Wandering Eyes

This week’s TDN GI Belmont S. Preview ranks the entrants in order of estimated win probability: 1) JUSTIFY (c, Scat Daddy—Stage Magic, by Ghostzapper) ‘TDN Rising Star‘ O-China Horse Club, Head of Plains PartnersLLC, Starlight Racing & WinStar Farm. B- John D. Gunther (Ky). T-Bob Baffert. Sales History: $500,000 yrl ’16 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: MGISW, 5-5-0-0, $2,998,000. Justify is the likeliest winner of the Belmont S., but that’s not the same as saying he’s a smart bet at or below his 4-5 morning line ranking. This undefeated $500,000 KEESEP Scat Daddy (Johannesburg) colt is going to have to defend multiple attacks over an unproven distance after an intense, five-week Classics campaign that is in itself part of a super-brief, pressure-packed career arc spanning only 156 days. Jockey Mike Smith might as well be chasing history with a bullseye on his back considering how rival riders will be targeting his ‘TDN Rising Star’ on Saturday, and in particular, the second and third choices in the Belmont betting both loom as credible threats because they hail from A-list stables after having been freshened since exiting the GI Kentucky Derby with legit excuses. But still, having laid out those potential stumbling blocks, the fact remains that Justify simply delivers what is expected of him–and often exceeds those expectations–every time he’s presented with a new challenge. In the Derby, this long-striding colt was still hand-ridden through the far turn while repulsing a two-pronged attack from a pair of relentless rivals, and when set down straightening for home the brawny chestnut’s response was fluid and not at all nearing the limitations of his stamina depth. Justify’s Preakness win was a bit more of a scrappy showdown than expected, but he only lost style points and not the race, and he’s since had three weeks of rest followed by reportedly thriving in training. The been-there-done-that aura of confidence that resonates around conditioner Bob Baffert and his 2015 Triple Crown-winning team no doubt only helps Justify’s chances, because his handlers are keenly aware of what to expect in terms of pressure and nerves when race day arrives. 2) VINO ROSSO (c, Curlin—Mythical Bride, by Street Cry {Ire}) O-Repole Stable & St. Elias Stable. B-John D. Gunther (Ky). T-Todd A. Pletcher. Sales history: $410,000 yrl ’16 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GSW, 6-3-0-1, $620,500. Sure, plenty of horses couldn’t handle the slop in this year’s Derby. But Vino Rosso appeared more out of his comfort zone than most of the also-rans, and trainer Todd Pletcher said after this $410,000 KEESEP Curlin colt’s ninth-place try that “I don’t ever remember flushing more mud out of a horse’s eyes than we did with him.” Now, with the benefit of five weeks to recuperate and a return to training that included a recent bullet breeze, Vino Rosso is percolating as very live upsetter based on a similar skip-the-Preakness strategy that Pletcher utilized last year when he captured the Belmont S. with Tapwrit (Tapit). If you are willing to completely toss out Vino Rosso’s Derby and focus on his aggressively won GII Wood Memorial S. as an example of a stepping-stone race that could get him a Classic, this distance-pedigreed closer could have the Belmont unfold in a fashion that suits him best (i.e., tag-team pace pressure on Justify early before Vino Rosso winds up for a prolonged stretch kick). Earlier in the spring, when jockey John Velazquez presumably had the option to choose among several of Pletcher’s Derby-bound horses, Vino Rosso became his hand-picked horse despite several uninspiring tries at Tampa Bay Downs. After a nice fighting-spirit win in the Wood, the colt’s development arc stalled in the Derby. But Vino Rosso now appears poised to pounce as the main danger in the third leg of the Triple Crown. 3) HOFBURG (c, Tapit—Soothing Touch, by Touch Gold) O/B-Juddmonte Farms, Inc. (Ky). T-William I. Mott. Lifetime Record: GISP, 4-1-1-0, $227,950. Hofburg has been a “wise guy” pick to win the Belmont ever since he galloped out past everybody else after the finish of the Kentucky Derby and trainer Bill Mott declared that this Tapit (Pulpit) homebred would bypass the Preakness to lie in wait for the third jewel of the Triple Crown. In the five weeks since, the Hofburg bandwagon has become crowded with supporters, and while he makes sense as a realistic win threat considering his stamina-centric bloodlines, it might be a bit of a reach to back Hofburg as a 9-2 second choice in a Classic race considering he’s never won beyond the maiden ranks. Yet since his initial score back on Mar. 3 at Gulfstream, Hofburg has posted back-to-back “much better than they look on paper” efforts: First when closing determinedly to grab second in the GI Florida Derby, and again in Louisville on the first Saturday in May when he was committed to an inside bid but got shuffled back in traffic before tipping widest for the stretch run and steaming home with admirable late-race momentum. Upsetting Tripe Crown bids by Bob Baffert trainees just might run in Hofburg’s family, as damsire Touch Gold denied Silver Charm the 1997 Belmont S. by three-quarters of a length. 4) TENFOLD (c, Curlin—Temptress, by Tapit) O/B-Winchell Thoroughbreds, LLC. T-Steven M. Asmussen. Lifetime Record: GISP, 4-2-0-1, $289,200. Your opinion of Tenfold probably hinges on whether or not you think his third-place, three-quarter length finish behind Justify in the Preakness is the real deal or not. I think that’s the wrong measuring stick. Instead, focus on this colt’s entire four-race body of work, which although brief, gives a better illustration that this homebred is headed in the right direction. Tenfold’s Beyer Speed Figures have gone up in every start even though he’s taken on tougher competition and increased distances at every step. He’s overcome adversity (bumped and wide in the Preakness), and this colt’s pace-pressing running style means he’s unlikely to be slugging it out on the lead, yet should still be able to snag a contending stalking spot not too far off the early action. If Tenfold is able to remain in the hunt to the top of the stretch, the bet will essentially be whether his distance-oriented pedigree (by Curlin out of a Tapit mare) is enough to put him over the top at 12 furlongs. 