Brant

NOBLE CONFESSOR, SAR, 7/24, 1 3/16 miles (turf) (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure- 83 (c, 3, by Quality Road--Sweeter Than Wine, by Noble Mission {GB}) O/B-St Elias Stable. T-Todd Pletcher. J-Irad Ortiz Jr. Prior to his Wednesday wire-to-wire victory on the stretch-out to 9 1/2 furlongs, the Vinny Viola product was a six-race maiden despite losing to Zulu Kingdom by a neck in last September's Grade II Pilgrim Stakes (and blowing past on the gallop-out) then finishing 6th while beaten 2 1/4 lengths in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (the third-best...

Even though Nysos (Nyquist) was 1-10 on the board, Saturday's GII San Diego Handicap was a race he didn't have to win. He sprinted in his last two starts and had never been the distance of a mile-and-a-sixteenth. He also has a couple of large gaps in his form, suggesting that trainer Bob Baffert was having a hard time keeping him together. None of that mattered in the San Diego. Flavin Prat, who flew in from Saratoga for the ride, rode a patient race and saved ground into the second...

Brant (c, 2, Gun Runner--Tynan, by Liam's Map), the record-setting $3-million OBS March breezer, lived up to the hype for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert with a spectacular 'TDN Rising Star' performance on debut at Del Mar Saturday. The 4-5 choice sat the trip in third through an opening quarter in :21.56, revved up three deep at the top of the stretch and leveled off with powerful strides to win going away by 5 1/4 lengths. Civil Liberty (Independence Hall) was second. The final time for 5 1/2 furlongs was...

4th-DMR, 100K, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 6:33 p.m. Amr Zedan went to an eye-watering OBS record $3,000,000 to acquire BRANT (Gun Runner) from consigner Eddie Woods back in March and the colt makes his debut at Del Mar for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. Working in an impressive time of :9 3/5, he was a huge pinhook for St. Clair Stables who picked him up for just $200,000 as a yearling at Keeneland last September. Brant is out of a winning Liam's Map half-sister to GSW/GISP and young stallion Pappacap...

Some of the most highly anticipated races during the summer season are the 'baby' races during the boutique meetings at Saratoga and Del Mar and at Ellis Park, which attract its fair share of high-priced juveniles from a variety of top national outfits. Summer Breezes, sponsored by OBS Sales, highlights debuting and stakes-entered 2-year-olds at those meetings that have been sourced at the breeze-up sales earlier in the year, including links to their under-tack previews. Here are the horses entered for Saturday at Saratoga, Ellis Park and Del Mar. Saturday,...