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In a federal court case involving the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) that is being closely watched because it involves a trainer's allegations of a wrongful denial of Seventh Amendment rights to a jury trial, a judge in Florida on Thursday denied conditioner Phil Serpe's request for preliminary injunction in a lawsuit initiated last October against the HISA and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The civil complaint involves “banned substance” sanctions stemming from the alleged detection of clenbuterol in an Aug. 10, 2024, Saratoga Race Course winner from the 66-year-old trainer's stable. Although Serpe's underlying lawsuit will proceed without any injunction being granted for the time being while his contested Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) case separately plays out at the FTC arbitration level, Judge David Leibowitz of United States District Court (Southern District of Florida) wrote in his May 29 order that because that FTC arbitration process has not yet been completed, the court will leave open the opportunity for Serpe to refile his Seventh Amendment injunction claim at a later time. “The FTC does not become involved or take any action until after arbitration is completed,” the judge wrote. “Plaintiff's arbitration is scheduled for June 2025. So, until the FTC's administrative law judge is called upon to review the Authority's sanction decision, if any, Plaintiff's claim as to the FTC is not ripe,” the judge wrote. “While the merits of Mr. Serpe's Seventh Amendment claim may ultimately win the race, this Court will not grant extraordinary relief before the starter's gate has even opened,” the judge wrote. So even though Serpe appears to have suffered a blow to his case on technical grounds with the denial of the injunction, the fact that the judge stressed Serpe's option to refile his Seventh Amendment claims later in the administrative process could be viewed as encouraging for the trainer. TDN reached out to both Serpe's attorney and to HISA get opinions from both sides on the denial of the injunction and the judge's seemingly telling words about the Seventh Amendment claim possibly prevailing in the long run. Saratoga grandstand and main track | Sarah Andrew But a HISA spokesperson wrote in a Thursday afternoon email that the Authority would have no comment, while Serpe's attorney did not respond to an emailed query prior to deadline for this story. In a civil complaint filed seven months ago, Serpe's legal team had asked the court to “declare HISA and the HISA Rules to be unconstitutional, preliminarily and permanently enjoin Defendants from enforcing HISA and the HISA Rules against Serpe, and dissolve and vacate the Authority's provisional suspension against Serpe.” Some of Serpe's “private nondelegation doctrine” allegations of unconstitutionality share common legal underpinnings with at least eight other lawsuits spawned in the federal court system over the past four years in which the powers of HISA, HIWU and the FTC and have been challenged by various individuals and entities representing horsemen and other HISA-regulated parties. But Serpe's Oct. 17, 2024, complaint was unique in that it stated that, “HISA and the HISA Rules violate the Seventh Amendment's right to a jury trial.” Initially, Serpe was facing a provisional suspension, plus a two-year period of ineligibility and a fine of up to $25,000 if HISA's clenbuterol allegations were proven against him. But HISA had announced on Nov. 4, 2024, that it was directing HIWU to impose provisional suspensions only in limited circumstances, thus lifting all in-effect provisional suspensions (including Serpe's) while the Authority reviewed whether any “modifications to the current rules are appropriate.” And on Apr. 23, 2025, HIWU informed Serpe that it would be dropping its pursuit of the $25,000 penalty–a move that Serpe's legal team termed in a court filing was actually part of “a concerted effort with HIWU to prejudicially moot Serpe's [Seventh Amendment] claims during the pendency of this case.” In his May 29 order on the injunction denial, Judge Leibowitz wrote that he was well aware of the number of other constitutionality cases that have been brought against HISA in the federal court system, although he noted that Serpe's case stands out because of its Seventh Amendment aspect. Three of those other cases have already been decided