Crude Velocity

A filly by 2024's champion freshman sire and current leading third crop sire Vekoma (hip 876) stole the show Saturday during the final breeze show ahead of next week's Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. Consigned by Jesse Hoppel's Hoppel LLC, the New York-bred put up a co-sales best quarter in :20 2/5, one of only two hips to share that bullet across the five days of previews. "In years past, she might have been the perfect type of horse where she breezed so well on the...

CSLR Racing Partners' Crude Velocity (Beau Liam) will look to stretch out for his next start in the 1 1/8-mile GI Haskell Stakes July 18 at Monmouth Park following his runner-up effort behind the impressive Englishman (Maxfield) in the seven-furlong GI Woody Stephens Stakes Saturday at Saratoga. "I'm going to run him in the Haskell," trainer Bob Baffert confirmed. "We're going to stretch. I was going to run him in the Matt Winn today [Sunday at Churchill Downs], but I thought maybe, I was hoping that Englishman wouldn't show up...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - It was a 'Man' versus boys in the GI Woody Stephens S. at Saratoga Saturday. C R K Stable's Englishman (Maxfield), a well-beaten second behind Crude Velocity (Beau Liam) in the battle of unbeaten 'TDN Rising Stars, presented by Hagyard' in the GII Pat Day Mile S. on Kentucky Derby day, turned the tables with authority on the cutback to seven furlongs, equaling Darby Creek Road's track record of 1:20.40 set in 1978. "It doesn't surprise me," winning trainer Cherie DeVaux said. "This horse is so...

Saturday's Belmont Stakes is the last of nine top-level events on the weekend and the final of the six highly anticipated Grade I contests scheduled for a bumper card at Saratoga, short, medium and long on both the turf and the main track. A top-quality field of seven is set to face the starter in the GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan Handicap, for which 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Nysos (Nyquist) is the 9-5 morning-line favorite and 126-pound topweight in the 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Breeders'...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer Michael McCarthy would like nothing more than to have the wildly popular Journalism (Curlin) return to Saratoga Race Course this summer. "It would be awfully nice if he could," McCarthy said just outside Journalism's stall at the Oklahoma Training Track Thursday morning. "Saratoga, as I keep on saying, is a magical place for horses and people alike. We would be more than happy to bring him back here if the opportunity presented itself." First things first. Journalism, owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, Don...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - When it's a big race day, you'll find Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. Saturday is a big race day at Saratoga Race Course. Seven graded stakes--six of them Grade Is worth $5.9 million. Of course, Baffert is going to be here. He doesn't have a horse in the $2-million GI Belmont Stakes, but he has an impressive trio--Nysos (Nyquist), Crude Velocity (Beau Liam) and Imagination (Into Mischief)--running on the undercard. Nysos and Crude Velocity are both 'TDN Rising Stars, presented by Hagyard.' "It's a big...

It's just like Wayne Lukas used to tell him. "One of these days you're going to get smart," Lukas would say. "And you'll quit that. And come over to the Thoroughbred business." This was when Bill Childs was still in the Quarter Horse game, and Lukas had already made the switch that transformed our sport. "Well, you're right," Childs told Lukas. "I'd love to. But man, it just takes so much money to be able to withstand it." "Well," Lukas shrugged. "You'll figure it out." And here he is, all...

The form of the Mar. 7 maiden won by 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Crude Velocity (Beau Liam) continues to read extremely strong, as Great Friends Stables and Mark Davis's Decisive Win (c, 3, Nyquist--Weekend Away, by Malibu Moon) made light work of five rivals when graduating by the better part of a half-dozen lengths en route to his own 'Rising Star' Friday at Santa Anita. Beaten seven lengths into fourth on that occasion--an effort still strong enough to grade out at a 75 Beyer Speed Figure--the $200,000 Keeneland...

The 3-year-old sprint division just keeps getting better. Deep Flame (c, 3, Into Mischief--Barbadia, by Speightstown) looks like another major player in the stacked division following a head-turning, seven-length maiden victory over older horses at third asking at Churchill Downs May 17. The Juddmonte homebred sat a press-and-pounce trip beneath Irad Ortiz, Jr. and stopped the timer for six furlongs in a sharp 1:08.96. He earned a 95 Beyer Speed Figure. He was previously a well-beaten second behind next-out Lafayette S. winner Trouble Calling (Dialed In) on debut for Brad...

In the morning after his GI Preakness Stakes triumph, Napoleon Solo (Liam's Map) was in good form, according to trainer Chad Summers, and will target the GI Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park as his next start. "He's good today," Summers told the TDN. "He's been very playful. I came back last night at about midnight just to have a quiet moment with him after all the hoopla. He ate all his food, so I gave him another scoop and he ate all that right away." "He's full of spunk and...

Hall of Famer Bob Baffert will not point GII Pat Day Mile victor Crude Velocity (Beau Liam) to the GI Preakness Stakes next Saturday, and will instead target the GI Woody Stephens Stakes with an eye on the GI Haskell Stakes later in the summer, the trainer confirmed to Agentes 305. According to a post on X from the aforementioned page, Baffert was 'very tempted' but ultimately decided against the entry as it was coming up too quickly for the 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard'. The Stephens runs at...

Fasig-Tipton has catalogued 94 entries for its May Digital Sale, which opened for bidding Thursday. Amongst the full catalogue, which may be viewed online here, is the five-strong consignment of Tessa Walden's Evergreen Equine, including an exciting 2-year-old maiden special weight winner from Keeneland in Blessed Flyer (Dialed In) (hip 1). "It's hard to get them to races this early and he did it very effortlessly," Walden said. "There were some bullet works in there and some other flashy moves but the best move he made was when he won....