Book’em Danno appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article