at the federal appeals court level (two in favor of HISA's constitutionality and one against). And in each of those three lawsuits, the losing party at the appeals court level has initiated legal action in the U.S. Supreme Court that could lead to the nation's highest court deciding once and for all whether the 2020 law that governs the sport in America is constitutional or not. “Plaintiff Philip Serpe's challenge to HISA's constitutionality is not the only one making its way through the federal courts,” the judge stated in his order. “Plaintiffs residing in horseracing country have lodged challenges to both HISA's delegation of rulemaking authority to [a] private-entity [as well as to] HISA's enforcement scheme. Phil Serpe | Sarah Andrew “Plaintiffs' Seventh Amendment challenge to HISA has been asserted (albeit tangentially) at the district court level, but no district court or court of appeals has squarely addressed the Seventh Amendment challenge to date,” the judge wrote. “Because the United States Supreme Court has yet to decide the private nondelegation question, this Court stayed that issue in [Serpe's] case and directed the parties to brief only Plaintiff's Seventh Amendment challenge,” the judge wrote. While the judge denied the injunction against the FTC for the “ripeness” reasons explained above, Leibowitz also wrote that, “as for a preliminary injunction against the Authority, Plaintiff fails to show irreparable harm.” The judge continued, in a different part of the order: “Serpe contends that Defendants' ability to impose a civil monetary penalty against him in the absence of a jury violates his Seventh Amendment rights…. The Authority responds that there is no violation here because HISA's enforcement scheme falls 'plainly under the “public rights” exception,' to the Seventh Amendment. “Serpe points to several types of harm that he says are 'irreparable' such that a preliminary injunction is warranted,” the judge wrote. “First, Serpe points to his provisional suspension from horseracing. However, since Serpe filed the instant Motion, 'the Authority has lifted all provisional suspensions (including Plaintiff's) outside a narrow category of circumstances inapplicable here.' “Nevertheless, Serpe argues the Authority's lifting of provisional suspensions was without lawful effect because the Authority lacks authority to lift suspensions and its pronouncement doing so violated its own rules governing rulemaking,” the order stated. “As a result, Serpe says his horseracing status remains uncertain and his harm is, therefore, irreparable. “The Court disagrees with Serpe on this point. Serpe continues to be allowed to train horses to compete in races. Consequently, his reliance on the now-lifted provisional suspension does not show 'irreparable harm,'” the judge wrote. “Apart from the now-lifted provisional suspension, Serpe says his lost business and consumer goodwill as well as his subjection to an alleged 'unconstitutional proceeding' constitute irreparable harm,” the judge wrote. “Although lost business and customer goodwill may constitute irreparable harm in certain circumstances, subjection to an unconstitutional process in-and-of-itself does not,” the judge wrote. “Serpe's claimed harms are not irreparable because he may pursue a remedy against the Authority for money damages in the event of a constitutional violation that causes harm,” the judge wrote. Quoting from a legal precedent, the judge continued: “The key word in this consideration is irreparable. Mere injuries, however substantial, in terms of money, time and energy necessarily expended in the absence of a stay, are not enough. The possibility that adequate compensatory or other corrective relief will be available at a later date, in the ordinary course of litigation, weighs heavily against a claim of irreparable harm.” The post Judge Denies Injunction In Serpe Suit Vs. HISA, But Leaves Door Open For Refile Of Key Seventh Amendment Claim 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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Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) will be onsite at Saratoga Race Course for Belmont Stakes weekend, according to a press release from the non-profit on Thursday. To highlight accredited aftercare, the New York Racing Association, Inc (NYRA) will honor the TAA with a named race on the undercard on Friday, June 6, and a presentation will be made to the winning connections, which includes