Wandering Eyes

By Mike Love Ashburton trainer Wendy Stevenson takes three good each-way chances to Phar Lap Raceway in Timaru for their summer twilight meeting this afternoon. In Race 1, the Brosnan Transport Passing Lane Mobile Pace over 2050 metres Gotta Lather Up ($10.00FF) will be looking for a more economical run after having a couple of torrid trips since breaking maiden status at Oamaru three starts ago. “We were pleased with him at Motukarara after drawing 16. Even though he only ran seventh he just couldn’t get in, and he’s still pretty green,” said Stevenson. Today’s field of just seven runners should help Gotta Lather Up regain a bit of confidence. “The small field will be nice for him. He’s a bit of a goof and has some maturing to do. He’s got a lot of speed and he’s a nice horse with plenty of ability.” The Lather Up four-year-old has won once from five starts. Race 4, the South Canterbury Hydraulics Ltd Mobile Pace over 2050 metres will see Hughes To Me ($7.50FF) give Stevenson her second chance of the day. The 24-start maiden has been racing in great form this campaign – placing in three of his four outings. “I was hoping for a better draw,” said Stevenson. Hughes To Me has drawn the outside of the front line which will be a tough ask, but is racing in terrific form. “He’s better suited to the stand, but he will pick one up – he’s really come solid this time in.” The last of Stevenson’s chances comes when Not Over ($6.00FF) lines up in Race 5, the Think Water Timaru Handicap Pace over 2600 metres. The 10-year-old Changeover gelding will be having his 110th start today but Stevenson suggests Not Over is none the wiser. “He thinks he’s a young lad. He’s a super horse. The stand suits him. He runs well on the track. He could be a sneaky one.” Stevenson suggested that Not Over may be her best chance on the day, but Gotta Lather Up is the one to follow. “Not Over would probably be my best chance of the day, but Gotta Lather Up has the most ability going forward.” Robbie Close will take the drive on all three runners in what is a busy day for the Canterbury reinsman with seven drives in total – the most favoured being Hugo ($3.70FF) in Race 3, the Southwest Refrigeration Mobile Pace over 2050 metres for trainer John McDermott. View the full article

Eleven of the most memorable events from Thoroughbred racing in North America last year have been nominated for the 2025 FanDuel Racing NTRA Moment of the Year, a distinction determined by fan voting and recognized at the annual Eclipse Awards.View the full article