5) RESTORING HOPE (c, Giant’s Causeway—Symbol of Freedom, by Tapit) O-Gary & Mary West. B-Gary & Mary West Stables Inc (Ky). T-Bob Baffert. Lifetime Record: GSP, 5-1-1-2, $149,880. Trainer Bob Baffert’s “other” horse in the Belmont S. is not as far-fetched a proposition as he might seem. In fact, if you go back in time prior to Justify’s February debut, Restoring Hope was getting his own share of ink in many pre-Derby prognostications before this Giant’s Causeway homebred missed the GII San Felipe with minor foot issue, then failed to make the earnings cut to enter GIII Sunland Derby. Subsequent shuffling among Baffert’s Derby hopefuls in early April caused Restoring Hope to get re-routed to New York for the Wood Memorial, where he was a one-paced third, yet only 5 1/4 lengths behind the well-regarded Vino Rosso. He next showed up in the undercard GIII Pat Day Mile on Derby Day at Churchill, which was run in a relentless, pelting rain that was worse than the abysmally muddy conditions of the Derby itself two hours later. Because of the adverse weather, I’m inclined to give Restoring Hope a free pass regarding his six-wide 12th-place try in a one-turn mile that produced an aberrational finish (top three horses 39-1, 31-1 and 21-1, respectively). So the Belmont just might be Restoring Hope’s first chance in months to run a race under comparatively favorable preparation and course-condition terms, making a substantial turnaround a realistic possibility for this vastly overlooked long shot. 6) NOBLE INDY (c, Take Charge Indy–Noble Maz, by Storm Boot) ‘TDN Rising Star‘ O-WinStar Farm LLC & Repole Stable. B-WinStar Farm LLC (Ky). T-Todd A Pletcher. Sales history: $45,000 RNA yrl ’16 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GSW, 5-3-0-1, $691,600. Noble Indy will have blinkers removed for the Belmont, perhaps suggesting that he’ll be out of the pace equation in terms of duking it out with Justify in the early going. To me, this ‘TDN Rising Star’ represents a true wild card in the third leg of the Triple Crown, and I’m not entirely sure what to expect of him coming off a five-week freshening since his slop-diminished 17th-place Derby performance. This $45,000 KEESEP RNA was forwardly placed in the early stages of the Derby, got fanned seven wide into the chaotic first turn, then was unable to assert himself with any spark before backing off. When you consider that this lightly raced, still-developing Todd Pletcher trainee also had a six-week gap between his Louisiana Derby win and his Kentucky Derby try, he should be a fairly fresh horse. His grandsire, A.P. Indy, won the 1992 edition of the Belmont, and while Noble Indy doesn’t rate as a top choice to wear a blanket of white carnations on Saturday, a win wouldn’t exactly be a shocker, either. 7) BRAVAZO (c, Awesome Again—Tiz o’ Gold, by Cee’s Tizzy) O/B-Calumet Farm. T-D. Wayne Lukas. Lifetime Record: GSW & MGISP, 9-3-1-1, $436,528. Bravazo is a hard-trying overachiever. But the sense here is that while he was a “live” 15-1 shot in the Preakness coming off a sneaky-good, wide-on-both-turns Derby, his Preakness second might represent the upper limits of his ability, and a leveling off or a regression at 12 furlongs might be expected for the Belmont. Other than potential Triple Crowner Justify, this Awesome Again colt will be the only member of the sophomore crop to contest all three legs of the Classics, and that’s an arduous assignment even considering Bravazo got a six-week break between the GII Louisiana Derby and the Kentucky Derby. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas certainly commands respect with 14 victories in Triple Crown races. But only one of those wins—a 15-1 upset by Oxbow (Awesome Again) in the 2013 Preakness—has come since 2000. 8) FREE DROP BILLY (c, Union Rags—Trensa, by Giant’s Causeway) O-Albaugh Family Stables LLC. B-Helen K Groves Revokable Trust (Ky). T-Dale Romans. Sales history: $200,000 yrl ’16 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GISW, 9-2-3-2, $625,220. Free Drop Billy holds the dubious distinction of being the only horse in the Belmont field not to have won a race so far in 2018, and you have to go all the way back to Oct. 7 to find the last time this son of 2012 Belmont winner Union Rags landed in the winner’s circle. In five races since, “Billy” always seems to be on the cusp of breaking through with a big effort, but he has simply failed to fire without obvious excuses. The Derby seemed to be a spot where his one-strong-run closing style might have thrived, but the race unfolded with Billy being much closer to a solid early pace than expected, and he had no true response when roused for run under sloppy conditions. The 1 1/2-mile distance of the third leg of the Triple Crown is certainly within the scope of his stamina-centric pedigree. But you can also make that argument for about seven other horses in the race, so banking a bet on him based on the breeding angle alone probably won’t cut it in this spot. 9) BLENDED CITIZEN (c, Proud Citizen–Langara Lass, by Langhfuhr) O-Sayjay Racing LLC, Greg Hall & Brooke Hubbard. B-Ray Hanson (Ky). T-Doug F. O’Neill. Sales history: $57,000 RNA yrl ’16 KEESEP; $85,000 2yo ’17 OBSMAR. Lifetime Record: MGSW, 10-3-0-2, $406,854. This Proud Citizen colt is a new shooter in the Triple Crown series, and while the win over the Belmont surface angle is unique to Blended Citizen (in fact, he’s the only entrant in this race to have even started at Belmont Park), he’s going to have to progress even further to be a major player against this crew. His May 12 GII Peter Pan S. victory was a grind-it-out, off-the-pace performance aided by a four-way speed duel and moderate fractions, and Blended Citizen’s only other stakes score came over the synthetic Turfway surface back in March when he enjoyed a gift-trip rail run into very slow splits. Perhaps a mild case for him could be made off his fifth-place run in the GII Blue Grass S. two starts back, in which Blended Citizen was beaten only 4 1/4 lengths after encountering a deep-stretch impediment. But otherwise, it’s a handicapping reach to try and come up with plausible scenarios under which this miler-over-sprinter pedigreed sophomore excels at 12 furlongs. 10) GRONKOWSKI (c, Lonhro {Aus}—Four Sugars, by Lookin At Lucky) O-Phoenix Thoroughbred III. B-Epic Thoroughbreds LLC (Ky). T-Chad C. Brown. Sales history: $75,000 wlg ’15 KEENOV; 50,000gns yrl ’16 TATOC; 300,000gns 2yo ’17 TATBRE. Lifetime Record: SW, 6-4-1-0, $135,644. Gronkowski qualified for a Derby berth based on winning the Europe Road to the Kentucky Derby invite, but his shipping Stateside for that race was derailed by a “minor infection” that made his connections aim for the Belmont instead. In the interim, this Lonhro colt has had a trainer switch to Chad Brown (whose first-time imports have won at a 25% clip), and he’ll run Gronkowski on Lasix for the first time (an angle that has produced a 26% win clip among Brown’s last 39 first-time first-Lasix starters). But beyond those positive statistical trends, the fact remains that Gronkowski has still never raced on dirt or beyond a mile, and the 12-furlong Belmont S. is about a difficult spot as you could pick at this stage of the season to find out where/if this colt fits among the top of America’s sophomore crop. View the full article

