Wandering Eyes

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.–In an intriguing GI Travers Stakes loaded with talent and questions, will anyone be surprised if 'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) wins? Nope. Although it is unlikely that the colt trained by Chad Brown will be the betting favorite Saturday in the 155th running of the signature race at Saratoga Race Course–he is a narrow fourth at 3-1 on the morning line–Sierra Leone's record demands respect. He has never been worse than third in seven career starts. One of those victories came in the GI Blue Grass. His three seconds in a 3-3-1 record are by two noses–most notably in the GI Kentucky Derby–and one length. His third was by 1 1/2 lengths in the GI Belmont Stakes at Saratoga on June 8 when the deep closer stumbled at the start and delivered a big rally over a speed-favoring track. Sierra Leone and jockey Flavien Prat will start from Post 2 in the field of eight entered in the $1.25 million Travers. Leaving from the next stall in the 1 1/4 miles race will be his Brown stablemate Unmatched Wisdom (Cairo Prince). Unmatched Wisdom, to be ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr. for the first time, is unbeaten through three starts and is making his graded stakes debut. The field includes Belmont and GI Haskell winner, the 5-2 favorite Dornoch (Good Magic), the brilliant 3-year-old filly Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna), and 'TDN Rising Star', 2-year-old champion and beaten Derby favorite Fierceness (City of Light), providing a serious handicapping challenge. Brown grew up in nearby Mechanicville and began attending the Travers as a young boy with his family. He has saddled 15 horses in the Travers from his debut in 2011. His top finishes are a pair of thirds: Miles D (Curlin) in 2021 and Zandon (Upstart) in 2022. Sierra Leone | Sarah Andrew Much has been expected of Sierra Leone after he was the $2.3 million topper at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale. Since his winning debut on Nov. 4 at Aqueduct he has proven to be a top-level race horse with $2,218,00 in earnings. In his last three starts, though, the Derby, Belmont and a second in the GII Jim Dandy he was a major player, but not a winner. He has been a mix of fabulous and frustrating for Brown. “The horse is doing great. He's got no excuse,” Brown said. He's a very consistent horse. He's run really consistently good races. Recently, he's likely run into horses that are really on their best day and had beaten him. “He's consistent. He's always there. He's the horse that keeps showing up in these races. I'm hoping that over time, his consistency will prevail and he'll get back to winning. His first couple starts of the year were very impressive, that he was able to win, and his losses have been by small margins.” Brown noted that Sierra Leone, co-owned by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, Rocket Ship Racing and Peter Brant has been a durable type. This will be his sixth start as a 3-year-old in a season spread over seven months. “I've never been disappointed with this horse,” Brown said. “I've been disappointed with a couple of the results, him being on the wrong side of the outcomes at the finish, but I've never, ever been disappointed in this horse.” In his run through the stretch of the Derby, he bore in and bumped with Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel (Jpn), and that incident that might have compromised both colts' chances to win. Brown changed bits and jockeys for the Belmont, replacing Tyler Gaffalione with Prat. The bias of the course, the rough start and being forced wide by Protective entering the stretch did not help him. Brown said it would be nice if the Sierra Leone could get a better position earlier, rather than coming from so far off the pace. “I don't believe in any of his races it's been for any fault of any jockeys that have ridden him,” Brown said. “This horse just doesn't have a lot of early speed. But in a perfect world, yeah, I wish he was a couple lengths closer early. Certainly, we're going to attempt to put him there. I don't think anyone's taking him back. It's just the horse sort of settling, kind of where he ends up early. If we could encourage him to be a little closer, I do think it would be beneficial.” Unmatched Wisdom (outside) | Sarah Andrew With speedy Dornoch, Fierceness, Thorpedo Anna, Batten Down (Tapit) and Unmatched Wisdom in the field, Sierra Leone could get an ideal setup in the Travers. “His running style is pretty defined,” Brown said. “You can see that he's a come-from-behind horse so hopefully a good pace develops in front of him and he can navigate a clean trip without getting stopped and come with his late run and hopefully at a mile and a quarter, it's good enough to get there in time.” Klaravich Stables's Unmatched Wisdom fell sick last year when he was being prepared for the races and did not debut until May 10. He won a muddy mile maiden at Aqueduct by 6 1/4 lengths, prevailed in a 1 1/8 miles allowance on June 22 by 5 3/4 lengths and led from gate to wire in the Curlin Stakes on July 19 to win by one length. “He's done nothing wrong,” Brown said. “He's training really well. He's got to step up. He's facing three of the most talented 3-year-olds in the crop, including Thorpedo Anna, Fierceness and Dornoch. These three horses are really at the top of the division, so he's going to have to step up and prove he belongs in that group.” Brown said he considered a couple of factors before deciding to enter Unmatched Wisdom in the historic Travers. “He's got a win over the track,” Brown said. “He seems to be doing well here. I think he's improved since the Curlin. I didn't momentarily think about waiting for the (GI) Pennsylvania Derby, but you only get one crack at the Travers. He's got good positional speed, and his last work here with Irad on him (Aug. 16, 5f in 1:00.41 3/6), really convinced me to give it a shot.” The post Brown Has Sierra Leone And Unmatched Wisdom Ready For The Travers Stakes appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Long successful with grass females, trainer Chad Brown has racked up a record seven victories in the Ballston Spa Stakes (G2T) at Saratoga, all since 2012. He is likely to get an eighth when he starts four horses in the 1 1/16-mile turf race.View the full article