Amplify Horse Racing is accepting applications until Tuesday, Jan. 27 for the Spring 2026 session of its mentorship program, an educational initiative connecting youth and young adults with experienced professionals across the Thoroughbred racing and breeding industry, the organization said via a press release on Tuesday. Designed as a three-month hybrid experience for ages 15 to 25, the Amplify Mentorship Program provides structured career exploration, individualized guidance, and direct exposure to the Thoroughbred industry. No prior horse experience or specific academic criteria are required. Applicants must reside in the United States, U.S. territories, or Canada. Click here for more information. The post Amplify’s Youth Mentorship Program Now Accepting Applications For Spring appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Amsterdam Two Farm in Middleburgh, New York will hold its inaugural stallion show from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10. Arzak (Not This Time–Delightlful Melody, Tapit), the farm's multiple Grade II winner and track record setter, will be available for inspection in Amsterdam Two's new stallion barn in advance of his first season at stud in 2026. A $575,000 OBS Spring 2-year-old who went gate-to-wire second time out as a juvenile going six furlongs over Woodbine's all-weather surface, Arzak also won stakes races at 3, 4, 5 and 6–recording 90-plus Beyer speed figures on 17 occasions. “We're thrilled to be standing New York's only son of Not This Time, arguably the hottest stallion on the planet right now,” said Amsterdam Two manager Ken Williams. “Arzak has the pedigree and race record to be an elite stallion, and as breeders will see at our open house, an incredible physical to back it up, as well.” Arzak's career highlights included wins in the GII Woodford Stakes, earning a 101 Beyer figure, and GII Shakertown Stakes–both times going 5 1/2 furlongs on turf at Keeneland. He also scored victories in the GIII Jacques Cartier Stakes and Thorncliffe Stakes at Woodbine–setting a new track record of 1:02.62 in the latter. He also won the Tom Ridge Stakes going 6 furlongs at Presque Isle Downs. Arzak, who is out of the Tapit mare Delightful Melody, also ran second in the GI Jaipur Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf at Saratoga, just behind Cogburn (Not This Time). He retired with a record of eight wins from 36 starts and earnings of $1,081,294. “This horse was so sound and so willing–never had a moment's problem with him, and I say that with 100% sincerity,” said Michael Trombetta, who trained the horse throughout his career for owner Sonata Stables. “Arzak was as clean-legged on retirement as the day he came to the barn. And I think based on his sire's accomplishments and Arzak's own win going a mile at Tampa Bay in his third career start, his offspring will be well-suited to most distances and all three surfaces offered at the new Belmont Park.” For more information on Arzak or the farm, call Amsterdam Two at (570) 604-3657. The post Amsterdam Two Stallion Show Slated for Jan. 10 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The 2026 Mark O'Hanlon Memorial Racing and Breeding Quiz is set to take place on Friday, January 16 and is returning to its regular haunt of the Lord Bagenal Hotel in Leighlinbridge, Co Carlow. It coincides with the ITM Irish Stalion Trail, which is running on the Friday and Saturday with more than 30 farms across Ireland opening their doors to visitors. Always fiercely, if not fairly, contested, the quiz was won last year by the team of Bobby and Mouse O'Ryan, Ryan McElligott and Gerald Connolly, who regularly feature in or near the top spot. Organiser Joe Foley said, “Their team won again by one point, with loads of cheating, and beating the previous year's winning team. There is bound to be a big turn out again this year. I've already told Willie Mullins he has to enter a team.” The quiz is run annually in memory of the much-missed Irish Thoroughbred Marketing executive Mark O'Hanlon, who died in 2015. It gets underway at 8pm and is free to enter. Teams must consist of no more than four people. The post The Mark O’Hanlon Memorial Quiz Returns appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The first sophomore skirmishes of the 2026 Classic crop vividly attested to the twin poles that support this business. One is that access to the most expensive blood must work out sufficiently to keep the elite programs in the game. But the other is that a good horse can come from anywhere, which gives us all some kind of chance. The impressive success of Commandment in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes reiterated how the annual quest for the GI Kentucky Derby winner currently starts with the rags-to-riches emperor of American stallions. Last year Sovereignty put Into Mischief level with four others, none more recent than Bull Lea, as sire of three Kentucky Derby winners. And already the seven-time champion stallion's 2023 crop has produced a series of candidates to secure him a fourth, headed by juvenile champion elect Ted Noffey but also featuring Japan's leading dirt prospect Satono Voyage (Jpn) plus a whole bunch of exciting novices, of which we might offer 'TDN Rising Star' Cannoneer as just one example. But then you also had the colt who, unlike Commandment, actually banked Derby gate points with a decisive success of his own in the Smarty Jones Stakes. Strategic Risk is by Noble Bird, a $3,000 cover dropped from the Ocala Stud roster at the end of 2023, when exported to Saudi Arabia through a Fasig-Tipton digital sale for just $34,000. You may remember the son of Birdstone narrowly securing his Grade I day in the sun in the Stephen Foster Handicap in 2015, or indeed setting a track record (still standing, at 1:47.75) in the GII Fayette Stakes at Keeneland, but essentially he was a hardy, second-tier handicap performer who has proved thoroughly anonymous as a stallion. Yet who can state definitively that such a horse cannot sire a Derby winner? If you scroll back through his resumé, after all, you will be reminded that he was beaten a head for a Grade II race at Churchill, on the eve of the 2015 Derby, by Protonico-who would himself proceed to sire the first past the post in the 2021 Derby at a fee of $6,500. Obviously that race created issues, but the point stands. A good horse can come from anywhere. In fairness, the other side of the same coin is that Thoroughbreds are no less predictable when it comes to disappointing us. One might almost say that a bad horse can come from anywhere! On paper, for instance, his success in the 2013 Derby appeared to confirm Orb as a paragon of what we strive to produce as breeders: he represented a regal family, and had made a seamless ascent through the ranks before storming through at Churchill on the first Saturday in May. Hardly the first horse to lose his way from that kind of pinnacle, he had demonstrably converted his elite genes into corresponding prowess and duly looked a highly eligible prospect at $25,000. Yet even the seasoned hands of Claiborne Stud could not eke anything out of Orb, whose fee and books dwindled until departing for Uruguay in 2021. There was just one, fleeting moment when Orb deceived us that he might fulfil his blatant promise. That was when Sippican Harbor, a $260,000 Saratoga yearling from his second crop, returned to the Spa the following summer to win a maiden by 17 lengths and then follow up in the GI Spinaway Stakes. Unfortunately she had to be retired after a midfield finish at the Breeders' Cup, and was retained by Lee Pokoik at $1.45 million when offered at Fasig-Tipton a year later with a maiden cover by Medaglia d'Oro. Though the resulting colt ended up making two starts in his breeder's silks in maiden claimers, Sippican Harbor's second foal-a daughter of Curlin-had meanwhile been sold to Robert and Lawana Low for $750,000 as a weanling. She never made the racetrack, however; and nor has the mare's next foal, an Into Mischief filly named Waterway, who consecutively went through Fasig-Tipton digital sales in October 2024 and last January. On both occasions she was listed as sold to Melinda Smith, at $18,000 and $15,000 respectively. Well, the owners of those two fillies will now be taking a very keen interest in what happens from here with Commandment. For he is the fourth foal out of Sippican Harbor and due reward for Pokoik in consistently ensuring that she be given every chance in her covers. For it is not as though Commandment, sold as a yearling for $500,000, is simply a case of Into Mischief rescuing a mare by a contrastingly disappointing sire. Apart from anything else, Orb is perfectly entitled to filter something worthwhile as a broodmare sire: he's by a noted one himself (Sierra Leone the latest star out of a Malibu Moon mare) and his family traces to the matriarch Shenanigans (Native Dancer). But Sippican Harbor herself extends another noble line: her unraced dam, who introduces the priceless distaff influence Deputy Minister, is out of a Mt. Livermore half-sister to British Group 1 winner Peter Davies (Bering {GB}). And their third dam was Leallah, a sensational juvenile in 1956, who was by Nasrullah out of the great Lea Lark-herself, of course, a daughter of Bull Lea. However tenuously, by this stage, it would be apt if Bull Lea could claim even a small role, should Commandment happen to become the horse to end his share in a Derby record. Mare of Noble Blood Gives Bird Wings Orb bowed out of the United States with a book of seven mares that ultimately delivered six live foals, which just happens to be exactly how Noble Bird signed off. Whatever their respective contribution to the pair of colts under discussion, the one who has redeemed Noble Bird from oblivion surely owes much to a family cultivated by the Phipps family-who also shared, through their kinship with the Janneys, in the noble line that produced Orb. Strategic Risk was homebred by John C. Oxley, who had also raced Noble Bird, from the unraced yearling purchase Strategize (Afleet Alex). Registered as bred by Charles Fipke, Strategize had actually been acquired in utero with her dam Strategy (A.P. Indy), a nine-furlong stakes winner on dirt, for $425,000 as a 9-year-old Phipps cull at the 2010 Keeneland November Sale. Fipke's regard for the best families is familiar, and highly productive, and here he had been drawn to one of the very best Phipps brands: Strategy was a daughter of none other than Educated Risk (Mr. Prospector), millionaire half-sister to champion Inside Information (Private Account). The latter herself became dam of another champion, Smuggler (Unbridled), and Educated Risk similarly emerged as an important producer: Strategy's half-sister by El Prado (Ire), the stakes-winning Consequence, is dam of the emerging blue hen Complicated (Blame), responsible for three graded stakes winners over the past 18 months: GI Natalma Stakes winner And One More Time (Omaha Beach); multiple graded stakes scorer Honor D Lady (Honor Code); and last year's GI First Lady Stakes winner Simply in Front (Summer Front). The latter goes under the hammer at the forthcoming Keeneland January Sale, and this update through a sire as insipid as Noble Bird can only serve to emphasize the continued prowess of the maternal family. After all, it was in Noble Bird's first date with Strategize that had given him a breakout black-type winner in Strategic Bird, a $2,000 yearling who won her maiden by 13 lengths before following up in the Sandpiper Stakes in 2021. Simply in Front also offers the precious oddity of El Prado (Ire) 3 x 3: as noted, the granddam is his daughter out of Educated Risk, while he also features as Summer Front's damsire. So here's a broodmare prospect that combines his old-school influence with one of the great Phipps families, and then adds all this recent activity in the foreground. That would make Simply in Front a valuable proposition had she never set foot on a racetrack. As it is, she will surely need checking out by all the major international programs. A World of Mischief We finish as we started: with Into Mischief. For his legacy will ultimately be expanded by his daughters, too. They have already started giving us horses like Shisospicy (Mitole) and White Abarrio (Race Day), and it is striking that the one whose second foal is Jerome Stakes winner My World (Essential Quality) was conceived when Into Mischief remained no higher than $20,000. On the face of it, the fact that Quebec was able to win a couple of stakes-despite a pretty thin page-was an early sign of her sire's ability to upgrade a pedigree. To be fair, her third dam was half-sister to a champion sprinter in Eillo (Mr. Prospector); and, more importantly, Quebec was ahead of the curve in terms of what has become one of the axiomatic short cuts of modern breeding: she's out of a Distorted Humor mare, a pathfinder for the cross we now associate with Practical Joke, Life Is Good and all the rest. Meanwhile this colt is promoting a stallion in the early stages of his own career. As we recently noted in our ongoing Value Sires series, Essential Quality has been depreciating a little too rapidly for a sire whose first crop has made a perfectly respectable start-albeit in the context of a historically underachieving freshman intake. His own juvenile championship was just a prelude, a Belmont winner by Tapit after all, and many of his mares will themselves doubtless have carried Classic blood. If he finds himself needing a little more from his stock, as they mature and tackle a second bend, but that is exactly what they promise to give him. The post Breeding Digest: Docking in the Right Harbor Can Redeem Failed Stallions appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Mayson, who won the G1 July Cup and finished second in the G1 Prix de l'Abbaye in an 18-race career for Richard Fahey, will return to North Yorkshire for the next phase of his stallion career at Norton Grove Stud. He will stand for a fee of £3,500 in 2026. The sire of another July Cup hero in Oxted, in addition to the multiple Group-winning sprinter Rohaan, Mayson initially retired to Cheveley Park Stud for the 2013 breeding season. He remained in Newmarket until 2024 when he relocated to Oak Lodge Stud in Ireland, having been sold to his part-owner and breeder David Armstrong. The son of Invincible Spirit joins Electrolyte – a new addition to the British stallion ranks for 2026 – Century Dream, Mattmu and Midnight Sands on the roster at the Lingwood family's Norton Grove Stud. The post Mayson Returns to his Yorkshire Roots at Norton Grove Stud for 2026 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

