Wandering Eyes

Brazilian import Sagacious Life leapt into contention for Zac Purton’s Classic Mile ride of choice after continuing a strong start to his Hong Kong career with a fighting victory at Sha Tin on Sunday. After Sagacious Life proved too strong for several Classic Mile hopefuls in the Class Two Leighton Handicap (1,600m), trainer Pierre Ng Pang-chi revealed the son of Put It Back had surged into Purton’s consideration for the first leg of the four-year-old series on February 1. “Everyone’s chasing...View the full article

John Size continued his ominous march towards the top of the trainers’ premiership after another double at Sha Tin on Sunday, headlined by Stellar Express’ easy win in the Group Three Bauhinia Sprint Trophy (1,000m). The champion trainer was 15 winners behind the then leader Caspar Fownes going into New Year’s Day, but after four winners at the last two meetings, the gap has now eroded to 12 to leader Mark Newnham. Size would never pay any attention to that fact, nor would he likely know he has...View the full article

Wanganui trainer Kevin Myers and Canterbury apprentice jockey Floor Moerman proved to be a potent combination at Omoto on Sunday, bagging a treble at the Greymouth meeting, including the Recreation Hotel Greymouth Cup (2000m) with Sunset Boulevard (NZ) (Eminent). The Peter Vela-bred and raced gelding was heavily favoured to take out the meeting’s feature race, having been freshened since his two victories over New Zealand Cup Week in November. Moerman was positive from the jump aboard the son of Eminent, settling him outside early pacemaker Taimate Diva before taking a trail when Victortheinflictor came around to challenge for the lead. Heading into the back straight, Moerman decided to take the bull by the horns and sent her charge forward to assume control of the race and they quickly opened up several margins on their rivals. Stablemate, and last year’s race winner, Kick On (NZ) (Per Incanto) took chase, eventually drawing alongside Sunset Boulevard with 200m to go. The pair put on a great spectacle for the bustling holiday crowd down the home straight, but it was Sunset Boulevard who got his head in front to reward favourite punters. “They both kicked clear and I was pretty confident at the 600m when they had the rest of them off the bit,” stable representative Luke Myers said. “Kick On went a really good race at Wellington last start and we thought he could almost pop Sunset Boulevard today, and he almost did, but Sunset’s class just got him through today.” Two races prior, Myers and Moerman kicked off their treble when Gr.3 New Zealand Cup (3200m) winner Bozo (NZ) (Satono Aladdin) took out the Westland RC Miss Scenicland Stakes (1500m). The 93-rated mare got in beautifully under the race’s weight-for-age conditions, carrying just 53kg, 3kg lighter than her closest rival. She was backed into $1.60 favouritism and won accordingly, beating Speed Dial by 1-3/4 lengths, with a further three-lengths back to Sprocket Rocket in third. “She did it nicely,” Luke Myers said. “She came through her run in the New Zealand Cup probably the best any horse has come through any run. “She was a chance of getting outsprinted, so Floor rode her beautifully and let the horse roll.” Myers said Bozo will likely back-up at Kumara on Saturday in the Kumara Gold Nuggets (1810m). Moerman split those two victories with a win aboard the Myers-trained Sheaf (NZ) (Eminent) in the Jack Curragh Memorial (2000m), and Myers said she was a great asset at the West Coast meeting. “It was good having Floor on with her claim,” Myers said. “She has ridden these last three perfectly and put them in the race at the right time.” The stable went a step further, winning a quaddie at the meeting, with fellow apprentice jockey Amber Riddell riding stable runner Possess (Pierata) to victory in the Vernon & Vazey 0800 Truck Parts (1500m). View the full article

Join a full team this week on Weigh In. Guy Heveldt, Emily Murphy, Aidan Rodley and Jayne Ivil break down the action from Trentham on a Group 1 raceday and look back to the New Years Day Races out of Ellerslie. Weigh In, January 4 View the full article