Eleven 3-year-olds will vie for a CA$200,000 prize in the Aug. 24 Canadian Derby (G3) at Century Mile Racetrack. The field is headed by Western Canadian star sophomores August Rain and Classy City in the 1 1/4-mile main track contest.View the full article

City of Troy earns a Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) berth with his spectacular, record-setting victory in the Aug. 21 Juddmonte International Stakes (G1) at York.View the full article

John and Thady Gosden have two high-profile entrants in the Aug. 22 Yorkshire Oaks (G1). Queen of The Pride has gone from strength to strength this season, while her group 1-winning stablemate Emily Upjohn has some questions to answer.View the full article

The Aug. 3 Whitney Stakes (G1) didn't work out for Skippylongstocking, but trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. has turned the page and entered the 5-year-old Exaggerator horse back to defend his title in the $1 million Aug. 23 Charles Town Classic Stakes (G2).View the full article

Returning to the site of his first grade 1 win, leading 3-year-old sprinter Book'em Danno will have a chance to add another top-level victory to his résumé Aug. 24 at Saratoga Race Course in the $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes (G1).View the full article

For a horse that has won the richest race in the world, Saturday's $250,000 GII Pat O'Brien S. at Del Mar might not seem like an overly difficult spot. But when Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) heads to the post for Saturday's race, he probably won't be the favorite and there will no doubt be some wiseguys who throw him out altogether. The problems are threefold: He's not a seven-furlong horse; he will not have run for 147 days; he'll be facing the best sprinter on the West Coast in the California-bred marvel The Chosen Vron (Vronsky). None of this has escaped trainer Todd Fincher. Yes, he'd like to win this race but the bigger goal is to take a step forward on his way to the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. After winning the Feb. 24, $20 million G1 Saudi Cup, Senor Buscador was third in the G1 Dubai World Cup on March 30 and has not run since. A more conventional route to the Breeders' Cup would have been to start Senor Buscador off in the July 27 GII San Diego H., but Fincher said he didn't have the horse ready for the race. “When he came back from the Middle East I turned him out and gave him a little break,” Fincher said. “We brought him back and listened to him. If he had been ready for the San Diego we would have run him in that race. We were waiting on him. This race, the Pat O'Brien, was always a possibility from the beginning.” Senor Buscador has not sprinted since running third in the 2022 Pat O'Brien. The Saudi Cup is a mile-and-an-eighth race and the Dubai World Cup is contested at a mile-and-a-quarter. “Obviously, we want to run the classic distances,” Fincher said. “It's a good race for him to come back in. He's ready to run now and we are happy with him. He wasn't ready for the San Diego. His fitness wasn't there.” Todd Fincher | Coady He will also have a new jockey. Joe Talamo will replace Junior Alvarado, who will be in Saratoga to ride Batten Down (Tapit) in the GI Travers S. for his main client Bill Mott. Talamo has been riding Senor Buscador in the mornings since he returned to Fincher's barn. A win could prove to be a big boost for the jockey, who is just 14-for-229 on the year. After the Pat O'Brien, Fincher will target the Sept. 28 GI California Crown S. at Santa Anita and then the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. “This is the best horse I've ever trained and it's always exciting to have a horse like that running for you. He's a fantastic horse. It's not just me, everybody is excited to see him run again,” Fincher said. The Pat O'Brien could come down to a race between two of the sport's most beloved blue-collar heroes. Senor Buscador, who is 6-years-old, has not always been this good. The Saudi Cup was his first top level win. Prior to that, the 2023 San Diego marked his biggest career score. To pick up another graded victory in the Pat O'Brien, Senor Buscador will have to defeat one of the most popular horses in the sport. The Chosen Vron has won 19 of 24 career starts, including 17 stakes races, defeating both Cal-breds and open company. At seven furlongs, he appears to have a big advantage over Senor Buscador. “He's a great horse and a great outstanding Cal bred,” Fincher said. “I've admired that horse for a long time. It will be a good matchup between two fan favorites. Like the Cowboys vs. the 49ers. I have nothing bad to say about The Chosen Vron. He's looked like an awesome horse for a long time. I like great horses, whether they are in my barn or someone else's.” Others expected for the Pat O'Brien include Big City Lights (Mr. Big), Happy Jack (Oxbow), Moose Mitchell (Danzing Candy), Raging Torrent (Maximus Mischief), See Through It (Curlin to Mischief) and Arrowthegreat (Arrogate). The post For Senor Buscador, The Pat O’Brien A Starting Point appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Once again American investors have shown an increasing receptivity to European bloodlines, this time at the big yearling sale in Deauville. For now, however, we're still only talking about a minority even among those with the resources required to import elite yearlings. But with a reciprocal curiosity also growing in Europe–thanks to Justify, in particular, but also to those breeze-up pinhookers now preparing their next raid on the September Sale–it does feel as though the overdue renewal of transatlantic traffic is beginning to gain commercial traction. We still have a long way to go, however, before the U.S. domestic market sheds its timidity about leaving the safe, narrow lanes leading to sires that made their name on dirt. True, Oscar Performance has stepped boldly into the breach created by the loss of his sire, almost simultaneously with that of English Channel. His farm has shown that, yes, with sufficiently imaginative management, it really can be viable to stand a (presumed) grass horse in Kentucky. But the next question is whether his success might stimulate a greater willingness to gamble on stallions eligible to follow in his slipstream—horses like Yoshida (Jpn) and War of Will. Each met the commercial prejudices of the American market halfway, parlaying cosmopolitan pedigrees to win Grade I races on both turf and dirt (with War of Will additionally proving his efficacy on synthetics). Now of course there are many different reasons why a young stallion may succeed or fail, so we should perhaps not take too bleak a view of the brevity of Yoshida's career in the Bluegrass. WinStar secured him a solid first book, yielding 90 named foals, but they were given a cool reception at the sales. And while nobody could have expected them to discover a precocity he had never shown himself, 10 winning from 42 juvenile starters last year, the commercial tanker was quickly marooned. His second crop of yearlings had bombed in the ring, achieving a median barely half their conception fee, and he was down to 34 mares last spring. Having originally launched at $20,000, a third consecutive cut to $7,500 had already been announced for 2024 when it was decided to allow the horse a fresh start at Darley Japan, back in his native land. Grayosh | Sarah Andrew Unsurprisingly, the horses he left behind have meanwhile begun to stir a little: not just because that's what almost invariably happens, but because that was his profile all along anyway. So far this year he has had 32 winners from 76 starters–and, rare distinction in an intake that has underperformed woefully by this measure, these now