Wandering Eyes

LILIES N PARADISE (f, 2, Maxfield–Why Oh You, by Yes It's True) was shoved across the line by Edgar Morales to become the second winner from the first crop to the races for her promising young sire (by Street Sense) in the Friday opener at Churchill Downs. Off only fairly from the three hole, the bay filly was hustled along to keep tabs on the leading trio, including Lael Stables' well-backed Pulstar (Kantharos), who made the running three off the inside going into the turn. Morales elected to chase that rival approaching the stretch and the rider had plenty of horse beneath him when he asked her to accelerate three or four deep leaving the quarter pole. Edging to her inside despite being ridden left-handed into the final eighth of a mile, Lilies N Paradise was rebalanced, came after the front-runner with time ticking away and was home about a head to the good in :52.09. A P Sweetheart (American Pharoah) rallied nicely for third, while the fourth-placed Muriel Sax (Code of Honor) caught the leaders with a strong gallop-out into the turn. A $200,000 Keeneland September yearling, Lilies N Paradise was hammered down for that same amount after breezing a quarter-mile in :21 flat at this year's OBS April Sale. Sales history: $200,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP; $200,000 2yo '25 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0. O-Paradise Farms Corp & Case Chambers; B-St Simon Place (KY); T-Mike Maker. Lillies N Paradise ($20.46) breaks her maiden on debut in the Friday opener @ChurchillDowns for trainer Mike Maker. The 2-year-old filly by @DarleyAmerica Stallion Maxfield was ridden to victory by jockey Edgar Morales. TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/MjYI3icLiC — TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) June 6, 2025 The post Lilies N Paradise A Second Winner For Freshman Sire Maxfield appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Let go at odds just north of 9-1 for the customarily patient Bill Mott barn, Godolphin's RAGTIME (f, 3, Union Rags–Burmilla, by Storm Cat) went to hot favorite Endorse (Curlin) with less than a furlong to race in Friday's second race maiden at Saratoga and kicked home nicely to score by four lengths en route to a 'TDN Rising Star'. Drawn the rail for the Sovereignty connections, the homebred was away without incident beneath Junior Alvarado and made ground inside to sit just ahead of midfield and behind the four-strong leading group into the turn. Under a tight hold rounding the bend, Ragtime followed the move of 4-5 Endorse into the stretch, came after that Repole runner at the furlong grounds and powered clear, covering the final eighth of a mile in a strong :12.34 seconds while clocking 1:23.24 for the seven-furlong distance. The cleverly named Filly Freedom (Constitution), a generous 27-1 for top connections, got home nicely for second, while Endorse was forced to settle for third. It was a gap of five lengths back to the Brown-conditioned debutante Lost Horizon (Into Mischief) in fourth. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Bill Mott. EYE CATCHING DEBUT Ragtime ($20.40) shines with a stunning debut performance under jockey @JuniorandKellyA for Hall of Fame & KY Derby winning trainer Bill Mott for owner @godolphin versus MSW company. pic.twitter.com/EsinZyvWd5 — TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) June 6, 2025 The post Union Rags Filly Ragtime Races Away To Earn ‘Rising Star’ Honors on Saratoga Debut appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Woodbine has cancelled its live card due to poor air quality, the racetrack said in a press release on Friday. Environment Canada's air quality index for Toronto is listed as 'High Risk' and is expected to remain at this level throughout Friday. Woodbine Entertainment's decision to cancel comes through consultation with the HBPA and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and is consistent with the AGCO's air quality guidelines. This cancellation was made in the best interests of the health and safety of the horses and racing participants. Woodbine will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as required. The next card of live racing is scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. ET. The post Friday Live Racing Cancelled At Woodbine Due To Poor Air Quality appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Multiple Group 1 winner Porta Fortuna will miss a start at Royal Ascot later this month after picking up a “small injury”, according to trainer Donnacha O'Brien who announced the news on Instagram. Connections had been mulling a start in either the G2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes or the G1 Queen Anne Stakes at Ascot. A runner for Barry Fowler, Medallion Racing, Steve Weston and Reeves Thoroughbreds, the 4-year-old will be away from the races until later this year. “Unfortunately Porta Fortuna has picked up a small injury and will miss Ascot,” O'Brien posted on Friday. “We look forward to getting her back on track later this year.” The daughter of Caravaggio was a Group 1 winner at two and three, with the Cheveley Park Stakes, Coronation Stakes, Falmouth Stakes and Matron Stakes going her way. Her latest trip to the post was a victory in the G2 Lanwades Stud Stakes at The Curragh on May 25, her 4-year-old bow. The post Porta Fortuna To Miss Royal Ascot After Sustaining A “Small Injury” appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Ballydoyle's dominance was again on display in Friday's G1 Betfred Oaks as Frankel's Minnie Hauk led home Wootton Bassett's Whirl for a stable one-two. Only getting started when winning the Listed Cheshire Oaks last month, the 9-2 second favourite sauntered around behind that companion before being committed by Ryan Moore heading to two out. Soon in command, the Derrick Smith colour-bearer was possibly idling as she let the Musidora winner Twirl back in close home and gave extra when joined near the line to prevail by a neck. There was a four-length gap back to the 11-10 favourite Desert Flower, with that daughter of Night Of Thunder never looking happy in her quest for the 1,000 Guineas-Oaks double. Minnie Hauk repels stablemate Whirl to land the @Betfred Oaks for Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore! pic.twitter.com/SGV54AKYhq — Racing TV (@RacingTV) June 6, 2025 The post Oaks Number 11 For O’Brien As Frankel’s Minnie Hauk Leads Stable One Two appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Making it ten Coronation Cups for Aidan O'Brien on Friday, Galileo's Jan Brueghel shed his playboy image to tough it out in an Epsom battle royal with Gleneagles's Calandagan. Raw and green despite winning a St Leger during his unbeaten 3-year-old campaign, the 10-3 second favourite followed the pace before being launched approaching two out by Ryan Moore. Tackled by that 8-13 favourite and headed inside the last furlong, the full-brother to the Irish Derby hero Sovereign pulled out extra to prevail by half a length, with a yawning seven lengths back to Mastercraftsman's Giavellotto in third. “The pace was honest and even and in that ground you were going to have to get the mile and a half very well and we knew that if we were going to expose His Highness's horse it was going to be over this trip,” the master of Ballydoyle said. “If he was going to challenge in slow motion, he was going to find it hard to get by him and that's exactly what happened–Jan Brueghel doesn't lie down. He is very straightforward and he's brave.” St Leger hero Jan Brueghel bounces back and holds off Calandagan in a thrilling @Betfred Coronation Cup for Ryan Moore and Aidan O'Brien! pic.twitter.com/Q2b4RDfisS — Racing TV (@RacingTV) June 6, 2025 The post Ten Up For O’Brien As Galileo’s Jan Brueghel Wins Coronation Cup Thriller appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Godolphin's£720,000 Goffs UK Breeze-Up graduate Maximized (Mehmas) delivered a TDN Rising Star display in his debut over six furlongs at Haydock last month and, burdened with a five-pound penalty for that initial victory, doubled his tally with a dominant performance in Friday's former stakes-level Betfred British EBF Woodcote Stakes at Epsom. The Cheveley Park Stud-bred lined up as the 6-5 favourite and was swiftly into stride to track the leaders in a share of third through the early fractions. Rowed along to gain an edge passing the quarter-mile marker, he was not for catching thereafter and kept on strongly under continued urging in the closing stages to defeat Havana Hurricane (Havana Gold) by an ultimately comfortable 1 1/2 lengths. “He skipped along the surface when he won at Haydock first time, but it's good-to-soft here and the ground is quite testing out there today,” commented Charlie Appleby. “The [Royal] Ascot picture is building now and if we go there it'll probably be the [G2] Coventry. If we skip that, I think the [G2] July Stakes [at Newmarket] will be a nice race for him.” Maximized is the latest of five foals and one of two scorers produced by a daughter of G1 Cheveley Park Stakes heroine Hooray (Invincible Spirit), herself a out of Listed Star Stakes winner Hypnotize (Machiavellian). Hypnotize, who is a half-sister to Group 2-winning G1 1000 Guineas third Dazzle (Gone West), also threw Listed Criterium de l'Ouest victor Hypnotic (Lomitas) and Listed Two-Year-Old Trophy third Mazyoun (Mayson). The April-foaled bay is a half to Listed Cathedral Stakes victrix and G3 Ballyogan Stakes runner-up Benefit (Acclamation). £720,000 buy Maximized makes it two from two in the @Betfred @BritishEBF Woodcote Stakes for William Buick, Charlie Appleby and Godolphin @EpsomRacecourse pic.twitter.com/QkOkbdbiN6 — Racing TV (@RacingTV) June 6, 2025 The post Mehmas’s TDN Rising Star Maximized Goes Two-For-Two at Epsom appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Epsom racecourse and the sponsor Betfred are to be saluted on their decision to run this year's Derby 'In Honour of His Highness Aga Khan IV'. No family has been a more constant competitor in the Derby over the past century than the Aga Khans. Most recently, HH Aga Khan IV, who died in February, headed the family's racing operation for 65 years, during which time he earned the respect and affection of professionals and public alike thanks to his unique blend of passion, knowledge, sportsmanship, courtesy and dignity. The Aga Khan's grandfather, HH Aga Khan III, joined Europe's ranks of racehorse owners in 1921 when, advised by the Honourable George Lambton, he bought his first yearlings. When he started to have runners (at Ascot, of course!) the following summer he was instantly successful. His first runner Cos took the Queen Mary Stakes and Tricky Aunt won the Windsor Castle Stakes. Later in the summer Bombay Duck won the Richmond Stakes at Goodwood. That first bunch of yearlings, so astutely bought by Lambton, then threw up Classic contenders in 1923: Cos finished second in the 1,000 Guineas and Teresina finished third in both the Oaks and St Leger. Even better was