G3 Chester Vase winner Young Rascal (Fr) (Intello {Ger}) will sit out Royal Ascot after finishing a disappointing seventh in the G1 Investec Derby last weekend. Trainer William Haggas said he’d not yet uncovered a reason for the colt’s performance, but the runner-up finish of the Chester Vase second Dee Ex Bee (GB) (Farhh {GB}) in the blue riband confirms Young Rascal ran below his best form. “He’s OK. He’s hasn’t been eating as much grub as usual, but he’s sound, which is the main thing,” Haggas said. “I’ve no idea what happened, to be perfectly honest. He didn’t race on the day and it was very disappointing, but we live to fight another day. He won’t be going to Ascot. The [G2 King Edward VII S.] has been a graveyard for Derby horses, so we’ll give it a miss. We’ll see how he is in the next couple of weeks and plan from there.” View the full article

ELMONT, NY – The crowds may not be quite as big as they were a few days out ahead of American Pharoah’s historic Triple Crown sweep three years ago, but the mood here at Belmont Park is starting to feel awfully similar. They were all lined up by the clubhouse gap-including Hall of Famers Bob Baffert and Mike Smith and WinStar Farm’s Elliott Walden–to watch unbeaten GI Kentucky Derby/GI Preakness S. winner Justify (Scat Daddy)’s first spin over Big Sandy after the break at 8:45 a.m. on a cool and cloudy Thursday morning. The long-striding chestnut couldn’t have made a better first impression galloping for about 1 3/8 miles with extremely good energy with his ears up just awaiting a cue from regular exercise rider Humberto Gomez while under a snug hold. He shipped in from Baffert’s Churchill Downs base Wednesday afternoon. “He went around there like he’s been here before,” Baffert said during his morning press briefing in the Belmont Cafe. “He just floated over this track. He couldn’t have looked any better today coming around there. He looks like a horse that is really flourishing.” Justify, a jaw-dropping ‘TDN Rising Star’ debut winner at Santa Anita just four months ago Feb. 18, will already be making his sixth career start in the Belmont. How is he holding up to the workload? “He’s the kind of horse that thrives on it,” Baffert replied. “He’s a big, strong powerful horse. I think he’s a throwback-I could’ve run him in between the Preakness and Belmont like in the old days.” Baffert concluded, “I want to win it for the horse. I want Justify to be up there with those great horses. I’d like to see his name up there [with the Triple Crown winners]–number 13.” No fewer than seven of the 10 Belmont S. runners were out for light training before the break, including Preakness second- and third-place finishers Bravazo (Awesome Again) and Tenfold (Curlin); and Florida Derby runner-up Hofburg (Tapit). Free Drop Billy (Union Rags) and Gronkowski (Lonhro {Aus}) flew in well under the radar while sharing the track with Justify. There was plenty of other star power in action throughout the morning as well, headed by Kentucky Derby runner-up and last year’s champion 2-year-old colt Good Magic (Curlin), 2017-18 GI Kentucky Oaks winners Abel Tasman (Quality Road) (GI Ogden Phipps S.) and Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) (GI Acorn S.); and two-time G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen winner Mind Your Biscuits (Posse) (GI Runhappy Metropolitan). View the full article

Trainer Saeed bin Suroor has nominated the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs in November as the primary target this season for G1 Dubai World Cup winner Thunder Snow (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}). The 4-year-old has enjoyed a break since besting American champion West Coast (Flatter) in that Meydan feature in March, and bin Suroor is looking at his options in the buildup to the Breeders’ Cup. “The horse had a hard race in Dubai, but he is doing well and the Breeders’ Cup Classic is the long-term aim. We’ll try to find one or two races for him beforehand. The [G1] Jacques le Marois is a possible and the [GI] Belmont Jockey Club Gold Cup, then hopefully on to the Classic, as that is the main objective.” Bin Suroor said Benbatl (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), winner of the G1 Dubai Turf on the same card as Thunder Snow’s Dubai World Cup, will reappear at Royal Ascot. “Benbatl is doing well since winning the Grade 1 in Dubai,” he said. “We will get him ready for Royal Ascot, and he will go for the Queen Anne, as a stiff mile will suit him.” View the full article

Toss out a pair of efforts routing this year and West Point Thoroughbreds' Kanthaka will enter the $400,000 Woody Stephens Stakes Presented by Mohegan Sun (G2) on a three-race win streak. View the full article

In his first venture over the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Park track where he will attempt to become the 13th horse to capture the Triple Crown this weekend, dual classic winner Justify looked every bit at home as he has elsewhere. View the full article

COSTA MIA (f, 3, Distorted Humor–Calais, by A.P. Indy) was hammered down to 3-2 favoritism for this unveiling and ran to the money with a gritty victory at Belmont Thursday afternoon. Breaking sharply from the outside post in this eight-horse affair, the chestnut took back to stalk from third, running in the two-path through early splits of :23.24 and :47.11. Ranging up on the outside turning for home, the homebred battled stablemate Communal (Elusive Quality) into the final furlong and kicked clear late for to win by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:17.86. Godolphin firster Communal held on for a Tom Albertrani exacta. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0. O/B-Don Alberto Corp (KY); T-Tom Albertrani View the full article

Last year’s G2 Coventry S. winner Rajasinghe (Ire) (Choisir {Aus}) will not be seen again this season after trainer Richard Spencer revealed the 3-year-old had suffered a setback after his off the board finish in the G1 2000 Guineas on May 5. “We are obviously disappointed not to be heading back to Royal Ascot with Rajasinghe, but we have a strong team heading to Ascot nonetheless,” said Spencer. View the full article

Toss out a pair of efforts routing earlier this year and West Point Thoroughbreds' Kanthaka will enter the $400,000 Woody Stephens Stakes Presented by Mohegan Sun (G2) on a three-race win streak. View the full article

7th-SA, $79K, Msw, 3yo/up, 6 1/2f, 6:00 p.m. ET Larry Best’s OXO Equine and Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer successfully teamed up on a seven-figure purchase earlier this year in GSW Instilled Regard (Arch) and look to repeat that success with first timer and $1.1 million FTFMAR buy GOREN (More Than Ready). Blossoming from a $235,000 KEESEP yearling to a seven-figure juvenile after breezing in :10 1/5, the bay is out of SW Tensas Punch (War Front). This is also the family of GISW sire Liaison (Indian Charlie). TJCIS PPs. —@CDeBernardisTDN View the full article

5.25 Curragh, Mdn, €17,500, 2yo, c/g, 7fT Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith’s CAPE OF GOOD HOPE (IRE) (Galileo {Ire}), who comes back from a first-up seventh over this distance at Leopardstown last month, is one of three representing Ballydoyle with Donnacha O’Brien partnering this full-brother to globetrotting stablemates Highland Reel (Ire) and Idaho (Ire). His nine opponents include fellow Aidan O’Brien trainee Mohawk (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who is a hitherto unraced son of G3 Leopardstown 1000 Guineas Trial victress Empowering (Ire) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}). View the full article

With a long list of top racing wins of his own, Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas is just fine with the top-level goals of Brad Kelley's Calumet Farm. View the full article

Holy Helena (Ghostzapper) seeks her fourth-straight victory against a tough bunch in Friday’s GII New York S. at Big Sandy. The Frank Stronach homebred bested the boys to take last July’s Queen’s Plate going this distance on the Woodbine Tapeta, and she returned to wining ways in her grass debut in a Gulfstream optional claimer Feb. 4. The dark bay continued her progression in the GIII The Very One S. there Mar. 3, and kicked on impressively to get up in the local GII Sheepshead Bay S. over 1 3/8 miles May 5. “Her first race on turf was an allowance, and it was only a mile, but she was relentless until she got there,” trainer Jimmy Jerkens said. “This is going to be a lot tougher race than her last one…but she’s three-for-three on the turf and each succeeding race has had a little better quality horses in it and she’s been able to handle it. I hope she does it this time.” The toughest foe to handle will likely be Peter Brant’s Sistercharlie (Ire) (Myboycharlie {Ire}). Second in last June’s G1 Prix de Diane for Henri-Alex Pantall, she just missed to fellow Chad Brown trainee New Money Honey (Medaglia d’Oro) in the GI Belmont Oaks in July. She didn’t run back until the GI Coolmore Jenny Wiley S. at Keeneland Apr. 14, but certainly didn’t disappoint that day as she kicked away powerfully to lead home a Brown-trained trifecta. Fourstar Crook (Freud) was second best. Mom’s On Strike (First Dude) has annexed five of her last six, capped by a score over well-traveled millionaire Daddys Lil Darling (Scat Daddy) in the 12-furlong GIII Bewitch S. in Lexington Apr. 27. View the full article