It will be an anxious few weeks for the connections of State The Obvious (NZ) (Sword Of State) as they wait to see if their filly makes the cut for the $1 million TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) at Ellerslie on January 24. The daughter of Sword Of State made a strong play at Te Aroha on Saturday when winning the Mark Anderson Memorial Maiden 2YO (1000m), with her $10,360 winning cheque bringing her earnings to $11,285, placing her in 20th position in order of entry for the Karaka Millions, meaning she will require plenty of luck to make the 14-horse field as the current sixth emergency. “That (Karaka Millions) is the reason why we ran yesterday,” said Graham Richardson, who trains the filly in partnership with Rogan Norvall. “We thought if she could handle it (wet track) and win, then we are a chance (of making the Karaka Millions field), but if we step back and scratch we were no chance. “It was all about experience as well. She has pulled up this morning like she never had a race, which is incredible for a two-year-old.” While State The Obvious is an outside shot of qualifying for the rich feature, her trainers are not tempted to give her another run in the lead-up in a last-ditch effort to make the field, and have set their sights to their home track for an alternative. “If I have to panic and give her another run before then it is just not worth it,” Richardson said. “There are still a couple of races to go and if she doesn’t get into the Karaka Million then she will head to the Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (Gr.2, 1200m) as a back-up plan.” Richardson was pleased with State The Obvious’ second-up victory, having finished fourth behind subsequent Group Two performer Lara Antipova over 1150m at Te Aroha last month. “She is a really nice filly,” he said. “It was very heavy and I was quite unsure of how she would handle it, but she was probably the biggest horse in the field and she is very strong. “She will just get better and better, she has got a good action and she is very laidback. She is a lovely, kind horse.” Bred by Cambridge Stud, State The Obvious was purchased out of their 2025 New Zealand Bloodstock Book 1 Yearling Sale draft by Richardson and Brendon McCullum for $170,000. Cambridge Stud retained a share in the filly and she races in their familiar black and gold silks. State The Obvious could be a part of a strong line-up for the stable at Ellerslie on Karaka Millions night, with both Lollapalooza (NZ) (El Roca) and Fleeting Star (Cool Aza Beel) heading towards the $1.5 million Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m). Both fillies placed in the Gr.2 Eight Carat Classic (1600m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day, and Richardson said they have come through the race well and have enjoyed a short freshen-up prior to their lucrative target. “They have come through the run really well,” he said. “I gave them a few days off out in the paddock. They are both back in work and they are both heading towards the Karaka Three-Year-Old Mile.” While Group One winner and $4 million NZB Kiwi (1500m) contender Lollapalooza has captured the limelight between the pair, Richardson has been rapt with Fleeting Star’s progression since making her debut in August, with the filly finishing in the money in all six of her starts to date. “She is a very sensible filly and she is tough,” he said. New Year’s Day victor Romilly (So You Think), another Karaka purchase by Richardson and McCullum, is also set to head to Ellerslie on Karaka Millions night where the Jo Giles Stakes (1400m) looms as her target. “Some of these horses that Baz (McCullum) and I are buying are now winning races and it is a great thrill,” Richardson said. “We will probably go to Karaka Million night to the fillies and mares 1400m with her (Romilly). It is going to be a strong field but we will put a set of blinkers on her.” View the full article

Miss Jones (Deep Field) showed plenty of promise in Australia, placing in six of her 10 starts for trainers Richard and Will Freedman, but she has found her groove since crossing the Tasman. The daughter of Deep Field broke through for her maiden win when victorious in her New Zealand debut for new trainer Cody Cole at Ellerslie last month and doubled her tally at Trentham on Saturday when taking out the Listen Live On Sportnation.co.nz Maiden Sprint (1200m). From her outside draw in the seven-horse field, she was taken forward by jockey Opie Bosson to sit outside pacemaker Falcrests Belle and she raced kindly for the in-form hoop. When he asked her to improve when entering the home straight she quickly responded and ran away to a 2-1/2 length victory over the previously unbeaten Thorax. “She was a little angel,” Bosson said. “She jumped well and just took our time getting across and once we got there she travelled beautifully and gave me a really good kick when I asked the question. “She gives you the feel that she has got some gears there. I know it has taken her a while to win a race, but I think she is putting it all together now.” Cole was confident of another bold showing on Saturday and believes she has a bright future if she continues on her current trajectory. “She was good. Opie has got a lovely set of hands and I think she appreciated that,” he said. “She probably appreciates the New Zealand environment a bit more too. “She switched off early enough that she was going to find a nice kick late and she did. Opie sat there quietly for as long as he could and it was perfect. “If she keeps improving her racing manners there’s no reason she can’t get to a good level. “It wasn’t a big field but there were some nice horses in it. Today was a good sign and a step in the right direction.” Cole said the Trelawney Stud-raced mare is loving the rural lifestyle on his Waikato property and he is now looking forward to hatching a plan to tackle some loftier targets with the four-year-old. “She is a mare that appreciates being out at the farm,” he said. “We don’t take her to the town stable, she just lives out there and goes to the paddock every day. Just keeping her in a happy spot more than anything is the most important thing. “We can start making plans after today. Before this it was just getting her to do things right and see if she could step up or not from her maiden win.” Later in the card, Cole was back in the winner’s circle courtesy of Bradley (NZ) (Belardo) in the Blue Star Group 1600. “He is a horse with more ability than he has shown us,” Cole said. “I am really happy for the owners, Justine (Sclater) and her crew have been really patient and supportive of me in trying to figure the horse out. We have finally done that and it is nice to get the job done on a good day.” The stable also featured prominently in the feature race of the card, the Gr.1 TAB Telegraph (1200m), with last year’s placegetter Navigator (NZ) (El Roca) going one better to finish runner-up behind First Five. View the full article