to follow. HH Aga Khan III's second batch of yearlings, bought in 1922, was headed by the most influential mare who would ever grace the Aga Khan Studs, 'The Flying Filly' Mumtaz Mahal. Also in that bunch was the 1924 2,000 Guineas winner Diophon and the same year's St Leger hero Salmon-Trout. Both colts ran in the Derby but finished unplaced behind the 17th Earl of Derby's Sansovino. The following year HH Aga Khan III first came close to winning the great race when the well-named Zionist (a son of the Roi Herode mare Judea, and subsequently winner of the Irish Derby) finished second to Henry Morriss's 2,000 Guineas winner Manna. Five years after owning his first Derby place-getter, HH Aga Khan III owned his first Derby winner when Blenheim scored at Epsom. By this time, the Aga Khan was already breeding a large proportion of his horses. His homebred three-year-olds that year included the Eclipse and Champion Stakes winner Rustom Pasha (a son of Cos) and Irish Oaks heroine Theresina, who was by Diophon out of Teresina. However, Blenheim had been bought as a yearling from his breeder, the 6th Earl of Carnvaron. HH Aga Khan owned two more Derby winners in the 1930s, both home breds. First came the 1935 Triple Crown hero Bahram, a son of the Friar Marcus mare Friar's Daughter whom the Aga Khan's trainer Dick Dawson had bought on the Aga Khan's behalf for 250 guineas at the St Leger yearling sale in 1922. The following year the great race fell to the brilliant grey colt Mahmoud, trained like Bahram by Frank Butters in Fitzroy House, Newmarket. Mahmoud, a son of Blenheim, was the first foal of Mah Mahal, who was by Gainsborough out of Mumtaz Mahal. HH Aga Khan III owned two more Derby winners after the war: My Love (whom he raced in partnership with the colt's breeder Leon Volterra) in 1948 and Tulyar in 1952. He bred the latter, a son of his homebred wartime St Leger winner Tehran, in partnership with his son Prince Aly, father of HH Aga Khan IV, from the Nearco mare Neocracy, who subsequently produced the 1959 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Saint Crespin. Tragically, Prince Aly Khan, a passionate sportsman and talented horseman, only enjoyed a brief term as head of the family's racing operation, was fatally injured in a car crash in 1960 only three years after the death of his father. His premature passing placed the 23-year-old HH Aga Khan IV at the head of the bloodstock empire. Initially hesitant, the latter then decided to take up the mantle seriously and with enthusiasm. Over the next 65 years he guided the Aga Khan Studs to an ever more eminent position in the bloodstock world, gracing winner's enclosures on great occasions all around the globe – including on Derby Day at Epsom five times. HH Aga Khan IV must have had high hopes of winning his first Derby in 1977 when the brilliant Blushing Groom, trained by his friend and mentor Francois Mathet, started favourite after an impressive victory in the Poule d'Essai des Poulains. However, he turned out to be less effective over a mile and a half, weakening in the closing stages to finish third to The Minstrel. HH Aga Khan IV at Epsom after Harzand's win with HM Queen Elizabeth II and Pat Smullen | Racingfotos Four years later there were no stamina worries when the mighty Shergar, a fifth-generation descendant of Mumtaz Mahal, justified odds-on favouritism to become the widest-margin Derby winner in history, scoring by 10 lengths. Other great days followed. In 1986 Shahrastani lowered the colours of the great Dancing Brave, holding off the latter's flying finish by half a length before, like Shergar, strolling home in the Irish Derby a month later. In 1988 Kahyasi, wearing the Aga Khan's green and brown hooped 'second' colours (which had been his grandfather's principal livery) won the great race with the owner's first string, the 2,000 Guineas winner Doyoun, finishing third. Kahyasi's seventh dam Qurrat-Al-Ain, winner at Ascot of the Queen Mary Stakes in 1929 and the Coronation Stakes in 1930, had been bought as a yearling in 1928 by HH Aga Khan III. In 2000 Sinndar won a Derby notable for the fact that both winner and runner-up (Sakhee) subsequently won a Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. The Aga Khan didn't quite reach the winner's enclosure in 2003 when Alamshar, also descending from Mumtaz Mahal, came from a long way back to finish third to Kris Kin. Subsequent events, though, suggested that he was owner/breeder of the two best colts in Europe that summer. Alamshar won the Irish Derby next time out, beating his owner's first string Dalakhani, who had just won the Prix du Jockey Club and who went on to take the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in the autumn. Alamshar then won the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. HH Aga Khan's final Derby triumph came in 2016 with Harzand, another to complete the Derby and Irish Derby double. He did not have a runner last year in the final Derby of his lifetime but he enjoyed a good Epsom even so because Ezeliya won the Oaks. It is very fitting that this year's Derby will be run in his honour and if his daughter Princess Zahra were to find herself stepping forward to receive the winner's trophy on behalf of the Aga Khan Studs' runner Midak, she would be doing so accompanied by cheers of approval from the entire racing world. The post The Aga Khans and the Derby appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Leonard Stewart has made his presence felt on Waimate Cup Day in recent years, and the highly respected Timaru horseman is looking forward to another edition of the feature winter meeting at Phar Lap Raceway on Sunday. Stewart saddled Take The Deel to win the Dunstan Horsefeeds Waimate Cup in 2021 and Vague to repeat that result in 2022. The race was run over 2200m in both of those years but has subsequently changed to 1600m. Stewart had three runners in the 2023 edition, which was won by Zelenski. In a blow to the South Canterbury region, last year’s Waimate Cup meeting was abandoned after only two races. “I’m looking forward to Sunday, hopefully it will be a really good day’s racing after we missed out on the meeting last year,” Stewart said. “Waimate is a good club and I’m pleased that they’re holding their licence. “But the track conditions might be a factor this weekend. We’ve had a huge amount of rain, especially overnight on Wednesday when it rained all through the night. A few of the races might come down to a bit of luck and who handles the conditions the best.” Stewart, who turns 93 this month, is back with another multi-pronged contingent for the Waimate Cup. The 2022 winner Vague could shoot for a second win in the $30,000 feature, while Sympathique – a nine-race winner including two of her last four starts – has lightweight claims with only 50kg on her back. “Vague managed to win the race a few years ago and might be a chance again this year, although I’m a bit worried about the track conditions,” Stewart said. “She’s a very nice-actioned galloper who doesn’t really handle the very deep tracks. But she is going into this weekend in good order. “Sympathique is one of those battlers who doesn’t mind wet ground. She’s racing well and has the ability to run along. She’s a runner’s chance.” Stewart has a total of 10 horses entered for his home track on Sunday and is keen on Koyama’s prospects in the Waimate RC Life Members Rating 65 (1600m). The four-year-old has won three races and hinted at a return to his best form with a creditable last-start second at Wingatui. All of his three wins have come on heavy tracks, and apprentice jockey Teddy Ladouceur’s 4kg claim will reduce his impost to 56kg. “I do like Koyama,” Stewart said. “He’s not a very big horse, but he’s drawn well in gate four and should get a nice suck along from there. Teddy, Bruce Tapper’s apprentice, is riding well and seems to get on nicely with the horse. I think he’s quite well placed in that race.” Stewart’s other well-credentialled entries for Sunday include Destiny’s Purpose, who looks close to a maiden win in the GM Accounting & Consulting Maiden (1200m) after finishing strongly for a close third at Ashburton last time out. View the full article

With Victoria in desperate need of rain, trainer Michael Kent is hopeful of getting through the early part of the Flemington meeting with not too much falling. Kent has Samuel Langhorne (NZ) (Shocking) engaged in the opening race at Flemington on Saturday, the TAB We’re On (2520m) and the trainer does not want the track to be too rain-affected. On Friday the track was rated a Soft 6 with showers developing, while on Saturday the Bureau Of Meteorology is forecasting a 95% chance of between 3 and 9mm of rain. “He’s not a wet tracker, so I’ll be keeping an eye on that, but being the first race, he’s a bit of a chance, but a lot of rain wouldn’t be good for him,” Kent said. Samuel Langhorne struck a purple patch of staying form last year that saw him strike wins at Sandown, Bendigo and Flemington before running sixth to The Map in last year’s Melbourne Cup qualifier, the Listed Andrew Ramsden (2800m). The stayer started his summer program in good fashion, running second at Ballarat, before he produced three disappointing efforts. “He had a good campaign last year and he started well for a summer campaign but then ran poorly at Sandown a couple of times,” Kent said. “I don’t think he handled the hill as he’s a big, long-striding horse, so I thought I would wait for Flemington as there’s a series of staying races, providing the tracks don’t get too wet. “But I’ve been struggling to find the right races for him. “I had him in at Moonee Valley one day and the track fell apart, so I late scratched him, and then I ran him at Flemington last time on not suitable ground, but he ran OK. “The extra trip suits him, so hopefully the ground is not too bad.” Blaike McDougall, who rode Samuel Langhorne to victories at Bendigo and Flemington, reunites with the stayer for the first time since they were paired for success on Anzac Day last year. View the full article