Joking (Distorted Humor), last seen taking the GI Vosburgh Invitational S. here some 20 months ago in October of 2016, makes a belated return to the races in Friday’s GII True North S. at Belmont after surviving a life-threatening bout with pneumonia. That Vosburgh victory was his fourth in a row–he’d previously taken the True North two years ago as a near 10-1 shot in what was the former claimer’s graded stakes debut. “I’m excited to get him back to racing,” owner/trainer Charlton Baker said from his base at Finger Lakes. “He looks like he’s ready to compete.” Imperial Hint (Imperialism) was second in the GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint in November, and romped by five lengths on seasonal debut in a state-bred stake at Tampa Mar. 25. He showed the way before stopping pretty abruptly going seven panels in the slop in the GII Churchill Downs S. May 5, but the diminutive overachiever has every right to bounce back here. Peter Miller, Rockingham Ranch and David Bernsen brought Roy H (More Than Ready) from California to romp in this race last year, kicking off a string of performances that were capped by the GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint and solidified an Eclipse Award as champion sprinter. This time they’ll be represented by the lightly raced and progressive Bobby Abu Dhabi (Macho Uno). The $335,000 OBS April acquisition was second to talented City of Light (Quality Road) in the GI Triple Bend S. Mar. 10, and most recently made the grade in the GII Kona Gold S. Apr. 21. View the full article

Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) hopes to follow in the hoofprints of champion Abel Tasman (Quality Road) by completing the GI Kentucky Oaks/GI Acorn S. double Saturday at Belmont. The chestnut kicked off this term with a nice score in the GII Rachel Alexandra S. at Fair Grounds Feb. 17 and followed suit with a 5 1/2-length romp in Keeneland’s GI Ashland S. Apr. 7 prior to a gritty victory over Woodbine Oaks-bound ‘TDN Rising Star’ Wonder Gadot (Medaglia d’Oro) in the Kentucky Oaks May 4. The Oaks heroine won’t have it easy, however, as this seven-horse field is loaded with talent, including last term’s champion juvenile filly Caledonia Road (Quality Road). A debut winner in the slop at Saratoga Sept. 3, the bay was second in the GI Frizette S. Oct. 8, but came charging in the stretch to score a decisive victory in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Nov. 4 under Hall of Famer Mike Smith, who gets back aboard Saturday. Forced to miss the Oaks due to a virus and an ankle chip, the Ralph Nicks pupil in a track-and-trip optional claimer Apr. 29. ‘TDN Rising Star’ Moonshine Memories (Malibu Moon) is already a dual Grade I winner, having captured both the GI Del Mar Debutante S. and GI Chandelier S. last term. A disappointing seventh as the favorite behind Caldeonia Road in the Breeders’ Cup, the bay checked in second behind ‘TDN Rising Star’ Emboldened (Elusive Quality) when making her seasonal bow in Santa Anita’s Angel Flight S. May 12. She should appreciate the one-turn mile and could be primed for a big effort in this second start off the layoff for a trainer who has done quite well when shipping to New York. Fellow California invader Spectator (Jimmy Creed) should appreciate the cut back in trip after a runner-up effort behind Kentucky Oaks-third Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) in the GI Santa Anita Oaks Apr. 7. Winner of the GII Sorrento S. last summer, the chestnut was third in the Del Mar Debutante and kicked off this term with an optional claimer win at Santa Anita Mar. 18. Another runner who could spice things up at a price is ‘TDN Rising Star’ Talk Veuve to Me (Violence). Romping by 11 lengths at second asking at Fair Grounds Mar. 25, the Rodolphe Brisset trainee was a respectable second behind fellow ‘Rising Star’ Mis Mischief (Into Mischief) in the GIII Eight Belles S. at Churchill last time May 4. View the full article

We know what you’re thinking: Whatever in the world would possess someone to talk about stallion selection just before the breeding season officially ends? While some might accuse your correspondent of being somewhat possessed, in some ways, there is a logical reason for exploring this subject at this time: Everybody starts thinking about next year when the breeding shed doors close up for the season. Stallion managers start looking more closely at prospects for the next season. Sometimes they look to stay on a roll of success after breeders stormed the doors for a newbie or freshmen sires burst out in style. Sometimes they need to assuage the frustration of a newbie failing to attract much interest, or those with a couple of crops failing to show much competence or class. Breeders conjure up similar thoughts, especially those who booked to stallions whose first or second crops sold like hotcakes at the yearling or 2-year-old sales, but have demonstrably proven their shortcomings a week or so after their mare has been bred to one of them. Guilt trips travel over various routes. Below we present a check list of factors that might raise an eyebrow or two as to what we have referred to as the “Ten Commandments of Stallion Selection” (no apostacy intended, and we even phrased most of them as questions rather than dictates). While it is more geared toward the breeder than the stallion manager, there might be a nugget or two for all to find interesting, if not helpful. How Did He Run? The best sire prospects–even among sprinters–gain early position and have the cruising power, stride length, and thrust (kick from behind through hocks and quarters), to outlast the rest at the end. These horses are more efficient. On the other hand, deep closers–including closing sprinters–may be less efficient due to biomechanical issues which force them to settle, get into rhythm, and then win on momentum. It’s an axiom of genetic probability that the more efficient body will have the best chance of replicating itself in a population of mares where the majority are closer to being reasonably efficient. [II] How did he move? Did he move as to give an appearance of running with his nose to the ground–like Danzig, Deputy Minister, A.P. Indy, for example? Did he run with his neck extended straight ahead and move in a rhythmic motion with his shoulder extension–like Affirmed and Alydar? Did he run with his head up, floating along like a ballet dancer–such as Montjeu? Which style defined your mare, and do you want to match it or blend it with another style? [III] Where, and on what surface, did he run? The majority of leading sires in Kentucky–and in most major breeding states–raced successfully in New York, and by extension on the major circuit which includes Churchill Downs, Keeneland, Gulfstream, Santa Anita and Del Mar. Some may have done well overseas before racing here, but for the most part you want domesticity in a race record. [IV] Is he a square, a rectangle, or a trapezoid? This is an assessment of body set and takes some eye adjustment. A square body will include equal front and rear leg length and relatively short body length–you see a square. Rectangle would include those with legs that might be the same length as those on a square body, but the length of the back and body would be long, so you see a rectangle. A trapezoid would be a body set that is to the eye either square or rectangular, but the body itself is lower or higher at the elbow or flank thereby generating either a downhill or an uphill trajectory. [V] Is he Derek Jeter, Wilson Kipsang, or Tom Brady? Now, move around to the front and, still keeping your eyes above the knees, try to get a handle on this guy’s girth–i.e. how wide or how narrow he is. Jeter is agile and versatile, Kipsang is lanky and long-winded, Brady is as balanced as Jeter but not as agile. Think of the athlete you are viewing and determine what kind of athlete you are looking to breed. [VI] Is he a “sport?” Biologically speaking, a “sport” is “an organism that has characteristics resulting from chromosomal alteration–a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function independently.” In the vernacular, that refers to a person or animal who appears to be completely different than what was expected, but manages to establish itself as a success. In racing, that could mean success on the racetrack, and either success or failure at stud. California Chrome is a bit of a sport. [VII] Kick the tires. It is much easier to breed for one trait than two, and heaven forbid a stallion has bad front wheels as well as being very short in those legs. You might want to send a long legged, correct, mare to him, but you might not get a correction for both factors unless the rest of their physical traits are close. Try to do your genetic homework here–find out if bad front wheels are a trait of the sire’s pedigree, or whether the wheels were an environmental accident, e.g., awkward position in-utero, nutrition as a foal, etc. [VIII] Who’s his daddy? Line or branch founders are generally consistent in siring the type of individual who helps establish that offshoot. Fappiano’s branch of Mr. Prospector’s line is far different than Gone West’s, Smart Strike’s and Forty Niner’s in many key aspects–each branch is quite consistent in expressing the founder’s size, aptitude, or personality, for example [IX] What stock did his momma come from-and who was her daddy? You can quickly eliminate a stallion from consideration on the strength of the broodmare sire and his sire-line. Check the list of leading sires over the past 10 years and note which were produced by mares whose sires and maternal grandsires made no lasting impression on the breed–love that phrase, memorize it. Look at the six-cross pedigree of the stallion prospect and ask yourself, “Does this work?” [X] Be wary of a stallion prospect whose name you cannot pronounce or spell. Years ago a breeder asked whether we thought of a new stallion, whose name he pronounced “Abajoenee.” Puzzled, we asked other pertinent questions but finally asked how the name was spelled. He spelled it and we then informed him that the name was pronounced “A-bag-in-one” (he was by Devil’s Bag). The man preferred his pronunciation and eschewed breeding to that horse. Abaginone notwithstanding, such is the way of the world, and our game. Bob Fierro is a partner with Jay Kilgore and Frank Mitchell in DataTrack International, biomechanical consultants and developers of BreezeFigs. He can be reached at bbfq@earthlink.net. View the full article

