Big Dom

by TDN Editorial Staff Buckle up, race fans, it's going to be a wild ride on Saturday, as no fewer than 16 graded stakes from New York to Lexington, from Los Angeles to Toronto are scheduled, with horse racing's championship weekend now officially less than four weeks down the road. Without further ado, let's jump into the always-productive card at Aqueduct. Champagne, Frizette Share Spotlight at Belmont at the Big A A quartet of graded stakes, headed by the 'Win and You're In' GI Champagne S. and GI Frizette S.,...

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar. Given "a new lease on life" after undergoing kidney transplant surgery last June, Ken Ramsey was looking for a way to say thank you to Dr. Sandip Kapur. "This is the premier doctor in New York and he's got all kinds of accolades, but he's never had a horse named after him," the longtime owner/breeder said of Dr. Kapur, Chief of Transplant Surgery and Director of the...

The mission was simple: go to the Keeneland September Sale with half a million dollars and come back with a horse that could get to the Kentucky Derby. Easy, right? Tom Benson had been out of the sport ever since he purchased the New Orleans Saints back in 1985. But now it was 2014 and he was ready to get back in the game. He recruited three trainers he knew from the Louisiana circuit--Dallas Stewart, Al Stall and Tom Amoss--and laid out the assignment. The outcome surpassed even the most...

5 (tie). INTREPIDO, DMR, 8/23, 1 mile R1 Beyer Speed Figure- 84 (VIDEO) (r, 2, by Maximus Mischief--Overly Indulgent, by Pleasantly Perfect) O-Dutch Girl Holdings and Irving Ventures. B-Sierra Fria Farm. T-Jeff Mullins. J-Hector Berrios. En route to a 3 1/4-length win in his second start, he jointly set the pace then decisively rebuffed a quarter-pole bid from Spendthrift's odds-on Baffert first timer Provenance (Into Mischief-Monomoy Girl). He may be an overachiever: his three siblings to race have started 42 times with a top Beyer figure of 74. 5 (tie)....

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--Big Dom's (McKinzie) gritty neck victory at Saratoga Race Course Saturday included a couple of noteworthy angles that had absolutely nothing to do with the running of the sixth race. Like his name. And his training partner. It took a strong performance from the Greenwell Thoroughbreds colt to edge Dr. Kapur (McKinzie) after they battled through the stretch. With Jose Ortiz aboard, the first-time starter completed the six-furlong $100,000 maiden special weight for 2-year-olds in 1:09.47 and paid $8.50. First, the name. Philadelphia Eagles fans know well the...

Greenwell Thoroughbreds' Big Dom (c, 2, McKinzie--Half A.P., by Pulpit) and Dr. Kapur (McKinzie) threw down in the final furlong in front of the Travers day crowd assembled at Saratoga Saturday afternoon, and the duo sprinted well clear of their rivals, with the former prevailing in a tight finish to become the day's third 'TDN Rising Star'. The 13-4 second choice behind 5-2 pick Vino Vici (Vino Rosso)--the only member of the octet with previous race experience-- Big Dom raced between Dr. Kapur to his inside and Vino Vici to...