Two weeks after an impressive win in a 1400m three-year-old race at Te Rapa, Te Awamutu trainers Katrina and Simon Alexander are sticking to a similar formula with talented filly Acapelago at Ellerslie this weekend. The daughter of Belardo scored a commanding victory on May 24, dominating from the front in the hands of jockey Kelly Myers and keeping herself well out of the reach of placegetters Ziggy Stardust and Renovations. The Alexanders will stick to age-group company and 1400m on Saturday, saddling Acapelago in the Sistema (1400m). “I’ve been really happy with her and she’s trained on beautifully,” Katrina Alexander said. “She seems to be absolutely thriving in this preparation and certainly looks that way physically. I really can’t fault her work at all. She’s heading back to Ellerslie on Saturday, where she’s raced well previously. “My only possible concern is sticking to the 1400m, because it’s possible that she might be ready to go a little bit further than that now. But I’ve been mindful of that, so our training has been a mixture of keeping her fit while also trying to maintain that freshness and brightness. “She’s really pleased us with everything she’s done over the last couple of weeks and we couldn’t be happier with her leading into Saturday. It’s a nice chance for her to have another race against three-year-olds before we work out a plan around what we might do with her next.” Racing in the colours of her co-breeders and part-owners Haunui Farm, Acapelago is out of the six-race winner and Group Two fourth placegetter Acapela. That Elusive City mare’s other progeny include the Listed Castletown Stakes (1200m) winner Flaunting. Acapelago has had nine starts for two wins and four placings. She has drawn handily in gate three on Saturday and will continue her association with Myers, who has guided her to a win and a placing from two previous mounts. The Alexander stable’s other two runners at Ellerslie on Saturday are in the day’s open handicap features – Midnight Scandal in the Evergreen Bloodstock (1400m) and Major Major in the Trackside.co.nz (2100m). Three-race winner Midnight Scandal ran a bold race resuming at Ellerslie on May 17, finishing second and beaten by only a half-head by Old Bill Bone in her first start since October. “She’s certainly an above-average mare at this time of year, and that was a fantastic performance first-up,” Alexander said. “She appears to have developed tremendously in that last spell. “She’s at an awkward point in the ratings now (77) and has to step up into open grade, but at this time of year, she has the ability to be very competitive in that company when she has conditions to suit. “A lot of her best performances have come on quite heavy ground, so Ellerslie’s new track might have been a bit of a worry, but she let down very well on it last time.” Major Major is stepping up to 2100m after a series of 1600m runs, which included a strong win at Pukekohe on April 23 before a last-start fifth at Hawera on May 18. The Pins gelding has a good record over 2100m, with three wins and a placing from six attempts. “He’s ready for that increased distance now,” Alexander said. “I’m willing to forgive his last-start performance at Hawera. At his age, he needs regular racing to keep his fitness up. He struck a very heavy track at Hawera, but we needed to build his fitness and had to run him. “Kelly’s back on him on Saturday, and she’s won on him before. He has his quirks, so that familiarity is an advantage. With anything similar to his win at Pukekohe two starts ago, he wouldn’t be far away at the finish on Saturday.” View the full article

Byerley Park trainer Steven Cole will head to Ellerslie with a quartet of runners on Saturday, and he is particularly upbeat about the chances of Pacific Breeze in the Network Visuals 1200. The two-year-old son of North Pacific has pleased Cole with his progression since making his debut at Te Aroha in February, and he will use Saturday’s assignment as a qualifier for the $60,000 ITM/GIB 2YO Winter Championship Final at Ruakaka later this month. “I am really happy with him, he trialled up well at Waipa the other day with the blinkers on, carrying plenty of weight with Ryan (Elliot) riding him. He was really happy with him and he seems to have trained on well,” Cole said. “He was pretty unlucky in his first start when Sam (Spratt) rode him at Te Aroha and then he won well down the line (at Waverley). He ran in the Group One (Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes, 1400m) and wasn’t disgraced. He had a freshen-up after that and seems to have come back well. “He gets a perfect gate (3) on Saturday, and you can do what you want from there as long as they jump well. “All going to plan, he can have one more run afterwards in the Ruakaka series final and then have a little break before the spring.” Stablemate and last start runner-up Chicago Jack will be looking to go one better when he contests the Yourride 1200. “He went massive last start,” Cole said. “He got well out of his ground and really flashed home late. He seems to have trained on well and has a decent enough barrier (10). Hopefully he can sit a little off the speed and be running home late. “It looks a pretty open field without any standouts, and I expect him to be right there.” Cole will also be represented by Customized in the Sistema 1400 and Hard Attack in the Thank You ATR Partners 1200. “Customized has been gelded since his last start, he just got quite colty,” Cole said. “He had a quiet trial at Waipa the other day and I expect a cheeky run from him fresh-up over 1400m. “Hard Attack will improve a lot from her first run, she went in there without a trial. She has a good draw (1) with three kilos off and we will look to push forward, and she should be a cheeky runner’s chance.” View the full article

Andrew Forsman has four runners spread across three venues on Saturday, including a pair of three-year-olds at Flemington who will try to follow up strong last-start performances at the Melbourne track. Yaldi will step up in distance to contest the Darren Galley Mile (1600m), in which he will carry 60kg and will be ridden by Declan Bates. The winner of the Gr.2 Auckland Guineas (1400m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day, Yaldi was a last-start third placegetter over 1400m at Flemington on May 17. He carried 59.5kg in that race and was beaten by only 0.2 lengths by Zourain and Hot Digity Boom. Zourain is among the opposition again on Saturday and rises from 54kg to 56.5kg. “That was a very good effort,” Forsman said. “He just might have raced a little bit too keenly for his own good, which dulled his sprint a little bit at the end of the race. But it was a nice, genuine run and he’s come through it well. “The blinkers come off this week and we’re testing the waters a little bit by stepping up in distance. I’m not convinced he’s a genuine miler, but if he shows us this weekend that he can be competitive over that trip, it’ll open up a lot more options for him.” All of the two wins and five placings in Yaldi’s 11-race career have come over distances ranging from 1200m to 1500m. His one previous try at 1600m produced a seventh behind Damask Rose in the Karaka Millions 3YO at Ellerslie in January. Meanwhile, talented staying three-year-old Prochester will line up in Saturday’s Country Racing It’s Got It All Trophy (2000m). The Proisir gelding was a maiden winner over 2200m at Waverley in late January, then finished fifth in the Gr.2 Waikato Guineas (2000m) and third in the Gr.3 Manawatu Classic (2100m) before relocating to Forsman’s Flemington stable. His first start on that side of the Tasman produced a close fifth over 2000m at Flemington on May 17, beaten by less than three lengths by Gr.1 Queensland Derby (2400m) contender Politely Dun. “He was great,” Forsman said. “He got on the heels of the horses in front of him a little bit in the straight, but he kept coming to the line. He finished close behind them and probably should have run fourth. “We’ve been happy with him since then. It’s just a shame he’s drawn poorly this time (gate 17 in a full field of 16 plus four emergencies). He’s not going to get as good a run as he had last start, which will make it a bit harder for him.” Back home, the Cambridge branch of Forsman’s operation will send out Zanzibar in the Happy Hire (1600m) at Trentham and Pharaoh’s Dream in the Yourride (1200m) at Ellerslie. “Zanzibar scored a good, tough maiden win at New Plymouth last start,” Forsman said. “He sat outside the leader and had to do plenty of work, but fought hard down the straight. A similar performance on Saturday would see him be competitive again. “Pharaoh’s Dream is a lot better than what she showed at Te Rapa. We were scratching our heads a little bit after that race. There was a loose horse and she struck some interference coming down the side, and it’s almost like she switched off completely after that and had no interest in taking part. “She seemed to pull up well after the race and has had a quiet trial since then. The blinkers go on this weekend. Hopefully she’ll produce a performance that’s a better reflection of what she’s capable of.” View the full article

Tony Pike will have a quartet of runners by necessity rather than design in Saturday’s two-year-old contest at Ellerslie. The Cambridge trainer will be represented by trial winners Arthur, Ashoka, Boombox and Happy Youmzain in the Network Visuals Juvenile (1200m). “It was never the intention to run four together, but they are all nice, progressive two-year-olds that I want to give a run to,” Pike said. “They can then have a break with race day experience under their belts going into their three-year-old seasons. “This is probably the last chance to get a reasonable surface so our hand will be forced to run all four.” Pike leaned toward Hello Youmzain first-timer Ashoka and the resuming Boombox, by Spirit Of Boom, as the two best chances. “The most forward are probably Ashoka and Boombox, they are more natural type two-year-olds,” Pike said. “The other two are lovely horses as well, when they get up to a mile, and should be getting home strongly late.” Boombox finished fifth on debut before a break and was a recent trial winner on the synthetic track at Cambridge while Ashoka was successful in his latest heat at Te Awamutu while Arthur was successful on the same day. “Ashoka was bred by my parents (Wayne and Vicki) before she was on sold after a barrier trial and Happy Youmzain is owned by Hong Kong clients,” Pike said. “All of the Hello Youmzains I’ve got are showing plenty of ability.” One of those emphasised that on King’s Birthday Monday at Te Aroha where Cream Tart followed up her debut second with a victory romp by nearly eight lengths. “We expected something like that, she’s pretty smart and at Matamata she missed the kick from the outside gate and got a bit lost,” Pike said. “She showed an amazing turn of foot to get there almost too soon and got stuck in the worst of the track. “She didn’t have the easiest of runs on Monday and I don’t know how good the others are, but she put a big space on them. “She’s a promising filly and went straight out for a month in the paddock before she comes back for the fillies’ series and a path to the 1000 Guineas (Gr.1, 1600m), so we’ll see where she gets to.” Cream Tart was bred by Windsor Park Stud and purchased out of their draft at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale by Pike for $220,000. “We wanted to buy a well-bred filly that year and she’s a half-sister to (two-time Group One winner) Mustang Valley,” he said. “We missed out on a fair few and she was late in the sale and the last of the fillies we liked.” Pike has also enjoyed black-type success with another of Hello Youmzain’s daughters following Lucy In The Sky’s victory in the Listed Champagne Stakes (1200m). It was her second win from three appearances and finished sixth in the Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m) in between times. “She’s a homebred for Cambridge Stud who gave to us to train, which was very nice,” Pike said. The stable also liked the chances at Ellerslie of Awatere and Arundel Castle in the Thanks For Your Service Ross Coles (1600m), although confidence has taken a hit. “We’ve copped some horror barrier draws and they’ve drawn 19 and 22 (respectively),” Pike said. Delz Abeel has also been handed gate 20 in the Thank You ATR Partners Maiden (1200m). Meanwhile, stablemate Thooza has drawn ideally in two for the Sistema 3YO (1400m) following her sound resuming run on the track for fourth. “She’s up to 1400m and I think she should be a strong chance in that race,” Pike said. View the full article