a gift bag. TAA representatives will be present to host the winners of the VIP experience donated by NYRA that was auctioned off earlier in the year in the “Off to the Races” Campaign to support accredited aftercare. The post TAA Onsite During Belmont Stakes Weekend 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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One of the spring's most exciting prospects, Godolphin's Opera Ballo had suffered a bump in the road when sixth in the Craven but bounced back in style in Thursday's Listed Heron Stakes at Sandown. Always travelling with gusto as William Buick tried to curb the enthusiasm, the son of Ghaiyyath who had impressed on his first two starts at Kempton to earn TDN Rising Star status moved to the front approaching the furlong pole. At the line, the 5-4 favourite had registered an authoritative 2 1/2-length success from New Bay's previously-unbeaten G2 Champagne Stakes winner Bay City Roller. “He's a work in progress and the engine is there, we just need to fine-tune it a bit,” Buick said. “The ability and improvement is there and although I do think he'll stay a mile and a quarter, he has a turn of foot and is exuberant so I would stay at a mile for now.” Opera Ballo delivers in the Heron pic.twitter.com/Oi3lyGdFwL — Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 29, 2025 The post Ghaiyyath’s Opera Ballo Back On Track In The Heron 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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In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this Saturday running at Kyoto Racecourse: Saturday, May 31, 2025 3rd-KYO, ¥10,600,000 ($74k), Maiden, 3yo, 1800m BIG BAND BEAT (JPN) (c, 3, McKinzie–Cast in Silver, by City Zip) is a half-brother to the stakes-winning Guanare (Runhappy) and was purchased in utero for $80,000 at the 2021 Keeneland November Sale. The stakes-placed Cast in Silver is a daughter of the U.S.-sourced Palace Rumor (Royal Anthem), herself the dam of 2013 GI Belmont Stakes hero Palace Malice (Curlin), but also successful in Japan, having accounted for G1 Tenno Sho (Spring) winner Justin Palace (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Group 2 winner Iron Barows (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}). Big Band Beat was sold for just over $145,000 as a foal at the 2022 JRHA Select Sale. O-Toshiyuki Fukumori; B-Field Luck Co Ltd; T-Hisashi Shimizu The post Well-Related McKinzie Colt Set For Kyoto Debut 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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Having promised to make his presence felt in the better middle-distance contests for a while, Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum's Almaqam delivered on Thursday evening in Sandown's G3 Brigadier Gerard Stakes. Taken to the front early by Oisin Murphy, the 7-4 second favourite predictably faced his sternest challenge from the 5-4 market-leader Ombudsman inside the last two furlongs but stayed on strongly to end that rival's unbeaten sequence by 1 3/4 lengths. This win came at the track at which the apple of Ed Walker's eye had wowed 12 months ago in the Listed Heron Stakes and while his four subsequent Pattern-race efforts had seen no wins, he had been second in the G2 Prix Dollar at ParisLongchamp in October. “I thought this would be an easy option, but I was worried about the Gosdens' horse,” Walker said. “He was still on his winter holidays last time and today he looked much sharper. He's big and laid-back and we almost have to wake him up. He has an awesome temperament and I think he will keep improving. We mustn't be lured into big races on fast ground–the ground is important for him and those autumn targets like the Champion Stakes are ideal for him. We put him in the Arc the other day, as Ryan Moore said he needed a mile and a half last year and there could be more to come over further.” Almaqam vs Ombudsman! Classy performance from Almaqam to land the G3 Brigadier Gerard Stakes @edwalkerracing | @oismurphy | @Sandownpark | @StarSports_Bet pic.twitter.com/4IZPZgd8xq — Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 29, 2025 The post Lope De Vega’s Almaqam Wins The Brigadier Gerard 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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A group of former Todd Pletcher assistant trainers have pledged to donate a percentage of their earnings from the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival to support the mission of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF), the organization said on Thursday in a press release. Michael McCarthy, George Weaver, Jonathan Thomas, Whit Beckman and Amelia Green have each committed a portion of their festival earnings to the TRF, underscoring their dedication to the welfare of retired racehorses. Click here to learn more about helping the TRF. The post Trainers Pledge Belmont Festival Earnings To Support TRF 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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By Michael Guerin Hayden Cullen isn’t sure the bookies have got tonight’s feature race market at Addington right. Because the Canterbury trainer and his wife Amanda train both the favourites and he says there is little between the pair. The Cullens prepare Hadron Collider (R7, No.7) and Trump Card (No.2) who dominate the market for the NZBS Weanling Sale June 26 Pace, the $20,000 main race tonight over the 1980m. TAB bookies understandably opened Hadron Collider the $1.80 favourite after his recent second to Sideshow Bruce in the Uncut Gems and an overall body of work that has seen him race many of our better intermediate grade pacers this season. Blessed with high gate speed he could head forward and even wrest the lead off his stablemate but Cullen says it may not be that cut and dried. “He is a good horse and has to be hard to beat,” he says of Hadron Collider. “But I don’t think there is as much between them as some people might think. “Trump Card is a horse we always liked last campaign and he has come back better this term. “He might be stronger too and should be at peak fitness now after three runs so there isn’t a lot between them this week and either can win.” There is a way for punters to back both at a 50 per cent profit should one win, with Hadron Collider boosted to $3 for the Box Seat Boost (under futures on TAB website) while Trump Card is $3.20. Put $10 on both and you spent $20 for a return of $30 or $32. It isn’t everybody’s cup of tea but the sort of thing professional punters do to make money. Their biggest danger is Miki Knows while summer star Wild Willow should be better for his comeback race last start. Earlier in the night the Cullens bring smart young trotter Major Cyclone back to the races against the handy Paddy McDaddy in Race 2. Major Cyclone was originally earmarked for the Ascent Trot Slot race last November but didn’t get there yet is clearly better than the grade he is in tonight. “He has been trialing well and is a really nice horse so my biggest concerns would be the 2600m fresh up and the other favourite, who is also a handy horse,” says Cullen. The Cullens are now well settled in at a property they know well, the former All Stars training facility at Rolleston, where they used to work when Hayden was in partnership with Mark Purdon. “It is great to be back and we have 20 horses in work here but a lot of yearlings to bring back in,” Hayden says. “At this stage we can train here until next April because as everybody knows it is going to be developed some time after that.” View the full article
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By Michael Guerin Higher Power may not be quite as good as driver Zachary Butcher’s mate but that still might be good enough to win at Alexandra Park tonight. The three-year-old gets barrier 1 in the $35,000 TAB Metro Trotters Final, a race matched by an identical race for the pacers tonight to spice up the last Alexandra Park meeting before winter. Higher Power was too good for the older horses after leading last Friday, once again showing the benefits of Derby and age group performers dropping back into the grades. Not that Butcher drove Higher Power in those elite races as he partners his stablemate and our best three-year-old trotter Meant To Be. “Barry and Scotty (trainers) think there isn’t much between them and they are right but I have to rate Meant To Be higher because he is my mate,” smiles Butcher. “But I was impressed driving this horse last week and if he races up to that he is the one to beat. “Tony’s horse (Youneverknow) was good winning his heat too and he is the one we have to beat.” There’s not between the two in the market with Higher Power at $2.40 and Youneverknow at $2.60. Butcher says the early fireworks could decide the race. “Higher Power has been a little funny a couple of times at the start and galloped a couple of starts ago