The outcome of the Jan. 3 Mucho Macho Man Stakes at Gulfstream Park suggests the following: Thou shall not underestimate Commandment on the Kentucky Derby (G1) trail.View the full article

Florida Derby (G1) winner Tappan Street, who successfully returned from an eight-month layoff to win Dec. 19 at Gulfstream Park, worked for the first time since that victory Jan. 3 in preparation for the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) Jan. 24. View the full article

Strategic Risk launched a sustained rally into the far turn that would see him seize the lead near the quarter pole, draw clear in early stretch, and cruise to a 4 1/2-length score in the $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes Jan. 3 at Oaklawn Park.View the full article

Grade I winner Tappan Street (Into Mischief) worked Saturday morning at Gulfstream Park in his continued preparation for the Pegasus World Cup Invitational. Working four furlongs alone at Payson Park, the Brad Cox trainee was clocked in :49.60 (15/48) in his first move since his successful return to the races Dec. 19 against allowance optional claiming company at Gulfstream Park. “It was a really good move, by himself, :49.2 and 1:02.2,” said Cox. “I thought the track was much deeper after the break up there [at Payson Park].” Disco Time (Not This Time), the unbeaten winner of the GIII Lecomte Stakes, worked five furlongs the day prior Jan. 2 in 1:01 flat, the fastest of five others at that distance. “Disco Time went [Friday], lights out,” Cox said. “He's really on it. Super pleased with how he's breezed the last few weeks and how he physically looks.” Both runners are currently being pointed toward the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Saturday, Jan. 24. The post Tappan Street, Disco Time Work for Pegasus at Payson Park appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Strategic Risk (Noble Bird) rolled into town from Florida, and not only topped the exacta in the Smarty Jones Stakes for his connections, but also took home Kentucky Derby points in the process. Dominating a maiden field at first asking June 7 at Gulfstream Park against fellow Florida-breds, he missed the board in back to back graded starts at Saratoga, but bounced back to run third Oct. 18 in the Florida Sired Affirmed Stakes. Building on that effort, and at his first trip at 1 1/16-miles over the main track last out Nov. 29, he rolled off the screen by nine lengths to win the FTBOA Florida Sire In Reality Stakes. Sent off here at 5-2 odds, the son of Noble Bird was content to stalk from second as Louisiana invader Scar Ship (Midshipman) set the pace through an opening fraction in :24.48 and posted a half-mile in :49.72. Pushing to the head of affairs after soft fractions through the far bend, he poked a head in front entering the stretch and the race was over from there. Extending his lead, the victor coasted in to win by 4 1/2 lengths. Stablemate Silent Tactic (Tacitus) closed from the back to claim second and Baytown Dreamer (Mendelssohn) claimed third. Strategic Risk picked up 10 points toward the Road to the Kentucky Derby, and currently sits in 11th in an eight-way tie with other runners who have the same tally. Strategic Risk is the most recent stakes winner for Strategize, who has also produced two other black-type horses–full-siblings to this victor named Strategic Bird and Just Relax. The former produced a 2025 filly by Mitole as her most recent offspring. The mare also claims a juvenile full-sister to that trio as well as a 2025 colt by Roadster. She went back to that stallion for 2026. #7 STRATEGIC RISK ($7.00) puts himself on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with a victory in the $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes at @OaklawnRacing. This is the second stakes win for the three-year-old Noble Bird colt. @jjcjockey was aboard for @markecasse. pic.twitter.com/dotatW2Ewl — FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) January 3, 2026 SMARTY JONES S., $250,000, Oaklawn, 1-3, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:45.06, ft. 1–STRATEGIC RISK, 119, c, 3, by Noble Bird 1st Dam: Strategize, by Afleet Alex 2nd Dam: Strategy, by A.P. Indy 3rd Dam: Educated Risk, by Mr. Prospector O-John C. Oxley; B-John Oxley Living Trust (FL); T-Mark E. Casse; J-Javier Castellano. $138,750. Lifetime Record: 6-3-0-1, $392,300. *Full to Strategic Bird, MSW, $116,130. 2–Silent Tactic, 117, c, 3, Tacitus–Magical Sign, by Gun Runner. ($60,000 Ylg '24 FTKOCT; $500,000 2yo '25 OBSAPR). O-John C. Oxley; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-Mark E. Casse. $46,250. 3–Baytown Dreamer, 117, c, 3, Mendelssohn–Colerful Bride, by Munnings. ($5,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP; $70,000 RNA 2yo '25 IGDAPR). O-Baytown Partnerships; B-Brookstone Farm, Lee Mauberret, & James Blazek (KY); T-Paul McEntee. $23,125. Margins: 4HF, 3/4, 4. Odds: 2.50, 14.10, 84.30. Also Ran: Sleepingonfreedom, Rancho Santa Fe, Scar Ship, Universe, Oscar's Hope. Scratched: Boca Beach Club. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. The post Strategic Risk Steps Up to Win Smarty Jones for Fun, Claims Derby Points appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

