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Authentic

Authentic Gets First Look at Old Hilltop

Overnight rains in greater Baltimore resulted in a muddy main track at Pimlico Race Course, but that did not stop GI Kentucky Derby hero Authentic (Into Mischief) from getting his first feel for the track Wednesday morning as he prepares for Saturday's GI Preakness S. Under the watchful eye of seven-time Preakness-winning trainer Bob Baffert, Authentic jogged the wrong way on the outside rail one day after arriving from Churchill Downs. "He just went out there for a little jog. He looked good," Baffert said. "Coming off that plane yesterday,...

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International Editor Kelsey Riley Joins the TDN Writers' Room

TDN's International Editor Kelsey Riley joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to discuss the upcoming G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Amidst heavy rainfall in Paris, Champion Enable (GB) and 3-year-old filly Love (Ire) will go head-to-head this Sunday.

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Authentic Draws Nine for Preakness

GI Kentucky Derby hero Authentic (Into Mischief) was assigned gate nine in a field of 11 and was installed the 9-5 morning-line favorite for Saturday' GI Preakness S. at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. John Velazquez has the return call on Authentic, who goes for a third consecutive victory at the Grade I level, having beaten Ny Traffic (Cross Traffic) in the GI TVG.com Haskell S. before defying those who concluded he would not stay the 10 furlongs of the Derby by outfighting heavily favored Tiz the Law (Constitution) beneath...

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Final Preakness Work for Derby Winner Authentic

Authentic (Into Mischief), winner of the Sept. 5 GI Kentucky Derby, worked for the final time prior to the Oct. 3 GI Preakness S. with a four-furlong move in :47.60 at Churchill Downs Monday morning. The Bob Baffert trainee recorded splits of :12.20, :24, and :36, then galloped out five furlongs in 1:00 and three-quarters in 1:13.40. Jockey Martin Garcia was aboard for the 7:30 a.m. move. "He's such an amazing horse," Garcia said following the work. "He worked awesome. I've worked a lot of nice horses for trainer Bob...

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The Week in Review: Clout Heading into Classic, Older Horses or Upstart Sophs?

We're now inside the six-week mark for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. Is your money on an older horse winning the season-capping dirt route championship race or one of the 3-year-olds? Both divisions have a respectable upper crust of candidates. Neither age group has a dominant, standout star who towers over his peers. Improbable (City Zip)'s last-to-first, 4 1/2-length shakedown of the GI Awesome Again S. field at Santa Anita this past Saturday nudged him into tepid early favoritism for the Classic. The Oct. 10 GI Jockey Club Gold Cup...

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Tiz the Law to Skip Preakness, Train Up to Breeders' Cup

Sackatoga Stable's Tiz the Law (Constitution), runner-up in the GI Kentucky Derby, will bypass a run in the Oct. 3 GI Preakness S. and instead train up to the Nov. 7 GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, according to a statement from Sackatoga principal Jack Knowlton. "Tiz the Law [is] officially skipping [the] Preakness," Knowlton said on the Sackatoga Twitter account. "Disappointing that Tiz will not be able to run in the Preakness, [but] our primary interest is doing what's right for the horse and in this case he's not ready....

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Derby and Oaks Winners Return to the Worktab

GI Kentucky Derby hero Authentic (Into Mischief) and GI Kentucky Oaks victress Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil) both returned to the worktab Saturday at Churchill Downs. GI Preakness S.-bound Authentic covered five panels in :59.20, the fastest of 38 works at the distance. With jockey Martin Garcia aboard, the bay clicked off splits in :23.80 and :35.40, galloping out six furlongs in 1:12.20. "It went very well. Martin has been with me," said trainer Bob Baffert, who came to Louisville from the Keeneland Sale in Lexington. "He knows what I expect. I told...

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Derby Winner Authentic on Track for Preakness

The 2020 GI Kentucky Derby winner Authentic (Into Mischief) and his stablemate Thousand Words (Pioneerof the Nile) are both on track for Pimlico's GI Preakness S., scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 3, according to trainer Bob Baffert. The Hall of Famer reported Sunday from Keeneland's September yearling sale that both colts remain at the Churchill barn of D. Wayne Lukas. Both are galloping daily and Baffert indicated they would both likely breeze toward the end of the week. "[Authentic] came out [of the Derby] very well, very well," said Baffert Sunday....

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An Authentic Milestone in the Hughes Adventure
An Authentic Milestone in the Hughes Adventure

Revolutions start in the street. But it's only once they have taken over the citadels, and adapt to the trappings and opportunities of power, that you can judge their ultimate success. In transforming the stallion business from the bottom up, B. Wayne Hughes was aptly faithful to his own origins. The son of an Oklahoma sharecropper, he remembers a Grapes Of Wrath migration from the Dust Bowl to California with a mattress strapped to the family jalopy. He also remembers local hostility to the incomers: not least because the "Okies,"...

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Market Momentum Builds with First Ky Yearling Sale in the Books

by Jessica Martini, Brian DiDonato & Christie DeBernardis LEXINGTON, KY--Fasig-Tipton's two-day Selected Yearlings Showcase concluded Thursday with solid enough trade--especially on flashier offerings--given the global uncertainty leading up to the first major yearling sale in the year of COVID-19. The auction, necessitated by the cancellation of the July, Saratoga and New York-bred sales, featured 348 transactions for gross receipts of $61,765,000 at an average of $177,486 and median of $120,000. The buy-back rate was 33.7%. The sale topper came on Wednesday when Robbie Medina, bidding on behalf of Joe Allen,...

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Taking Stock: Nyquist Off the Grade I Mark

Spendthrift purchased the breeding rights to Authentic before the Grade l Santa Anita Derby, and the $9 million kicker it agreed to pay Authentic's former ownership group for winning the Gl Kentucky Derby is indicative of the premium that's placed on a stallion prospect with North America's most prestigious Classic on his resume. A front-running colt, Authentic has the right type of sire behind him as well. He's by Spendthrift's flagship stallion Into Mischief (Harlan's Holiday), who cranks out graded stakes winners like nobody's business, particularly sprinters and milers that...

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Ghaiyyath Stays on Top Longines WBRR

Godolphin's Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) remains firmly atop the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings with a mark of 130, the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities announced on Thursday. The Godolphin bay is undefeated this year with scores in the G3 Dubai Millennium S. in February, the G1 Hurworth Bloodstock Coronation Cup S. ahead of Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) (121) on June 5, the G1 Coral-Eclipse S. over Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) (124) at Sandown on July 5 and a latest victory in the G1 Juddmonte International S. over...

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