International superstar Forever Young has been named the Japanese Horse of the Year after the selection committee for the 2025 Japan Racing Association (JRA) Awards met on Tuesday. The son of Real Steel is the first dirt horse to be honoured with the Horse of the Year award. Racing in the silks of Susumu Fujita, he was also honoured as the Japanese Best Older Male and Japanese Best Dirt Horse. During 2025, Forever Young prevailed in an epic showdown with Hong Kong Horse of the Year Romantic Warrior (Acclamation) in the G1 Saudi Cup in Riyadh in February, before running a gallant third in the G1 Dubai World Cup at Meydan in April. Given some time off, he returned with a score in the Listed Nippon TV Hai in October, prior to his victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar later that autumn. He was third in both the 2024 Breeders' Cup Classic and the GI Kentucky Derby. “As an owner, I never dreamed that the day would come when I would win the Horse of the Year,” said Fujita, the chairman of CyberAgent, Inc. “Thank you for choosing Forever Young. Thanks to the efforts of many people, including everyone at Yahagi Stable, jockey Rusei Sakai, and everyone at Northern Farm, I have not done anything, but I would like to be a horse owner worthy of Forever Young in the future.” Forever Young is bound for a title defence of the G1 Saudi Cup next month, followed by another crack at the G1 Dubai World Cup in March. Added trainer Yoshito Yahagi, “I am very honoured to receive this prestigious award. I am very happy to receive such an award while not running in the JRA, as it is proof of the greatness of what he has achieved.” Aga Khan homebred and Francis-Henri Graffard's Calandagan (Gleneagles) picked up the JRA Special Award thanks to his victory in the G1 Japan Cup in November. It was the first victory in the race in 20 years for a foreign-trained horse. Forever Young was the 2024 JRA Special Award recipient. In the Champion Two-Year-Old Male category, Saturnalia's Cavallerizzo took home the hardware. Second in the G2 Daily Hai Nisai Stakes, the Silk Racing colourbearer won the G1 Hopeful Stakes at the end of 2025. In the fillies' equivalent, Drefong's Star Anise claimed the gold medal for her efforts when second in the G3 Chukyo Nisai Stakes and G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies. She races for Katsumi Yoshida. Sunday Racing's Museum Mile (Leontes) was named the Champion Three-Year-Old Male on the back of wins in the G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas), G2 Asahi Hai St. Lite Kinen, and the G1 Arima Kinen. He was also second in the G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn). Also a Classic scorer in the G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas), Silk Racing's Embroidery (Admire Mars) also put her stamp on the G3 Daily Hai Queen Cup. In October, she added the G1 Shuka Sho to seal her championship season. Champion Older Mare went to Regaleira (Suave Richard) for Sunday Racing. The three-time Group 1 winner took the G2 Sankei Sho All Comers, prior to the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup. The mare was fourth in the Arima Kinen. Osamu Satomi's Satono Reve (Lord Kanaloa) won the Champion Sprinter title after taking the G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen in March. Second in the G1 Chairman's Sprint Prize later that spring, the entire broke new ground when second in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot. He was also fourth in the autumn's G1 Sprinters Stakes. Palace Malice's Jantar Mantar was awarded the Champion Miler award. Campaigned by Shadai Race Horse, he made just three starts this year, but made them count. After a win in the G1 Yasuda Kinen in June, he was second in the G2 Fuji Stakes in October, before taking the G1 Mile Championship in November. Ecoro Duel (Kitasan Black) was the Japanese Champion Steeplechaser. The post Forever Young Makes History With Japanese Horse Of The Year Award appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Eleven of the most memorable events from Thoroughbred racing in North America last year have been nominated for the 2025 FanDuel Racing-NTRA Moment of the Year, a distinction determined by fan voting and recognized at the annual Eclipse Awards. Voting is now open on the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) website, www.NTRA.com, and via X (formerly Twitter), where every retweet or use of the official hashtag for the moments as presented on the @NTRA account will be counted as one vote. The FanDuel Racing-NTRA Moment of the Year will be recognized during the 55th annual Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards Presented by John Deere, The Jockey Club, and the NTRA at The Breakers Palm Beach in Florida on Jan. 22, 2026. Fans are permitted to vote for multiple moments but there is a limit of one vote per moment for each X account. Subsequent votes from an account will be disqualified. Votes for the poll must be submitted by Jan. 15 at 11:59 p.m. (ET). The eligible 2025 moments were selected to demonstrate the various equine and human achievements, as well as human emotions, exhibited throughout the year. May 2 #cheeroaks – Godolphin homebred Good Cheer wins the Kentucky Oaks to remain undefeated through the Oaks in seven lifetime starts. May 3 #sovereigntyderby – Godolphin homebred Sovereignty rallies late to win the Kentucky Derby and gives owner/breeder Godolphin the elusive Kentucky Oaks-Kentucky Derby double. May 17 #journalismpreakness – Journalism takes the 150th Preakness Stakes in a dramatic stretch run where the Curlin colt exchanges bumps with two rivals. June 7 #sovereigntybelmont – Sovereignty bypasses the Preakness and claims the final jewel of the Triple Crown by defeating Journalism in the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. June 28 #dwayne – Legendary trainer D. Wayne Lukas (“Coach”) dies at the age of 89. July 19 #journalismhaskell – Journalism uses a late kick to collect his third Grade I win of 2025 in the Haskell Stakes. Aug. 23 #sovereigntytravers – Sovereignty romps by 10 lengths in the Travers Stakes to solidify his spot at the top of the 3-year-old male division. Aug. 30 #fiercenesspacific – Champion Fierceness overcomes early race trouble to win the GI Pacific Classic. Oct. 31 #tedisperfect – Ted Noffey completes an undefeated campaign by winning the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Nov. 1 #foreverclassic – Forever Young (JPN) becomes the first Japanese bred and based horse to win the Breeders' Cup Classic. Nov. 2 #flavienwins7 – Flavien Prat sets a NYRA single card record when riding seven winners in 10 mounts on closing day of the Belmont at the Big A meet. To cast a vote, click here. The post Voting for the 2025 Moment of the Year Now Open appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

This week's racing on radio, television, and streaming schedule as compiled by America's Best Racing.View the full article

