Cherokee Nation, Litmus Test Have Elite Engagements on Their Horizon

[Wandering Eyes]

by Christina Bossinakis & Patrycja Szpyra

Cherokee Nation (Not This Time) took six starts to break his maiden, but he'd been facing quality rivals in the lead up to his graduation party last Friday. Now, his connections report that elite contests are in the colt's future with their eyes specifically turned toward the GI Santa Anita Derby.

“When the kids go to school, they have fancy Friday and [last] Friday was a fancy Friday for us,” said co-owner Tom Ryan. “We're typically looking at Saturday afternoon, but we were very happy to see what Cherokee put together out there. We have high expectations. All going well, he will likely start next in the Santa Anita Derby.”

“I don't think that we've had a 3-year-old on the first of March produce a performance like that. And he came back out of the race great. This horse has given us all the indications that this is him putting his hand up [and saying] 'put me in, coach.'”

Ryan continued, “For one thing, the timing is great and he's telling us that he's up to the challenge. In regard to the race this weekend, the bar was 100 and he ran 110. The Ragozin came back a four on the sheets, which is a really elite racehorse right there.”

Unveiled last September for trainer Bob Baffert, Cherokee Nation was a troubled fourth in his debut at Del Mar and came back Oct. 13 to miss breaking his maiden by a nose to Grade I-placed Mr. A.P. (American Pharoah).

“He's been promising all along. He finished behind very high quality horses in his first two starts. We felt he had put together two exiting races.”

Sent on a road trip to Kentucky, Cherokee Nation faced salty competition in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club and again after his return to California in the GIII Robert B. Lewis Stakes, the former won by Further Ado (Gun Runner) and the latter by 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard'  GSW & GISP Plutarch (Into Mischief). He ran fifth on both occasions and squeezed another runner-up effort against maidens in between them.

“Shipping him to Churchill, it probably was a little bit too much too soon,” said Ryan. “Since coming back to California, we ran him in another graded stakes race because unfortunately we didn't have enough maidens to run out there. If we would have had more opportunities to run in a maiden, I'm sure we would have. So we ended up with a horse that was fit and we felt that we needed to give him chances, and to keep building that foundation. To some degree, maybe it's all been to our benefit that it worked out this way.”

Last Friday, it was sixth-time lucky for the $1.15-million Keeneland September yearling purchased by Donato Lanni for the partnership that eventually comprised of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Bashor Racing, Determined Stables, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan. He never let Winston Ave (Quality Road) out of his sights and the race was more or less over when he took command on the far turn. It was 10 lengths back to the closest competition.

“I really feel that performance the other day was just spectacular. That was a performance that you ask yourself, 'wow, did that really happen?' He traveled into the far turn and it just looked like he was in command of the race at every call. When [jockey Emisael Jaramillo] let him go and asked him, the horse turned into a monster.”

“He looked comfortable the whole way and as Bob says, 'We find out more and more about these horses as we run them.' This horse put his hand up as in the trip is not going to be a problem. Whether it's a mile and an eighth or a mile and a quarter, you would have the confidence that this horse would see those trips out.”

Ryan continued by confidently stating that, for everything they saw in him at the yearling sale, the circle has looped back around in more ways than one.

“[Cherokee Nation] was the most expensive yearling we purchased that year. He doesn't just catch your eye but he stops you in your tracks. He's everybody's type of sexy. He's just a big, beautiful, two-turn horse that is exciting to have in the barn. The fact that he is out of an Indian Charlie mare is full circle with Bob because he trained Indian Charlie and he's such a good broodmare sire. We are truly excited about the horse and about Not This Time. It feels like sky is the limit with that stallion.”

Litmus Test | Horsephotos

Litmus Test Exits Rebel in Good Shape, Arkansas Derby Next

Favored in last weekend's GII Rebel Stakes, SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital LLC and Catherine Donovan's Litmus Test (Nyquist) showed early speed, however, got a little leg weary late, finishing third to Class President (Uncle Mo) and Silent Tactic (Tacitus).

Despite the first defeat since his victory in the GII Los Alamitos Futurity on Dc. 13, SF Racing's Tom Ryan wasn't discouraged by the effort.

“I thought Litmus Test's performance [ third in the Rebel Stales] was pretty solid,” he said. “I think he'll progress along. He came out of his race in good shape. Oaklawn's [surface] may have been a little more demanding than we initially felt. He's definitely a good horse and we know he's a cut above his performance in the Rebel.”

Asked what's next for the $875,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling purchase, Ryan told TDN, “I think he is entitled to run back in the [Mar. 28 GI] Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn. I think he will have benefitted from his run in the Rebel and hopefully, he can move forward off of that.”

Likely to return later this season, the partnership's Kristofferson (Nyquist) hasn't been seen since finishing sixth behind Intrepido (Maximus Mischief) in the GI American Pharoah Stakes on Oct. 4. A $1.15 million purchase at Keeneland last September, he narrowly defeated Mr. A.P. (Honor A.P.) in his career debut sprinting six furlongs at Del Mar last August. Mr. A.P. subsequently finished second in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at the seaside oval.

“He's at Santa Anita and he's probably going to get a little bit more in the next 10 days and we look forward to him,” said Ryan. “He's a horse that has shown that has shown he has a level of brilliance about him. He ran a 90 Beyer as a 2-year-old and he's got that Nyquist class about him.”

The colt was last seen working six furlongs in 1:12.40 at Santa Anita on Jan. 18. In his only other work since the American Pharoah, he worked four furlongs in :46.40, the fastest of 90 at the distance on Jan. 11.

“We just backed off him,” said Ryan. “He was a horse that we did all the usual scans to make sure we were happy with him and continued to move forward. Bob [Baffert] felt we should give this horse an easy 30 days. It's not like he's in a paddock in Northern California somewhere. He is at Santa Anita, two stalls down from Bob's office. We look forward to getting him back.”

He added, “We just felt we needed to give him a little bit of time over Christmas and through the first part of the year to truly mature physically and mentally, so we can have him humming along through late spring and summer.”

Of the older set, Ryan explained that the team is also lookign forward to the return of TDN Rising Stars, presented by Hagyard Cornucopian (Into Mischief) and Imagination (Into Mischief). The former kicked off 2026 with an optional claiming score at Santa Anita on Jan. 31, while the latter was last seen taking the G2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint on the Saudi Cup undercard at King Abdulaziz Racecourse on Feb. 14.

“We are looking foward to Cornucopian being a nice 4-year-old and Imagination is back fro Saudi Arabia,” he said. “We're excited about the group. We have a few difference vintages there but they'll all have their windows to jump through.”

“It's a progressive time of the year for us and we have a few in the chamber that, if things go well, we'll have more bullets to fire in the spring and summer.”

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