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Regis Racing's 'TDN Rising Star' Shook Up (Tapit) headlines the 11-horse field that will line up for the 85th running of Belmont's GI Acorn S. Although the gray filly hasn't found her way back to the winner's circle since her 13 1/2-length graduation in the Fair Grounds mud Jan. 3, her runner-up efforts in the GII Fair Grounds Oaks Mar. 28 and May 1 GI Kentucky Oaks--at odds of 26-1-- have garnered her the 7-2 morning-line nod.  Another impressive gray will vie for the top spot Saturday in Robert Luttrell's undefeated Promise Me...

Amerman homebred Coffee Clique (Medaglia d'Oro) looks to defend her title in the 22nd running of the GI Longines Just a Game S., but will face an extremely competitive field of nine rivals. The Brian Lynch trainee was sidelined for nine moths following her win here last year and she's made just two efforts so far this season, completing the trifecta behind Lady Lara (Ire) (Excellent Art {GB}) and Sandiva (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) in the GII Honey Fox S. in Hallendale Mar. 28 and second behind Tepin (Bernstein) in the GII Churchill Distaff Turf Mile May 2. "She won...

The hard-knocking Twilight Eclipse (Purim), fresh off his first Grade I win, looks to be the favorite to get it done again Saturday afternoon in Belmont's GI Knob Creek Manhattan S. The consistent West Point Thoroughbreds colorbearer hasn't been out of the trifecta in his last seven starts--finishing behind champion Main Sequence (Aldebaran) in five of those efforts--and most recently took home the hardware in the GI Man o' War S. going 1 3/8 miles over this course May 9.  "We're coming back and trying to go two-for-two in Grade Is with...

Nancy Favreau, Kathy Psoinos and Michael Tabor's undefeated colt Competitive Edge (Super Saver) will look for his fifth victory in Saturday's GII Woody Stephens S., which will kick off the graded action on the Belmont card. The $750,000 Fasig-Tipton March purchase romped by double digits in his 'TDN Rising Star' debut before easily annexing the GI Hopeful S. He suffered a hairline fracture after that effort, but returned to the races with a decisive victory in the Tamarac S. at Gulfstream Mar. 27 and recently tallied the GIII Pat Day Mile at Churchill May...

Tri-Bone Stables's Effinex (Mineshaft) seeks his third-straight victory while he faces a full field in Belmont's GII Brooklyn Invitational S. Saturday. An upset winner of the Empire Classic for New York-breds here Oct. 18, the then-3-year-old finished fourth in both the Hawthorne Gold Cup H. in November and restricted Alex M. Robb S. over the Big A inner on New Year's Eve. He returned to annex a muddy optional claimer over the likes of next-out 12 1/2-length romper Coach Inge (Big Brown) in Ozone Park Mar. 27, and picked up the slack for trainer...

by J.M. Severni  Six-time Bavarian champion trainer Wolfgang Figge has traveled the world riding and training Thoroughbreds, but Saturday will mark his inaugural foray into the American racing scene when Magic Artist (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) lines up in Belmont's GI Knob Creek Manhattan S. The conditioner, who began his racing career as an amateur jockey, apprenticed under legendary German trainer Sven von Mitzlaff in Cologne before taking out his training license in 1976. Figge worked as a freelance trainer until 2006, when Hans-Gerd Wernicke named him head of his Rennpferde Training Center...

by J.M. Severni  Six-time Bavarian champion trainer Wolfgang Figge has traveled the world riding and training Thoroughbreds, but Saturday will mark his inaugural foray into the American racing scene when Magic Artist (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) lines up in Belmont's GI Knob Creek Manhattan S. The conditioner, who began his racing career as an amateur jockey, apprenticed under legendary German trainer Sven von Mitzlaff in Cologne before taking out his training license in 1976. Figge worked as a freelance trainer until 2006, when Hans-Gerd Wernicke named him head of his Rennpferde Training Center...

By Steve Sherack Although lacking a private training session for the GI Belmont S. runners--half of the field of eight--headed by the imposing dual Classic winner American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile), strutted their stuff over the main track after the 8:30 a.m. renovation break Thursday.  They packed the rail by the clubhouse turn gap to get ready to catch a glimpse of the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. hero train while Mubtaahij (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) took a tour of the paddock on another chilly and overcast morning in Elmont, New York.  Trainer...

The TDN's Christie DeBernardis caught up with trainer Mike de Kock in Barn 22 at Belmont Park, where the South African conditioner has been stabling his GI Belmont S. contender Mubtaahij (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}). Owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum, Mubtaahij was ultra impressive in winning the G2 UAE Derby, which gave him enough points to qualify for the GI Kentucky Derby. The connections gave de Kock the green light to go to Louisville and participate in his first Kentucky Derby, where Mubtaahij finished a respectable eighth after a less than...

A $1-million purse and automatic berth into the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff lured just six older mares to Saturday's GI Ogden Phipps S., but the presence of last year's champion 3-year-old filly Untapable (Tapit) might have something to do with it. The Winchell homebred racked up over $2.8 million last term during a season that included wins in the GI Kentucky Oaks, GI Mother Goose S., GI Cotillion S. and was capped off by a win in the Distaff. Upended when second at 1-9 odds in Oaklawn's GII Azeri S. Mar. 14,...

A well-matched group of 13 turf sprinters square off in Belmont's GIII Jaipur S. Saturday. Adele Dilschneider's Mosler (War Front) gets the 3-1 nod on Eric Donovan's morning line off a two-length romp in the Apr. 29 Elusive Quality S. The $1.05-million KEESEP yearling took a main-track allowance in the slop at Aqueduct in November, but was sixth in Gulfstream's grassy GII Fort Lauderdale S. Jan. 10. He finished ninth two back in the Feb. 7 GIII Fred W. Hooper S. back on the main track while getting first-time Lasix, but looks...

Philip Mitchell has today announced that he will be standing down as General Manager of Juddmonte Farms later this year. During the next six months, he will work with the Juddmonte team to ensure a smooth transition. Mitchell, based primarily at Banstead Manor Stud in Newmarket, has been part of the world class organization for 27 years and has overseen the careers of such luminaries as Frankel (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), Kingman (GB) {Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and Oasis Dream (GB) (Green Desert), among others. "I could not have worked for a...