include a first graded stakes scorer. Grayosh was standard issue, to start with. She cost Sean Flanagan no more than $25,000 as a Fasig October yearling, and was one of the many that never made the track at two. But she has been progressing sharply since breaking her maiden in April, on her third start, reaching a new peak with a plucky denial of the favorite in the GII Lake Placid Stakes last weekend. She's the second foal of a Paddy O'Prado mare picked up by breeder Susan Bedwell for just $15,000 at the Fasig-Tipton February Sale after doing little to build on an early black-type podium (on turf), but the family does introduce a rather startling celebrity behind a second dam who was Listed-placed in France. For the latter was out of an unraced half-sister (by The Minstrel) to no less a pair than El Gran Senor and Try My Best, which duly means that this cheap mare's fourth dam is none other than Best In Show. The other conspicuous flourish in Grayosh's page is the replication of El Prado (Ire) who, besides supplying the damsire, also accounts for Yoshida's second dam. But that was presumably a marginal consideration in the choice of a stallion who could scarcely have been better adapted to the less insular perspectives we're supposed to be exploring. For in winning the GI Woodward Stakes on his dirt debut, as an elite scorer already on turf that year (also beaten barely a length at Royal Ascot), Yoshida had become just what the WinStar team must have sought from their bold venture to the big JRHA Sale. As we all know, buying a stallion's pedigree at the yearling sales opens a long, fragile highwire, but even a sum converting to over $750,000 proved well spent. Yoshida paid it all back on the track, banking $2.5 million, and the ball was then in the court of Bluegrass breeders as to whether they wanted to buy into a more international future. As a son of Heart's Cry (Jpn), of course, Yoshida offered them an opportunity to repatriate the Sunday Silence bloodline, but there were home comforts to his dam Hilda's Passion. True, her sire Canadian Frontier (a son of Gone West) faded dismally after a bright start at stud, but Hilda's Passion had contributed lavishly to that in winning the GI Ballerina Stakes by nine lengths. Once a $4,200 RNA as a weanling, on retirement she was exported by Katsumi Yoshida for $1.225 million. It did not take American commercial breeders long, however, once again to decide that they had little to learn from the fabulous rewards achieved by the truly global horizons of their Japanese counterparts. War of Will | Claiborne Farm WHERE THERE'S A WILL… Let's hope that War of Will gets less parochial treatment, as another horse that straddled dirt and turf after combining a familiar indigenous brand (War Front) with a top-class offering from an extraneous gene pool (Europe, this time, rather than Japan). All the early signs, a cycle behind Yoshida's failure to take root, are in auspicious contrast. Fully subscribed for a debut book that yielded 99 named foals, War of Will (sustained by excellent fertility) has a very similar second crop coming through. He made an excellent debut at the yearling sales, achieving an average $117,202 that comfortably took care of a $25,000 fee; and now his first crop is finding its feet on the track, too, fillies at Saratoga and Woodbine last weekend putting War of Will on seven from 29 starters to date. Both these maiden winners represent the same connections as War of Will himself, and attest to the support Gary Barber gave the horse at the sales. At Keeneland last September he gave $160,000 for Saratoga debut scorer She's Got Will, bred by Nicholas M. Lotz; while the previous November in the same ring Jeff Amorello signed a $165,000 docket for the weanling Ready to Battle, off the mark at Woodbine. Like War of Will, both are trained by Mark Casse, who has declared debut winner Will Reign–another Barber investment, for $85,000 last September–for the Catch A Glimpse Stakes at the same track on Friday. Barber will know that the sire's own template, from this stage, is all encouragement. War of Will was thrown in the deep end as a juvenile but kept rolling all the way through, proceeding to the Fair Grounds to win the GIII Lecomte and GII Risen Star Stakes. He was then showed up for all three Classics, winning the middle one; and regrouped in maturity to win a Grade I over a mile of turf. She's Got Will | Sarah Andrew All that was underpinned by genes that will surely make his performance from here of particular interest to anyone who wouldn't mind keeping a filly. Not just because of that maternal line, tracing to Best in Show (oh yes, her again!) as fifth dam via a lake of regal Niarchos blood. First and foremost, this horse is surely our last chance to compress so closely the two principal disseminators of Northern Dancer: by a son of Danzig out of a daughter of Sadler's Wells. That's not a pedigree, that's a time capsule! SQUEEZE A REWARDING SEQUEL When Fasig-Tipton cut the pack for the Saratoga catalogue, it fell open at C–meaning that the second yearling into the ring was one by Liam's Map out of Callmethesqueeze (Awesome Again). Presented by Eaton Sales, he was sold to St Elias Stables and Starlight Racing for $425,000–a great yield when you consider that the mare, then 14, was carrying this fellow when signed for by Athens Woods for just $50,000 at the 2022 Keeneland November Sale. Already, in the few days since, all parties to the Saratoga transaction can look forward with heightened expectations after Power Squeeze (Union Rags), bred from the mare by her previous owners Forging Oaks Farm, added the GI Alabama Stakes to the wins (GII Gulfstream Park Oaks/GIII Delaware Oaks) that had already decorated her page. Athens Woods, of course, is run parallel to Eaton Sales by Reiley McDonald–who had long assisted the late Jim Peyton in developing a successful commercial program at Forging Oaks. Peyton's widow Gail enjoyed carrying forward the legacy for a time but began winding down the farm a couple of years ago, a process that included the sale of Callmethesqueeze. Power Squeeze (outside) | Sarah Andrew Bringing her into his home broodmare band is due reward for McDonald after helping the Peytons to such coups as buying a Pulpit mare named Shimmer for $140,000 and subsequently selling her son by Street Sense for $500,000 and a couple by Union Rags for $310,000 and $285,000. Forging Oaks also bred multiple graded stakes winner Consumer Spending (More Than Ready), a $200,000 yearling, from the Scat Daddy mare Siempre Mia (herself sold at the 2022 Keeneland January Sale for $390,000). Callmethesqueeze's sire has long contributed to the distaff influence achieved by sons of Deputy Minister. Awesome Again's daughters having produced the likes of Accelerate and Keen Ice (both by sons of Smart Strike in Lookin At Lucky and Curlin). Get past Awesome Again, however, and the family has some pretty leftfield seeding, with the next three dams by Roanake, Honey Jay and Solo Landing. Nonetheless Callmethesqueeze has also produced the stakes winner Call on Mischief (Into Mischief), bred by Forging Oaks when the future champion sire was still only at $45,000 (made $250,000 as a yearling). Speaking of broodmare sires, I am delighted to see Sky Mesa adding to his all-round resume as damsire of a couple of the faster juveniles of the summer: bargain Debutante Stakes winner Vodka With a Twist (Thousand Words) and now Bolton Landing Stakes winner Kimchi Cat (Twirling Cat). Bred the way he is, this perennially underrated stallion was always likely to percolate some quality through his daughters. The post Breeding Digest: Yoshida’s Parting Shot Proves A Bargain appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