World Pool turnover on overseas races in 2025 totalled HK$9.3 billion (around €1 billion), representing a 20% increase on the 2024 figure of HK$7.8 billion (€855 million). In total, the Hong Kong Jockey Club-powered pools were active across 57 racedays staged outside of Hong Kong. Most notably, those racedays included the Randwick card on October 18 which saw Ka Ying Rising extend his winning sequence in The Everest. Total turnover on The Everest reached a new record for a single race of HK$83 million (€9.1 million), smashing the previous high of HK$66.2 million (€7.3 million) wagered on the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2023. The year saw 329 races run under the World Pool banner, 70 of which were positioned in the IFHA Top 100 within the last three years, across 10 jurisdictions. For the first time, all of Hong Kong's Group 1 contests were run as World Pool races, accounting for HK$1.6 billion (€175 million) and taking the total turnover for all World Pool races to HK$10.9 billion (€1.2 billion). Meanwhile, World Pool's Moment of the Day initiative saw HK$1.2 million (€132,000) awarded to 30 different grooms on World Pool racedays throughout the year. Following a public vote, Kevin Daffy – who trains, owns and leads up Australian galloper Oh Too Good – received the prize for World Pool Moment of the Year after the horse's triumph in the Jewellers Vase on the Might And Power Stakes undercard at Caulfield on October 11. Daffy will follow in the footsteps of the 2024 winner, David Hickey – groom of City Of Troy – in enjoying a VIP trip for four to Hong Kong in 2026. Andrew Harding, Executive Director, Racing, The Hong Kong Jockey Club, said, “It's been a very positive year for World Pool. We've had more racedays and jurisdictions involved than ever before, and we've seen turnover records broken too. “World Pool's growth over the past 12 months has played a key role in the globalisation of racing and all the benefits that come with that, not least the increased revenue streams for racecourses and rights holders which leads to greater prize-money.” He added, “Heading into 2026, we're confident that World Pool will continue to act as a positive force for racing globally and we will be confirming an expansion of fixtures very soon, bringing World Pool to even more racing fans in the new year.” World Pool returns in 2026 with the running of the King's Plate in South Africa on January 10. For upcoming fixtures and further information, visit the World Pool website. The post World Pool Turnover on Overseas Races Soars to HK$9.3 Billion in 2025 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Jay Rooney PERFECT GENERAL - R8 (10) Ran well from a wide draw last start and can capitalise on gate two here Owen Goulding RUN RUN SMART - R2 (3) Will get all the favours from the inside draw and go from gate to wire under Purton Trackwork Spy FLYING WROTE - R6 (2) In terrific form this season and looks hard to beat tonight Phillip Woo FLYING WROTE - R6 (2) In a rich vein of form this season and can win again from a good draw Shannon (Vincent Wong) PERFECT GENERAL - R8 (10) Close-up...View the full article

My Wish will be paired up with Alexis Badel when he takes on Romantic Warrior and Voyage Bubble in the Group One Stewards’ Cup (1,600m) after his owners decided to make a change from his regular jockey Luke Ferraris. The South African had ridden My Wish in 13 of his 15 runs so far in his career, including wins in the Classic Mile last season and Group Three Celebration Cup (1,400m) and Group Two Sha Tin Trophy (1,600m) on return. It will be a bitter blow for Ferraris, who has been enjoying a...View the full article

Fresh off Group Three spoils at Sha Tin over the weekend, Andrea Atzeni is hoping to continue his strong form as he shapes up for a busy night at Happy Valley on Wednesday which sees him pair up with two last-start winners. The Sardinian ran riot aboard the John Size-trained Stellar Express in the Group Three Bauhinia Sprint Trophy (1,000m) on Sunday and he teams up with the champion trainer again on what could be a fruitful night for the pair. Two of Atzeni’s three rides on the night for Size...View the full article

Trelawney Stud bred former Singapore star Lim’s Kosciuszko (Kermadec) will be out to claim his first victory in Australia when he lines up in the Group 3 Standish Handicap at Flemington on Saturday. The Dan Meagher-trained veteran heads into the summer sprinting feature third-up, having finished midfield in The Supernova at his previous start, an effort which Meagher was highly satisfied with, given the way the race panned out. “I think he probably needed that run the other day over 1400m,” Meagher said. “He’s just done so super here, his body weight probably was just a touch heavy going into that. Now he’s had that run, he’s really tightened up and looks like the old Kosi. “He had a nice, easy, good, old-fashioned Singapore trial the other day where he just sat out the back and worked home with Luke Nolen on. He’ll have a quiet week this week and he’ll go into that race really fresh and really well. The weights aren’t perfect for him because he’s carrying the topweight obviously but he’s going into it as well as I’ve had him since I’ve been back.” Lim’s Kosciuszko is at $11 in Sportsbet’s early market for the Standish Handicap. View the full article

With a six-week gap between two of summer’s major weight-for-age middle-distance features, trainers of leading candidates have taken a variety of approaches to their preparations. The first of those races, the Gr.1 Zabeel Classic (2000m), was contested at Ellerslie on Boxing Day, and the second of them, the Gr.1 Herbie Dyke Stakes, is scheduled for Te Rapa on February 7. Last year’s Herbie Dyke Stakes winner El Vencedor (NZ) (Shocking) has been confirmed to run in the Gr.3 Powerworx Taranaki Cup (1800m) at New Plymouth on January 24, while 2024 winner Legarto (NZ) (Proisir) will use the Gr.2 Harcourts Thorndon Mile (1600m) at Trentham on January 17 as her lead-up to the $700,000 Te Rapa feature. While neither option is ideal, they’re both considered by connections as a means to an end in having their charges at full fitness for the Herbie Dyke Stakes. “There is a glaring gap with no similar race between the Zabeel and Herbie Dyke, so that means running at New Plymouth two weeks before Te Rapa,” El Vencedor’s trainer Stephen Marsh said. “The timing is good and with the conditions being set weights and penalties, we know he’ll carry 59 kilos. There was a potential catch with New Plymouth clashing with the Karaka Millions meeting, but we’ve been lucky to engage an experienced jockey in Jonathan Riddell.” The availability of Ryan Elliot is one factor in trainers Ken and Bev Kelso opting for the Thorndon Mile – now a handicap as opposed to its earlier weight-for-age conditions – as Legarto’s Herbie Dyke lead-up. “It means dropping back in distance but in her favour is that the handicapper has indicated that she will carry 58 kilos in the Thorndon, which will enable Ryan to stay with her,” Ken Kelso said. “We needed a race of some sort given the gap between Ellerslie and Te Rapa, and the trip down to Trentham should benefit her as well. “We did consider the Trentham Stakes on the same day as the Thorndon, but we weren’t that keen to step her up to 2100m and more importantly the set-weight and penalty conditions meant we would have had to find another rider.” Training partners Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott will settle on a trial outing at Pukekohe on January 20 for Waitak (NZ) (Proisir) ahead of his Herbie Dyke Stakes bid. “We’re happy to keep him ticking over and give him a nice hitout at Pukekohe,” Scott said. “That should be all he needs along with his standard trackwork to have him in the right order for Te Rapa.” Scott also reports that Victorian-based jockey Damian Lane will ride Checkmate (NZ) (Mongolian Khan) in the Gr.3 Elsdon Park Aotearoa Classic (1600m) on the Karaka Millions card. Lane’s other engagements on January 24 include the Hayes Racing filly Torture (NZ) (Sword Of State) in the Listed TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m), the Mark Walker/Sam Bergerson-trained Espionage (Zoustar) in the Gr.1 Sistema Railway (1200m) and the Stephen Marsh-trained To Cap It All (Capitalist) in the Gr.3 Cambridge Stud Almanzor Trophy (1200m). View the full article

Former West Coaster John Blackadder has had plenty of success around the South Island, but there remains one track firmly on his hit-list, his former hometown of Reefton. He is hoping to rectify that at the West Coast track on Wednesday where he will be represented by half a dozen runners. “I think I have won a race on just about every course in the South Island, but I have never won one at Reefton, my old hometown,” he said. “I have got a six-pronged attack on Wednesday.” His charge will be led by Group Three winner Ears Back (NZ) (Jakkalberry) in the Birchfield Ross Mining Reefton Cup (1400m), who drops back from Group One company, having last raced in the Mufhasa Classic (1600m) at Trentham last month. While she beat just one runner home on that occasion, she faced a strong line-up, and Blackadder was proud of her performance. “She was just a bit outclassed,” he said. “It was a brilliant Group One field, and she led them with 150m to go, so it wasn’t a bad effort overall.” Blackadder has subsequently given the seven-year-old mare some time in the paddock and is looking forward to resuming her at Reefton. “The trip took a wee bit out of her so I gave her a couple of weeks off,” he said. “I haven’t brought her over here (West Coast) before and it will give her a nice run back. “It is my old hometown so it’s nice to bring a nice horse over here for the Cup.” While Ears Back has been lumbered with 60kg, apprentice jockey Jack Taplin will give her some weight relief. “I have got Jack Taplin riding her so he will take three (kilograms) off,” Blackadder said. All going to plan, a return trip across the Cook Strait is likely for Ears Back to tackle further stakes assignments. “I might go up to the Central Districts for those Group Three races,” Blackadder said. “She likes it up there.” Blackadder will have a quintet of other runners at Reefton on Wednesday, and he is excited about their prospects. “I am bringing six fresh runners. I am happy with the whole lot and the way they have been working, and I have got some nice draws,” he said. Blackadder is particularly upbeat about the prospects of Crunchie Boy (NZ) (Tavistock) in The Blackadder Brothers (1400m). “I don’t think any race is easy, but it won’t be as strong as he faced last start at Wingatui,” he said. View the full article