Rockingham Ranch and David Bernsen’s Stormy Liberal (Stormy Atlantic) finished eighth in last year’s GIII Jaipur S. before his determined score in the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. He will make his first start since finishing second in the Mar. 31 G1 Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan in Saturday’s upgraded GII Jaipur S., a ‘Win and You’re In’ event for this year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. After winning last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, Stormy Liberal traveled to Hong Kong for an 11th-place effort in the Dec. 10 G1 Hong Kong Sprint. He was second behind Conquest Tsunami (Stormy Atlantic) in the Feb. 24 GIII Daytona S. before finishing ahead of that stablemate in Dubai and the two Peter Miller trainees will face off again in the Jaipur. The 6-year-old Conquest Tsunami won back-to-back races down the hill at Santa Anita before his third-place finish in Dubai. “Conquest Tsunami is a very fast, speedy horse, while Stormy Liberal likes to come from a little off the pace,” said Miller. “They complement each other.” Disco Partner (Disco Rico), winner of last year’s Jaipur, will look to improve on his third-place effort in his 2018 unveiling in the Apr. 7 GII Shakertown S. over soft turf at Keeneland. “He ran a good race over softer ground,” trainer Christophe Clement said of Disco Partner’s effort in the Shakertown. “We would have loved to win, but he actually ran well and he’s been training well. The horse looks good, loves Belmont, and is doing well, so, let’s go.” Gary and Mary West’s Pocket Change (Unbridled’s Song), unbeaten in three career starts, will attempt to make the jump to graded stakes in the Jaipur. The 4-year-old, a debut winner at Parx last October for trainer Jason Servis, scored a front-running allowance tally over the Aqueduct turf last December. He makes his stakes debut off a Gulfstream optional-claimer win Mar. 22. View the full article

Mind Your Biscuits (Posse) proved no worse for wear after his trip to Meydan last year, where he scored a decisive victory in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen, when capturing the GII Bemont Sprint Championship in his Stateside return July 8. Charging late to score a thrilling win in this year’s Golden Shaheen Mar. 31, the top-earning New York-bred looks to repeat that return effort in Elmont this year, albeit one month earlier, in the GI Metropolitan H. Saturday. Never worse than third over this strip, the chestnut finished second in the GI Cigar Mile in November and finished second by a head in a Gulfstream optional claimer Feb. 9 prior to his trip overseas. Something you don’t usually see in the prestigious Met Mile is a 3-year-old, but there will be one this year in the form of MGISW Bolt d’Oro (Medaglia d’Oro). Coming a head short of GISW McKinzie (Street Sense) in the GII San Felipe S. Mar. 10, the bay was awarded the win after the winner was disqualified for interference. Far from disgraced when second to Triple Crown hopeful Justify (Scat Daddy) in the Apr. 7 GI Santa Anita Derby, the Mick Ruis pupil was a disappointing 12th in the GI Kentucky Derby May 5 and his owner/trainer decided to bypass the next two legs of the Triple Crown in favor of this contentious spot. Some of the owners behind Justify are represented here in Good Samaritan (Harlan’s Holiday) and One Liner (Into Mischief). Good Samaritan has been knocking at the door of a Grade I win for quite some time, including a half-length second in the GI Clark H. in November. Winner of the nine-panel GII New Orleans H. Mar. 24, the dark bay checked in third in the GII Alysheba S. at Churchill May 4 and may enjoy this cut back in trip if he gets the right amount of pace to run into. One Liner looked like he would be a one-turn special early on in his career, prior to winning the GIII Southwest S. at Oaklawn last year, after which he was sideline for a year. Third behind ‘Biscuits’ in that Feb. 9 Gulfstream test, the Todd Pletcher trainee won na two-turn optional claimer at Keeneland Apr. 21 and was second in the GIII Pimlico Special S. May 18. He looks like another who could be primed to run a big one in this cut back in trip. The top three finishers from the May 5 GII Churchill Downs S., Limousine Liberal (SuccessfulAppeal), Warrior’s Club (Warrior’s Reward) and Awesome Slew (Awesome Again), will also try to play spoiler to ‘Biscuits’ and ‘Bolt’ Saturday. Another of interest is ‘TDN Rising Star’ McCraken (Ghostzapper), a MGSW who enters off a one-mile optional claimer win at Churchill on Derby day. View the full article