2nd-Saratoga, $90,000, (S), Msw, 8-21, 2yo, 6f, 1:11.65, ft, 3 1/4 lengths. SACROSANCT (c, 2, Honest Mischief–Vibrato, by Unbridled's Song), the 8-5 favorite, strode home an easy 3 1/4-length victor of his debut at Saratoga Wednesday, becoming the first winner for his freshman sire (by Into Mischief). The bay colt rushed up to press the pace down the backstretch through an opening quarter in :22.58. He took over approaching the stretch as the half went up in :46.12 and was well in control despite drifting slightly down the lane. Skytown (Echo Town) chased him home in second and Bold Fortune (Central Banker) was third. Sacrosanct was a $260,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale. He has a yearling half-brother by Instagrand and a weanling full-brother. The unraced Vibrato, purchased by Sims/Thomas/Burleson as a 3-year-old for $70,000 at the 2016 Keeneland November sale, was bred back to Honest Mischief this year. She is a daughter of multiple stakes winner Cuff Me (Officer). Honest Mischief stands at Sequel Stallions for $6,500. A Juddmonte-bred stakes-winning son of Honest Lady (Seattle Slew), he was third in the 2019 GII Amsterdam Stakes. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $49,500. O-Lady Sheila Stable, Jon Hansen & Schwing Thoroughbreds; B-Burleson Farms, Mckenzie Bloodstock, & Sequel Thoroughbreds (NY); T-Brad H. Cox. The post Honest Mischief’s Sacrosanct Easy Debut Winner at the Spa appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Sea The Stars colt The Lion In Winter captures the Acomb Stakes (G3) Aug. 21 in track-record time and becomes the new betting favorite for next year's Two Thousand Guineas (G1). View the full article