drawn down low. “I think he will be okay but that start will obviously determine whether he can lead or not.” The two three-year-olds should really dominate the race if they behave as it is hard to see any of their rivals trotting past both of them should they be handy. But there is enough depth into the contest to suggest it will be a hot form reference in the weeks ahead. Butcher has plenty of time for South Side Story, his drive in the $35,000 TAB Pacers Metro Final but says his best work is still in front of him. “He is a lovely horse but the penny is still to drop for him so he will keep getting better,” he says. “That is quite a good field and I drove Carrera Hombre who was quite unlucky last week when I got held up so he will be hard to beat from the ace.” Later in the night Iron Love looks one of the better best when well suited by the mobile trot after beating most of its rivals tonight, including Halberg and Butcher last start. View the full article
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Jewel Hope and Bentraghhill led the way at €150,000 apiece during Thursday's Tattersalls Ireland May Point-to-Point & Horses-in-Training Sale. The former, sold as lot 35 from Monbeg Stables after winning a point-to-point at Ballindenisk, caught the eye of Hamish Macauley Bloodstock. By Masar, he is a half-brother to a pair of stakes horses, including Hope Cross (Cape Cross), who was second in the GIII My Charmer Handicap and another half-sister is the dam of G1 Gold Cup-winning stayer Subjectivist. Offered by Loughanmore Farms, Bentraghhill (Getaway) was snapped up by Harold Kirk and Willie Mullins. Lot 42 was placed at Fairyhouse in April. The gelding is a half-brother to a pair of graded-winning hurdlers in Party Central (Yeats) and Craigneiche (Flemensfirth). Overall, 73% (65) of the 89 horses offered sold for a gross of €2,423,000. The average was €37,277 (-17%) and the median was €30,000 (-8%). In 2024, the number of lots sold was 16 from 23 lots offered (70%) for a gross of €718,500. From the larger 2025 catalogue, a trio of lots made six figures. Tattersalls Ireland CEO Simon Kerins said, “We welcomed a strong contingent of UK-based buyers, which continues to underline the appeal of Irish point-to-pointers on both sides of the Irish sea. “This sale after two years is now a viable alternative for vendors, with the added advantage of selling in Ireland and removing additional travel costs. It would however be remiss not to acknowledge the selective nature of the trade and the clearance rate of 73%. “I'd like to acknowledge the hard work of the bloodstock team in assembling a quality catalogue and supporting both vendors and purchasers throughout the sale.” The post €150K Co-toppers For Masar And Getaway At Tattersalls Ireland 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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After a sizzling win in a May 23 maiden on the grass at Churchill Downs, Wesley Ward confirmed what he already knew. 'TDN Rising Star' Outfielder (Speightstown) is among the best 2-year-olds he has ever trained. So it's no surprise that the colt will soon be on his way to Royal Ascot to compete in the G2 Norfolk Stakes June 19. “I was nervous going into the race at Churchill, just because I was so excited and he's one of those colts who has so much ability, Ward said. “The race was five-eighths on the grass. But you just never know how it's going to turn out. If you ever get to see his workouts you can visually see that he breathes different air. He's a big colt but he's real agile and quick. He moves like a cat. Usually, big horses are kind of lumbery and they don't have the agility that this guy does.” Outfielder was purchased at last year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale for $850,000. Ward also bought a horse named Schwarzenegger (Not This Time) for $950,000 at the same sale. “Both colts were my picks of the sale. We spent a lot for both,” Ward said. “Nobody picked him out but me. You know how bloodstock agents like to take credit for things. The guy who signed the ticket, me, is the guy who picked him out.” Ward bought the horse before he was able to bring in any partners. He talked former major league outfielder Jayson Werth into buying 20% of the colt, but was uncomfortable owning the remaining 80% himself. “I couldn't afford to spend that much money when we paid as much as we did. It was too much of risk,” Ward said. The problem was solved when