We're inside the 16-week mark for the May 2 GI Kentucky Derby. These initial rankings are largely based on 2-year-old form, but a speculative element is baked into the equation with an eye toward projecting how these still-developing contenders will blossom over the winter and early spring. 1) TED NOFFEY (c, Into Mischief–Streak of Luck) 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard'. O-Spendthrift Farm LLC; B-Aaron & Marie Jones LLC (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. Sales history: $650,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP. Lifetime record: MGISW, 4-4-0-0, $1,657,963. Last start: WON Oct. 31 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Ted Noffey left little doubt that he will be the slam-dunk 2-year-old champ after a 4-for-4 campaign that included three Grade I wins capped by an exclamation-mark victory in the Breeders' Cup. We still have the entire winter to debate whether this 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard can outrun history to become just the third winner in 42 runnings of the Juvenile to also add the Kentucky Derby. As those daunting odds suggest, it can be extremely difficult to go from being the most dominant divisional force over 1 1/16 miles on the final Friday in October to wearing a blanket of roses after excelling at 10 furlongs on the first Saturday in May. Even as he showed progression and increased prowess over three months of racing, all four of this Todd Pletcher trainee's races were stylistically similar, and Ted Noffey broke from the outermost post in each of his races. In his Aug. 2 debut at Saratoga, this $650,000 KEESEP colt was urged along on the outside, chased in the four path, made a bid at the five-sixteenths pole, then took the lead under a drive in upper stretch to win by 1 1/2 lengths, earning an 86 Beyer Speed Figure in a 6 1/2-furlong sprint that yielded one next-out winner from five starters. Next out in the Sept. 1 GI Hopeful Stakes over seven furlongs, Ted Noffey broke on top, conceded the lead, pressed outside, then retook command on the turn before fighting off two challengers in stretch, including the 6-5 favorite, quickening nicely through the final sixteenth to romp by 8 1/2 lengths (98 Beyer). In both the Oct. 4 GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity Stakes and the Juvenile, Ted Noffey shadowed the pacemaker while outside, took over in hand on the far turn while the leader was under urging, cracked the race open in mid-stretch, then repulsed only a mild late bid from a belated closer. He won by 2 3/4 lengths and one length respectively, earning 97 Beyers in each effort. The GII Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Feb. 28 is a possible first sophomore start. 2) DESERT GATE (c, Omaha Beach–Theogony, by Curlin) O-Michael E. Pegram, Karl Watson & Paul Weitman; B-Twin Oaks Bloodstock (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $125,000 Wlg '23 KEENOV; $100,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP; $260,000 2yo '25 OBSMAR. Lifetime record: GSW, 4-2-2-0, $246,000. Last start: 2nd Oct. 4 GI American Pharoah Stakes. Desert Gate (Omaha Beach) missed the Breeders' Cup because of a hock infection and he hasn't won since blasting home 8 3/4 lengths in front of the GII Best Pal Stakes field at Del Mar Aug. 9. The betting public more or less dismissed him at 68-1 in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, but that could end up being a sizable “recency bias” mistake. This Bob Baffert trainee is now four works into gearing up for his sophomore campaign. He raced four times as a 2-year-old, including once around two turns and twice at the Grade I level, and has a speed-centric style but has shown he doesn't need to be in front to be effective. Desert Gate (125,000 KEENOV; $100,000 KEESEP; $260,000 OBSMAR) broke his maiden at first asking at Santa Anita June 13 sprinting five furlongs, pressing the pace and inching away from the front-runner under strong handling. It was only a field of four, but the second- and third-place horses both came back to win their next starts. His Best Pal blowout over six furlongs was accomplished by breaking well, conceding the lead, and assertively pressuring the pacemaker. He took over in hand at the three-eighths pole and never was truly asked for another gear while widening at each subsequent call. Desert Gate was second in the Sept. 7 GI Del Mar Futurity, finishing one length behind his $3-million stablemate and 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Brant (Gun Runner) in a useful learning experience. After breaking on top he stumbled back to fifth, recovered fluidly to close the gap with an inside rush, continued to gain ground while covered up near the rail, then tipped outside to make up good ground through the stretch, finishing 3 1/4 lengths ahead of the rest of the pack. In the Oct. 4 GI American Pharoah Stakes, Desert Gate uncorked another second-place performance that might have been better than the winner's effort. This time he led from the get-go as the 9-10 favorite, took mild pressure from the second fave, came back on that rival when headed, repulsed a stretch bid from a new foe, then got nailed at the wire by 8-1 Intrepido (Maximus Mischief)–himself a 'Rising Star'–losing by three-quarters of a length. 3) PALADIN (c, Gun Runner–Secret Sigh, by Tapit) O-Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Peter M. Brant, Brook T. Smith, and Summer Wind Equine, LLC; B-Summer Wind Equine LLC (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. Sales history: $1,900,000 Ylg '24 FTSAUG. Lifetime record: GSW, 2-2-0-0, $184,250. Last start: WON Dec. 6 GII Remsen Stakes. This $1.9 million FTSAUG son of Gun Runner broke his maiden at first asking via disqualification in an Aqueduct one-turn mile Oct. 17 (87 Beyer), then won the nine-furlong Remsen Stakes by two lengths (85 Beyer). There should be no hand-wringing about that two-point regression considering Paladin's finish in the Remsen represented improvement from a “how he did it” perspective, and also because trainer Chad Brown revealed post-win that this colt lost his right front shoe at some point during the Remsen while also sustaining a hind-leg cut. Favored at 1.88-1, Paladin broke alertly from post two in that 11-horse stakes, but opted not to hook up with dueling 53-1 and 29-1 longshots. He settled in third along the inside under Flavien Prat and was always a pace-pressing threat, incrementally edging closer starting at the half-mile marker. Prat did have to scrub on Paladin for run 2 1/2 furlongs out, then edge him out to the five path in search of clear running room into the lane. But once set down for the drive, Paladin finished straight and with purpose, opening up under the wire from the same rival (Renegade, a $975,000 Into Mischief colt from Todd Pletcher's barn) who had finished a head in front of him in that previous maiden tilt. Paladin is wintering in Florida at Brown's Payson Park training base, and resumed breezing three weeks after his Remsen score. He's being pointed toward the GII Risen Star Stakes Feb. 14 at Fair Grounds. 4) CANNONEER (c, Into Mischief–Catch the Moon, by Malibu Moon) 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard'. O-St. Elias Stable & Stonestreet Stables LLC; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. Sales history: $1,750,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP. Lifetime record: 2-1-0-1, $81,300. Last start: WON Nov. 29 Churchill Downs MSW. Cannoneer is a half-brother to two horses who started in the Kentucky Derby (Midnight Bourbon, fifth in 2021, and Girvin, 13th in 2017). He demolished a seven-furlong maiden field in the nightcap of the Stars of Tomorrow card for juveniles at Churchill Downs on Thanksgiving weekend when favored at 1.77-1 odds. This son of Into Mischief earned a 90 Beyer in that blowout, exhibiting sharp early speed, poise for having to deal with a riderless horse directly to his outside for half the race, and a powerful finishing kick that left 11 rivals 7 1/4 lengths behind his widening wake. That win came nearly six months after his 0.45-1 debut June 1 (also at Churchill), in which Cannoneer could do no better than third after breaking a step slow and weakening after an inside duel. “He made the races early in the spring,” trainer Brad Cox said on the Dec. 2 TDN Writers' Room podcast. “After his first race I wasn't quite happy with the way he was moving, so we gave him the time. There could have been something maybe bothering him that day. We just didn't get the performance we were looking for. “We backed off of him, gave him the time. He came back into Keeneland on the first of October and immediately, as soon as