In the races before Woodbine stages a rescheduled King's Plate Aug. 23, undercard events will feature some familiar, winning names as War Bomber and Patches O'Houlihan seek return victories in the day's graded events after having success in 2023.View the full article

One race before the lucrative $1 million Charles Town Classic (G2), in which Saffie Joseph Jr. will saddle morning-line favorite Skippylongstocking, the conditioner sends out the potent duo of Haulin Ice and Mystic Lake in the Charles Town Oaks (G2).View the full article

Wednesday's seven-furlong novice at Kempton looked an intriguing affair on paper and Juddmonte's newcomer Detain (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}–Nisriyna {Ire}, by Intikhab) came through his first test with flying colours for the Gosdens. A half-brother to the stable's dual group 3 winner and G1 St Leger runner-up Arrest (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), the 9-4 second favourite recovered from a tardy start to race in mid-division early under Kieran Shoemark. Staying on strongly to lead passing the furlong pole, the €340,000 Goffs November Foal Sale graduate asserted to beat Afentiko (Ire) (Hello Youmzain {Fr}) by two lengths. Detain runs out an impressive winner in the Unibet/British Stallion Studs EBF Novice Stakes under Kieran Shoemark for the Gosden team! @KShoemark | @thadygosden pic.twitter.com/mq4WWEGvAW — Kempton Park Racecourse (@kemptonparkrace) August 21, 2024 The post Wootton Bassett’s 340K Half To Arrest Off The Mark On Debut For Juddmonte appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