For a 3-year-old colt, the first Saturday in January at chilly Aqueduct Racetrack feels a lot more than five months removed from the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs. View the full article

The Jan. 3 Mucho Macho Man Stakes at Gulfstream Park suggests the following: Thou shall not underestimate Commandment on the Kentucky Derby (G1) trail.View the full article

Wathnan Racing's Commandment (Into Mischief) ran to the billing as the 1-2 favorite with a dominating win in Saturday's Mucho Macho Man S. going a one-turn mile at Gulfstream Park. Drawn on the fence, the $500,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase was fourth through opening fractions of :24.09 and :47.38. All dressed up with nowhere to go at the top of the stretch, Commandment bulled his way through in between horses beneath Irad Ortiz, Jr. and leveled off beautifully from there to win going away by 6 3/4 lengths in 1:38.23. Longshot Roger That Dana (Awesome Slew) was second. Commandment was highlighted in Steve Sherack's Second Chances series following a better-than-it looked fourth-place finish as the 5-2 favorite on debut in a live maiden special weight at Keeneland Oct. 4. He followed up with a visually impressive maiden win going seven furlongs at Churchill Downs Nov. 1. Commandment is out of Sippican Harbor (Orb), who carried winning breeder Lee Pokoik's kelly green-and-pink silks to a 16-1 upset victory in the 2018 GI Spinaway S. at Saratoga. Sippican Harbor, a half-sister to Japanese superstar Awesome Result (Justify), RNA'd for $1.45 million at the 2019 FTKNOV sale. Sippican Harbor had a colt by Curlin in 2024 and a filly by Elite Power in 2025. She was bred to McKinzie for 2026. Commandment is bred on the same Into Mischief x A.P. Indy cross as leading Horse of the Year candidate Sovereignty. MUCHO MACHO MAN S., $157,500, Gulfstream, 1-3, 3yo, 1m, 1:38.23, ft. 1–COMMANDMENT, 118, c, 3, by Into Mischief 1st Dam: Sippican Harbor (GISW, $262,650), by Orb 2nd Dam: Blossomed, by Deputy Minister 3rd Dam: Texas Cinema, by Mt. Livermore ($485,000 RNA Wlg '23 FTKNOV; $475,000 RNA Ylg '24 FTSAUG; $500,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O-Wathnan Racing; B-Lee Pokoik (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $91,140. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, $165,459. 2–Roger That Dana, 118, r, 3, Awesome Slew–Take Me to Zuber, by Toccet. ($85,000 2yo '25 OBSOPN). O-Smith Ranch Stables; B-Ocala Stud (FL); T-Luis M. Ramirez. $36,900. 3–Thunder Chuck, 118, g, 3, Good Magic–I'll Take the Cake, by Nobiz Like Shobiz. ($160,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP). O-Lea Farms LLC; B-Pavel Matejka & Good Magic Syndicate (KY); T-Jorge Delgado. $14,700. Margins: 6 3/4, 1 3/4, 2HF. Odds: 0.50, 23.90, 21.40. Also Ran: Max Capacity, Epic Summer, Tripp's Promise, Cabourg. Scratched: Blame Yasself, Mr. Hooligan. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. WOW! COMMANDMENT ($3.00) won with conviction in the $175,000 Mucho Macho Man Stakes at @GulfstreamPark. Another winner by @spendthriftfarm's Into Mischief! @bradcoxracing conditions the 3YO colt. @iradortiz coasted home on the son of G1 Spinaway winner Sippican Harbor. pic.twitter.com/GqQovRg3rn — FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) January 3, 2026 The post Commandment With Authority in Mucho Macho Man appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