we worked him, we saw that the talent was still there. It never went anywhere. I had a pretty good feeling he was going to get ready quick, and he did,” Cox said. Cannoneer's two-turn debut looms as the next logical step. He resumed breezing at Payson Park Dec. 24. Cannoneer | Coady Media 5) INCREDIBOLT (c, Bolt d'Oro–Sapphire Spitfire, by Awesome Again) O-Pin Oak Stud LLC; B-Deann Baer & Greg Baer DVM (KY); T-Riley Mott. Sales history: $75,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP. Lifetime record: GSW, 3-2-0-0, $196,181. Last start: WON Oct. 26 GIII Street Sense Stakes. After a bit of freshening on the farm, Incredibolt is training at Palm Meadows for trainer Riley Mott. The winner of the Oct. 26 GIII Street Sense Stakes at Churchill is possible for the Jan. 31 GIII Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park. This $75,000 KEESEP son of Bolt d'Oro was fourth as the 5-2 beaten favorite in his Ellis Park debut when sprinting six furlongs Aug. 22, breaking toward the back from post 11 and gaining mild ground while widest for most of the trip. Stretched to a one-turn mile Sept. 28 at Churchill and sent off as the 2-1 second choice, Incredibolt drew the rail and popped out of the gate alertly. Although initially rated back leaving the chute, he was intent on pulling himself into contention before settling into a covered-up stalking spot third at the fence. He was pushed on for run around the turn and responded, then shifted off the heels of the leader three-sixteenths out and sparked into a headlong drive that had him two lengths clear at the wire. In the Street Sense four weeks later, Incredibolt was the 4-1 third choice from the outermost seven draw and gave up four and then three paths of real estate on the turns while trailing about six lengths off the action. Under a rating hold until the 3 1/2-furlong marker, he built decent momentum through the far bend and had clear sailing into the lane, never hesitating despite brushing with an inner rival in mid-stretch before opening up past tiring leaders with no true competition firing at him late. The 1 3/4-length score yielded an 82 Beyer. 6) NEARLY (c, Not This Time–Ib Prospecting, by Mineshaft) O-Centennial Farms; B-Wind Hill Farm (FL); T-Todd A. Pletcher. Sales history: $350,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP. Lifetime record: 3-2-0-0, $78,950. Last start: WON Jan. 2 Gulfstream Park AOC. Nearly, a $350,0000 KEESEP son of Not This time from Todd Pletcher's stable, has won two consecutive sprints at Gulfstream by a combined 14 1/4 lengths. After a puzzler of a last-place finish in a mildly trip-troubled Oct. 26 Aqueduct debut, Nearly took down a Florida-bred maiden race at Gulfstream as the 8-5 favorite Nov. 22. Stretched from six to seven furlongs in a scratch-depleted allowance/optional claimer Jan. 2, Nearly absorbed a body blow at the break from the 7-10 favorite, but what stood out was how unfazed the colt was by the contact. John Velazquez regrouped at the back of the pack, and Nearly quickly tagged on behind dueling leaders without expending much effort. He hooked up with the favored pacemaker under a hand ride around the turn, and as the cadence quickened, Nearly maintained a non-nonsense rhythm and drew away at will, besting his three rivals by five lengths. His Beyer number came back as 96, but figure-making at Gulfstream was tough last Friday, with only two dirt races on the card to use for comparison. Pletcher indicated post-win that Nearly could stretch out in the Holy Bull Stakes Jan. 31. 7) BUETANE (c, Tiz the Law–Taboo, by Forestry) 'TDN Rising Star,'presented by Hagyard. O-Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.; B-Merriebelle Stable, LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $150,000 Ylg '24 FTSAUG; $1,150,000 2yo '25 OBSAPR. Lifetime record: 2-1-1-0, $108,000. Last start: 2nd Sept. 1 GI Hopeful Stakes. Buetane, a Tiz the Law colt from Bob Baffert's barn, sold for $150,000 as an FTSAUG yearling, then hammered for 10 times that auction price at the OBSAPR sale. As the 3-10 fave in his 3 1/2-length debut victory at Del Mar Aug. 2, Buetane pressed the leader, took over under light hand encouragement just prior to the quarter pole, then finished well with no one closing late to challenge him. The race came back as an 83 on the Beyer scale and yielded one next-out winner from the five other starters. Shipped cross-country for the closing-day Hopeful Stakes at the Spa, Buetane was favored at 6-5 over Ted Noffey. He shadowed that eventual winner while outside for most of the race, but Buetane was hard-ridden off the turn while Ted Noffey kicked away in hand, and Buetane had to settle for a best-of-the rest second (82 Beyer), 8 1/2 lengths behind Ted Noffey. Buetane has been working at Santa Anita without interruption since late October. He'll start there this Saturday as the favorite in the GII San Vicente Stakes over seven furlongs. 8) COMMANDMENT (c, Into Mischief–Sippican Harbor, by Orb) O-Wathnan Racing; B-Lee Pokoik (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. Sales history: $485,000 RNA Wlg '23 FTKNOV; $475,000 RNA Ylg '24 FTSAUG; $500,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP. Lifetime record: SW, 3-2-0-0, $165,459. Last start: WON Jan. 3 Mucho Macho Man Stakes. Commandment has started favored every time out, and over the course of three races while stretching from six to seven to eight furlongs, this Brad Cox trainee has exhibited the makings of a colt who can handle the load of increasing distances. In his 82 Beyer debut at Keeneland, this son of Into Mischief ($485,000 RNA FTKNOV; $475,000 RNA FTSAUG; $500,000 KEESEP) rallied from 11th to get fourth while inside before tipping out to the five path at the eighth pole. Drawing the rail in start number two at Churchill Nov. 1, Commandment again broke toward the back, knifed between foes, and won going away by 5 1/2 lengths, although his Beyer number decreased by one point. Coming off a two-month break in this past Saturday's Mucho Macho Man Stakes at Gulfstream, Commandment again was tasked with a rail draw and was again lackadaisical from the gate. For part of his confidently handled trip around the far turn, it looked like Irad Ortiz, Jr.'s commitment to a ground-saving go might cost the colt, as this 1-2 fave was blocked behind a wall of four horses battling for the lead. But Commandment pulsed through a top-of-the-lane gap when the opening presented itself, powering away to win by 6 3/4 lengths while upping his Beyer to 90. While the repeated tardiness from the stalls is not desirable, in Commandment's case that fault is mitigated by the fact that he has shown no qualms about handling covered-up trips at the fence, nor has he shown any hesitation when asked to split rivals. Commandment | Coglianese 9) IRON HONOR (c, Nyquist–Orenica, by Blame) O-St. Elias Stable, William H. Lawrence and Cathi Glassman; B-Mike Freeny and Pat Freeny; T-Chad C. Brown. Sales history: $230,000 Ylg '24 KEEJAN; $475,000 Ylg KEESEP. Lifetime record 1-1-0-0, $46,750. Last start: WON Dec. 13 Aqueduct MSW. This is a speculative selection because I'm generally disinclined to project Top 12 placement upon one-start sprint maiden winners. But hey, it's early January, and Iron Honor's 95-Beyer debut at Aqueduct was a strong foundational first start. Plus, based upon that effort, trainer Chad Brown has opted to send this colt to Florida to avoid conflicts running against other, more seasoned prospects in his stable who are targeting stakes in New York and New Orleans. This son of 2016 Derby champ Nyquist ($230,000 KEEJAN; $475,000 KEESEP) assertively tracked and engaged a favored speedster, then edged away to a 1 1/2-length score without being fully roused over six furlongs Dec. 13. The colt he beat, Crossingthechannel (Omaha Beach), came back to wire another Aqueduct MSW sprint with an 85 Beyer Jan. 4. Iron Honor is a May 1 foal, and Brown told the Aqueduct press office over the weekend that he believes the colt will handle longer races. “He trains that way,” Brown said. “He's a horse that mentally needed time to come around but now I'm seeing the best of him. If he keeps doing what he's been doing, he should turn out to be a nice prospect. I did move him down to my South Florida base here at Payson Park in an effort to separate some of these horses. I'll point him to a developmental campaign down here and stretch him out.” 10) LITMUS TEST (c, Nyquist–Study Hard, by Malibu Moon) O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Bashor, Dianne, Determined Stables, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital LLC and Donovan, Catherine; B-Machmer Hall (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $875,000 