Curlin

Forte Returns To Work Tab; Nest, Tapit Trice Also Breeze

Reigning Champion 2-Year-Old Colt and 'TDN Rising Star' Forte (Violence) resumed his work schedule on Friday morning over the Belmont Park training track by traversing a half-mile in 50.40 for trainer Todd Pletcher. With exercise rider Hector Ramos aboard, Forte worked following the 9:30 a.m. renovation break and breezed in company with MGSW Major Dude (Bolt d'Oro), who is slated to run in next Friday's GIII Manila S. at Belmont. The move was Forte's first since finishing second in the GI Belmont S. "We were just looking for an easy...

[ Read More ]
Friday Insights: Half To Justify Leads Belmont Maiden Field

3rd-BEL, $90K, Msw, 3yo/up, f, 1m, 2:07 p.m. The only first-time starter facing a field of more experienced maidens, SPELL ON YOU (Curlin) makes her afternoon debut Friday as a homebred for John Gunther, also the breeder of the filly's Triple Crown-winning half-brother Justify (Scat Daddy). Dam Stage Magic, 2018's broodmare of the year, is also responsible for the late GSW The Lieutenant (Street Sense) along with 'TDN Rising Star' Stage Raider (Pioneerof the Nile). Under the tutelage of trainer Jorge Abreu, Spell On You picks up jockey Dylan Davis...

[ Read More ]
Curlin Filly Graduates at Ellis

7th-Ellis, $115,500, Msw, 6-17, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, 1:10.28, ft, 3 3/4 lengths. ZEITLOS (f, 3, Curlin--Thyme For Roses {Aus} {GSW-Aus, $104,310}, by Redoute's Choice {Aus}), bet down to 1-4, broke with the second draft and settled in a pursuing second behind Uncorked (Uncle Mo), who zipped through a :21.92 quarter. Breathing down the pacesetter's neck leaving the far turn, the chestnut gained command at the quarter pole and drew off to score by 3 3/4 lengths over Uncorked. It's Magic (Good Magic) rounded out the trifecta. A non-starter after losing...

[ Read More ]
Godolphin Looking Ahead to Summer Following Another 'Pretty' Big Weekend

It was a banner weekend for Godolphin homebreds during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. Cody's Wish (Curlin) added another chapter to racing's feel-good story with a powerful, come-from-behind victory in the stallion-making GI Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan H. The GI Kentucky Oaks winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) validated her upset neck victory on the first Friday in May with a heart-stopping victory in the GI Acorn S. The up-and-coming Loved (Medaglia d'Oro)--a 4-year-old half-sister to MGISW and young Darley stallion Maxfield (Street Sense)--made it three straight...

[ Read More ]
Mischievous Angel Goes Last-To-First To Graduate At Belmont

1st-Belmont, $90,000, Msw, 6-17, 3yo/up, 6fT, 1:08.74, fm, 3/4 length. MISCHIEVOUS ANGEL (g, 3, Into Mischief--Sabrina's Angel, by Scat Daddy), the only first-time starter in the field and the 2-1 selection with a $600,000 purchase price, spotted the field a step at the break and had only a single rival behind him through a half mile in :45.26. He began to make up ground as the leaders hit the far turn and tipped out to be five wide with room to run at the top of the stretch. Pacesetter Beer...

[ Read More ]
Friday Insights: Lady Moscato Leads Staked Ellis Maiden

6th-ELP, $120K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 4:14 p.m. An $800,000 yearling purchase out of Keeneland September, LADY MOSCATO (Quality Road) makes her afternoon debut for owner BC Stables and Hall of Fame trainer D Wayne Lukas. Out of a stakes-placed dam, she is a full-sister to GI La Troienne S. winner Salty, herself a $3 million dollar broodmare prospect out of the 2018 Fasig-Tipton November Sale. Luis Saez gets the mount. Opposing her is Beautiful Dancer (Gun Runner), the first foal to make the races out of GI Del...

[ Read More ]
Born for the Task: Five Pedigree Takeaways From Belmont Weekend

With a new cycle of yearling sales nearly upon us, nearly everyone will once again be deciding where they are most prepared to compromise. Would you prefer an athlete low on pedigree, or will you trust the genes to come through even if you're not wowed by the specimen in front of you? Well, there's no mistaking which strategy is recommended by the story of the GI Belmont S. winner. Though from one of America's most aristocratic families, Arcangelo (Arrogate) lurked in the September Sale as Hip 1182 and was...

[ Read More ]
Met Win More Than 'Wish'-ful Thinking

Godolphin homebred Cody's Wish (Curlin) became the third graded winner on the day for his magnificent stallion, overcoming an imperfect passage to stamp his authority on Saturday's GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H. at Belmont Park and in so doing, punching his ticket to defense of his title in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita Nov. 4. Fidgety pre-start in gate one, the bay missed the break slightly--as many drawn the inside going Belmont's one-turn mile are wont to do--and found himself near the back of the...

[ Read More ]
Curlin Daughter of Indian Blessing Scores at Santa Anita

4th-Santa Anita, $62,000, Msw, 6-4, 3, 4,/5yo, f/m, 6f, 1:11.29, ft, 3/4 length. HALOSNHEAVEN (f, 3, Curlin--Indian Blessing {Ch. 2-year-old Filly, Ch. Female Sprinter, MGISW-USA, G1SP-UAE, $2,995,420}, by Indian Charlie) shrugged off nearly 10 months on the bench to post a sharp even-money maiden victory at Santa Anita. The Earnhardt homebred wasn't overly quick out of the gate, but was quick to establish position, angling up to third on the outside by the :22.31 first quarter mark. Halosnheaven challenged for the lead while three across at the :44.95 half-mile, swapped...

[ Read More ]
McPeek: Swing High, Swing Hard

Call it going with his gut. Literally. They cut out a whole stretch of it, and with it went much of the caution, the aversion to risk, that seems to stifle so much of the adventure in other trainers. "The truth is that when I was younger, I was probably real conservative," Kenny McPeek admits. "Early in my career, I was mostly dealing with claiming horses, with the odd allowance or stake horse here and there. Then I had a misdiagnosed ruptured appendix. It walled off and they did emergency...

[ Read More ]
Stonestreet's Monarch Builds a Growing Dynasty

Compared to an exquisite painting by her owner Barbara Banke, Dreaming of Julia (A.P. Indy) has been regarded as racing royalty from the very beginning. Now 13 years old, the Grade I winner reigns as monarch of Stonestreet's world-class broodmare band, and this spring, she was crowned 2022 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year. Thanks to the efforts of her two Curlin daughters Malathaat and Julia Shining, Dreaming of Julia has already put together a produce record for the books, yet Banke and her team at Stonestreet are hopeful that their...

[ Read More ]
Saturday's Insights: City Of Light Colt On Verge Of Churchill Debut

11th-CD, $120K, Msw, 3yo/up, 6 1/2f, 5:58 p.m. Consigned by Denali Stud at the '21 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling sale, CUSP (City of Light) went to OXO Equine for $725,000. Trained by Paulo Lobo, the bay colt's dam Swingit (Victory Gallop) also produced MGSW Travel Column (Frosted) and MGISP Neolithic (Harlan's Holiday). He lines up opposite the widely-drawn WinStar homebred and Brad Cox trainee Paddington (Curlin), whose GISP dam Sea Island (Pulpit)--out of GISP Resort (Pleasant Colony)--counts GII Peter Pan S. hero Sightseeing as a full-brother. TJCIS PPS 5th-BEL, $90K, Msw,...

[ Read More ]
X

Never miss another story from the TDN

Click Here to sign up for a free subscription.