For a 3-year-old colt, the first Saturday in January at chilly Aqueduct Racetrack is a lot more than five months removed from the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs. View the full article

In the kickoff of stakes action Jan. 3 at Gulfstream Park, Sister Troienne easily dispatched five other 3-year-old fillies to post a comfortable victory in the $157,500 Ginger Brew Stakes.View the full article

Woodslane homebred Sister Troienne (Munnings), already on a three-race win streak, kicked off 2026 with a bang, driving clear to seize the one-mile Ginger Brew Stakes at Gulfstream Park Saturday. The chestnut settled nicely on the outside in a tracking spot about a length and a half behind 23-1 Laigina (Leinster) through a :24 first quarter. The 1-5 choice, Sister Troienne edged up to the frontrunner's hip as the half clocked in :47.87, drew on even terms on the turn, and wrested command before rider Mario Gutierrez made any perceptible move. Sister Troienne drove clear to win by 1 3/4 lengths as Gutierrez eased up while Laigina held second. Final time for the mile on turf was 1:33.42. Sister Troienne debuted with a main track third at Ellis Park last August before trying the lawn at Churchill Downs in September, resulting in a 4 1/2-length maiden special weight score. An open-daylight Keeneland allowance victory followed, with a move to Gulfstream and a Nov. 27 Wait a While Stakes win on the Tapeta after that race was taken off the turf. Dyna Passer, dam of Sister Troienne, has a 2-year-old full-sister to the Ginger Brew winner named Ultraviolet. She didn't produce a foal in 2025, but has been bred to Oscar Performance for this spring. The mare is a half-sister to GISW Sadler's Joy (Kitten's Joy) and to MGSW Wolfie's Dynaghost (Ghostzapper). SISTER TROIENNE ($2.60) continues to impress in her 3YO campaign as she delivers in the $175,000 Ginger Brew Stakes at @GulfstreamPark under @_MGutierrez_ for trainer @BLynchRacing. Woodslane Racing is the owner/breeder of this daughter of @CoolmoreAmerica stallion Munnings. pic.twitter.com/8Rn7qBf4Wu — FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) January 3, 2026 GINGER BREW S., $157,500, Gulfstream, 1-3, 3yo, f, 1mT, 1:33.42, fm. 1–SISTER TROIENNE, 120, f, 3, by Munnings 1st Dam: Dyna Passer (SP, $232,330), by Lemon Drop Kid 2nd Dam: Dynaire, by Dynaformer 3rd Dam: Binya (Ger), by Royal Solo (Ire) ($190,000 RNA Ylg '24 KEESEP). O/B-Woodslane Farm/Racing LLC (KY); T-Brian A. Lynch; J-Mario Gutierrez. $92,070. Lifetime Record: 5-4-0-1, $300,509. 2–Laigina, 118, f, 3, Leinster–Patriotic Brother, by Brother Derek. 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Green With MV Stable and Patrick L. Biancone Racing LLC; B-Diamond 100 Racing Club (FL); T-Patrick L. Biancone. $37,200. 3–Storm's Wake, 120, f, 3, Oscar Performance–Amber Storm (Ire), by Night of Thunder (Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O/-William Werner (KY); T-Brian A. Lynch. $14,850. Margins: 1 3/4, 3/4, 1 3/4. Odds: 0.30, 23.70, 7.30. Also Ran: Tideoftime, Bert's Knoty Girl, R Slew of Cash. Scratched: Bayou Brigid, Spirit Doll. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. The post Munnings Filly Sister Troienne Makes it Four in a Row in Ginger Brew appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Dazzling Dame (Girvin) shot out to the front and romped in Saturday's $150,000 Busanda S. at the Big A, good for 20 points on the road to the Kentucky Oaks. The 2-1 chance showed the way through fractions of :23.55 and :47.20, let it out a notch on the far turn and dropped the hammer in the stretch to win by daylight. Two Bits (American Pharoah) was second. Dazzling Dame was already a two-times stakes winner. She won the Sorority S. at Monmouth Aug. 17 and White Clay Creek S. at Delaware last out Oct. 11. Her lone career defeat was a well-beaten fourth in the GIII Pocahontas S. at Churchill Downs Sept. 13. Sales history: $50,000 RNA Wlg '23 KEENOV; $65,000 Ylg '24 OBSWIN; $45,000 2yo '25 OBSMAR. Lifetime Record: 5-4-0-0. O-Respect the Valleys, LLC B-Maria M. Haire (Md) T-Brittany T. Russell DAZZLING DAME ($6.24) dominated the $150,000 Busanda Stakes at Aqueduct. The @BTRracingstable trained 3YO filly earned 10 points to the Kentucky Oaks under jockey @JevianToledo. Another winner for @AirdrieStud's Girvin! Play the last 2: https://t.co/mGeXnEqN9C pic.twitter.com/kG1a5avvoF — FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) January 3, 2026 The post Girvin Filly Dazzling Dame Romps in Busanda appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