Ylg '24 FTSAUG. Lifetime Record: GSW, 5-2-0-1, $350,188. Last start: WON Dec. 13 GII Los Alamitos Futurity. I have to admit up front that in recent years, I've had difficulty properly assessing the winners of the GII Los Alamitos Futurity. I don't know whether it's the annually short fields or the long (1,380 feet) stretch over which they run that distorts my perceptions. But in 2023 I passed on including Practical Move in my early-season Kentucky Derby prognostications after he won that stakes, and I likewise wasn't initially convinced about Journalism's chances last year after he, too, won over the retrofitted Quarter Horse oval. In both seasons, I had to later recalibrate as those horses proved worthy of Top 12 inclusion. So it's with those misfires in mind that I'll give Litmus Test a shot in early 2026. After all, this is a colt ($875,000 FTSAUG) who has an edge in experience (five lifetime races, three at two turns, two in Grade I stakes). He also hails from the barn of Bob Baffert, whose horses have crossed the Kentucky Derby finish wire first on seven occasions (with one DQ). Litmus Test has been riding an ascending Beyer arc (78-82-89-95-96) that includes one third and one fourth behind divisional kingpin Ted Noffey, plus a 1 1/4-length score over five rivals in the Los Al Futurity. Although his Breeders' Cup Juvenile fourth resonated as a no-impact effort, Litmus Test took advantage of fortuitous circumstances when favored at 3-5 against lesser foes at Los Al. He broke well, tucked inside near the back, then inherited a sweet stalking spot in second, moving to the outside behind a too-fast leader when another rival bore out badly on the first turn and carried two other horses very wide. Litmus Test prowled just off the shoulder of the pacemaker, seized the lead at will five-sixteenths out, then spun wide into the lane. Yet at the quarter pole, he gave up that top spot to the wilting front-runner he had just passed. Litmus Test did manage to claw back the lead, finishing well enough but getting a minor scare from a maiden who was the only true threat through the final sixteenth. Although it wasn't the most artful victory, the Los Al Futurity should serve Litmus Test well from a moving-forward standpoint. 11) MY WORLD (Essential Quality–Quebec, by Into Mischief) O-Robert V. LaPenta & Madaket Stables LLC; B-Cove Springs, LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. Sales history: $350,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP. Lifetime record: MSW, 4-3-0-0, $217,750. Last start: WON Jan. 3 Jerome Stakes. My World is a lighter-framed gray who has overachieved while winning back-to-back listed stakes at Aqueduct. While he doesn't yet appear to have things fully figured out mentally, he's a hard trier who doesn't seem to mind that horse racing can sometimes be a contact sport. After breaking his maiden sprinting in his second lifetime start, this Brad Cox trainee scored a mild upset as the third choice in the five-horse Nashua Stakes at Aqueduct Nov. 1. He pressed the 11-1 pacemaker (a subsequent stakes winner at Penn National), took on that leader between the five-sixteenths and quarter poles, then bounced him into the fence coming off the turn while snatching the lead. Despite having his head cocked out toward the grandstand, My World put away a new challenger, the second-favorite, and produced a renewed deep-stretch spurt to kick clear by 3 1/2 lengths (79 Beyer). In another one-turn mile, the Jan. 3 Jerome Stakes, My World was (somewhat surprisingly) let go as the 2.62-1 third betting choice in a four-horse field. He wasn't affected by a mild bump at the break, then let the odds-on favorite duel with a 26-1 longshot. Always within two lengths of those pacemakers for the long, half-mile run out of the chute and down the back straight, My World confronted the 0.74-1 choice when that fave cracked the long shot on the turn, dueled with him into upper stretch, then dropped back for several strides. Resiliently, My World re-engaged when it looked like he'd be left behind, responding to judicious alternating stick work from Jaime Rodriguez. My World lugged in, yet was emboldened when the two brushed in deep stretch. He then finished well to open up by two lengths, with Rodriguez reverting to hand urging under the wire (84 Beyer). It's a nice ticket to have in your back pocket if you took a flyer on My World at 147-1 in Pool 2 of the Derby future wager. 12) LIBERTY NATIONAL (c, Maxfield–Virtuoso, by Awesome Again) 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard. O-Brookdale Racing, Inc. & Fern Circle Stables; B-Rock Ridge Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Kenneth G. McPeek. Sales history: $525,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP. Lifetime record: 3-1-1-0, $90,675. Last start: 2nd Dec. 20 Gun Runner Stakes. Liberty National is a far more imposing physical specimen than trainer Kenny McPeek's 2024 Derby winner, Mystik Dan. This $525,000 KEESEP colt, produced by an unraced full-sister to GISW Paynter, was most recently second over 1 1/16 miles in the slow-stretch Gun Runner Stakes (:7.48 final sixteenth) as the 13-10 favorite. The more useful measuring stick might be Liberty National's maiden-breaking tally on the Nov. 29 Stars of Tomorrow card at Churchill, when his 1 1/16-miles win was clocked just 0.08 seconds off the final time for that afternoon's feature, the GII Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes. This colt's sixth-place Oct. 16 debut over seven furlongs at Keeneland is also worth noting. That field of eight yielded four horses who came back to win their next races, and five altogether who have since broken their maidens, including one, Chip Honcho (Connect), who subsequently beat Liberty National in the Gun Runner Stakes. The post TDN Derby Top 12: Dreams of Roses Take The Chill Out of January appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Well-related Highview graduate Kinnaird (Home Affairs) has quickly won his way to the top of the market for New Zealand’s richest two-year-old contest. The Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson-trained colt was successful on debut at Otaki in November and his New Year’s Day victory in the Gr.2 Eclipse Stakes (1200m) propelled him to equal $4 favouritism for the upcoming TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m). He was bred by Hong Kong Breeders’ Club principal Nicola Chu, who retained an ownership interest following his purchase by Te Akau’s David Ellis for $340,000 out of Highview’s New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale draft. “Kinnaird being the first Group winner for Home Affairs is truly exciting for Hong Kong-based breeders like us,” Chu said. “It’s a true honour to participate in the New Zealand Australian racing and breeding industries.” The Hong Kong Breeders’ Club have been partners in Highview since 2005. Kinnaird is a son of the now retired O’Reilly mare Orinda whose first foal was the Gr.1 Australian Derby winner (2400m) Jon Snow (NZ) (Iffraaj). “She was quoted to me by (bloodstock agent) Michael Otto and purchased her from Richard Moore in foal to Iffraaj,” Highview’s Brent Gillovic said. “We sold the resulting yearling at Sydney Easter for A$460,000 and as Princess Rhaenys she was a stakes winner and Group placed.” Her next foal by Snitzel, Oriental Legend, made A$450,000 the following year and was a three-time winner. “The mare then had a Snitzel filly named Vhagar, who was retained to race but unfortunately suffered a wind affliction and was retired. She has a filly foal by resident Divine Prophet and is in foal to Wrote,” Gillovic said. “I bought the Breeders’ Club a share in Snitzel and they’ve obviously had a great run out of him and they own a number of shares in Wrote. “From limited numbers, they’ve had a fair degree of success and bred one of Snitzel’s first Group winners in Dances On Stars (Gr.3 Kindergarten Stakes, 1100m), Best Seller was second in the 1000 Guineas (Gr.1, 1600m) and Princess Rhaenys, of course. “We also stood Danroad here for them, who proved to be a decent stallion.” Following Vhagar, Orinda’s colt by The Autumn Sun sold at the Gold Coast for A$150,000 and as Flaming Genesis has been a winner. “She was served by Wrote in 2024 but unfortunately absorbed so she’s retired,” Gillovic said. Her last foal is Kinnaird who has continued to develop with Gillovic pleasantly surprised by his two-year-old efforts. “I would never have picked him to be doing what he has at this stage, the scary thing is that he’s only going to get better,” he said. “There is a lot of improvement left in him, and he’ll cope with the pressure of the Karaka Millions.” View the full article