Kia Joorabchian's Amo Racing went in for 60%. At first Ward thought that Schwarzenegger would turn out to be the better of the two and he was planning to run him at Saratoga. As for Outfielder, he thought he would need some time, but that didn't turn out to be the case. “We started breezing them together in tandem,” Ward said “Outfielder came around a lot quicker than I expected because he's a bigger colt. Schwarzenegger [who is unraced] was the one I had planned on running early. But as we got through the workouts in April and May, Outfielder was just better in each and every work. It wasn't by a great margin, but if you watched their works you can pick out visually which of the two is better. “Moving on the grass down in Florida he really took to it as far as just galloping on the grass,” he said. “We had him at Palm Beach Downs and at Payson Park. He just floated over it. Even though he hadn't had a breeze yet I thought he'd really liked the grass. The riders on him, one being David Flores, were elated when they got off of him.” Outfielder wins on debut and earned a 'TDN Rising Star' | Coady Media Outfielder won his debut by 6 1/4 lengths and covered the five furlongs in :55.93 seconds. “In that race he widened the margin with effortless ease,” Ward said. “The thing about him is that he is so sound. He's got a big airway and a big throat. A lot of big horses have air issues, but I knew that wouldn't be a problem for him. There is a lot of excitement surrounding this guy.” With Ward's affinity for Royal Ascot, it comes as no surprise that the colt is headed overseas. Ward has won the Norfolk twice, with Shang Shang Shang (Shanghai Bobby) in 2018 and with No Nay Never (Scat Daddy) in 2013. If all goes well, Outfielder's next start after the Norfolk will be in the GI Prix Morny in Deauville Aug. 24. The Kentucky-based conditioner has won that race three times, with No Nay Never, Lady Aurelia (Scat Daddy) and Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac ({GB}). “He'll run in the Norfolk, which is a path I've been down a few times,” Ward said. “It comes up a little quick, especially with my 2-year-olds. I like a little more spacing. Being that he ran on the grass and he came out of the race great, the Norfolk looks like the best spot. There's no better grass course in the world than what they have at Royal Ascot. Keeneland might be as good. It is a very kind and safe surface for him to run back on. From there we'll go to the Prix Morny. I've run in it four times, and have won three times and had a second. It's a path I've been down before.” As much as Ward has been impressed by the 2-year-old's works on the grass, he says he'd like to try him on the dirt. “He would be very good on the dirt,” he said. “I don't want to try him on the dirt until the fall of the year. I want to let him mature a little bit more. If we get that far and he accomplishes the things we think he will, we'll have to take a look at the dirt.” For now, it's on to Royal Ascot, where Ward has won 12 races and will be in search of lucky number 13. The post ‘TDN Rising Star’ Outfielder Headed To Royal Ascot 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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Oaklawn Park is promoting Zack Gillham to Vice President of Racing & Wagering, while Jason Milligan will assume the role of Director of Racing, the track said via a press release on Thursday morning. In his expanded position, Gillham will oversee all aspects of Oaklawn's racing and sports wagering operations. A member of the Hot Springs team for over eight years, he most recently served as Executive Director of Wagering. Milligan, the former Vice President of Racing, has been with Oaklawn's equine operations for the past 28 years. The post Oaklawn Promotes Gillham, Milligan To Director Of Racing 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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Yeomanstown Stud's first-season sire Supremacy had two engaged in Thursday's Listed National Stakes and it was the outsider of the pair Anthelia who stepped up to provide his first black-type win. Sent off at 25-1 for Sandown's Royal Ascot pointer despite being two-for-two after educations at Bath and Salisbury, Middleham Park Racing's £6,000 Goffs UK Premier graduate raced behind the early pace before creeping up the rail inside the last furlong. In front 100 yards out, the Rod Millman-trained filly stayed on under Lewis Edmunds to beat the colt First Legion by a length. “She wasn't given much of a chance in the betting, but she couldn't have done any more coming into today and had given me a hell of a feel at Bath,” Edmunds said. “She was green at Salisbury and still green today. They didn't go as quick as we thought they would, it was just a sensible gallop and although she came off it quite early she was strong at the finish.” 