After a stunning fresh-up performance at Trentham, Spencer has another task on his hands as he carries topweight in his first appearance at Ellerslie on Saturday. The emerging star of last winter, Spencer swept through the grades in a campaign that was headlined by a breakthrough victory in the Gr.3 Spring Sprint (1400m) in October. Resuming with a rating of 94 at Trentham last month, Spencer carried 58kg after a three-kilogram claim, but that didn’t stop him from dominating his lesser-weighted rivals with considerable ease. Erin Hocquard, who prepares the son of Derryn at Waverley, was rapt with the effort and how he has progressed in the three weeks’ in between. “I was just hoping he would go a good race at Trentham, I was a bit worried about the weight but he’s pretty tough,” she said. “He’s just been ticking along since then, he’s pretty happy with himself.” Spencer will make his debut at headquarters in a competitive Evergreen Bloodstock 1400, with apprentice jockey Liam Kauri given the nod to ride on this occasion, claiming three kilograms off his 62kg impost. The race will also be the gelding’s first attempt right-handed, and while hopeful of a bold showing, Hocquard would have preferred a handier draw than the extreme outside he has been assigned on Saturday. “He’s never raced right-handed, but he’s had a couple of gallops at home going the other way,” she said. “It would’ve been nice if he’d drawn in a bit so something could cuddle him around the corner, but I’m sure he’ll be fine. “With the weight, I wouldn’t be wanting the track to get too wet as well, they’ve had quite a bit of rain up there.” Despite these factors, Spencer is currently a $4.20 favourite in the open contest, ahead of an in-form Sterling Express ($4.60) and Group Two winner Bourbon Empress ($5.50). View the full article

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-bred horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Friday's Observations features the return of a Mehmas 'TDN Rising Star'. 2.05 Epsom, Betfred British EBF Woodcote Stakes (Conditions), £75,000, 2yo, 6f 3yT MAXIMIZED (GB) (Mehmas {Ire}) earned TDN Rising Star status at Haydock on debut and is put the test in this downhill slalom for the Woodcote which used to carry Listed status and was won in 2019 by Pinatubo. Godolphin's half-brother to the Listed scorer and Group 3-placed Benefit and grandson of the G1 Cheveley Park Stakes heroine Hooray was at £720,000 the second-highest-priced juvenile at the Goffs UK Breeze-Up and that early experience will stand him in good stead here. 6.40 Doncaster, Novice, 3yo, 8fT MUDBIR (GB) (Kingman {GB}) bids to follow up his win at Chelmsford 15 days previously and enhance his family's reputation as a half-brother to the stable's Group 1 winners Mostahdaf and Nazeef. Shadwell's homebred is also under the care of the Gosdens, who may be plotting a path to better things and who will get a gauge on his ability via some smart opposition here. Also lurking is Clipper Logistics' newcomer Lone Warrior (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), an Andrew Balding-trained half-brother to Invincible Spirit's classy Ghostwriter. The post Mehmas’s Maximized Takes Aim At The Woodcote appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

By Michael Guerin Steve Telfer knows one of the hottest runs in New Zealand racing history has to end soon. But that may not be tonight. Telfer and his sister Amanda trained a staggering 18 winners harness racing winners in a 10-day space up to last Sunday, more winners than a lot of successful stables train in an entire season. It is possible an equine stable has put up similar numbers before, maybe on a circuit dominated by one trainer, but good luck trying to find it. The blitz saw them go from 21 behind premiership leader Michael House to now only being two behind him, following the stable’s win with Secrets Abound at Cambridge last night. That also saw them shorted from $3.50 to $1.15 to win the premiership, which officially ends on December 31 but might be over well before then the way the Telfer Tornado is going. Telfer almost laughs when thinking about the winning run, which looks set to continue to Alexandra Park and Addington tonight. “Things have really fallen into place,” he says. “We had quite a few horses down in the grades who are very talented and they are coming back now and showing their worth. “We deliberately put some horses aside earlier in the year to bring back at this stage of the season and many of them are on quite low ratings and should be able to race through the winter. “We have good numbers, the Christchurch barn is operating well and the horses are being driven well. “That and with good staff and the incredible investment Stocky [Stonewall Stud owner Steve Stockman] puts in we are in a great position.” Telfer knows the roll can’t continue forever but likes his chances in the first two races at Alexandra Park tonight. “I think Debrief (R1, No 6) might have too much speed for most of the horses he is racing tonight,” he offers. “We actually really like him and think he has quite a few wins left in him. “We have a really good hand in Race 2 where Sweet Maggie Mae is the better of our two but she might be driven conservatively this time because she was sent forward to lead last start and we don’t want to do that with her every start. “She might still win but with that in mind Beachbreak could get an easier run and be hard to beat.” Melody Banner faces a wide draw in Race 3, one of the more competitive races on the shortened Alexandra Park card while Always B Magic can win Race 6 albeit again her draw not aiding her chances. The Telfers also have a strong team in at Addington where Steve nominates Captain Christian (R10, No 10) at their best chance just over Akatea (Race 7). As for the premiership and Team Telfer’s chances of winning a second trainer’s premiership. “It has been discussed,” he enthuses. “It is always one of the aims at the start of the season and last year I think we lost it in winter when the Dunns had a tremendous run, something close to what we have had lately. “But we have a bit more firepower this winter and if it gets close later in the season we will make it a priority.” View the full article

By Jonny Turner Rival camps have plenty to worry about ahead of The Lazarus Effect putting his unbeaten record on the line at Addington on Friday night. On exposed form, the pacer looks incredibly hard to beat in his attempt to make it four-from-four for trainer-driver Bob Butt in Race 1, the TAB 2nd and 3rd Bonus Cash Back Mobile Pace (5.05pm). He’s a $1.35 favourite. The Lazarus Effect was explosive in his return to racing at Winton late last month, charging to an easy victory in slick time against race-hardened opposition. The worrying part for his opposition in Friday night’s opener is that the four-year-old will return to the track fitter and stronger. “He only had the one trial before he went down south,” Butt said. “He seems to have really come on with the run and the trip down there.” On Friday night, The Lazarus Effect faces the toughest test of his career so far in terms of ratings — but it looks well within his range. “It is a nice enough wee field. There are a couple of handy ones in there,” Butt said. “But he is a pretty progressive horse himself, and he has drawn inside the better ones.” Butt starts a strong team at Addington, including the talented first-starter One Eye Bandit. The pacer is appropriately named, given he only has one eye — and, strangely enough, it’s also a factor punters may need to consider. “I’ve put him on the unruly because he can get a bit nervy behind the gate,” Butt said. “Because he’s only got the one eye, he gets a bit wound up and wants to look around at what’s going on.” “Once he gets going he is pretty good.” “Being his first start under lights — it’s all going to be new to him.” “Hopefully he can do things right, because he has got the ability.” After winning a similar mares’ race on her last visit to the track, Dynasty looks a good chance of doubling up on Friday night. “I freshened her up after her last win and she has been working really well. She should be a pretty good chance.” Butt also starts his consistent maidener Crystal on Friday night, as well as stable newcomer Stephs Boy. View the full article

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – When the phone rang, Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith was on the other end. “I'm on the treadmill,” Smith said. Of course he was. Smith, who will ride 'TDN Rising Star' Rodriguez (Authentic) in Saturday's $2-million GI Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course, has always been obsessed with working out. And, as he closes in on his 59th birthday (Aug. 10), he has no intentions of pulling the plug on his two-hour, five-day-a week workout schedule. Nor are there any plans to hang up his goggles. A 43-year-career, which has produced 5,780 wins, is not ending any time soon. “I feel too good,” Smith said. “If I start feeling like I am getting in the way, that's a different story. I don't feel like I am getting in the way. I have a lot of experience, my core is strong, my legs are strong. My weight is good, and I can tack anywhere from 118 to 120 and do it naturally. Why would I stop now? And do what? Whatever I do after this, I can do another four years from now.” If Smith and Rodriguez get to the finish line first in the Belmont, the rider would become the oldest jockey to ever win a Triple Crown race. Bill Shoemaker was 54 when he won the 1986 GI Kentucky Derby aboard Ferdinand (Nijinsky II). Smith doesn't ride as many horses a day as he used to, but that is by design. He wants to ride in the big races; he wants the best opportunities. He flew cross-country from California and was expected to be in town Thursday (naturally, he said he would get a run in once he got here). Smith has two mounts on Belmont Day. He will also ride Baffert's Citizen Bull (Into Mischief), last year's 2-year-old champion, in the GI Woody Stephens Stakes. “I don't worry about him,” Baffert said. “He is a pro, Big Money Mike. When I put him on a horse, I know he is going to fit him really well. He was perfect for Rodriguez. Mike is just in unbelievable physical shape.” Citizen Bull | Sarah Andrew Smith and Baffert have a history. In 2018, they teamed up to win the Triple Crown