John Velazquez, the winningest jockey in the history of Saratoga Race Course, will serve a three-day suspension Aug. 28-30 stemming from the disqualification of his mount from a win in the tenth race there Aug. 16. Velazquez waived his right to an appeal, according to an Aug. 20 stewards' ruling posted on the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) website. The race in which Velazquez got disqualified was an $80,000 optional claiming/allowance turf route. He was aboard the 4.9-1 fourth choice in the betting, Vino Rouge (Vino Rosso), a filly who crossed the finish wire first but was placed fourth by the stewards for interference to the filly who ran fourth while also causing problems all the way back to the eighth-place finisher. The Equibase chart stated that Vino Rouge “took over command with three-sixteenths to go, inched away under a drive to the eighth pole, dug in under threat and shied out being shown a left-handed crop and got tugged on the right rein and came out forcing Wrigleyville (Into Mischief) to check a sixteenth from home which in turn forced both Pretty Ana (Quality Road) and Toy Collector (Frankel {GB}) to check and alter [while] forcing a chain of steadied and checks back through to Hopesndreams (Ride On Curlin).” The post Velazquez To Serve Three-Day Suspension For Spa DQ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Six days after heavy rain washed out the King's Plate at Woodbine Aug. 17, the Thoroughbreds competing and racegoers able to attend will not have to deal with inclement weather Aug. 23. Partly cloudy skies and pleasant temperatures are forecast.View the full article

The Travers Stakes (G1) highlights a race card at Saratoga that also features four other grade 1 races.View the full article

ABR's Mike Curry sizes up this year's Travers Stakes (G1).View the full article

This year's Travers Stakes (G1) has attracted a classic winner and a top filly.View the full article

The Aug. 3 Whitney Stakes (G1) didn't work out for Skippylongstocking, but trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. has turned the page and entered the 5-year-old Exaggerator horse back to defend his title in the $1 million Aug. 23 Charles Town Classic (G2).View the full article

Returning to the site of his first grade 1 win, leading 3-year-old sprinter Book'em Danno will have a chance to add another top level victory to his resume Aug. 24 at Saratoga Race Course in the $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes (G1).View the full article

2023 winner Idiomatic returns in the Personal Ensign Stakes (G1). She will attempt to become the first repeat winner since Beautiful Pleasure in 1999-2000 in the Aug. 23 race against four challengers.View the full article

An $800 NHC & BCBC Handicapping contest, with cash prizes also awarded to the top 10 finishers, will be available online and onsite at Monmouth Park on Saturday, Aug. 24, the track said in Wednesday release. TVG, 4NJBETS and Xpressbet are the available online options for contest players. There is a non-refundable entry fee of $400 and a tournament bankroll of $400 for races at Monmouth Park and Saratoga, with contestants required to wager on a minimum of five of the local races of at least $80 each. For TVG and 4NJBETS customers, online pre-registration ends at 3 p.m. ET. on Friday, Aug. 23. Xpress players can register through 12:50 p.m. ET. on Saturday. On-site registration is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET. on the first floor of Clubhouse. Based on 200 entries, the prize pool will consist of three NHC seats, four BCBC seats and $25,000 cash. To pre-register, email bskirka@monmouthpark.com. The post NHC And BCBC Contest Set For Saturday At Monmouth appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

