Churchill Downs
LOUISVILLE, KY-Sharp as a razor exiting the far gate, Clark Brewster and William and Corinne Heiligbrodt's Cogburn (Not This Time) wasted not time dusting off the cobwebs, coming home a 2 1/4-length winner in the GII Twin Spires Turf Sprint early on Saturday's Derby Day card. Given an 8-1 chance will making his 2024 debut, the 5-year-old broke in front but allowed Coppola (Into Mischief) and Mo Stash (Mo Town) to show the way through a :22.61 opening quarter over a course labeled 'good'. Taking a slight edge from...
3rd-Churchill Downs, $98,185, Alw (NW1X), Opt. Clm ($100,000), 5-4, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:43.17, gd, 7 1/2 lengths. MINDFRAME (c, 3, Constitution--Walk of Stars {SW, $154,944}, by Street Sense), a dominating 13 3/4-length winner of his seven-furlong debut on the Florida Derby undercard at Gulfstream Park Mar. 30 en route to 'TDN Rising Star' honors, handled his first two-turn assignment with aplomb, cruising home the easiest of winners in Churchill allowance company Saturday morning. Drawn the outside in a field of eight, the $600,000 Keeneland September yearling bounced away so well...
12th-Churchill Downs, $125,885, Alw (NW1X)/Opt. Clm ($100,000), 5-3, 3yo, f, 6 1/2f, 1:16.08, sy, 4 1/4 lengths. ALMOSTGONE ROCKET (f, 3, Into Mischief--Bound {MSW, $419,174}, by Jump Start) became a 'TDN Rising Star' off her 11 3/4-length thrashing of the field in her Oaklawn debut Apr. 5. Adding just a half-furlong here, the 2-1 favorite sat just off the frontrunners as Mink's Palace (Palace Malice) led through fractions of :22.75 and :45.96. Once given her head, the filly unleashed a wide bid around the turn, swept right on past that...
LOUISVILLE, KY -- All week, trainer Kenny McPeek had been telling the media, 'they better bring a bear because I have a grizzly.' Many would have thought that McPeek, sometimes regarded as a master of hyperbole, was overstating his chances. It turns out he wasn't. Armed with plenty of natural speed, Brookdale Racing, Mark Edwards, Judy Hicks and Magdalena Racing's 'TDN Rising Star' Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) lived up to her name by scampering to a three-length victory over last year's champion juvenile filly Just F Y I (Justify) in...
It's hard to believe there are any graded stakes on the grass that have not been won by a 3-year-old filly from the barn of Chad Brown, but entering Friday's action, that was remarkably the case. Klaravich Stables' Dynamic Pricing (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) managed to put pay to that anomalous statistic with a fast-finishing victory in the GII Edgewood S. at a soggy Churchill Downs. Let go at odds of nearly 9-1--a healthy mutuel for any Brown runner--the €170,000 Tattersalls October yearling acquisition broke well enough from gate...
LOUISVILLE, KY -- Often seen jumping up and winning a race on a big day a square price, trainer Mike Maker did just that, taking the GII Eight Belles S. with William Butler and WinStar Farm's My Mane Squeeze (Audible). Sent off at odds of 6-1, My Mane Squeeze broke well and was a two-wide fifth as longshot Asternia (Astern {Aus}) cut out an opening quarter in :22.46. Urged forward by Luis Saez, she responded quickly and in a flash was on even terms with the pacesetter leaving the quarter...
The beast of the Bayou is now a queen in Kentucky, as Brittlyn Stables' homebred Ova Charged (Star Guitar) overcame a slow break and managed to gut it out late in Friday's GIII Unbridled Sidney S. It was her fifth consecutive victory, 13th from her 16 lifetime starts and fourth from as many appearances in turf sprint events. The 3-5 jolly off a 12 1/2-length dusting of her fellow Louisiana-breds in the Mar. 24 Page Cortez S.--for which she earned a massive 113 Beyer Speed Figure--Ova Charged was off a...
LOUISVILLE, KY-Offering a preview of what may be to come in Churchill's next two day's Classics, 'TDN Rising Star' First Mission (Street Sense) continued a power-charged run for trainer Brad Cox when taking the GIII Alysheba S. The win was the second graded win of the afternoon for Cox, who also took the La Troienne S. with Idiomatic (Curlin), and it was the third straight win for jockey Florent Geroux, who also won with Idiomatic and Ova Charged (Star Guitar) in the GIII Unbridled Sidney S. T O Saint Denis...
3rd-CD, $127K, OC, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 11:31 a.m. Revelers under the Twin Spires won't have to wait long Saturday for something to sink their teeth (and their wallets) into. Only an hour into the card, a pair of 'TDN Rising Stars', each making their second starts, face off. CARTUCHO (Gun Runner) impressed on debut at Tampa for Chad Brown in his first start since selling for $1.2m as a yearling at Keeneland September in 2022. To stay perfect, he'll have to conquer the equally impressive Mindframe (Constitution) who posted a...
LOUISVILLE, KY -- Heading up to Friday's first graded stakes race of the day at Churchill Downs, trainer Brad Cox appeared to be oozing confidence in regard to the returning champion older dirt female Idiomatic (Curlin) in the GI Fasig-Tipton La Troienne S. In the 8 1/2-furlong test for fillies and mares, the Juddmonte homebred proved that Cox's instinct had been spot on, winning by 3 3/4-lengths over Free Like a Girl (El Deal) in the slop. Installed the 4-5 favorite, she argued the issue with Dorth Vader (Girvin), who...
1st-Churchill Downs, $119,775, Msw, 5-3, 3yo/up, f/m, 6 1/2f, 1:15.90, sy, 12 3/4 lengths. SUNDANCE FEATURE (f, 4, Speightstown--Kinsey {SP, $134,810}, by Delaware Township) was a game second in her Turfway debut March 28 and really stepped up in her first try on the main track at Churchill. The 3-1 third choice was quick off the blocks and intent on the lead, keeping pressure on Sally O'Malley (Goldencents) from just off that runner's shoulder before drawing past with ease off the far turn. The class of the field with a...
'TDN Rising Star' Carl Spackler (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), winner of last summer's GII National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame S. Aug. 11 and GIII Saranac S. Sept. 1, picked up right where he left off despite a wide trip in Thursday's Opening Verse S. at Churchill Downs. The 9-5 favorite was a three-wide fifth around the first turn and set his sights on the top two entering the far turn. He made his move while three deep at the top of the stretch and fought his way...