with Justify (Scat Daddy). According to Equibase, Smith has ridden for Baffert 607 times and has 163 wins; in stakes races, they have 93 wins in 316 starts together. Smith rode Rodriguez when he overwhelmed nine others winning the April 5 GII Wood Memorial at Aqueduct by 3 1/2 lengths. He hasn't run since as he missed the Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness Stakes with a foot bruise. Expect Smith to put Rodriguez where he'll be most comfortable in the 1 1/4-mile Belmont. On the lead. “I will let him be who he is and get happy and get in a happy rhythm,” Smith said. “I'm not looking to steal the race in a 25 (second quarter mile), 50 (half mile). Hopefully, he is good enough to hold them off. He held that last group off (in the Wood), let's see if he can hold this group off. There are a couple in there who have already proved who they are. We have a ways to go to prove we are as good as they are.” Heart of Honor Looking for Better Showing in Belmont Jamie Osborne, the trainer of Belmont Stakes contender Heart of Honor (GB) (Honor A. P.) wasn't going to lie. When the Preakness started on May 17, his, pardon the pun, heart sank. “I wanted to dig a hole and jump into it,” Osborne said outside the Stakes Barn at Saratoga Race Course Thursday morning. “I wanted to crawl under a bush.” That's because his horse, fractious at the gate, got off to a slow start and was never a factor in the Preakness. Only a mild late rally got him a fifth-place finish in the field of nine. He finished 8 3/4 lengths behind Journalism (Curlin) in Baltimore. Heart of Honor's flop in the Preakness came after five starts in Dubai and one in Great Britain (two wins, four seconds). Osborne, who won a steeplechase race here 27 years ago as a jockey, is making his first trip back to the Spa since then. There is not much faith given to his horse, owned by Jim and Claire Bryce (Jim and Claire Limited). He was given morning-line odds of 30-1 by New York Racing Association oddsmaker David Aragona. “Look, you can only deal with the facts that are staring you in the face,” Osborne, who is based in England, said when asked if his horse is not getting any respect. “I would just like to see him get a shot at it and not give himself such a big disadvantage early on.” Then, after a pause and a smile, he said, “he is not as slow as he looks.” Heart of Honor | Sarah Andrew Thursday, Heart of Honor visited the track with Osborne's 23-year-old daughter, Saffie, in the saddle. She will ride the colt in the Belmont. Heart of Honor has been spending plenty of time standing in the starting gate with the hopes he will be relaxed in the Belmont. That was the exercise that was repeated on Thursday. “He has a fairly decent cruising speed, but he will only use that cruising speed if he is not getting a massive sandstorm in his face,” Jamie Osborne said about the kickback his horse got in the Preakness. “Hopefully, he won't be on the back foot, and he'll be able to sit somewhere in touch of the leaders.” Osborne, who has been training since 1999, has had success in the U.S. before. He trained Toast of New York (Thewayyouare) to a second-place finish in the 2014 GI Breeders' Cup Classic. He knows how much of a chore is in front of Heart of Honor in the Belmont. “At this level, against these sorts of horses, we need everything to go right,” he said. “If any tiny thing goes wrong, we understand we have a mountain to climb on Saturday. But it's a horse race. Strange things can happen. I kind of figure we've got nothing to lose by rolling the Belmont dice as we are here.” No Pressure on Cox as Good Cheer Eyes Eighth Straight Trainer Brad Cox sat in a golf cart outside his barn office at the Oklahoma Training Track on a steamy Thursday morning. If he was feeling the heat, he sure wasn't showing it. Late Friday afternoon, Cox's star 3-year-old filly Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro) will put her seven-race win streak on the line when she goes to the post as the 1-2 morning-line favorite in the GI Acorn Stakes. Cox wasn't sweating bullets over this, either. “I feel more confidence than I do pressure, if that makes any sense,” Cox said. Good Cheer | Sarah Andrew Good Cheer is squarely at the top of the 3-year-old filly rankings, especially after a punctuating 2 1/4-length win in the prestigious GI Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs May 2. That was her first Grade I win after three straight Grade II scores. When Cox brings Good Cheer and jockey Luis Saez to the races for Godolphin LLC, he expects good things. So far, so good. When Godolphin first sent her to Cox, he wasn't blown away. There was no way he could have thought after seven starts she would have seven wins. “I don't know if you can ever expect this from any horse that continues to win race after race,” Cox said. “We thought she was good; did we think she was this good? I have had enough horses at this point of my career that they have to prove it to you.” Good Cheer is part of a stable of riches that Cox has regarding 3-year-old fillies. Immersive (Nyquist), last year's champion 2-year-old filly, won all four of her starts in 2024 and is set to make her seasonal debut in the Monomoy Girl Stakes at Churchill on June 14. He also has Margie's Intention (Honor A.P.), the winner of the GII Black Eyed Susan Stakes. Cox said she could show up next in the GIII Delaware Oaks at Delaware Park, also on June 14. The post Belmont Stakes Notebook: Everything Working Out Just Fine for Jockey Smith appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Undefeated GI Kentucky Oaks heroine and Godolphin homebred Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro) will put her perfect seven-for-seven record on the line as she takes on six rivals in Friday's GI DK Horse Acorn S. at the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course. The Acorn is one of six graded stakes races on Friday's 14-race program, which also features three other Grade I events–the GI Ogden Phipps S., a 'Win and You're In' for the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff at Del Mar; the GI New York S.; and the GI Just a Game S. Good Cheer, also the winner of this term's GII Fasig-Tipton Rachel Alexandra S. Feb. 15 and GII Fasig-Tipton Fair Grounds Oaks Mar. 22, is the 1-2 morning-line favorite. The Acorn also includes 'TDN Rising Star' Shred the Gnar (Into Mischief), who makes her stakes debut after a pair of ultra-impressive wins. Recent Kentucky Oaks winners to double up in the Acorn include: Bird Town (Cape Town) (2003), Abel Tasman (Quality Road) (2017), Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) (2018), 'Rising Star' Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) (2023) and 'Rising Star' Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) (2024). “We're just enjoying the ride and she's a special filly,” Godolphin USA's Director of Bloodstock Michael Banahan said of Good Cheer. “The longer they stay undefeated, a little more pressure comes on to keep that streak going.” Trainer Brad Cox added, “Someone asked me one word to describe her, and it's real easy–it's class.” The Ogden Phipps has also attracted a field of seven, led by last year's GI Personal Ensign S. winner and GI Breeders' Cup Distaff runner-up Raging Sea (Curlin), who launched her 5-year-old campaign with an impressive win in the GI Fasig-Tipton La Troienne S. on Kentucky Oaks Day. Trainer Chad Brown will also saddle defending Phipps winner Randomized (Nyquist), who held on to defeat champion Idiomatic (Curlin) by a head in wire-to-wire fashion. Raging Sea | Sarah Andrew She Feels Pretty (Karakontie {Jpn}) is another headliner on Friday's card, who towers over her seven rivals in the New York. The 3-5 morning-line favorite enters riding a three-race winning streak–the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. at Keeneland Oct. 12, the GI American Oaks at Santa Anita Dec. 26 and the GIII Modesty S. at Churchill Downs May 2. She is trained by Cherie DeVaux. She Feels Pretty | Sarah Andrew A wide-open renewal of the 11-deep Just a Game features a rematch of the GI Jenny Wiley S. one-two-three–Choisya (GB) (Night of Thunder {Ire}), Excellent Truth (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}) and Kehoe Beach (Omaha Beach). The very troubled second-place finisher while making her U.S. debut that day Excellent Truth has been tabbed as the 5-2 morning-line favorite. Last year's GI Test S. winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Ways and Means (Practical Joke) is the horse to beat in the GII Bed o' Roses S. Ways and Means | Sarah Andrew Friday's card also features the GII Belmont Gold Cup, going two miles over the inner turf. The weather forecast in upstate New York continues to be very fluid, with rain expected over the next few days. America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival on the networks of FOX Sports. The post Unbeaten Kentucky Oaks Heroine Good Cheer Headlines Acorn, One of Six Graded Stakes at the Spa Friday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Friday, Epsom Downs, post time: 16:00, BETFRED OAKS-G1, £573,150, 3yo, f, 12f 6yT Field: Desert Flower (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Elwateen (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Giselle (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Go Go Boots (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Minnie Hauk (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Qilin Queen (Ire) (Pinatubo {Ire}), Revoir (GB) (Study Of Man {Ire}), Wemightakedlongway (Ire) (Australia {GB}), Whirl (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). TDN Verdict: Desert Flower has possibly stronger credentials than stablemate Ruling Court for getting the Newmarket-Epsom Classic double done and she has proven time and again that she is a top-class filly, but this is further than she wants to go in an ideal world which opens it up. Minnie Hauk will get the trip alright, as she proved at Chester, but she has already been beaten by Wemightakedlongway at two and that G3 Salsabil Stakes winner is a strong stayer who is underestimated due to having suffered a few defeats along the way. When ridden forward, she is a force to be reckoned with and has vital experience to call on should it get tough. Revoir has the pedigree to shine here and is a scary prospect for the big guns to face, being so unexposed and promising. [Tom Frary]. Friday, Epsom Downs, post time: 14:40, BETFRED CORONATION CUP-G1, £450,000, 4yo/up, 12f 6yT Field: Ancient Wisdom (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}), Bellum Justum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), Calandagan (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}), Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}), Giavellotto (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), Jan Brueghel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), You Got To Me (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}). TDN Verdict: None of these could hope to get near