Christophe Clement

West Point Thoroughbreds and Jimmy Kahig's Ready A.P. (More Than Ready) stormed to a dazzling 8 1/4-length debut win at Belmont Park Thursday to become the latest 'TDN Rising Star.' The dark bay filly, sent off the 3-5 favorite, was away slowly and trailed the field in the early going. She rushed up into contention entering the far turn and inhaled the leader nearing the stretch before striding home powerfully without ever being asked. One Track Mine (Mineshaft) was second. Ready A.P. was a $125,000 purchase at last year's Fasig-Tipton...

Bye Bye (Into Mischief) did it tough from her widest gate in a field of 11 for Saturday's GIII Soaring Softly S. at Belmont Park, but overcame a fair bit of ground loss to remain unbeaten in two turf starts while giving her all-conquering sire his second new graded winner on the afternoon. Away alertly, the $140,000 Keeneland September yearling raced five or six off the inside as longshot Lexinator (Fed Biz) set the early pace from 'TDN Rising Star' Star Devine (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}). Eric Cancel allowed Bye...

Kicking off its third season, the Empire Racing Club (ERC) will offer a reduced price of $400 through the official re-launch date of May 15. In a departure from the first two seasons, 2021 membership is open to both licensed and unlicensed racing enthusiasts looking to enjoy the social and educational benefits of the Club. The 2021 ERC season will be limited to 200 members. The ERC will once again be managed by famed race-caller Tom Durkin. Training the current team of runners for the 2021 season are Hall of...

Six racehorses, three trainers and one jockey account for the 10 finalists that will compose the National Museum of Racing's 2021 Hall of Fame ballot, as chosen by the museum's Hall of Fame nominating committee. The finalists are racehorses American Pharoah (first year of eligibility), Blind Luck, Game On Dude, Havre de Grace, Kona Gold and Rags to Riches; trainers Christophe Clement, Doug O'Neill and Todd Pletcher (first year of eligibility); and jockey Corey Nakatani. Ballots will be mailed the first week in March and results of the voting will...

5th-Aqueduct, $80,000, Msw, 12-19, 2yo, 6f, 1:13.58, ft, 5 1/4 lengths. BY GEORGE (c, 2, Into Mischief--Phoenician Moon {SW}, by Malibu Moon), given a 5-1 chance in this debut run for a barn firing on all cylinders with its firsters, was hustled out from his rail draw and maintained a narrow advantage through a :23.23 opening quarter and :47.64 half-mile. The $190,000 KEESEP yearling purchase took no prisoners from there and bounded clear impressively in the lane to don cap and gown by 5 1/4 lengths over Too Boss (El...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 2nd-Gulstream Park, $50k, Msw, 2yo, 6f, post time: 12:35 p.m. Todd Pletcher saddles firster PRIME FACTOR (Quality Road) for China Horse Club and WinStar Farm. The bay colt was a $900,000 purchase at last year's Keeneland September sale. He is out of Haylie Brae (Bernardini), a half-sister to graded-winning freshman sire Speightster and a granddaughter of blue hen mare Classy 'n Smart (Smarten). Christophe Clement sends out Shel Evans's Broadway (Quality Road), a $500,000 purchase at last year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale. The juvenile is...

Kendrick Carmouche registered his first-ever riding title for a New York Racing Association meet, notching 23 victories to pace all jockeys for the 18-day fall meet at Aqueduct Racetrack that ran from Nov. 6 through Sunday, Dec. 6. Christophe Clement tallied 16 wins to lead all trainers, while Klaravich Stables and Repole Stables each campaigned five winners to finish as co-leading owners. Carmouche, a mainstay on the NYRA circuit, earned his first NYRA riding crown by registering a 23-18-14 record in 123 mounts with earnings of more than $1.5 million....

Five horses based with powerhouse outfits on the East Coast have shipped into Southern California for Saturday's GI Hollywood Derby and in a cruel twist, they have been allocated the 'visitors' draw' in five of the six widest gates in what will be a field of 12. Trainer Christophe Clement has never won the Derby, but he is double-fisted with a pair of high-quality turf sophomores. Gufo (Declaration of War) has won five of his seven trips to the post, having earned a maiden graded success in the GIII Kent...

5th-Aqueduct, $70,000, (S), Msw, 11-22, 2yo, f, 1m, 1:40.42, ft, 5 1/4 lengths. BRATTLE HOUSE (f, 2, Malibu Moon--Savvy Sassy, by Street Sense), who set a Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearlings Sale record when she brought $775,0000 from Larry Best last August, began repaying that investment Sunday with a facile debut win against an overmatched group of New York-bred fillies. Looking to follow in the hoofsteps of stablemate Harper's in Charge (Malibu Moon), who dusted an open group of maidens here a week earlier to be named a 'TDN Rising Star',...

Cheyenne Stables LLC's Harper's in Charge (Malibu Moon) ran to advanced billing to post an extremely easy debut victory worthy of the 'TDN Rising Star' distinction. Pounded all the way down to 7-5 off an 8-1 morning line, the $220,000 KEESEP yearling zipped out of the gate and was immediately a length in front. She cruised along through splits of 22.83 and :46.84, and continued into the lane in complete command as Manny Franco peeked back for competition. Nobody could run with the leader, and she hit another gear for...

West Point Thoroughbreds, William Sandbrook, William Freeman and Cheryl Manning's Decorated Invader (Declaration of War), a close fifth as the 4-5 favorite in the 1 3/16-mile Saratoga Derby last time Aug. 15, resurfaces in Sunday's GII Hill Prince S. at Belmont Park. Last term's GI Summer S. winner and unlucky GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf fourth-place finisher kicked off his sophomore campaign with three straight ultra-impressive victories, including Belmont's GII Pennine Ridge S. at this same one-mile distance June 20 and Saratoga's GII National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame...

On a bright fall morning in Maryland, Arnaud and Leigh Delacour are diligently at work at their Fair Hill-based stable. Arnaud is on the phone, talking logistics with various jockey agents while inspecting a youngster that just returned from a workout. Meanwhile, Leigh leads a troop of four exercise riders and their mounts out for a light jog through the rolling pastures of Fair Hill. When she returns, they'll compare notes and move on to the next set. It takes a special kind of relationship for a couple to successfully...