Churchill Downs
4th-Churchill Downs, $117,750, Msw, 6-1, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:04.32, ft, 2 1/4 lengths. COMPORT (c, 2, Collected--Bartlett Narrows, by Flatter) debuted as a 6-1 shot here, and got the jump on heavy favorite Cannoneer (Into Mischief). The chalk suddenly accelerated to seize the lead before the end of the backstretch, but Comport was not going to intimated. The pair battled into the lane, but the 2-year-old got the better of his rival and surged ahead to graduate by 2 1/4 lengths. 'Insight' runners like Password (Uncle Mo) came from the...
Baley Hare has been named racing secretary at Ellis Park Racing & Gaming. He succeeds Dan Bork, who will transition to the same role at Colonial Downs in Virginia. Hare, a native of Illinois, grew up in the industry alongside his father, Scott, a former jockey and longtime jockey agent, and his mother, Darcy, a former trainer. Before working in racing offices across Kentucky, Hare was a racing official in Louisiana and Texas. "I'm thankful for the opportunity and appreciate the confidence from our team in naming me to this...
3rd-Churchill Downs, $91,300, Msw, 6-1, 2yo, 5f, :58.46, ft, 1/2 length. DUKE OF SUGGINS (c, 2, Tom's d'Etat--Graceful Fancy, by Liam's Map), let go at 26-1 to for debut, was hustled into contention but soon settled in fourth as 2-1 choice Pupil (Tacitus) and Gold Pearl (Om) showed the way through a :22.36 quarter. With still plenty to do in early stretch, Duke of Suggins found his best stride late, forging to the lead en route to a 1/2-length score over closing Sleepingonfreedom (Independence Hall) with Mo' Em Down (Caracaro)...
Trainer Brian Knippenberg knew there was something wrong with Mercante (Gun Runner), but didn't know what it was. He also knew that the horse had a ton of talent and maybe he could patch him up and he'd be a useful horse. Not many would have done so. It would have been easy to give up on a horse that was sidelined for 15 months after he finished third in a July 22, 2023 allowance race at Saratoga for trainer Bill Mott. Fast forward to the present and Mercante looks...
Fionn (Twirling Candy) launched an impressive last-to-first rally to win Saturday's GIII Regret S. at Churchill Downs. The favored pacesetter Classic Q (Classic Empire) tired at the top of the stretch as Totally Justified (Justify) took over at the three- sixteenths. Fionn tipped out to the center in the stretch and powered home from there for a career high. Fionn capped a three-race winning streak in the Allen Black Cat LaCombe Memorial S. at Fair Grounds Mar. 8 and rallied for third behind next-out GII Edgewood S. heroine Nitrogen (Medaglia...
Since his upset victory in the GI Kentucky Derby nearly 400 days ago, not a whole lot had gone right for Mystik Dan (Goldencents). Yes, he was a meritorious second to a loose-on-the-lead Seize the Grey (Arrogate) in the GI Preakness Stakes, but he subsequently failed to shine in the GI Belmont Stakes, the GI Malibu Stakes when racing first off a 6 1/2-month absence and the GI Pegasus World Cup, defeating a total of four horses. Trainer Ken McPeek has remained unflappable and unwavering in his belief that Mystik...
What drives someone to leave everything behind to follow a dream? And what happens when the dream is within reach, but one last obstacle stands in the way? Tomislav Mitrovski was watching from home when Color Comin' In (Rock Your World), the first horse he ever bred, overcame a troubled start and stormed home to a three-length victory in her debut at Churchill Downs. Over the moon with the result, Mitrovski immediately called his wife to celebrate a win that felt like the start of something bigger. When Mitrovski packed...
After a sizzling win in a May 23 maiden on the grass at Churchill Downs, Wesley Ward confirmed what he already knew. 'TDN Rising Star' Outfielder (Speightstown) is among the best 2-year-olds he has ever trained. So it's no surprise that the colt will soon be on his way to Royal Ascot to compete in the G2 Norfolk Stakes June 19. "I was nervous going into the race at Churchill, just because I was so excited and he's one of those colts who has so much ability, Ward said. "The...
Two Sharp, making her first start since last November, went wire-to-wire to earn her third straight victory in the GIII Winning Colors Stakes at Churchill Downs Monday. The bay filly went quickly to the early lead from her outside post and scampered away as favored Hope Road tried to go with her early. She was clear through fractions of :21.14 and :43.99--the fastest half-mile in the race that dates back to 2004. Hope Road attempted to reel her in down the lane, but Two Sharp kept finding more and was...
1st-Churchill Downs, $118,575, Msw, 5-24, 3yo/up, f/m, 1m, 1:35.89, ft, nose. SWEET SERAPHINE (f, 3, Quality Road--Venetian Sonata, by Bernardini) debuted as a 2-year-old at Ellis Park last August, finishing a respectable third just 1 1/2 lengths behind a pair of classy fillies in last weekend's GIII Miss Preakness Stakes winner Echo Sound (Echo Town) and Evanescence (Munnings), who ran third in the GII Eight Belles Stakes on Kentucky Oaks day to start the month. Not seen since that effort and now coming off the nine-month layoff, the 2-1 favorite...
Trainer Wesley Ward swung for the fences when bidding to $850,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale last year to acquire Outfielder (Speightstown) and was rewarded for his efforts Friday when the colt delivered a grand slam at Churchill to become the newest 'TDN Rising Star'. No secret at the window off of two straight bullet works and thus heavily bet at 1-5, the outside draw endured a rush of early speed to his inside in the opening yards of this five-furlong contest but quickly cleared the crowd and...
2nd-Churchill Downs, $114,600, Msw, 5-23, 2yo, 5f, :58.36, ft, 2 1/4 lengths. SPICE RUNNER (c, 2, Gun Runner--Simple Surprise {SW, $185,446}, by Cowboy Cal), a full-brother to Gunite, MGISW-USA, G1SP-UAE, GSP-KSA, $2,493,009, validated 1-4 favoritism with a comfortable debut success Friday afternoon. Drawn widest in a field scratched down from eight to just five juvenile colts, the homebred jumped away very sharply and it appeared that the colt could have made the running if his jockey chose to do so, but instead Jose Ortiz elected to take a hold of...