City of Light

Saturday's racing action at Saratoga and across the country saw not only an eye-catching number of new 'TDN Rising Stars' (the final tally stopping on five), but also current members of the club securing sensational victories against salty competition. With the runners emerging from their efforts with positive prognoses, their connections are now looking ahead. Of the established 'Rising Stars', GII Saratoga Special victor Ewing (Knicks Go) returned from that win in fine form and will now be tasked with stretching his abilities out. The Mark Casse trainee was one...

Heavily favored Formidable Man found clear sailing along the rail in the lane and bound to the lead before drawing clear to a one-length victory in the GII Eddie Read Stakes at Del Mar Sunday night. The 4-year-old is now five-for-five at the seaside oval which will host Breeders' Cup championship weekend in November. Sent off at 4-5, Formidable Man sat just off pacesetting Cabo Spirit in third while saving ground behind fractions of :24.97 and :49.00. He bided his time with nowhere to run on the far turn, but...

A TDN column published Sunday referenced the racing oddity of the two most recent North American champion 2-year-old colts both losing separate races within two hours of each other on June 7 at Saratoga Race Course. 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light), the 2023 juvenile male Eclipse Award champ, ran second as the 3-4 favorite in the GI Metropolitan Handicap. 'Rising Star' Citizen Bull (Into Mischief), the 2024 divisional champ, was fourth at 9-2 odds in the GI Woody Stephens Stakes. T.D. Thornton asked, "Has this ever happened on...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Led by Breeders' Cup winners Fierceness (City of Light) and White Abarrio (Race Day), a talented field of five will line up for Saturday's GI Metropolitan Handicap on the stacked GI Belmont Stakes program at Saratoga. TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack takes a closer look at the pedigrees of all five of the runners entered in the stallion-making race. #1 FIERCENESS (c, 4, City of Light--Nonna Bella, by Stay Thirsty) Lifetime Record: Ch. 2yo Colt & MGISW, 10-6-1-1, $4,315,320. O-Repole Stable, Derrick Smith, Michael B....

7th-Belmont The Big A, $85,360, Alw (NW1$X)/Opt. Clm ($100,000), 5-1, 3yo, f, 1m, 1:35.89, ft, 1 1/4 lengths. CASSIAR (f, 3, City of Light--Nellie Cashman {GSW, $349,839}, by Mineshaft), runner-up in the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks behind recently-scratched Kentucky Oaks entrant Five G (Vekoma), cut back to the mile but faced several salty fillies including the come-backing GI Frizette Stakes winner Scottish Lassie (McKinzie). That 2-5 favorite made much of the running, setting a pressured pace just ahead of Dry Powder (Gun Runner) through fractions of :23.78 and :46.57. Cassiar...

In racing, the advent of spring doesn't just mean delightful weather and foals capering through fields. It also means a multiplication of the number of graded events across the nation. The month of March boasted more graded races in the U.S. than January and February combined. With GI Kentucky Derby and Oaks preps in full swing, top older campaigners returning from winter breaks, and 2-year-old racing just around the corner, it's an exciting time in the sport. We took a look at trends and notable items from the country's graded...

3rd-GP, $94k, Msw, 3yo, 5fT, 1:50p.m. ET Profiled last year by our colleagues at TDN Europe, Benny The Waiter (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}) has been shipped to the states to make his US debut in a turf dash at Gulfstream Park. A 280,000gns Craven Breeze-Up purchase by Repole Stables, this is the half-brother to GSP-Eng Space Legend (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) while his dam, unraced Newton's Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), is herself a half-sister to SW-Ire & GSP-Fr Treasure Isle (Ire) (No Nay Never). The group black type...

Trainer Tom Morley reports that 'TDN Rising Star' SW & GISP Donegal Momentum (Uncle Mo) has exited his Mar. 6 seasonal bow at Fair Grounds in good form and that the connections have started mapping out a potential path through his 2025 campaign. Listing off plans which include a start in Keeneland's GI Maker's Mark Mile, the GIII Poker Stakes at the Spa, and the GI Fourstardave Stakes over the summer, Morely says it is not out of the wheelhouse that his charge might be running in a seven-furlong graded...

In an era when it feels ever harder to trust what you're seeing, how edifying to find something "fake" that actually authenticates a genuine, old-school, artisanal flair. That's not to deny the technological short-cuts nowadays available to John Cox, compared to when he started trading out of his garage back in 1982. But anyone touring the Lexington premises of Thorough-Graphics--this Aladdin's cave, teeming with color and invention, where Cox and his family supply around 70 percent of signage to the local Thoroughbred industry--will unfailingly be drawn to the "antique" signs...

6th-Fair Grounds, $55,000, Msw, 2-15, 3yo, f, 6f, 1:10.43, ft, 1 1/2 lengths. AHAVAH (f, 3, City of Light--Holiday Soiree {SW & GISP, $405,642}, by Harlan's Holiday) overcame a bit of a sluggish dispatch and held off a persistent late challenge from fellow well-tried first-starter Unwavering Trust (Nyquist) to take the second division of the 3-year-old filly six-furlong maiden Saturday afternoon at the Fair Grounds. A bit flat-footed at the break, the $400,000 Keeneland September yearling, whose half-sister Vahva (Gun Runner, $1,802,810) won last year's GI Derby City Distaff, mustered...

3rd-Tampa Bay Downs, $32,000, Msw, 2-8, 3yo, f, 6 1/2f, 1:16.07, ft, head. CASSIAR (f, 3, City of Light--Nellie Cashman {GSW, $349,839}, by Mineshaft), one of four first timers who made the gate, the filly proved best when it mattered most. Overlooked as a 12-1 shot here, the longshot exited the outside gate and was up near the pace rolling towards the far turn. Salted (Tapit) assumed control around the far turn, but the 3-year-old was moving within striking distance. In the shadow of the wire, Cassiar poked her head...

8th-OP, $110k, Msw, 3yo/up, 6f, 4:55p.m. ET In against a field of mixed maidens, IRON DOME (McKinzie) begins his career for trainer Steve Asmussen and owners L and N Racing and Chester Broman, Sr. A $500,000 KEESEP purchase, the New York-bred is a half-brother to MSW & GSP Mr. Buff (Friend Or Foe), who was a fan-favorite on the Big Apple circuits, as well as to SP Quick to Accuse (Accelerate) and SP Organic Gemini (Sir Whimsey). A full-sister to Mr. Buff is the dam of SP Mischief Lady (Honest...