Cornucopian

Todd Pletcher will have the likely favorite in the GI Belmont Stakes in GI Kentucky Derby runner-up Renegade (Into Mischief) and a live longshot in Powershift (Constitution). He knows how to win the race--he's done it four times. Might this be his fifth? Those were among topics Pletcher addressed when he joined the team on this week's TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland. He was the Gainesway Guest of the Week. Breaking from the dreaded post one in the Derby, Renegade was slammed at the start and it took...

With June around the corner, the graded stakes calendar heats back up as Churchill Downs hosts its Stephen Foster Preview on Saturday. The local prep for the June 28 running of the GI Stephen Foster Stakes, the GIII Blame Stakes is one of six higher-level races on the card and could be deemed as wide-open. Wathnan Racing's Hit Show (Candy Ride {Arg}) has the class edge though. The 2025 winner of the G1 Dubai World Cup returned to Meydan back in late March, but was unable to duplicate the feat....

With a smashing five-length victory in the G3 Capella Stakes at Nakayama in December, Tomoya Ozasa's T O Elvis (Volatile) earned a place in the field for the G2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint in February. Connections elected to take a pass on that 1200-meter test--won by Imagination (Good Magic)--to give the colt more time to prepare for the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen at the back end of March. But owing to the ongoing hostilities in the region, T O Elvis's trip to Meydan was called off at the 11th hour and...

An additional quartet of Grade I contests and a Grade I-quality renewal of the GII Pat Day Mile highlight Saturday's Kentucky Derby undercard races at Churchill Downs. Knightsbridge Rates Top Billing In Churchill Downs S. A field of 11 comes together for yet another compelling renewal of the $1-million GI Churchill Downs Stakes, a seven-furlong contest in which Godolphin's 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Knightsbridge (Nyquist) goes in search of a maiden top-level success while looking to extend his current winning streak to five. A half-brother to Grade I-winning...

Well, he's not going to give it up without a fight. Yes, of course the whole narrative is random: he can hardly sit the boys down, tell them to get out there and remind everyone who's boss. But however unwittingly, Into Mischief has certainly obliged us with a dramatic and immediate response to the first serious test of his monopoly since claiming a first general sires' title in 2019. It has been clear for a while that the eventual succession was likely to concern Not This Time and Gun Runner,...

Cornucopian (Into Mischief) looked like he might be something special very early in his career. While it would ultimately take five tries to garner black-type, the striking colt checked that box in style on Sunday, running off to a scortching victory in Santa Anita's GIII San Carlos Stakes. Pounded down to 1-5 favoritism for the seven-furlong contest, he was allowed to settle back in third behind Bartholdy (Mendelssohn) and Listenupshance (Shancelot) through an opening quarter in :22.16. As the pacesetter kept up the pace through a half-mile in :44.03, Cornucopian...

Hall of Famer Bob Baffert sent out a talented fleet of workers Saturday morning at Santa Anita Park, led by G2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint victor Imagination (Into Mischief), while multiple Grade I winner Journalism (Curlin) continued his march toward a return with his own five-panel move. In addition to Imagination, who worked three furlongs in :37.60 (8/10) for the first time since his win in Saudi Arabia, the Baffert brigade included Cherokee Nation (Not This Time); 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Cornucopian (Into Mischief); and Desert Gate (Omaha Beach)....

by Christina Bossinakis & Patrycja Szpyra Cherokee Nation (Not This Time) took six starts to break his maiden, but he'd been facing quality rivals in the lead up to his graduation party last Friday. Now, his connections report that elite contests are in the colt's future with their eyes specifically turned toward the GI Santa Anita Derby. "When the kids go to school, they have fancy Friday and [last] Friday was a fancy Friday for us," said co-owner Tom Ryan. "We're typically looking at Saturday afternoon, but we were very...

'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard CORNUCOPIAN (c, 4, Into Mischief--Magical World, by Distorted Humor) hit a traffic jam nearing the quarter pole of a 6 1/2-furlong Santa Anita allowance on Saturday, but it proved but a minor inconvenience, as he got his feet back under him, quickly took a gap at the rail inside of a rival and was off and gone in his first start in nearly 10 months. The 1-2 chalk returning off an allowance defeat going a mile at Aqueduct last spring, the $1.1 million Keeneland...

Bob Baffert came out swinging on Santa Anita's opening day card on Sunday, with Nysos (Nyquist), Goal Oriented (Not This Time)--both TDN Rising Stars, presented by Hagyard, and Usha (Tiz the Law), coming home winners in the GII Laffit Pincay Jr., GI Malibu and GI La Brea, respectively. According to the Hall of Famer, the trio were "doing well" on Monday morning. Baffert also indicated that Nysos and Nevada Beach (Omaha Beach), runner up in the Laffit Pincay Jr., are among potential candidates for the G1 Saudi Cup in Riyadh...

Goal Oriented (Not This Time) notched a Grade I feather to his 2025 cap, but also further gilded a fabulous year for his sire, as he strolled home powerfully to take the GI Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita on opening day. The 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' burst onto the scene Apr. 6 at this venue in a maiden special that yielded next out winners, and eventual stakes horses, namely MSW Train the Trainer (Dialed In) and SP Varney (Vekoma) while Concord Bridge (Medaglia d'Oro) and Day and Age...

Who says it never rains in Southern California? Well, for any music trivia buffs in the audience, it was the little-known Albert Hammond who sang those lyrics, but those living in and around metropolitan Los Angeles will confirm that the precipitation came with a vengeance this Christmas week, flooding parts of Interstate 5 and causing power outages and even the (very) odd threat of tornadoes. Nearly two inches of rainfall was recorded at Los Angeles International Airport, breaking a 54-year-old mark, while nearly four inches fell upon Woodland Hills and...