Paul Pompa’s homebred Hard Study (Big Brown), who seemed to relish the 1 3/8-miles of the Flat Out S. when he romped home by 5 1/2 lengths last time out, will get an extra furlong to work with Saturday when he goes postward in the GII Brooklyn Invitational. The 5-year-old has won his last three starts and five of his last six outings. He concluded 2017 with a win in the 1 3/4-mile Birdstone S. at Saratoga last August and added a Gulfstream Park optional claimer Mar. 30 before his win in the Flat Out May 4. John Gunther’s lightly raced homebred Take Your Guns (Blame) steps up in class off a pair of optional-claiming scores this spring. The bay colt went to the sidelines after finishing fourth in last year’s GIII Peter Pan S. in just his third trip to the post. He returned to win over a mile at Gulfstream Mar. 25 and over 1 1/16 miles at Belmont Apr. 28. War Story (Northern Afleet), winner of last year’s Brooklyn, comes into the 2018 renewal off a narrowly beaten runner-up effort in the Apr. 21 GII Charles Town Classic. The consistent gelding, fourth behind champion Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}) in last year’s GI Breeders’ Cup Classic, GI Woodward S. and GI Whitney S., was a 5 3/4-length winner of the Mar. 10 Challenger S. at Tampa Bay Downs. before coming up a neck short at Charles Town. The hard-knocking Mills (Any Given Saturday) will be making his 46th trip to the post Saturday. Claimed for $40,000 by Big Hands Stables and trainer David Donk three starts ago, the 8-year-old was a late-closing second in the Mar. 31 Mr. Sinatra S., a starter stakes at Aqueduct, last time out. “I know I’m biting off a little more than we can chew here; it’s coming up a very competitive race with Hard Study and Hoppertunity,” said Donk. “I know he’s been in some great hands. He’s in good form and he’s a happy horse. At eight years old–he’s been a pretty sound horse over the years.” Of the decision to claim the gelding in January, Donk added, “We were looking for horses for a new client. The idea was to run him back for $40,000, but you’re limited on opportunities. I was asked to run him in a $100,000 [1 1/4-mile] claimer in January, and he finished second to a really good horse [Harlan Punch]. They had a two-turn race in the Claiming Crown on Mar. 31 that he was eligible for [$90,000 Mr. Sinatra] and he was a good second again [to Control Group]. I think he’ll appreciate going long. He’s had a couple of good works, he’s smart and classy–we’ll be aggressive here and then decide what we’re going to do for the summer.” View the full article