YORK, UK — Those rather dangerous words issued last October after the Dewhurst don't seem quite so bold now. “He's our Frankel,” said City Of Troy's part-owner Michael Tabor back then. It may still seem like sacrilege, especially on a day when Juddmonte sponsors the big race, to compare any other Thoroughbred to Frankel, but at York there has truly been no anticipation so intense, no reception so rapturous, since Henry Cecil's wonder horse took the Knavesmire by storm in the Juddmonte International Stakes 12 years ago. Twelve years gone in a blink and a heartbeat, and it has been 15 since Sea The Stars completed the fourth leg of his six-run tour de force during his magnificent three-year-old season. He was remembered, too, at York on Wednesday. First through his son The Lion In Winter (Ire) – the only horse by the sire in all of Ballydoyle – who set a new track record when beating what looked to be a quality field in the G3 Tattersalls Acomb Stakes. He is all about the future, and certainly the bookies think so, as he is now around 6/1 favourite for next year's Derby. It will be a long winter for fans of The Lion. The present, though, belongs to City Of Troy, a colt of sheer brilliance whose one fluffed line has been the source of more crabbing and doubting than most top horses ever have to endure. He doesn't know it though, and when Plan A faltered from the off and City Of Troy and Ryan Moore found themselves making the running for the 13-runner field of stars from afar, a back-up plan was swiftly deployed by Moore to boss the race from the front. He is probably bored with hearing praise heaped on him, but we should not tire of witnessing the golden age of Moore, whose trademark calm under pressure enabled him and his unflappable partner to add the Juddmonte International Trophy to a cabinet which already contains those awarded for the Derby and the Eclipse. In so doing, City Of Troy lowered the course record held by Sea The Stars when stopping the clock at 2m 4.32s. There was, however, no stopping the horse himself when, in customary fashion, he tanked on past the line once again looking like he was giving his rider a proper workout in his attempts to pull him up. “It wasn't really the plan and when you see he was getting hassled the whole way round and had to do it the hard way, it makes it a very impressive performance indeed,” said MV Magnier, representing another of City Of Troy's part-owners, his mother Sue. “He beat Sea The Stars's record by more than a second and that speaks volumes really. He's a very special horse and we are very lucky to have him.” And, with a wry riposte to the many jokes back in the spring about City Of Troy's height, he added, “I wish they made a lot of little horses like him.” Though the Coolmore team is well used to competing for huge purses at the world's richest race meetings, the efforts that the York Race Committee has put into this week's Sky Bet Ebor Festival have not gone unnoticed. None of the 28 races over the four days are worth less than £100,000 and the total prize-money on offer is £6.85 million. Wednesday's Juddmonte International Stakes, at £1.25 million, was the most valuable race ever run on the Knavesmire. Magnier said, “I just have to say that the job that York racecourse has done here is second to no other racecourse in England. What they have put into prize-money, they deserve to get the very best horses in the world coming here because of what they have put into this meeting, with the World Pool and everything.” The next question will be where we will see this son of Justify race next. City Of Troy has run just once, on debut, in Ireland where he is trained, and the British crowds have reaped the benefits of his six runs since then. But it is to the land of his birth that Aidan O'Brien often refers when pondering his future, and a tilt at the Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar has to be likely now, perhaps after he adds a few thousand to the gate for the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes in mid-September. Wherever he goes, make the effort to go with him. They are a long time retired these good horses, but those days when you can say 'I was there' live on even longer in the memory. The post ‘I Wish They Made a Lot of Small Horses Like Him’: Magnier Lauds City Of Troy appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

After entering stable star Book'em Danno (Bucchero) in both Friday's Robert Hilton Memorial at Charles Town and Saturday's GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S., trainer Derek Ryan confirmed Wednesday that his New Jersey-bred gelding will go in the Saratoga race. Both races are restricted to three-year-olds, have purses of $500,000 and will be run at the distance of seven furlongs. “We're going to Saratoga,” Ryan said from his base at Monmouth Park. “He got a good post (post 8). At Charles Town, he got a bad post (post 2) and it's a two-turn race. He doesn't like to be down in there tight and with the speed drawn to the outside of him that's probably what would have happened. I know Saratoga is the tougher of the two. But it's Saratoga. You win a race at Charles Town and no one will know that it happened. “If I drew the one or two hole in Saratoga, it would have been a no-brainer. I'd be going to the other place. I'm surprised I'm the only one who cross entered. A lot of people are hoping to win the Jerkens to make their horses stallions. I wouldn't mind shattering their dreams.” After running second in the Saudi Derby, Book'em Danno has reeled off wins in the GI Woody Stephens S. and the Jersey Shore S. He will not have an easy assignment in Saratoga. Book 'em Danno has been installed as the 7-2 morning line favorite, but will have to tangle with a pair of 'TDN Rising Stars' in Prince of Monaco (Speightstown) (4-1) and Timberlake (Into Mischief), who was third in the GI Haskell and is 5-1 in the line. The race drew 11 horses. The post Ryan Picks Jerkens For Book’em Danno appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article