111 £6,000 buy Anthelia (Supremacy) retains her unbeaten record to land the Listed @StarSports_Bet National Stakes at 25/1!@jrmillman | @MprUpdates | @Sandownpark pic.twitter.com/aCEWzq3MsR — Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 29, 2025 The post Anthelia First Black Type Winner For Yeomanstown’s Supremacy 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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In this series, the TDN takes a look at notable successes of European-based sires in North America. This week's column is highlighted by the victory of Lope De Vega's Growth Trajectory at Monmouth Park. Chad Brown. Check. Klaravich Stables' silks. Check. Tattersalls October Book 1 yearling grad. Also check. That particular combo combined in Lope De Vega's 3-year-old filly Growth Trajectory, who blitzed a field of Monmouth maidens by 3 1/2 lengths on May 25 (video). Bred by The Wekeela Partnership in Britain, she was an 180,000gns purchase by Mike Ryan from the Manister House Stud draft. Out of the Hurricane Run mare Wekeela, herself a full-sister to Scandinavian champ Matauri Pearl, Growth Trajectory is from the same family as Breeders' Cup winner Aunt Pearl (Lope De Vega), and stallions Monsun and Brametot. Ballylinch Stud's Lope De Vega, who stands for €175,000 this year, has sired 48 winners from 90 runners in the U.S. (53%). His 11 stakes winners there are anchored by four Grade I winners, including the recent Yulong purchase Carl Spackler who is pointing to Royal Ascot. Repeat Winners: Cayton Park Stud homebred Marksman Queen became the 300th stakes winner for her Darley sire Dubawi in the Keertana Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 24 (video). She is trained by Graham Motion. On Memorial Day at Santa Anita, the GI Shoemaker Mile Stakes (video) went to King Of Gosford (Zoustar) in the colours of the Benowitz Family Trust, CYBT, Saul Gevertz, Michael Nentwig and Jeremy Peskoff for trainer Phil D'Amato. Also on that card, Be Your Best (Muhaarar) won the GI Gamely Stakes for Mike Ryan and trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. (video). The post Making Waves: Monmouth Win For The Familiar Suspects 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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A breeding right in 2024 Champion First-Season Sire Sergei Prokofiev (lot 123) is one of the highlights of the 123-strong Tattersalls Online June Sale. The Whitsbury Manor Stud resident already has 42 winners to date, led by multiple group winner and Group 1-placed Arizona Blaze. Misty (Oasis Dream) (lot 122), the sale's lone broodmare and a half-sister to multiple Group 1 winner Kinross (Kingman), is also in foal to Sergei Prokofiev. Other lots of note include the Grade 2-placed jumper Paggane (Muhaarar) (lot 87); the 102 Timeform-rated sprinter Kendall Roy (Twilight Son) (lot 73); the listed-placed Sommelier (Due Diligence) (lot 99); and a yearling colt by Nathaniel (lot 118). Set for June 4-5, the mixed sale counts 34 2-year-olds, 80 horses in- and out-of-training, four yearlings, two stores, one broodmare, and one point-to-pointer in the catalogue. Breezes for the sale took place at Dundalk on Wednesday. The post Sergei Prokofiev Breeding Right One Of The Highlights Of The Tattersalls Online Catalogue 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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Pyrenees (Into Mischief–Our Khrysty, by Newfoundland), winner of the GIII Pimlico Special Stakes and runner-up in the GI Stephen Foster Stakes and GI Jockey Club Gold Cup in 2024, has been retired from racing, according to Adam Corndorf, who bred and raced the horse in partnership with his mother Bonnie Baskin under their Blue Heaven Farm banner. A homebred son of Grade III winner Our Khrysty, purchased by Blue Heaven for $600,000 in foal to Tiznow at the 2011 Fasig-Tipton November Sale, Pyrenees broke his maiden by 4 1/2 lengths off a one-year absence at the Fair Grounds in December 2023 and added open-length victories in allowance company at the Fair Grounds