In an exhibition of pure sprinting prowess, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum's Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) brought all his power to bear on his rivals on Friday to register back-to-back successes in Goodwood's G2 King George Qatar S. Despite the contrasting ground conditions to the easy turf he encountered 12 months ago and the obvious questions posed by defeat in the June 19 G1 King's Stand S. at Royal Ascot, the bay attracted heavy support as the 8-11 favourite and was in front before he had raced two...
The 17th edition of the Claiming Crown, held Saturday at Gulfstream Park, generated total handle of $10,118,000--up 0.57% from 2014 despite rainy conditions which caused four races to be taken off the turf. Gulfstream was hosting the event for the fourth year. "We're extremely pleased with the success of Saturday's Claiming Crown," said P.J. Campo, General Manager of Gulfstream Park and Vice President of Racing for The Stronach Group. "We had big fields and tremendous participation from horsemen throughout North America. We're confident the numbers would have been even more...
NEW KENT, VA--From one CD to another. In his second start of the year, Pin Oak Stud's Incredibolt (Bolt d'Oro) stamped his ticket for a return trip to Churchill Downs with a visually-impressive finish in Saturday's Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs. Under the tutelage of Riley Mott, the 6-1 choice is already proven under the Twin Spires when he finished out his juvenile campaign with a win in the GIII Street Sense Stakes in late October. And while his return to the track earlier this season didn't go quite as...
NEW KENT, VA--Bob Baffert has an embarrassment of riches on his hands when it comes to classy 3-year-old fillies. Grade I winner Bottle of Rouge (Vino Rosso) joined stablemates Explora (Blame) and Forced Entry (Charlatan) in the top five slots of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard Saturday with her dominant win in the second running of the Virginia Oaks. Making her second start of the year, Bottle of Rouge crossed the country to Colonial Downs off a 1 1/2-length score in the Sunland Park Oaks Feb. 15. She...
Shadwell Stable's Ezum (Essential Quality), a speed-and-fade ninth at longshot odds on seven-furlong debut at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 7, was pounded into even-money favoritism stretching out to a mile Saturday at Colonial Downs and treated his rivals to a 19 1/2-length beating. Soon in front for Flavien Prat, the $485,000 Keeneland November weanling angled down towards the inside and made the running one off the fence while doing it through comfortable fractions up front. Prat held his mount together into the final three furlongs and when he edged ever...
CROSSINGTHECHANNEL (c, 3, Omaha Beach--In the Navy Now {SW, $253,020}, by Midshipman) proved himself a tough customer last year as a juvenile, finishing second Nov. 8 at Laurel Park behind eventual Turfway Prevue Stakes winner Hometown Bound (Mitole). He resurfaced Dec. 13 at Aqueduct and ran a strong second behind next-out GIII Gotham Stakes hero Iron Honor (Nyquist), earning a 91 Beyer to wrap his 2025 before returning Jan. 4 at that venue for a sophomore bow. Successfully breaking his maiden there by a neck, Crossingthechannel was hammered at the...
Code Review (Uncle Mo) was the subject of much pre-race chatter and lived up to the hype on Gulfstream debut Jan. 25, making all the running en route to a 1 1/2-length victory and 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard plaudits. The bay was given an entry for Saturday's Virginia Derby, but connections opted to ship in for this considerably softer spot, for which he was made the 1-5 mortal. Code Review hopped slightly as the gates flew back, but he quickly stepped away to a clear lead before Tyler...