the kind of sectionals produced by Calandagan at York last summer and provided the ground doesn't deteriorate, he is the class act. Continuous is possibly here to set the kind of crazy pace he carved out in the Tattersalls Gold Cup last time, but the faster he goes the more the French raider will like it. Giavellotto is another who can produce high-class fractions when the heat is on and could pose the main threat, while Jan Brueghel has yet to prove that he can live with these type of rivals over this trip. Green all year in 2024, he is going to have to man up big time here. [Tom Frary]. Saturday, Epsom Downs, post time: 15:30, BETFRED DERBY-G1, £1,604,000, 3yo, c/f, 12f 6yT Field: Al Wasl Storm (Ire) (Affinisea {Ire}), Damysus (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Delacroix (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Green Storm (Ire) (Circus Maximus {Ire}), Lambourn (Ire) (Australia {GB}), Lazy Griff (Ger) (Protectionist {Ger}), Midak (Fr) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}), New Ground (GB) (New Bay {GB}), Nightime Dancer (Ire) (Ghaiyyath {Ire}), Nightwalker (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Pride Of Arras (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), Rogue Impact (GB) (Study Of Man {Ire}), Ruling Court (Justify), Sea Scout (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), Stanhope Gardens (Ire) (Ghaiyyath {Ire}), Tennessee Stud (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), The Lion In Winter (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), Tornado Alert (Ire) (Too Darn Hot {GB}), Tuscan Hills (Fr) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}). TDN Verdict: With rain about, albeit not a great deal, this is not going to be a fast-ground Derby and with such a large field the emphasis could be more on stamina than ever. If that is true, it will suit the G3 Chester Vase winner Lambourn who has the ideal draw in “lucky” stall 10 and who may just have been hiding his true light under a bushel so far. If he's in the mix, the likes of Midak and Lazy Griff may not be too far away and this could be one of those renewals where the principals aren't quite what they are cracked up to be. There are stamina doubts surrounding Ruling Court, Delacroix and The Lion In Winter but none surrounding the G2 Dante winner Pride Of Arras. His York performance was very strong and it is impossible to ignore all his ideal credentials for this race. Possibly underestimated due to the fact that he is not trained at Ballydoyle or sports Godolphin silks, he is under the care of Ralph Beckett who has proven time and again that he knows exactly how to train a top prospect. [Tom Frary]. Friday, Epsom Downs, post time: 13:30, THE NYETIMBER SURREY STAKES-Listed, £75,000, 3yo, 7f 3yT Field: The Waco Kid (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), Diego Ventura (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), Rebel's Gamble (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), Francisco's Piece (GB) (Mayson {GB}), Hallasan (GB) (Pinatubo {Ire}), Glamis Road (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), Formal (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), Saqqara Sands (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}). TDN Verdict: The race that kicks it all off and the furious downhill ensures that pace will be key. TDN Rising Star Formal showed an abundance of that when with Sir Michael Stoute last year and while the wheels have come off on her two Group-race tests, she retains a lot of potential and is pitched at a meeting at which Cheveley Park like to have success. Diego Ventura has a penalty for his latest win in ParisLongchamp's Listed Prix de Pontarme, while the Listed Radley Stakes runner-up Saqqara Sands might need this return. [Tom Frary]. The post Black-Type Preview: Godolphin Duo Eye Classic Doubles At Epsom appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Now that the line-ups have been confirmed for the Derby and Oaks, the wait has become one of merely hours for connections and fans of the protagonists alike. An intense period of final planning and preparation, of intermittent reverie. With the current century a quarter of the way though its course, there is little sign that the Epsom Classics have lost any of their draw for the big operations and the lists assembled for Friday and Saturday's Betfred-sponsored tests are testament to that. Since 2000, overseas interests–mainly Irish–have held sway an astonishing 15 times in the Derby and 10 times in the Oaks, making the races almost a pipedream now for the shrinking influence of the traditional British stables. While the first empire of Ballydoyle enjoyed six great days in the Blue Riband, they were spaced out over a period of 20 years whereas Aidan's second wave has seen a relative tsunami of triumph in the beloved monument. Responsible for 15 of the 26 most recent winners of the Derby and Oaks, the Rosegreen stable's pre-eminence is beyond anything imaginable in modern-day sport. Such is its domination of the peak action of the next two days, the operation has accomplished a true synonymy with the occasion. Think Derby, think the Magnier navy blue, the Tabor blue-and-orange, the Smith purple-and-white. There is no doubt that Godolphin have made a concerted effort in recent times to interrupt the flow of Derby winners back to Ballydoyle, with Charlie Appleby breaking the hegemony twice since 2018, while John Gosden has interfered once in the Blue Riband and on an impressive four occasions in the Oaks. Since 2012, just six stables have been responsible for the winners of the two Classics with Dermot Weld, Ralph Beckett and the now-retired Sir Michael Stoute the outliers. Looking at Saturday's Derby, there are no surprises there at all. Ballydoyle, Godolphin, the Gosdens and Ralph Beckett account for nine of the first 10 in the betting, with the only exception being the French colt running in the silks of the late Aga Khan IV which the 2025 edition honours. Barring a sizeable upset, current trends will continue until next year at least. Luckily, the romance associated with the 2,000 Guineas-Derby double lives on and the onus is on Ruling Court to become the first since Camelot in 2012 to bring it home. Bidding to extend the 100% Derby of Justify after City Of Troy 12 months ago, Godolphin's leading hope has an unusual profile as a breeze-up graduate without a black-type win at two who was campaigned initially this year in the desert. What he does have is an admirable temperament, the perfect racing attitude and draw and a big-race jockey who with each passing year grows in stature. His pedigree sends mixed messages, but on the whole the mile-and-a-half is probably within his compass and he may have a slight class edge over his peers. Strangely, it is Godolphin's main man who has the Coolmore sire and Coolmore's chief runner who flies the flag for Darley's number one stallion, with Dubawi's Delacroix leading the line for Ballydoyle. The son of Tepin has been one of the yard's creepers, with his juvenile campaign lacking major pizzazz despite the high points of winning an Autumn Stakes and running a close second in the Futurity Trophy. He comes here via the Galileo route of Leopardstown's Ballysax and Derby Trial, where he looked to have taken a step forward much as his full-sister Grateful did with each passing month last term. It is interesting that Aidan O'Brien is allowing Lambourn to take his chance, with the son of Australia needing to find just over two lengths on his stablemate from their running in the Ballysax. He would be a strange Derby winner, having won his Stakes race at two at the French provincial track of Craon and having made heavy weather of that too. Taken to Chester last month, he proved ample stamina in the Vase with old lethargy giving way to new zest. Are we in for another Ruler Of The World or Wings Of Eagles-style awakenings here? Last of the Ballydoyle trio is the difficult-to-weigh-up The Lion In Winter, who dealt with Ruling Court so efficiently in a telling renewal of York's G3 Acomb Stakes in August. Subsequently plagued by setbacks, his comeback effort in that track's Dante told us little other than he remains a free-running type not typical of his sire Sea The Stars. That would normally put off Derby backers, but it is hard to easily dispel the memory of the aura that he carried last summer and he remains the race's quandary. While The Lion In Winter was disturbing the stable's flow of success in the Derby trials, New Bay's Pride Of Arras was signalling his insurgence into the Derby picture with a Dante display which is impossible to fault. All boxes are ticked when it comes to the Aykroyds' homebred, from ability to athleticism to potential to requisite stamina and were he housed at Ballydoyle he would be favourite for this year's renewal. Ralph Beckett's 3-year-olds really started to blossom at the time of his York breakthrough and there is much more to come from this colt. Of the outsiders, the Gosdens' Damysus looks a live one for Wathnan Racing given how impressively he finished off in the Dante. The son of Frankel will love this step up to a mile and a half, while the Chester Vase runner-up Lazy Griff appeals as an ideal type to outrun his odds and get into the frame. By Protectionist, he would be a distinctly uncommercial winner of the race for Charlie Johnston but if there is one fairytale horse in this year's line-up it is the one who sports the colours of the Middleham Park Racing syndicate. Will The Flower Wilt Or Bloom At Epsom? Friday's Oaks fits all the trends outlined above, with Godolphin's 1,000 Guineas winner Desert Flower taken on by three Ballydoyle cohorts headed by Frankel's Listed Cheshire Oaks scorer Minnie Hauk. Like Ruling Court, Desert Flower is no surefire stayer at the trip, with the daughter of Night Of Thunder out of Promising Run who was at her limit at a mile and a quarter. Almost certainly capable at that distance, the unbeaten homebred heads into the unknown here without the pedigree credentials of the operation's previous Guineas-Oaks winner Kazzia but her ability should take her most of the way. What Minnie Hauk achieved at Chester and fellow Frankel representative Giselle achieved in the Listed Lingfield Oaks Trial is uncertain, but the former is from the Juddmonte family of an Irish Oaks heroine in Wemyss Bight and has this mile-and-a-half in her DNA. Giselle beat two others in her prep, but in doing so looked an Oaks filly through and through while the stable's other runner Whirl represents the highly successful Wootton Bassett-Galileo cross and was out on her own at the end of the Musidora. Julian Richmond-Watson's homebred Revoir lost out to Pinatubo's Qilin Queen in Newbury's Listed Childwickbury Stud Fillies' Trial Stakes last month, but in the process greatly enhanced her Oaks prospects. A daughter of Study Of Man from the family of the 2008 winner of this Classic, Look Here, she looks tailor-made for this race on paper but surprisingly