The number of race days in the United States fell 5.2% in 2025 and the number of races dropped 4.7% to 29,401, which is the first time races have been below 30,000 since the mid-1950s.View the full article

On the Jan. 5 episode of BloodHorse Monday, Godolphin USA director of bloodstock Michael Banahan discusses the decision to bring Sovereignty back in 2026 for a 4-year-old campaign.View the full article

Speaking on the Jan. 5 episode of BloodHorse Monday, Godolphin USA director of bloodstock Michael Banahan said the only race definitively on Sovereignty's radar so far this year is the Oct. 31 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Keeneland.View the full article

According to the annual Thoroughbred Economic Indicators report released Monday by Equibase, the total figures for two of the sport's most important categories declined in 2025. Thanks in part to handle being down 7.32% in December, handle for the year was down 2.10% when compared to 2024 figures. A total of $11,028,652,933 was wagered in the U.S. as compared to $11,265,666,064 in 2024. Handle peaked in 2003 at $15.18 billion. When factoring in inflation, betting handle has fallen about 57% over the last 22 years. The year 2025 marked the sixth time in the last seven years that handle has fallen. The outlier was 2021, when handle figures rose by 11.8%. This was expected because the 2021 numbers were being compared to 2020 figures, a year in which COVID caused the sport to lose a multitude of racing dates. “There are two ways of looking at it, one of which is certainly worrisome,” said Marshall Gramm, an economics professor at Rhodes College and a professional horseplayer. “The increased competition with other gambling ventures is hurting the sport. The fact that many tracks have not resolved the issues with the odds fluctuations and the computer wagering is another factor. The way we price our sport for the recreational player in a way that is not comparable to other gambling options is, I believe, another reason this is happening. We don't know any more than what they reported in those raw numbers, but, anecdotally, I would guess we are losing more from recreational players and the real meat-and-potatoes horseplayers. They are disappearing from our game, and that is a problem.” Gramm continued: “The flip side is that purses are more and more funded by alternative gambling. The industry seems to be content to spend more lobbying politicians than focusing on their core customers. Maybe if they can finance a sport without needing horseplayers, they will continue to go on and do so.” The figure for “Wagering on U.S. Races” includes worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races. In the category of “Average Wagering Per Race Day,” there was some positive news, as the figure rose by 3.27%, from $2,974,826 to $3,072,048. But fewer races were run during the year–29,401 versus 30,852 in 2024. Perhaps the more surprising news revealed by Equibase Monday was the decline in the total amount of purse money paid out in the U.S. in 2025. Thanks in large part to an influx of casino, slot machine and HHR money that has poured into the sport in places like Kentucky and Arkansas in recent years, purses have been holding relatively steady. But the amount of purse money paid out in 2025 was $1,220,644,640, which represents a 2.53% decline from the prior year. In 2024, purses paid out rose by 0.5% and reached an all-time high for the industry. Though the increase was a very small one, the fact that average field size increased was another piece of good news. The average field size in 2025 was 7.47 starters per race, up 0.37% from 2024. The post Handle, Purses Both Fall In 2025 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Thoroughbred owner Bill Casner joins Dr. Ferrin Peterson on this week's edition of the Boundless Podcast. Casner talks about the many roles he has played in the industry, from being a 15-year-old looking for freelance gallops for $1 apiece at Sunland Park wearing a $5 motorcycle helmet he bought at a hock shop, to his victories in the world's biggest races. The Boundless Podcast sets out to tell stories of heartbreak and resilience, and at the heart of the conversation between the two, Casner talks about the devastating loss of his daughter Karri in a Bali bombing in 2002 which killed 202 people. He also discusses his other daughter, Kayce Anderson, who is the founder of For the Good, a charity which helps girls in reote parts of Kenya stay in school. He also taks about Well Armed, the colt born on Karri's birthday in 2003, who overcame major injuries and went on to win the Dubai World Cup. To watch the show on YouTube, click here. Click here to listen on Spotify, and here for Apple podcasts. The post Bill Casner Joins the Boundless Podcast appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The record-setting Grade I-winning turf sprinter Cogburn (Not This Time) was represented by his first foal on Jan. 4 when a filly was born at Jay Goodwin's Goodwin Farm. The filly was bred by Goodwin in partnership with David Rogers and Brooke Buffin. “This is a really good filly,” said Jay Goodwin. “She bounced right up and was whipping around the paddock in no time. We love fast horses.” The foal is the 10th to hit the ground out of the 15-year-old Posset (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), a full-sister to Midday (GB), whose half-dozen Group 1 or Grade I victories includes the 2009 GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. Midday is in turn the dam of five winners, namely GSW Midterm (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) and the SW & GSP duo of Mori (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Noon Star (Galileo {Ire}). Goodwin acquired Posset for $25,000 with this filly in utero at last year's Keeneland November Sale. A three-time winner and Grade III-placed on the dirt while under the care of Steve Asmussen, Cogburn won six times from eight appearances on the grass, including the 2024 GI Jaipur Stakes, when he covered 5 1/2 furlongs in a world-record clocking of :59.80, good for a 114 Beyer Speed Figure. A four-time graded scorer, Cogburn was first or second in 11 of his 16 career trips to the post for earnings of $2,422,630. Cogburn is set to stand the 2026 breeding season at a fee of $25,000, stands and nurses. The post First Foal A Filly For WinStar’s Cogburn appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article