and at Keeneland in the spring of 2024 before charging home to take last year's Pimlico Special on Preakness weekend, defeating 'TDN Rising Star' Kingsbarns (Uncle Mo). The bay was runner-up to the latter in the Foster and was beaten four lengths into second behind Highland Falls (Curlin) in the Jockey Club Gold Cup before competing in a hot renewal of the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar. He retires with a record of 4-3-1 from 11 starts and earnings of $786,316 for trainer Cherie DeVaux. In addition to his racetrack achievements, Pyrenees hails from an extremely active immediate female family. His half-sister Grace Adler (Curlin) won the 2021 GI Del Mar Debutante and was sold to Japanese interests for $2 million at Fasig-Tipton November in 2022. Grace Adler's first foal, a colt by Horse of the Year Flightline, made $1.3 million at the JRHA Select Sale last July. Pyrenees, whose dam is a half-sister to GI Whitney Handicap hero Bullsbay (Tiznow), is also kin to the Grade II-placed Virginia Key (Distorted Humor), not only the dam of SP Distorted d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro), but also of Tappan Street (Into Mischief), who took down the colors of subsequent GI Kentucky Derby hero Sovereignty (Into Mischief) in this year's GI Curlin Florida Derby. A Curlin half-brother to Tappan Street fetched $1.4 million at Keeneland September last fall, while the current 2-year-old half-sister to Pyrenees, Glory Me (Gun Runner), was hammered down to Lael Stable for $975,000 at KEESEP. Pyrenees's half-sister Bay Harbor (Speightstown), is responsible for Miuccia (Mitole), a stakes winner in 2024. Pyrenees is currently available for inspection at Blue Heaven Farm in Versailles, Kentucky. Inquiries may be made to Adam Corndorf at info@blueheavenfarmky.com. The post Graded Winner, Mutliple Grade I-Placed Pyrenees Retired 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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A total of 97 entries have been catalogued for the Fasig-Tipton June Digital Sale, which can now be viewed online at digital.fasigtipton.com. Bidding has commenced and will remain open through Tuesday, June 3, beginning at 2 p.m. ET. Among the entries are horses of racing age, breeding stock–including mares with foals at foot–2-year-olds in training and yearlings. Some of the top offerings include: Hip 2, Strada Del Sogno (Street Boss), a debut third in the May 10 Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies Stakes at Gulfstream behind Lennilu (Leinster), who is scheduled to make her next appearance at Royal Ascot next month; Hip 92, Chasing Sunsets (Authentic), a 2-year-old full-sister to Reagan's Wit, impressive winner of the James W. Murphy Stakes at Pimlico May 17; 40 horses of racing age eligible for a variety of conditions; Yearlings by Early Voting, Girvin, Golden Pal, Maxfield and Tiz the Law; Mares pregnant to Bolt d'Oro, Caracaro, Independence Hall, Mandaloun, Speaker's Corner and Yaupon “We have a diverse catalogue with something for everyone, including a significant number of turnkey horses of racing age ready for summer racing,” said Leif Aaron, Fasig-Tipton Director of Digital Sales. “These include stakes horses as well as a several eligible for 'ship and win' programs on the West Coast.” The post Bidding For Fasig-Tipton June Digital Sale Now Open 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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2nd-CD, 120K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5f, 1:14 p.m. Flying Dutchmen went to $675,000 to procure LOVE A LITTLE MO (Uncle Mo) as a yearling at Keeneland last September. The filly is the first foal out of SW/GSP Inject who is herself out of GI Spinaway Stakes winner Appealing Zophie, a $1.2m FTKNOV broodmare who is also responsible for GI Belmont Stakes winner Tapwrit (Tapit) and MGSW/GISP Ride a Comet (Candy Ride {Arg}). Lined up to her outside is the J Kirk and Judy Robison homebred Essential Coffee (Nyquist), a half-sister to GSW/MGISP Skinner (Curlin) out of GSW Winding Way (Malibu Moon). Steve Asmussen has named son Keith to ride. Representing first-crop sire Charlatan for trainer Wesley Ward and owner Thomas Bachman, She's On A Roll was a $250,000 FTKOCT yearling purchase out of GSW Summersault (Rock Hard Ten). TJCIS PPS The post Friday Insights: Trio Of Nice 2-Year-Old Fillies Debut Early At Churchill appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article