His favorite Gary Biszantz line is an instructive one: “You know, I may not be right-but I'm never confused.” So while anyone who read our interview with his employer might be unnerved by the sheer force of his personality, Mike Owens himself has always appreciated its clarity and drive. He could hardly have lasted all these years as manager of Cobra Farm, right up to its sale earlier this year, without finding a reliable register for their relationship. Biszantz, to you or me, might seem larger than life; to Owens, he has simply made life larger. As he says himself: “Gary's stories are great. But what's really great is that they're all true!” To Owens, nothing captures the ethic better than the way Old Trieste (A.P. Indy) was gunned into the lead before fading when an outsider for the 1999 GI Breeders' Cup Classic. “He's a fast horse and that's what I want everyone to see,” Biszantz announced. “If it doesn't happen, it won't be his fault. It will be mine.” “And that's the way Gary has always been,” Owens remarks. “He's willing to shoulder those things. Yes, I've seen him upset after a race. But just give him a little time and it'll be, 'Ah, we're okay. We live to race again.' That's his attitude. It was a real passion, and he has so much energy. “Just think about how he always was about medication. He was never afraid to tell that story. Some people listened but others, they just thought him brassy enough and said, 'Oh gosh, here comes Gary Biszantz again.' And he was right. He sees they're making progress now but he was trying to tell them 20 years ago. He often said that if you made the industry a dictatorship, he could straighten it out in a heartbeat.” Owens got more than he bargained for, then, the day a guy he knew nothing about gave $100,000 for a Marquetry colt out of his consignment at Fasig-Tipton. That was around the fourth year of Cornerstone Stable, which he had started with two clients and the promise of four mares. By now he was already foaling out 30, and breeding 50; and in 1997 they topped a session at Fasig-Tipton with a $250,000 colt from the first crop of Dehere. That was neat, having foaled Dehere six years previously, 10.30 one Saturday morning at Due Process Stables. His wife at the time was working there for Robert Brennan, and three days later they delivered the Cryptoclearance filly that would become Strategic Maneuver. “Then the two of them go to Saratoga in 1993 and clean up,” Owens recalls. “It had been 80 years since a colt had gone up there and won all three graded stakes for 2-year-olds; and she won the Schuylerville and then the Spinaway.” Jeanne had warned him that life with horses was tough. “And I said, 'Listen, you're going to have to beat me out to that barn,'” Owens recalls with a chuckle. “She never did! I had a background not in horses, but agriculture. Grew up in rural south-central Kentucky, and my uncle had cattle and tobacco. But I came up here and had a corporate job in town for 18 years. I always say that if they'd had a 25-year-and-out retirement program, I'd have stayed.” But it was the kind of job that hadn't impeded him from farming a little hay and tobacco, some cattle, on various tracts around Lexington. Then, when he saw how they went about the Thoroughbred game, he gave a shrug and said to himself: “I can do this.” And now this character Biszantz, who had bought the Marquetry colt, had bought Brennan's farm and was sending his overflow mares there. When the manager moved on, a couple of years later, Owens surrendered the Cornerstone lease and went to work for what was now Cobra Farm. To those 90 acres, Biszantz added another 144 by acquiring the old Whileaway Farm from the Humphrey family in 2001. “Memorial Day weekend, we moved a 'dozer, two earthmovers, two scrapers onto that farm,” Owens recalls. “And by Labor Day, we'd built a new barn, renovated two others, put in a lake, redid the roads, all new electric underground, all new water. It was a dry summer, and everything looked a dustbowl. But Labor Day weekend it started raining, everything greened right back up, and we were off and running.” They had to overcome a shattering blow soon after, with the premature loss of Old Trieste to laminitis. “The killer was picking Gary up at the airport and turning left,” Owens says. “For the first time we weren't turning right to go and see the horse at Jonabell. That was such heartache. He had graded stakes horses in each of his three crops, and I really think he was off and running to be a great sire.” Owens himself bred Old Trieste's GI Blue Grass winner Sinister Minister. “Baffert was beaten by him in a claiming race, went after him and bought him,” he recalls. “Going down the back side in the Blue Grass, his mouth was just gaping open from Garrett Gomez trying to slow him down. Finally, he said, 'Screw it, just go.' And nobody could catch him.” Another distinction as a breeder was very apt: Owens was the first person to collect a $25,000 breeder's incentive award. Apt, because this was one of countless ways in which he has quietly put his shoulder to the wheel for the benefit of the Bluegrass community, through programs such as the Kentucky Equine Management Internship and the Kentucky Equine Education Project. He has also put in long service on the Lexington/Fayette County Planning Commission. So it was also as a good citizen, as well as an accomplished professional, that his peers named him Kentucky Farm Manager of the Year in 2008. “I don't know,” Owens says with a shrug. “Hopefully we did a little bit of good. Frank Penn twisted my arm about the Planning Commission and I've probably spent way too many years down there. But Frank needed horsemen to make people realize how important the industry is to this area. It's hard to get them to realize that when we don't have a beach, a ski slope. But this right here is our tourism.” Besides, he felt a debt to Penn: one of several people who assisted his transition into the signature industry of his home state. “I could list a lot of people,” Owens emphasizes. “I wouldn't have been able to accomplish what I did without Frank, without Dave Fishback, without Mike Spirito, a lot of special people that gave me a chance. I mean, I was novice coming into this, I really was. People like that, you learn from every day. And you remember that, when you've got the youngsters underneath you. And God love her, my former wife gave me the opportunity to leave the corporate world and go do this. Fortunately, it took off!” The biggest leap of all, of course, was owed to Biszantz. The respect between them is unequivocal. As Biszantz puts it, in his interview: “It was his farm, I just lived there!” Owens says that they were always perfectly willing to have an argument without falling out. Mind you, one party obviously tended to be in a somewhat stronger position. Briefed to run the farm as a business, for instance, Owens asked for two bands of broodmares-one from which to sell, another from which to race. “But as soon as he saw that nice colt over there, it was, 'No, I want to keep this one!'” Owens says wryly. “And I'd say, 'Gary, that pays the bills for the year.' 'Well, we'll worry about that later.' That's pretty much the way he was. I said, 'Okay, Gary, you pull the trigger. We'll do our best to make it work.' But we had a bunch of clients the last several years. I foaled out 30 mares last year. And we've sold some good horses. But as soon as that happened, he wanted to go buy another one!” Biszantz was already nearly 80 when spending a record $430,000 at the 2013 New York-breds' sale at Saratoga. “They had watched the sale that first night and Betty Bisantz said, 'You know Gary, I'll partner on a horse with you.' So that morning Robin and I came up with a shortlist of six or seven and he said, 'Come on Betty, let's go look at horses.' And Betty's got a sharp eye for a horse.” They came back with a Tapit filly at the top of their list. “I said, 'Betty, that's your sale-topper right there,'” Owens recalls. “'You're not going to afford her.' Well, you don't tell Gary Biszantz that! And afterwards all the news people are around him, and I can hear him right now: 'Oh yeah, we got a plan. We'll get her broken and we'll send her to Clement and she'll be my next broodmare when we're done.' And I said, 'I thought I was out of the broodmare business! I guess I'm back in.' But that's Gary Bisantz for you, to a T.” Nor is the team done yet. They're still doing the odd pinhook, even have the odd mare in foal. “That's what I liked best, and what I did for the longest time: foaling mares,” Owens says. “Because you never know where the next one's coming from. Look at Thorpedo Anna. There's something for everyone, at every level. I was in the winner's circle with Open Mind as a 2-year-old. Jeanne had foaled her. Somebody had culled her as one that was never going to make it. She was named because Wayne Lukas saw her and said, 'Oh, let's keep an open mind about this one.' That's what makes this thing fun. You just have to keep doing it, get them to the gate. And the good ones pop up. Horses keep you honest. You just have to give them a chance.” The post Owens the Cornerstone of Cobra Farm appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Jockey Cristian Torres hit a personal milestone Friday, Jan. 2 when he piloted Tiz in Sight (Tiz the Law) to victory against starter optional claimers, and in the process secured Oaklawn win 300 in his career. Torres moved tack to the venue in early 2021, and produced one of the best seasons in the track's history in 2022-23 when he finished with 100 victories and over $6.1-million in earnings. It was a single-season local record, and he joined a rarified group as Hall of Famer Pat Day is the only other jockey to reach 100 wins at an Oaklawn meeting. Torres was also the riding champion in 2023-24 with 82 trips to the winner's enclosure, and finished second last year with 62. “Really happy to accomplish that here, the place that I call home,” Torres said after Friday's final race. “Just to win 300, in what, four or five years? I'm just really thankful to all the trainers and the owners that have supported me. It took a little time to give them the confidence to let me ride their horses. The post Cristian Torres Hits 300 Career Oaklawn Wins appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Opportune black type awaits some of the five fillies and mares contesting the $100,000 Las Flores Stakes (G3) Jan. 4 at Santa Anita Park.View the full article

