Chad Brown
Just two days after her superstar sire died at the age of 24, Three Chimneys Farm's Always Carina (Malibu Moon) followed up a highly-graded debut victory with a facile allowance/optional claiming romp at Belmont despite a troubled start, earning 'TDN Rising Star' honors. Unveiled at a nickel below even-money over a muddy, sealed track Apr. 11 at Aqueduct, the homebred shook off some intense early pace pressure and splashed clear in the lane to a four-length success, earning a 94 Beyer. Returning with a quartet of local interim breezes, capped...
Steve Asmussen claimed the top prize of $50,000 for the third time in five years in the Maryland Jockey Club's $100,000 trainer bonus offered to horsemen for their participation in stakes races over Preakness weekend, May 14-15, at Pimlico Race Course. The Hall of Famer edged defending champion Mike Maker. Asmussen started 11 horses in 10 stakes over the two days, finishing with 54 points. On May 15, he ran first and second with Mighty Mischief (Into Mischief) and Jaxon Traveler (Munnings) in the GIII Chick Lang S. and also...
8th-Belmont, $89,240, Alw (NW1$X), Opt. Clm ($80,000), 5-14, 3yo, 1m, 1:38.22, ft, 3 lengths. STAGE RAIDER (c, 3, Pioneerof the Nile--Stage Magic {Broodmare of the Year, GSP, $133,981}, by Ghostzapper) would have given those who backed him into 1-20 favoritism a bit of a scare in upper stretch, but he rallied through a tight spot at the fence to clear his first allowance condition Friday at Belmont. The half-brother to Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy, Horse of the Year, Ch. 3yo Colt, MGISW, $3,798,000); and to The Lieutenant (Street...
BALTIMORE, MD--Immediately after the May 1 GI Kentucky Derby, it appeared that the GI Preakness S. two weeks hence would be a routine affair. Trainer Bob Baffert would be heading to Pimlico with a record seventh Derby victory under his belt and he would be in the enviable position of trying to collect his eighth win in the second jewel of the Triple Crown. And then the unthinkable happened. The Derby winner, Medina Spirit (Protonico), tested positive for Betamethasone, a substance banned on race day. That single event sparked a...
Making the second start of his current form cycle and drawn perfectly to make best use of his primary asset, Somelikeithotbrown (Big Brown)--whose sire stormed home to win the 2008 GI Preakness S. by better than five lengths--can play the role of upsetter in Saturday's GII Dinner Party S. at Pimlico. The New York-bred toyed with his rivals from the front to upset last year's GII Bernard Baruch S. at Saratoga, but was ridden from off the pace when this event was contested last October and settled for second. The...
A 475,000gns Tattersalls October yearling purchase by Mike Ryan on behalf of owner Peter Brant, In Italian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) was bet into 7-5 favoritism for her Mar. 28 bow at Tampa, but found trouble enough at the quarter pole and again 100 yards later to cost her a debut graduation. Kicked immediately into the lead here by Irad Ortiz, Jr., In Italian enjoyed a fairly soft time of things on the engine, clocking unpressured fractions of :24.03 and :49.39. Challenged briefly approaching the stretch, In Italian rebroke and coasted...
Trainer Chad Brown sent out Klaravich Stables' duo of Crowded Trade (More Than Ready) and Risk Taking (Medaglia d'Oro) to breeze in company Saturday, while Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher had Whisper Hill Farm's Unbridled Honor (Honor Code) work in company with older graded stakes winner Fearless (Ghostzapper) at Belmont Park in preparation for next Saturday's GI Preakness S. Risk Taking, winner of the GIII Withers S. and seventh-place finisher in the GII Wood Memorial S., worked outside of narrow GIII Gotham S. second and Wood Memorial third Crowded...
Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 8th-BEL, $90K, Msw, 3/up, f/m, 1 1/16mT, post time: 4:38 p.m. Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stables has successfully shopped the Tattersalls October sale over the past several years, using the services of Mike Ryan to acquire MGISWs Domestic Spending (GB) (Kingman {GB}) and Newspaperofrecord (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) and GISW Digital Age (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). INFINITE POTENTIAL (IRE) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) was purchased by Ryan for 300,000gns at the 2018 October sale, a handful of months after her half-sister Ejtyah (GB) (Frankel {GB}) finished...
Next weekend's GI Preakness S. continues to take shape as GSW Risk Taking (Medaglia d'Oro) and Unbridled Honor (Honor Code) are expected to be added to the fray during Monday's draw at Pimlico. Winner of the GIII Withers S. in February, Risk Taking had been initially tabbed to contest the nine-furlong GIII Peter Pan S. at Belmont Saturday, but has been rerouted to join his Klaravich Stables stablemate, Crowded Trade (More Than Ready), in the second jewel in the Triple Crown. Chad Brown trains the colt for Baltimore native Seth...
Tabor, Magnier and Smith's Sovereign (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), winless since a blowout score in the 2019 G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby, makes his first start on these shores in Saturday's GI Man O' War S. at Belmont Park. Second to dual Cartier Horse of the Year Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) in the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth for Aidan O'Brien at Ascot last July, the 5-year-old enters off a close third in the Bahrain International Trophy Nov. 20. The rail-drawn, 8-5 morning-line favorite kicks off his campaign...
Six months ago, Klaravich Stables' Domestic Spending (GB) (Kingman {GB}) was the leader of a very strong group of turf sophomores, having won the valuable Saratoga Derby over the summer before a year-ending defeat of Smooth Like Strait (Midnight Lute) in the GI Hollywood Derby. But while that one was given his winter's rest, Robert and Lawana Low's Colonel Liam (Liam's Map), a progressive sort who finished within three-quarters of a length of Domestic Spending at the Spa last summer, had assumed 'King of the Hill' status, courtesy of a...
After four straight tough beats, speedster Blowout opened up a big lead early and dug down late to belatedly make the grade. A two-time listed winner at three, Blowout was also either second or third that year--always beaten less than a length--in the GIII Florida Oaks, GIII Lake George S., GII Lake Placid S. and GIII Valley View S. Second again in a Saratoga allowance last August, the bay was beaten that margin by stablemate Viadera (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}) in Belmont's GIII Noble Damsel S. Sept. 26, and by...