He’d had enough of this hot, noisy bar; enough of his pals’ drinking and staring at ladies dressed up for the races. They had marched straight in, on arrival, and hadn’t left. Now David Armstrong wanted some air, and at least to see a horse. He’d never previously set foot on a racecourse, after all–even though they only lived a couple of miles from Haydock in those days. His father-in-law did the bore-hole there, and the head groundsman had produced some passes for a Friday evening meeting. Armstrong hadn’t felt the slightest enthusiasm, when his brother-in-law Neil called. Give it to someone else, he said. But Neil pressed him. “Come on,” he said. “We’ll pick David Parsons up on the way, we’ll all go.” Actually it was Parsons who drove, not being a drinker. So here they were. But where were the horses? Armstrong found his way outside, wandered towards the parade ring. A miniature stand, just three or four wooden tiers; two or three steps up; and his life changed forever. “I looked down at the horses being splashed down after the race,” he recalls now. “The buckets of water, the steam. And the hairs come up on the back of my neck. And that was it. I didn’t leave there until we were going home. I was proper smitten. Nothing to do with gambling, nothing to do with boozing, nothing to do with women, nothing to do with Haydock. Just those horses. Those athletes that had excelled themselves, that had come back in hot and steaming. Just the animal.” True moments of epiphany tend to be confined to fiction. In most of our lives, some seed of intrigue only gradually blossoms into obsession. But there has been nothing commonplace about the trajectory of this life. Armstrong started out, 30-odd years ago, begging and borrowing the deposit on two rusting old trucks to haul sand and stone. Now he sits at his desk in one of his quarries outside Bolton, a fleet of 70 tipper lorries and a dozen concrete mixer trucks outside; a fortune made, reinvested, augmented. Waste and recycling, for a long time, but the mainstay nowadays is five quarries: cut stone, aggregate, and ready mixed concrete. One quarry, at Chorley in Lancashire, has even ended a worldwide search for the right material to complete Gaudi’s Basilica de la Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. Sure enough, a second dizzy ascent began when Armstrong returned from Haydock that June evening in 2003. Until that point, racing pigeons had been his game. But he got home to his wife Emma, and announced that they would be auctioning their birds after the season ended that September. Now they have 27 broodmares, and head to Royal Ascot next week with another home-bred sprinting star in Mabs Cross (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}), who won the G3 Palace House S. at the Guineas meeting and was beaten under a length when rattling home in the G2 Temple S. last month. At Haydock, of course. This time, he sponsored the entire card. Mabs Cross is a daughter of the first horse he bought at auction, and also his first winner: Miss Meggy (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), purchased for £20,000 by Tim Easterby at the Doncaster breeze-ups in 2004, four months after Armstrong scattered his pigeons in a three-day sale at Birmingham. This cherished mare condenses her owner’s achievements from a standing start. For she not only won her debut at Thirsk, and promptly followed up in a stakes race, but in time became dam of Armstrong’s 100th winner. “I was brand new to the industry, completely,” he stresses. “An annual bet on the Grand National, that was it. And I’m not a gambler, never have been. So there was nothing I thought I knew. Once I put my foot over the threshold, it was a massive learning curve that first three or four years: everything, the good, the bad, as much as I could take in, day and night pestering people.” On one level, it can be an advantage to come fresh into a world of unquestioned norms. Especially if the questions you ask are founded not just in commercial experience, but in a lifelong affinity with animals. Armstrong was raised on a three-acre smallholding with ponies and donkeys, hens and geese, and developed a corresponding interest in breeding. Not just pigeons, but cattle and other livestock. In his new passion, equally, it is breeding that has driven the expansion of his stable. “You go to the races, it’s over in a minute,” he says. “Breeding is continuous, the rearing and the planning. It was the same with the pigeons: the breeding interested me more than the racing. That hybrid vigour–We bought a lot of stock birds from Holland and Belgium. Streets ahead of this country, they were. But with pigeons you’d inbreed very close, a lot closer than with horses, and two or three different lines. And then those lines would be put completely outcross. Don’t get me wrong, you’d still get some that were no good. But you’d breed some very good pigeons. I don’t think there’s any set pattern, really, but it’s all interesting, experimenting.” “This year, I’ve specifically inbred some of the mares closer than ever. The champion racehorse of 2017 [Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire})] is 2 x 3 [to Sadler’s Wells] and that tells me everything. Until this year I’ve not been closer than 3 x 3, 3 x 4, but now we’ve come back another generation. And we’ll see what the results are.” As it happens, it was a pigeon racing friend–the same David Parsons who had driven him to Haydock that fateful evening–who first focused Armstrong on his stock-in-trade, the sprinter. Parsons had always loved poring over Thoroughbred pedigrees and was sharing some of that knowledge as they returned from the pigeon dispersal in Birmingham. “And he’s going on and on, and I haven’t a clue what he’s talking about,” grins Armstrong. “But then he said this to me: ‘You’ve done very well with sprint pigeons, 75 to 200 miles, that’s what you love. You’ve won from France, you’ve won lots of different races, but you love the sprinters. Now in racing all the sheikhs, all the big money men, are focusing on the milers and above. So you’ve more chance of breeding a very good sprinter.’ And he was absolutely spot on. That advice went unappreciated for a good few years–through lack of understanding, not lack of respect. But by God I do appreciate it now.” It was also Parsons who introduced Armstrong to Easterby’s farrier. And when Easterby took him to see his St Leger winner Bollin Eric (GB) (Shaamit {Ire}) at stud, Armstrong’s eyes really lit up. All those mares and foals! Very soon he started laying the foundations of his own breeding programme. “Miss Meggy only had half a page,” Armstrong recalls. “The bottom half was pure white paper. She’s made her own pedigree. But she got me hooked quite quickly on Pivotal. So I bought Mayleaf (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) as a yearling at Newmarket. She was not the best of her knees and didn’t get to the racecourse. But she was a bloody flying machine, and built like a tank.” Sadly Mayleaf died when her first foal was just three months old. Armstrong called the colt Mayson (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), and in 2012 he won the G1 July Cup by five lengths. Less than 10 years after first setting foot on a racecourse, Armstrong had home-bred a champion sprinter. Moreover he wasn’t even present, having instead gone to York to see the debut of a colt named Garswood (GB) (Dutch Art GB}): the next turn of the wheel. Though beaten that day, a couple of years later Garswood scored a Group 1 success of his own in the Prix Maurice de Gheest. Today both Mayson and Garswood are standing alongside the venerable Pivotal at Cheveley Park Stud, long a natural port of call for Armstrong in his quest for speed. “I have a lot of time for Cheveley Park,” he confirms. “It’s a proper set-up, with a success-rate with sprinters that’s absolutely second to none. It didn’t take a lot of thinking about. It is a great match, and we’re very grateful to be honest. [Stud co-owner] David Thompson is the most interesting fellow I’ve met in my life, and they treat us so well we almost feel part of the family.” The stake he did retain in the young stallions required Armstrong to expand his broodmare band; and now he must also cater to a handful of breeding rights in Ribchester (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}). Bought for €105,000 at the Orby Sale, just a couple of months after Garswood’s big win at Deauville, Ribchester was sold to Godolphin when still a maiden and subsequently won four Group 1 races. “It was a good deal for me at the time, and it’ll always be a good deal,” Armstrong shrugs. “Often if you don’t sell, something goes wrong; and I’m not one who dwells on things afterwards. With the breeding rights, I’m over the moon about him.” Birchwood (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) was likewise sold to Godolphin before he won a Group 2, and is now at stud in France. All four stallions who started out for Armstrong did so from the yard of Richard Fahey, but the string is now spread elsewhere. “I owe Richard so much and of course Robin [O’Ryan, Fahey’s assistant] as well,” Armstrong says. “We had fantastic times but it came to an end and we move on. Obviously we’ve had one or two different trainers since, Michael Dods is our main trainer now and he’s absolutely grand. We just fit perfect together. This is certainly not a criticism towards Richard’s yard but I’ve gone away from big yards. I’m not saying we wouldn’t find ourselves with a horse in one, some day, for whatever reason. But provided they can train the horses, [I prefer] medium to small yards. Not that they’re not ambitious. It’s the managing of the business.” Armstrong himself, of course, has built his own business giddily from the humblest roots. To have achieved an equivalent elevation in a second walk of life, and so quickly, can hardly be a coincidence. In both cases, he suspects that his own pedigree tells. “My father was a grafter,” he says. “He was a lorry driver and miner and quarry worker. But he just worked. That was his ethic. And that was what we had to do, day and night. Because there was no great margin in haulage. It’s absolutely just determination–and a bit of luck along the way. But I literally mean day and night. During the daytime you’d be finding work for the lorries; and at night you’d be maintaining the lorries. I’d go to work on Monday morning and wouldn’t go home until Wednesday night. Just making sure those lorries were on the road the morning after.” Not that he treats the horses exactly as he does business. Yes, a fairly commercial approach is required to make the whole enterprise sustainable; and he is a stickler for maintaining standards, both in the racing string and among the mares. But there is room for sentiment, too. “When we lost Mayleaf, I made it my business to find her dam Bayleaf (GB) (Efisio {GB}),” Armstrong says. “I found her at Tally Ho, and did a deal to buy her in foal to Bushranger (Ire) (Danetime {Ire}); we foaled the colt, and he won. But all I wanted–though I knew there was a one percent chance of it coming off–was to send her to Pivotal to breed another Mayleaf, if you will.” “Obviously, one, she needed to get in foal and two, it had to be a filly. Anyway she’s in foal to Pivotal: great. She foals: oh, grand, yes it’s a filly. We put the filly in training, and she had the same problem with her knees. She comes home, where do I send her? Straight to Invincible Spirit, of course. Hope we get a colt. And we do get a colt, January last year, with virtually the same markings as Mayson. Apart from a white leg he’s almost identical.” Armstrong picks up a piece of paper from his desk; a thickset man, measured and comfortable but with zero hint of the conceit or swagger you see in some self-made men. You can’t help but admire what he has achieved, or to hope for fresh chapters in his remarkable tale. “For me, we’ve only the thickness of that paper there as the chance of this colt being any good,” he says. “But by God it’s exciting along the way. And that’s what it’s all about. It’s the unknown–that’s what does it. I’ve had many people tell me: ‘You’ll pack it up after a few years. Such-and-such a person, it’s cleared him out; and this person, and that person.’ But you’ve got to stick on, you don’t give up. If you love something… Provided you can afford to do it, can accommodate the number of animals you want, then I’ll never give it up. I go to bed thinking about it, I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it, I wake up in the morning thinking about it. It’s my passion: the Thoroughbred, and trying to breed another champion.” View the full article

West Point Thoroughbreds’s Kanthaka (Jimmy Creed) invades from California for a contentious renewal of the GII Woody Stephens S. Saturday at Belmont Park. The chestnut, a perfect three-for-three at the Woody Stephens’s seven-furlong distance, won the Feb. 10 GII San Vicente S., but stumbled when stretched out. He finished third in the 1 1/16-mile GII San Felipe S. and sixth in the nine-furlong GII Toyota Blue Grass S. before a return to sprinting to win the May 12 GIII Lazaro Barrera S. at Santa Anita last time out. “He’s been up close, far off the pace, inside, outside, big field, small field,” Dan Ward, assistant to trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, said of the 3-1 morning-line favorite. “He was up close [in the Laz Barrera] because there was no speed. He was on the inside, so [jockey Flavien Prat] had to use him a little bit the first part, but he still finished well and ran a very professional race.” Kanthaka worked a best-of-58 five furlongs in :59 2/5 at Santa Anita May 26. World of Trouble (Kantharos) romped home by 13 3/4 lengths in the seven-furlong Pasco S. at Tampa Bay Downs in his first start for trainer Jason Servis, but tired to third after contesting the pace in the 1 1/16-mile GII Tampa Bay Derby in his most recent start Mar. 10. Strike Power (Speightstown) was tabbed a ‘TDN Rising Star’ after his eight-length debut win at Gulfstream last December. He scored by a front-running 2 3/4 lengths going seven furlongs in the Feb. 3 GIII Swale S. Connections attempted to have the colt stretch out on Gulfstream’s Triple Crown trail where he was second in the 1 1/16-mile GII Fountain of Youth S. Mar. 3 and eighth in the nine-furlong GI Florida Derby Mar. 31. “He’s doing great now and we’re looking forward to getting him back around one turn,” said trainer Mark Hennig. “If you look at his first few races, this is obviously what he likes to do. He drew a great post position [12]. All [jockey] Johnny [Velazquez] will have to do is take a peek over his shoulder to figure out where to be.” Woodford Racing’s Engage (Into Mischief), a $550,000 OBS March graduate, ended 2017 with a win in the Oct. 14 GIII Futurity at the Belmont oval. He chased home National Flag (Speightstown) when second in his sophomore debut in the Apr. 7 GIII Bay Shore S. and scored a gritty victory in the May 13 Gold Fever S. at Belmont last time out. View the full article