My World (Essential Quality), winner of the Nashua S. at Aqueduct Nov. 1, made it three straight wins in Saturday's $150,000 Jerome S. at the Big A, good for 10 points on the road to the Kentucky Derby. The gray, off at odds of 5-2 in this scratched-down field of four, trailed the quartet through an opening quarter in :23.58. He began to make his move on the far turn, set his sights on favored Balboa (Not This Time) at the quarter pole and kept on coming in the stretch to win by 1 1/2 lengths. My World becomes the fourth black-type winner from the first crop of Essential Quality. The winner's dam MSW & GSP Quebec (Into Mischief), a $105,000 purchase by breeder Cove Springs at the 2019 Keeneland November Sale, had a colt by Uncle Mo in 2024 and a filly by Constitution in 2025. She was bred back to Independence Hall. Sales history: $350,000 yrl '24 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-0. O-LaPenta, Robert V. & Madaket Stables LLC. B-Cove Springs, LLC. T-Brad H. Cox. MY WORLD ($7.24) earns 10 points toward the @KentuckyDerby as he takes the $150,000 Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct. The son of @DarleyAmerica's Essential Quality was ridden by Jaime Rodriguez, trained by @bradcoxracing and owned by @RVLaPentaStable and @MadaketStables. pic.twitter.com/pCb9l5VOcV — FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) January 3, 2026 The post My World Outboxes Balboa in Jerome appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Jockey Alex Birzer recorded his 4,000th Thoroughbred victory Jan. 2 at Delta Downs when he piloted Big Duck to victory in the fifth race. The 52-year-old rider also has 51 wins aboard Quarter Horses.View the full article