Ralph Beckett is not completely convinced about the distance. “You would think the step up in trip will probably be in her favour. There are stamina influences on her page, but I have slight reservations in the fact that [the dam] Regardez didn't stay a mile and a half, she got a mile and a quarter well,” he said. “This filly is a slightly different character and is more laid-back than her mother was, but we are taking it on trust.” “I think she should come forward for the run at Newbury. I felt it was a good starting point, but she was still pretty green through the race. I liked the way she went through the line. Look Here winning the Oaks when we were at Whitsbury is a big part of what is going on here now. It's been 17 years and it's been a big joy to train the family–it's been a privilege.” There is a chance that Cayton Park Stud's Wemightakedlongway has been underestimated given the way she relished aggressive tactics in Navan's G3 Salsabil Stakes in April. The daughter of Australia comprehensively beat Minnie Hauk when also making all in her Cork maiden in October and it is possible that the runner-up has made significantly more progress in the interim, it is not a given. Calandagan's Coronation… So unlucky to come up against City Of Troy at York last summer, Calandagan has ideal conditions to flourish in Friday's G1 Betfred Coronation Cup. While the Aga Khan Stud representative has been subsequently undone in the G1 Champion Stakes and G1 Dubai Sheema Classic, the son of Gleneagles is the class act here with his Juddmonte International sectionals so strong. “I suppose the only real doubt is handling the track and he's probably never run on anything like Epsom before,” racing manager Nemone Routh said. “He's a very balanced horse and we imagine he is going to be okay, but you never know until they get there and run. This has been the plan for a while and we hope he's in great form.” Aidan O'Brien has nine of these to his name and saddles the last two winners of the St Leger in Jan Brueghel and Continuous, with the latter seemingly utilised as a pacemaker at present. Second on his return in the G3 Alleged Stakes, Jan Brueghel will have to run out of his comfort zone if Calandagan is on song. Mastercraftsman's G1 Hong Kong Vase winner Giavellotto and the Irish Oaks heroine You Got To Me shore up this year's renewal, with the latter expecting to need the reintroduction. “She was always a big girl and in that sense not much has changed,” Ralph Beckett said of the daughter of Nathaniel. “This looked a good starting place for her. It looks a deep renewal and she'll have to go a bit, but she's been away for gallops a couple of times this spring and they've gone well, so I couldn't be happier. Inevitably she'll need the match practice, but this leads us into the year.” “I'd like to get her in against her own sex at some point,” he added. “The Yorkshire Oaks is the obvious one but France Galop, in their wisdom, moved the Prix Vermeille so there is only 17 days between the only two fillies' Group 1s over a mile and a half in Europe, which makes life somewhat complicated. Those two races are high on her agenda.” The post Ruling Court And Delacroix Go Toe To Toe In Betfred Derby appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Grade 2-placed mare Paggane caught the eye of Charles Shanahan and topped the Tattersalls Online June Sale for 100,000gns on Thursday. Consigned by Willie Mullins's Closutton Stables as lot 87, the daughter of Muhaarar sports wins under both codes. Second in the Listed Paddy Power EBF Novice Hurdle at Cork, her greatest claim to fame is a second in the G2 Dawn Run Novice Chase. She is a half-sister to the listed winner Pennymoor by Frankel, and to the Classic-placed California Dreamer (Mehmas). Shanahan said of the mare who will stay in training with an eye to Cheltenham, “She caught our eye in the sale, especially after California Dreamer placed in the Irish 1000 Guineas. She has been bought for an existing partnership and we potentially will have some other partners coming into her. She has run some very good races this year, and, no matter what happens, she will be a very valuable broodmare for the future.” For the Tattersalls Online Breeze-Up Session, a filly by Maclean's Music (lot 29) took pride of place, selling post-sale for 33,000gns to Derek Passant after not meeting her reserve in the ring. She was consigned by M. C. Thoroughbreds. “The facilities at Dundalk and how the sale was run by Tattersalls was all absolutely brilliant,” said M. C. Thoroughbreds' Micky Cleere. “It's like all the breeze up sales, if you have what they want, you will get it sold.” The day's highest priced breeze-up colt was a Silky Thoroughbreds-consigned son of Starman (lot 2), who sold to Sean Grassick Bloodstock for 31,000gns. Out of a half-sister to G1 Derby great Authorized, the bay is also related to the Wertheimer top-notcher Solemia (Poliglote). Overall, 72 lots sold (64%) for a gross of 907,542gns. The average was 12,605gns and the median was 6,000gns. The post Paggane Breaks Into Six Figures As Tattersalls Online Ends appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

During the running of the ninth race–the Mount Vernon Stakes–at Saratoga Race Course on Wednesday, the Todd Pletcher-trained SW Whatlovelookslike (English Channel) was pulled up and on Thursday the 6-year-old was humanely euthanized, according to a press release from NYRA VP of Communications Pat McKenna. The wearer of saddle cloth 10 was pulled up by jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. after sustaining an injury to the right hind. The mare was immediately attended to by on-track veterinarians, who stabilized the injury and transported the Barry Schwartz-owned runner to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital for further evaluation and treatment. Although surgery was considered, a CT scan on Thursday revealed severe fractures to the right-hind condyle, pastern and sesamoid. The extent and complicated nature of the injuries did not allow for surgical intervention. As a result, and upon the recommendation of attending veterinarians, Whatlovelookslike was humanely euthanized at the hospital. The post Whatlovelookslike Euthanized after Being Pulled Up At The Spa Wednesday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The field for the GI Belmont Stakes, ranked in “likeliest winner” order. 1) JOURNALISM (c, Curlin–Mopotism, by Uncle Mo) O-Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Robert LaPenta, Elayne Stables 5 LLC, Mrs John Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-Michael W. McCarthy. Sales history: $825,000 Ylg '23 FTSAUG. Lifetime Record: MGISW, 7-5-1-1, $2,838,880. Last start: WON May 17 GI Preakness Stakes. For most handicappers, the decision to bet on or against Journalism will come down to whether you think he's still riding an upward arc after three demanding Grade I races that yielded wins in the Santa Anita Derby and Preakness Stakes, plus a near-miss second in the Kentucky Derby. But it's also reasonable to speculate whether those exerting efforts within a span of six weeks will make their toll evident in the third jewel of the Triple Crown, even after an additional three weeks of rest. So which is it, still-evolving and dangerous or vulnerable as the 8-5 morning-line fave? The bet here is that Journalism will be up to the task, and that on Saturday we will see a tough, rugged colt thriving under a steady workload at the highest level of the sport. Momentum is the crux of the argument surrounding Journalism, who enters the 10-furlong Belmont-at-Saratoga after having left no doubts about his ability to fight for position and muscle his way out of tight spots. As if that wasn't enough, the out-of-nowhere burst of acceleration this Michael McCarthy trainee uncorked in the final 100 yards of the Preakness–when he looked too far back to win–added another dimension to Journalism's well-developed skill set. But jockey Umberto Rispoli will need to call upon every bit of tactical torque that this $825,000 FTSAUG colt by Curlin can muster if they are to win the Belmont Stakes, which stacks up as the most difficult field Journalism has ever encountered. In the Santa Anita Derby, Journalism secured the rail, eased into fifth, ranged to within two lengths of dueling pacemakers, then got trapped on the fence on the far turn, with Rispoli needing to shoulder aside a rival before running hard through the lane to win by three-quarters of a length. In the Kentucky Derby, Journalism was unfazed by minor crowding at the break, asserted himself inside, edged to the three path six furlongs out, then picked off most of the field before throttling into a higher drive 3 1/2 furlongs from the finish. Five wide off the turn, he snatched he lead a furlong and a half out, then was immediately accosted by Sovereignty (Into Mischief). Journalism stayed on well under urging, outrun by 1 1/2 lengths behind a talented winner who executed a better-timed move. By now the entire racing world has witnessed the smash-and-grab stretch run of the Preakness, which saw Journalism burst through a barely clearable hole amid rock 'em, sock 'em bumping. Even though the post-Preakness focus has been on Journalism overcoming the rowdy stretch run, the most telling takeaway might be Rispoli admitting post-win that he had a difficult time getting his colt interested down the backstretch and around the far turn, and that he “just didn't have the horse” at the quarter pole. Journalism did his best running in the final furlong and a half, when it counted. But he's going to have to mentally engage much earlier in the Belmont Stakes, which will feature faster and stronger waves of challengers. 