Proctor’s Ledge (Ghostzapper) will take aim on a second straight graded victory when she goes postward in Saturday’s GI Just a Game S. at Belmont Park. The ‘TDN Rising Star’ just got the better of a game On Leave (War Front) over a good turf course in the May 5 GII Longines Churchill Distaff Turf Mile and could get similar conditions with rain in the forecast Saturday. Trainer Brendan Walsh had also considered Proctor’s Ledge for the 1 1/4-mile GII New York S. Friday, before deciding to stick to the one-mile Just a Game. “It is a one-turn mile, which I think will really suit her,” Walsh explained. “And I think she’ll like the big, sweeping turn. She has always been a good turn runner. And it’s a Grade I.” Stuart Janney’s On Leave, a winner of four of five starts over the Belmont lawn, has hit the board in four straight one-mile graded events. She was third in the GII Goldikova S. at Del Mar before concluding 2017 with a win in the Dec. 16 GIII My Charmer S. at Gulfstream. She opened 2018 with a third-place finish in the Mar. 31 GIII Honey Fox S. and was beaten just a half-length by Proctor’s Ledge at Churchill last time out. “[The Just a Game] is a big move up,” trainer Shug McGaughey admitted. “Her two races this year have been really good, so we’ll see what happens. We’re hoping to get some racing luck on the grass. If she goes over there and runs her race the way she has been, she’ll be just as tough as the rest of them.” A Raving Beauty (Ger) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) powered clear to a three-length win in the May 12 GIII Beaugay S. over the Belmont lawn. That 1 1/16-mile race was the stateside debut for the 5-year-old mare, who was purchased for €225,000 at last year’s Arqana December sale and now races for Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, and Bethlehem Stables and trainer Chad Brown. View the full article

Abel Tasman (Quality Road) will be seeking her fifth Grade I victory when she goes postward in Saturday’s GI Ogden Phipps S. at Belmont Park. Last year’s champion 3-year-old filly returned from six months on the sidelines to finish an even fourth in the May 4 GI La Troienne S. at Churchill Downs, but has been training strongly since that effort. “I was really disappointed with the way she ran, but she came back well,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “I think she just needed a race in her. She was away for a while, but I think she should get better. I wanted her to run off a bit, and I think [Mike Smith] should have let her go. I think she really needed that race.” In her lone previous start at Belmont, Abel Tasman won the GI Acorn S. on the Belmont S. undercard a year ago. The GI Kentucky Oaks winner went on to add the GI Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga before concluding her sophomore campaign with runner-up finishes in the GI Cotillion S. and GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Red Oak Stable’s Unbridled Mo (Uncle Mo) upset champion Unique Bella (Tapit) to win the Apr. 13 GI Apple Blossom H. in her most recent start and she’ll look to take down another Eclipse winner in the Ogden Phipps, a ‘Win and You’re In’ event for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. “It was a big win last time,” trainer Todd Pletcher said of the Apple Blossom score. “To Unbridled Mo’s credit she was able to put in a sustained run. She’s one that we’ve always thought a lot of, and it was great to see her get a Grade I win.” A winner of seven of 10 career starts, Unbridled Mo is a perfect five-for-five at the Ogden Phipps’s 1 1/16-mile distance, but she will be making her first start at Belmont Park where the distance is run at one turn. “I guess my greatest concern is the one-turn aspect,” Pletcher admitted. “Her big wins have come in two-turn scenarios, but we felt like after a Grade I win, it made sense to stay at the Grade I level, and hopefully the one-turn part will be OK.” Kaleem Shah’s American Gal (Concord Point) is coming off a two-length win in the May 5 GI Humana Distaff S. The speedy filly won the GIII Victory Ride S. over the Belmont track last July before concluding her abbreviated sophomore campaign with a win in the GI Test S. at Saratoga. “She’s shown she’s a versatile filly,” trainer Simon Callaghan said. “She ships very well. She has a firm disposition and constitution. She handles everything well, and the fact that she’s won over that surface before is a benefit.” American Gal will be making her first start at 1 1/16 mile since finishing second behind Abel Tasman in the 2016 GI Starlet S. View the full article

Trainer Chad Brown has won five of the last seven runnings of the GI Woodford Reserve Manhattan S. and will look to add to that streak when he saddles a pair of runners in the 1 1/4-mile race over the Belmont lawn Saturday. Fourth in this race a year ago, Beach Patrol (Lemon Drop Kid) went on to capture the GI Arlington Million and GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic before concluding his campaign with a runner-up effort in the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf. He returned from six months on the sidelines to run a solid second in the May 5 GI Old Forester Turf Classic at Churchill Downs. Brown will also saddle Convento Viejo’s unbeaten Robert Bruce (Chi) (Fast Company {Ire}) in the Manhattan. The 4-year-old was a four-time Group 1 winner in his native Chile and captured the May 5 GIII Ft. Marcy S. over the Belmont turf in his lone U.S. outing to date. “They’re both doing well,” Brown said. “Beach Patrol looks to be more forwardly placed, while Robert Bruce comes from off the pace.” La Providencia’s Hi Happy (Arg) (Pure Prize) has won two of three starts since joining the Todd Pletcher barn over the winter. The 6-year-old was off 10 months before finishing third in the Feb. 10 GI Gulfstream Park Turf H. in his first start for Pletcher. He went on to win the Mar. 31 GII Pan American S. and, most recently, the May 12 GI Man o’War S. “He’s a horse that performs well, very straightforward and easy to train,” said Pletcher, who is seeking his first win in the Manhattan. “When you are fortunate enough to get the opportunity to train a ready-made horse, it makes your job so easy. You just try to keep them sound and healthy and point them in the right direction.” Woodslane Farm’s late-running homebred Sadler’s Joy (Kitten’s Joy), third in last year’s Manhattan, opened the year with a win in the Mar. 3 GII Mac Diarmida S. and was fourth behind Hi Happy in the 12-furlong Pan American and second, beaten a half-length by that foe, in the 1 3/8-miles Man o’War. “He’s been very consistent, just needed a little more ground to get up in time in the Man o’ War,” trainer Tom Albertrani said of the 5-year-old. “It’s important he gets a well-timed ride. He has tremendous turn of foot, and when he really starts to kick in, he makes up a lot of ground.” View the full article

In his first venture over the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Park track where he will attempt to become the thirteenth horse to capture the Triple Crown this weekend, dual classic winner Justify looked every bit at home as he has elsewhere. View the full article