7th-GP, 84K, Msw, 3yo, f, 1m, 3:18 p.m. The Danny Gargan-trained SONG OF SARAH (Curlin) makes her Gulfstream Park debut Sunday for owners CSLR Racing Partners, R. A. Hill Stable and Belmar Racing and Breeding. The $140,000 Keeneland September yearling turned $500,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale grad of last year is the latest foal out of Canadian Champion Older Mare Embur's Song who banked north of $616,000 in her own racing career including a track record-setting score in Keeneland's GIII Hilliard Lyons Doubledogdare Stakes. Embur's Song is also a half-sister to the stakes-placed dam of MGISW and sire Exaggerator (Curlin). Song of Sarah drew the rail in this one-turn mile and gets Hall of Famer John Velazquez aboard. Making her second start and looking to go one better is Paradise (Gun Runner), a daughter of MGSW/MGISP Venetian Harbor. Picked up for $700,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale as a yearling, Paradise debuted in a six-furlong spot at Churchill Downs Nov. 13 where she broke at the back but finished up nicely to run second 1 1/4 lengths behind the winner. Brad Cox will give the leg up to Edgard Zayas who replaces jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. Sunday. TJCIS PPS The post Sunday Insights: Curlin Filly Draws The Rail For Gulfstream Debut appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

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