2) SOVEREIGNTY (c, Into Mischief-Crowned, by Bernardini) O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-William I. Mott; Lifetime Record: GISW, 6-3-2-0, $3,672,800. Last start: WON May 3 GI Kentucky Derby. Sovereignty prevailed in the Derby after a minor shuffle at the start, settling fourth from last while in the clear and enjoying as clean a trip as was possible over the sealed/sloppy Churchill surface. This Into Mischief-sired homebred for Godolphin worked his way up outside, aggressively shadowed Journalism's far-turn move while five deep, then angled to the seven path for the drive with dead aim on that favorite. Sovereignty ranged up on even terms with Journalism three-sixteenths out, and when Journalism dug in and responded, that challenge emboldened Sovereignty, who levelled off with purposeful, powerful strides, relishing both the mud and being roused for full run. Trainer Bill Mott said post-win that Sovereignty emerged from the Derby with a small pastern scrape, most likely inflicted by a rival when leaving the gate. But the primary decision for opting out of the Preakness had more to do with wanting this colt to be fully dialed in for the Belmont Stakes, with a five-week cushion between starts. Mott's win percentage at all levels over the past five years is 16% from 3,142 starts. With horses racing back from layoffs between 33 and 37 days, he's won at a 15% clip from 391 starters. He's made 31 Grade I starts with layoffs of that span over the past five years, winning with seven (23%). The most recent was Sovereignty himself, who won the Kentucky Derby 35 days after running second in the GI Florida Derby. There's no way of knowing if Sovereignty's 12-point Beyer Speed Figure jump between late March and early May was attributable to significant, next-level development or if he simply relished a wet track under favorable Derby pace circumstances. Maybe a bit of both. But make no mistake: This colt can reliably be counted upon to uncoil with a long, sustained, well-focused run. Sovereignty has honed a commanding, visually appealing way of taking control of his stretch drives, exhibiting a touch of gravitas first evident in October of his juvenile season when he ran up the score against a very good field in the 1 1/16-miles GIII Street Sense Stakes. Sovereignty | Sarah Andrew 3) BAEZA (c, McKinzie-Puca, by Big Brown) O-C R K Stable LLC and Grandview Equine; B-Grandview Equine (KY); T-John A. Shirreffs. Sales history: $1,200,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: MGISP 5-2-1, $648,500. Last start: 3rd May 3 GI Kentucky Derby. Baeza, who has yet to win beyond the maiden ranks, figured to be the “wiseguy” play in the Belmont Stakes from the moment he crossed the finish wire third in the Derby. He was beaten only 1 3/4 lengths by Sovereignty and Journalism, and was finishing with a flourish despite breaking from the far outside 19 post after having drawn into the race as an also-eligible. This $1.2-million KEESEP colt by McKinzie was agitated in the walk-up and in the Churchill Downs paddock, but by no means did he come completely unraveled despite the huge crowd and chaotic surroundings. Baeza was parked widest first time through the lane and cornered outside onto the backstretch. He was on the move trying to follow mid-race advances of Journalism and Sovereignty, but rather than chasing them out wide, Flavien Prat opted for the three path, which saved real estate but necessitated having to deal with far-turn hemming and bumping before Baeza cut loose with a five-wide swoop into the stretch. Under left-handed urging, Baeza floated out a rival to claim the path he wanted, then locked into a determined drive for the final furlong as the only runner gaining ground on the Derby's top two. He galloped out on even terms with Sovereignty and Journalism. In his previous race, the Santa Anita Derby, Baeza stalked outside, got first run at the pacemaker, then led between the three-sixteenths and sixteenth poles before losing focus for a few strides in deep stretch and getting collared by the more-seasoned Journalism. Reportedly, Baeza lost his right front shoe at some point in that race. Baeza draws inevitable comparisons to his two older half-brothers, the 2023 Kentucky Derby champ Mage and the 2024 Belmont Stakes winner Dornoch. As a May 13 foal, it's no surprise Baeza is poised to bloom a bit later than his siblings, especially considering trainer John Shirreffs is known for a patient, pragmatic approach. As an imposing stalker who's just now figuring out the timing of his moves, Baeza is capable of blowing the Belmont Stakes wide open if he can make an aggressive first run at the pacemaker that affords him a few lengths of separation before the closers get rolling. 4) RODRIGUEZ (c, Authentic-Cayala, by Cherokee Run) 'TDN Rising Star' O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Tom J. Ryan, Waves Edge Capital LLC and Catherine Donovan; B-Kingswood Farm & David Egan (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $485,000 Ylg KEESEP '23. Lifetime Record: GSW, 5-2-2-1, $522,800. Last start: WON Apr. 5 GII Wood Memorial Stakes. Like Baeza above, Rodriguez, a May 20 foal, also hasn't come close to peaking yet at this stage of his career. This 'TDN Rising Star' by Authentic is coming off a breakout-race wiring of the GII Wood Memorial Stakes in which trainer Bob Baffert removed blinkers and added jockey Mike Smith. The result was the fastest nine-furlong clocking in any points-awarding Derby prep stakes since 2022, and the second time in his five-race career that Rodriguez has broken the triple-digit Beyer barrier (100 in his Jan. 4 maiden win and 101 in the Apr. 5 Wood). Baffert and Smith believe that taking the blinkers off this $485,000 KEESEP colt allows him to be a more comfortable free-runner because he can better see what's around him. A caveat from Wood Memorial day is that early speed was the prevailing winning profile at Aqueduct that afternoon: six of 13 main-track races were won wire to wire, plus four by forwardly placed horses who either dueled or forced the fractions. Rodriguez drew post four, but had to scratch from the Kentucky Derby because of a foot bruise. The issue was minor, but lingered long enough to derail aspirations of running in the Preakness. Having drawn post three for the Belmont Stakes with the only other projected speed of the race in gate five, the pace should be Smith's to control. Baffert has repeatedly said in the lead-up to the Belmont Stakes that Rodriguez will come out running. Although flashes of brilliance have been there during his West Coast campaign, Rodriguez finished 11 3/4 lengths behind Journalism the only time they met back in March, and he has yet to put together back-to-back efforts that prove he belongs at the top of the crop. But he does have upside at 6-1 on the morning line: A bet on this front-running colt is essentially a gamble that you believe previous efforts to try and rate Rodriguez can be safely discounted, and that, like his speed-centric, later-to-mature champion sire, his best races will be in the back half of his sophomore season. 5) HILL ROAD, (c, 3, Quality Road-Exotic Notion (Arg), by Lemon Drop Kid) 'TDN Rising Star' O-Amo Racing USA; B-Lynch Bages LTD & Camas Park Stud (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. Sales history: $350,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 5-2-0-2, $336,496. Last start: WON May 10 GIII Peter Pan Stakes. Hill Road campaigned in Ireland as a juvenile, winning his debut in 'TDN Rising Star' fashion and finishing seventh in a Group 1 stakes before shipping to Del Mar and running a surprise third at 61-1 odds in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. This $350,000 KEESEP colt by Quality Road was later transferred from trainer Adrian Murray to Chad Brown. Hill Road was a best-of-the-rest third (84 Beyer) in the GIII Tampa Bay Derby, then spiked a fever that kept him out of further Kentucky Derby prep action. Hill Road resurfaced with a well-timed, off-the-pace winning move into a softened-up speed duel to take the GIII Peter Pan Stakes (94 Beyer) May 10 at Aqueduct, scoring by three-quarters of a length and finishing up under a hand ride despite not switching leads. Irad Ortiz, Jr. picks up the 10-1 mount from Flavien Prat, who has opted to retain the ride aboard Baeza. 6) CRUDO (c, Justify-Blossomed, by Deputy Minister) O-Bobby Flay and James Ventura; B-Orpendale/Chelston/Wynatt (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. Sales history: $350,000 Wlg '22 KEENOV; $520,000 RNA Ylg '23 FTSAUG. Lifetime Record: SW, 3-2-0-0, $130,148. Last start: WON May 17 Sir Barton Stakes. Crudo is talented but lightly raced, falling into the “taking a shot” category for the Belmont Stakes. After leading late but capitulating to fourth as the 9-10 favorite in his Gulfstream six-furlong debut Feb. 8, this Todd Pletcher trainee wired a seven-eighths MSW field by 7 1/4 lengths as the .44-1 fave at Keeneland Apr. 19. Crudo then aimed for the Sir Barton Stakes on the Preakness undercard, and romped home by 7 1/2 lengths at 7-2 odds going 1 1/16 miles, leading at every call. Crudo's Beyer Speed Figure pattern is 68-82-84. There is no published par figure for the 10-furlongs-at-Saratoga version of the Belmont Stakes, but half the field this year has already at least once topped 100. As co-owner Jimmy Ventura quipped to TDN earlier in the week, “The good news is that Crudo can't read the numbers.” John Velazquez has been aboard for all three of Crudo's starts and will ride again on Saturday. Post five gives him the option of pressuring likely leader Rodriguez from the outside. Crudo | Sarah Andrew 7) HEART OF HONOR (GB) (c, Honor A. P.-Ruby Love (Chi), by Scat Daddy) O-Jim & Claire Ltd; B-David Redvers Bloodstock (GB); T-Jamie Osborne. Sales history: 35,000gns Wlg '22 TATNOV; €42,000 Ylg '23 GOFSEP; €160,000 2yo '24 ARQMAY. Lifetime Record: GSP, 7-2-4-0, $400,919. Last start: 5th May 17 GI Preakness Stakes. Prior to shipping over for the Preakness, trainer Jamie Osborne indicated that Heart of Honor (GB) would likely remain stateside to also target the Belmont Stakes, simply because there are no major dirt races in Europe or the Middle East for this colt at this point in the season. So if you view the Preakness as a tune-up try, it's reasonable to expect improvement from this son of Honor A.P. On May 17 at Pimlico, Heart of Honor was fractious at the gate, broke slowly, raced in last for most of the 1 3/16-miles trip, then swung wide for the drive to pick off tiring horses. The Preakness was also 23-year-old jockey Saffie Osborne's first ride in the United States. She is not booked on any Saratoga mounts leading up to the Belmont Stakes. Heart of Honor won two one-mile dirt allowance races at Meydan Race Course earlier this year after debuting with a second-place finish in England at Southwell on an all-weather surface. He was then second in three Dubai stakes: the UAE 2,000 Guineas, the Al Bastakiya Stakes, and the G2 UAE Derby, in which Heart of Honor was beaten a nose by Admire Daytona (Jpn) (Drefong), who came out of that race to run last in the 19-horse Kentucky Derby. Heart of Honor | Sarah Andrew 8) UNCAGED (c, Curlin-Dark Nile, by Pioneerof the Nile) O-WinStar Farm LLC and Repole Stable; B-WinStar Farm, LLC; T- Todd A. Pletcher. Sales history: $450,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 4-2-0-0, $105,450. Last start: 6th May 10 GIII Peter Pan Stakes. Uncaged has the distinction of being the only Belmont Stakes entrant to have already won a race at Saratoga. He prevailed by 1 3/4 lengths in his Aug. 3 debut last summer, a six-furlong sprint over a sealed/muddy surface at 5-1 odds. In fact, if the weather comes up wet on Saturday, note that both of this son of Curlin's lifetime victories have come over muddy tracks. His other score was a one-turn mile allowance/optional claimer at Aqueduct in April, a race that has yet to yield a next-out winner. Trainer Todd Pletcher has explained this $450,000 KEESEP colt's uninspiring sixth in the May 10 Peter Pan Stakes as an instance of Uncaged not being able to handle kickback he endured with a rail-running trip. Luis Saez rides Uncaged for the first time in the Belmont Stakes. The post TDN Belmont Stakes Preview: Showdown at the Spa appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article